Plants That Love Each Other

I've mentioned before that I'm an enthusiastic researcher. Others might call it pathological, but let's not split hairs. One of my favourite topics to google about is companion planting, especially around this time of year. (K, this time of year is relative to what side of the equator you're standing on, so when you wonder what the H vieve's doing reading up about gardening in December, keep in mind that I'm currently in the southern hemisphere.)

Some folks like to study the behaviour of people, I'm more into finding out what plants are up to. How do tomatoes feel? What's a zucchini's eating habits? What kind of 'hair cut' do blueberry bushes prefer? Why? I'm going to pretend you asked. Aside from the zen-like state I achieve in my garden, I think it's mostly because I don't have to talk to plants to excel at gardening. I'm not much into words, and often find myself at a loss to vocalize the intricate web of ideas bouncing around in my head. I know, I know, you're thinking, "But, vieve! Aren't you supposed to talk to your plants to make them happy?"  Only if you want to come across as bat-ass-crazy!

There's reams of material out there on gardening and how to do it on a small scale and get the biggest bang for your square centimetre, whether all you've got is one window sill or an entire yard. It helps that container and apartment-sized gardening has become trendy. Everybody and their cat has pasted bits of dirt wisdom onto the internet. There are some seriously innovative folks out there who have married the 3 Rs with small scale gardening. This is just one example from the Mother Nature Network :


Companion planting is crucial to a healthy and productive small garden, and it's been around for as long as life has existed on the Earth. Mother Nature is the original master gardener. In her infinite wisdom she places plants together that make each other happy, no couples counseling required. The astute gardener observes what is already there, and draws conclusions from their own experiments, much like a scientist (hmm, gardeners are scientists, gnosh on that thought for a while). Over time we've amassed a wealth of tips such as plant strawberries and spinach together, don't plant tomatoes and potatoes within grub crawling distance of each other, and you can never have enough marigolds.

This chart covers just about everything you might want to plant in your veggie patch:

(You can find the original, larger guide here.)

A couple of books I've found useful are "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte, and "Companion Planting in New Zealand" by Brenda Little. Charts like the one above are useful, but the books help to explain the whys behind keeping climbing beans separate from sunflowers.

So, have I bored you yet?

Un Bon Depart

Et voila, les photos de mon jardin. C'est un commencement, il m'en reste beaucoup a faire.

 

A gauche: work in progress   Au centre: des capucines   A droite: les salades, brocolis, choux de brussels, onions, poireaux, radis, basilic, aneth, coriandre, tomates + des pot soucis

A gauche: raisins, tomates, basilic, ail, poivrons, pot soucis   A droite: rhubarbe, fraises, epinard, cassis, grosseille a maquereau, bleuets, marjolaine, cape berries, feves

L'arriere-cour! Le compost est deja a motie plein, lol. RB m'a aider d'arranger les carreaux, j'aimerai mettre une petite table pis chaise la. C'est la seulle place privee dans le jardin. Il y a d'origan, thym pis basilic qui poussent entre les carreaux.

Terrarium!

I had so much fun making these last night! Here are some pix of the process and the results:

List of supplies: glass and rock pebbles, sphagnum moss, cactus and succulent dirt mix (from what I've read you can use regular potting mix as well), used glass containers from the thrift store, a bunch of baby succulent plants, one gorgeous pitcher plant.

In goes about an inch of rinsed glass pebbles.

Then enough moss to create a barrier between the dirt and pebbles.

Now the dirt. Usually the activated charcoal would go between the dirt and moss, but the garden shop didn't have any. Since this is going to be an open terrarium with a certain amount of air circulation I should be fine without, the charcoal is more crucial to a closed terrarium. I understand that pet stores with aquarium supplies will have the needed charcoal. Something to keep in mind is that there will be a bunch of dirt around the roots of your plants already, so try to guess how much extra height will be added with the roots and dirt of the plant.
Now for the plants. Keep them away from the glass (too much touching will increase the condensation on the inside of the terrarium), work from one side until you're happy with the way it looks, then turn the container and make little adjustments until the arrangement is perfect from every angle. Add some decoration like shells, beach glass or mini statuary. Have fun!

Two mini terrariums in old liquor glasses. These were super fast to make. Because they are so small I broke off single branches of the succulents and planted those (they will root themselves into the soil as long as you take a clipping just bellow a node - where a branch or leaf grows from - and cover the node with soil).

Care instructions:
Don't over water! Everything I've read has said it's best to err on the dry side. I'll probably only give a shot glass full of water to the first, larger terrarium once every 4 weeks. The little guys will probably only get a misting once every couple of weeks.

Also, no need to fertilize. I don't want these guys growing quickly, otherwise I'll have to prune or put them in larger containers. Plus, the pitcher plant should be getting all the nutrients it needs from the occasional fruit fly (it's going on the window sill next to my fruit basked and compost bucket).

Well, I'm addicted. I'm sure I'll be making another trip to the thrift stores to find funky glass containers soon.

Bonus: These make *great* gifts! They need less care than the average house plant and would be good for that friend who seems to kill everything. I spent a total of $50nz on all 3 together, and I still have enough supplies to make a dozen more.

Obsessions

Ces jours-ci j'obsede avec mon jardin. J'ai de la misere a dormir les nuits parce que je pense au croquis que j'ai fait de ma cour, aux graines que j'ai seme, aux plantes qui poussent deja. Il y a un magasin de jardin en face d'ou je travail. C'est tout ce que je peux faire de n'y pas aller a chaque midi. Enfin, apres 2 ans dans un appartement sombre, j'ai une cour bien ensoleillee! J'en suis certain que mon obsession va se calmer avec du temps, mais pour le moment je vais m'amuser en esperant que mon compte bancaire ne s'asseche pas (bonne chose que Weta m'a donner un emploi plus tot que j'ai prevu). Je vous promets des photos de mon jardin bien tot.

J'ai une autre obession toute nouvelle: les terrariums. C'est comme avoir un petit jardin dans la maison! Quelle idee merveilleuse!! Pourqoui je ne l'ai pas fait avant aujourd'hui, je ne sais pas. Voila la photo qui m'a commencer sur ce chemin:


Trop cute!! Bien sur que je me suis dise, "J'en veux!" Alors, comme toujours, j'ai commencer ma recherche. J'adore google image search. =) Quelques de mes preferes:


C'est super simple de creer un terrarium, regard:

Ca peut etre ouvert ou ferme. Alors, hier j'ai visiter un thrift store (on en a aussi juste a cote de travail, super pratique!), pis j'ai trouver des pots en verre pour cheap. Aujourd'hui je suis aller au magasin de jardin pour le rest. Devinez de quoi je fais ce soir? Encore, je vous promets des photos. =)


Photo credits, in order of appearance:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87711046/hanging-glass-globe-diy-moss-terrarium?ref=pr_faveitems

http://www.thegrowspot.com/know/f5/terrarium-inspiration-indoor-winter-gardening-53930.html

http://www.designerscall.com/blog/2010/06/01/table-top-terrariums/

http://www.steezemachine.com/?p=345

http://craziestgadgets.com/2010/04/26/light-bulb-terrarium/

http://gardenheights.com/blog/?p=827

Stunning New Zealand

My feet in the Tasman Sea

I have been given the chance to work and live in New Zealand, a dream come true. And New Zealand is incredibly photogenic. Here are a few shots to wet your appetite of what is to come.

West Coast

Mount Teranaki

Cathedral Cove