A girl of three moons

Wicking Beds

They've been six months in the making and this weekend we finally finished construction of our new wicking beds. Considerably more work, and engineering, than your regular raised beds, but they should yield considerable benefits and overcome a few of our garden challenges.  And if we've got the design right, be very low maintenance.

The frames, previously constructed out of pallets and hammered into the ground. Piping and pond liner - ok, the plastic isn't exactly environmentally friendly,but it's a one off and the reservoir it creates will make the beds very water efficient. I've seen the reservoir created with clay, mimicking a natural pond, but that didn't suit our raised design or the materials available to us.

Scoria for the reservoir and compost for the top layer. And the manual labour

Plastic lining for the reservoir and to protect the wood, with piping  in place. The plants can 'wick' up the water - always available at their roots - as they need it, avoiding loss from evaporation and the need for daily watering. It also eliminates any runner grass from invading the beds. Drainage holes along the side stop the beds from getting bogged. I'll probably plant some mint around these drainage points to take advantage of the overflow.

scoria filled reservoir 

hessian to hold the compost above the scoria

In-built worm farm  - keeps the kitchen scraps safe from the mice and the worms will distribute their own castings through the bed. Some worm tea should also filter through to the reservoir and provide its nutrients direct to plant roots.

The finished product - ready for planting!

Winter Bloom

After a lovely lingering Autumn, Melbourne Winter has finally settled in for the long haul.  Thankfully I have a little bundle of warm nestled close at all times. Just over ten weeks now til we expect to meet the little one. We are all well, though I can no longer put on boots unassisted......

To prove how aclimatised we are to our adopted Southern home, today went to the beach. Gary even got wet.

Bumps, beans and beds

20 weeks

22 weeks

broad beans

our new (yet to be filled) garden beds made from pallets

Bumping Along

on the shores of the Derwent River, Hobart

MONA

Bosscat - not yet in competition for affection

the view at the halfway mark (almost)

on the prom