Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lettuces and Roses...

While walking round our garden, planning and dreaming, I saw a gorgeous vision of lettuces growing amongst the roses. This is an organic place with loads of herbs in the rose garden. It is so sensible to plant the lettuce there. The garlic chives repel the aphids, the creeping oregano is a natural mulch, while the yarrow edging helps along any ailing plant nearby. The rosemary has been thriving amongst the roses for a number of years and the rose geranium puts out her perfume on our fence for stray snakes that may just wander by.

The African sun beats down on the lawns in the middle of the day, but the afternoon is softened by the shade of the big mango and the two great Hardekool trees. The garden was thirsty today. Soon there will be drip irrigation and a greywater system to help the garden along. Water will one day be our most valuable commodity and we need to collect it and respect it.

Lately it has been hot and humid, just when we were expecting the evenings to cool down. We need to hold on for a little while to plant the lettuces, but soon, soon I will be planting a variety of loose leaf lettuce and Roma tomatoes among the roses.

Roses like food. That much I have discovered. They are gross feeders. Deep watering a couple of days a week and good organic food. They like that. You can make your own compost just about anywhere. Watch this space for an article on how. Link to my website to find articles on herbs and organic gardening. It's under construction right now but will soon be open for viewing...soon! www.marloescottwilson.co.za

The moon is growing, it's nearly full. Two more days. Time for a last ditch sowing of lettuce before she is at her zenith. Time to start collecting seed for below ground vegetables to plant when the moon starts to wane. Lunar planting is something I have been doing for a number of years and I do believe there is something in it. More coming on that as I go along.

Right now it is back to the website. We're nearly there.

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