While the seasons may be rather out of whack the various little insects work as diligently as ever. It inspires me to drag myself into the garden. Our winter is all over the place. It affects germination and invites unwanted critters into the confused gardens. Homesteading is already a lot of hard work. When the seasons are inconsistent it makes homesteading life so much more challenging. But our persevering bugs challenge me to keep my nose down and my hands in the dirt. The gardens vibrate with the teeny workers. Bees. Butterflies. Praying mantis. Wasps. They're all over the place. Especially the herbs. Soapwort. Basil. Thyme. Elderberry. Lemon verbena. Wild garlic.
Although I try; I'm not a vegetable gardener by any stretch of the imagination. Now herbs - ah, that is where I thrive. Herbs are an amazing and underestimated part of the homestead. My gardens may be sparse but you will always find a profusion of herbs growing. They need far less attention than veggies and there is always a profusion of flowers - no matter what the season. Herbs are my go-to for kitchen creations as well as medical remedies. The bonus is that the herbs attract our little pollinators. And those pretty creatures are essential to the success of the gardens, which includes veggies and trees.
Although we are fighting against inconsistent weather we still try to keep our end of the bargain. Strictly planting according to the moon cycles I just finished planting a batch of root crop seeds, and a gazillion garlic. The bugs keep me company. From a safe distance. So do the stunning sunbirds. Although from a far safer distance, I constantly hear their frantically beating wings zipping past. Urging me on. Dig. Dig. Plant. Mulch. Water. Water. WATER!!!!!!
How do your winter city gardens grow this May @craigcryptoking? And along our magnificent Cape coastline @andrastia? Have you and your eager little gardener dragged yourself out to the gardens? While across the sea and in the opposite season to chilly SA, how are your beautiful herbie gardens doing @traisto? I'm sure your island bugs delight you as they do me.
Yes i am worried about the seasons going haywire here too.. so changeable. especially when you trying to keep the critters in balance
we are Brisbane Australia and well known for crazy weather. Fire or floods then drought.
i love my herbs and thyme is perhaps my ultimate fav... if i had to pick based on taste.
we are starting out homesteading journey with chickens, worms, mealworms, a large vege garden and lots of big pots... see how we go :-)
happy gardening
Sarah
Hi Sarah! So nice to "meet" you. I'm excited for your new adventures. Chickens are fun - but naughty. But then I have goats as well as naughty doesn't even begin to describe them! As much as I adore my goats. We tried mealworms and after 18 months of them eating us out of house and home and then beginning to eat one another - shock and horror - we discovered that we had been sold the giant mealworm which is sterile. But I guess, like most homesteading projects and responsibilities, all part of the process. I hope yours are a roaring success!
Yes i hear all about being sold mealworms that are sterile. The lady assured us they were not... but we will see.. Yes i don't want toooooo many mealworms, just enough to feed the chickens although my husband is catching grasshoppers like no tomrrow so hopefully they can have them too. No doubt the chickens will LOVE grasshoppers lol.
My nana had a goat. She used to blame it for having messy clothes as it "ate" them lol
Happy gardening!
Bee on Basil ;)
Smart. Almost as brilliant as your sister. But if you are right on thyme, you May get an insect post as beeautiful
It is amazing how they just carry on right? Nothing holding them back, because they know a day lost will mean most likely death. What an inspiration.
Oh, winter is surely salad rocket for me. I wait and crave and yearn for freshly picked rocket the whole of summer but only get the satisfaction in the winter.
Really?! Apart from a bare patch over a couple months here and there we pretty much have rocket year round! The wild variety comes up where and whenever. It's my favourite. It has a delightfully sharp flavour. With fresh avo and a handful of olives ..... YUMMY!!!
Still have your amaranth tab open and unanswered. So I'll double up here. If you pop me your email address we can chat there? I have one or two (million) seeds. I don't mind sending you some? And rocket although I must check for seeds. I never plant because, as I mentioned, they do what they will!
The same here! It is the salad one, Eruca sativa, that bolts in the summer. It makes one or two leaves but immediately bolts.
Yes! I love this. My go-to salad, with sundried tomatoes and lemon to add some zing.
Awesome, yes! That would be awesome. I have one two three million rocket (Eruca sativa) seeds. I had a couple of good years' harvests and still have loads of them. But we can chat via email or Instagram or discord.
What a lovely post @buckaroobaby, love these photos!
I am just like you, better with herbs than with demanding veggies :))
Still out of the island, have left our babies under the supervision of a good friend, he says they are doing fine, I hope so!
But I will try to do a kind o travel #gardenjournal from Nafplio. The orange trees are blooming now and their amazing aroma is all around!
The weather here is acting crazy too. I was 5 days in a row at the sea and now I need a jacket even at noon to go out... Tomorrow I am going to the sea no matter what, haha!
Thank you for the invitation! xxxx
Oh that is a wonderful aroma! Our clementine and lemon tree are heavily loaded with fruit that is ripening. I love the smell. I hope you get your splash tomorrow and that it isn't too cold
I do thrive with herbs and good puns! Nice entry!!
YEAH! You got it. It must be the romantic French side of you. My brother @craigcryptoking thought my spelling and grammar was sadly lacking
A beautiful post and I'm right there with you. I feel the same way, being far better at growing herbs than vegetables. EAsier to maintain and to grow for sure. I just dug out some elecampane roots for fire cider which thrilled me no end. Inconsistant weather is such a pain. It's a bit like that here although I think we're fully going winter mode at last now. Gorgeous post - love you x
i still got sunburnt and dehydrated here in brisbane today... lol..
Thank you! I thought you might relate.