Spring is here!!!!!

Finally spring has arrived and the garden is a flurry of activity! From weeding, planting seeds, planting out seedling, fertilising, mulching.....the list goes on!

But first things first over the past few days i have been conducting an experiment with my beer baits....as Adam likes beer i thought it would be good if i tried another liqued in them.

So out of 4 traps they had
1x orange juice
1x apple juice
1x diluted ribena
1x apple/blueberry/blackcurrant juice

note: all these juices were the fresh versions not the long life ones...not sure if it would make a difference

....and here were the results! quite interesting!

Orange juice-was difficult to see as i had gone mouldy but there was not alot of anything is there (FAIL)
Apple juice-EARWIGS! tons of them....none found in any other trap (WIN)
Ribena-Slugs, nothing else just big fat engorged dead slugs...who had turned purple (WIN)
Apple/blueberry/blackcurrant-Snails...again nothing else just snails (WIN)

So as i think my main pest problem this year will be earwigs....apple juice it is :)

Here is a look at parts of my garden is picture




1st tyre potato up




Raised bed...end of cool weather crops...ready for summer!




Mignonette lettuce (grown under empty soft drink bottles)




White Mulberry




Lettuce mix (see growth against last pic)




Red Kale seedling




Tomato seedlings (various)




Nectarine

I planted some marigolds around the edge of the raise bed (need to get some more) They are a great companion plant as they repel nematodes in the soil, bean beetle, thrips and they keep whitefly away! They also attract hoverflies (beneficial insect)
I thought that i might start talking about individual plants and my experience with them, difficulty etc to help people decide if it would be something they might want to grow :) I'm going to start today with my favourite:

BLUEBERRIES

These are an incredible easy plant to grow, and so rewarding...i have had bluberries for 3 years now and NOTHING eats them! They have never had a disease, they just grow and produce blueberries!
Height: Anywhere between 1-2m and just a tad smaller in width

Full Sun/part shade (mine get morning sun only and thrive)

Soil requirements: Blueberries are acid loving plants...just like azaleas...if you are planting them in pots you should plant them in an azalea potting mix. They like a ph of about 4-5.5. If you are planting in the ground or potting mix you already have it is a good idea to get some garden sulfur and apply it according to the instructions.

A great way to keep the soil acidic is you mulch it with spent coffee grounds or pine needles. :)

Here is melbourne mine fruit from about end November-Start of February

The other week i raided my mums lemon tree and made lemon cordial, it is very sweet but yummy!

Recipe (Thanks to Jackie French's book 'Backyard self-sufficiency')

Ingredients:
6 cups white sugar
3 cups water
3 cups lemon juice
3 tsp citric acid (in the baking aisle at safeway/woolworths and coles)
3 tsp tartaric acid (see above)

Boil for 10 minutes. Bottle in clean bottles while hot. Keep in a cool dark place for up to a month. Throw out if it ferments or looks cloudy. It also makes a good iceblock.

:) Wow long post...any questions? Queries? would be happy to help