2016-05-17 01:05 I finally sowed peas
Y (Kuma's owner)
Summer is finally gone, hence it's autumn now.
However, mother nature is not so simple, she changes her mind on a whim. I've been here in Australia for about five years but still can't predict the weather.
Additionally, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. The seasons are opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. That makes me more confused.
I had been waiting for autumn because I wanted to sow peas. (I wrote about this story on previous journal.) Peas won't germinate in hot temperature. One day, the temperature went down suddenly, and I finally sowed peas. Yay!
Contrary to expectations, things didn't go smoothly. If I compare sowing peas to a story, it was still chapter one! There were some characters in this story that I didn't expect; mice, possums and pigeons. They all love peas like I do.
So, I bought some wire baskets to protect small pea seedlings from pigeons. They worked well, pigeons were walking around the baskets but they couldn't eat peas.
It's more difficult to protect peas at night. It's a time of mice and possums. Both of them have a keen sense of smell.
I was really amazed that mice took peas with pinpoint accuracy. They didn't make a mess, they dug a cylindrical hole direct to a pea. They have deft fingers!
Anyway, mice ate the peas and I have to sow peas again. I think I'm around chapter three now. To make this story have a happy ending, I will keep eye on my peas.
2016-05-02 06:01 I want to sow peas!
Y (Kuma's owner)
I heard that autumn is the season to sow peas.
All right, let's grow them!
I went to Bunnings, the local hardware shop and bought a package of Snow Peas and Snap Peas in April. I had a veggie patch with wire mesh behind. Everything was ready.
However, the temperature didn't fall as I expected. I have been trying to sow peas once or twice but abandoned because of temperature.
One day I was about to sow peas but the temperature suddenly went up and I couldn't do it. The last day of April, just before the three-day weekend started, I checked the weather forecast and noticed that next Monday will be over 30 degrees Celsius. So, I postponed sowing again. I felt like I was dancing a step forward and a step backward.
And today is the day that was forecasted that the temperature will go up to 30 degrees Celsius. It seems the weather man was right. It's getting hotter now.
I wonder when I will be able to sow peas.
I feel that I could understand how farmers make lots of efforts to grow vegetables.
2016-04-26 04:52 Lettuce, lettuce everyday
Y (Kuma's owner)
Cultivating vegetables was one of my dreams. This dream came true a year ago. My husband made two big veggie patches for me. One is a Decagon-shaped veggie patch and another one is a long rectangular veggie patch. I was excited to grow vegetables and flowers because when we were in Japan, there was not enough room to plant them.
I was a beginner of growing vegetables and wondered what vegetables are easy to grow. I searched for information on the internet, and asked my neighbor who is good at growing vegetables. I also bought some gardening magazines.
First, I bought some seedlings of lettuce. I followed my neighbor, Rebecca's recommendation. Before I had started growing vegetables, I didn't know that growing lettuce was convenient. I used to buy lettuce or a pack of salad leaves at a supermarket. These leaves had to be kept in the refrigerator. So, my refrigerator was almost full. After I started growing lettuce, I could get leaves at the veggie patch as I wanted.
Being pleased with my lettuce, I started growing other vegetables. There are various kind of vegetable seedlings and seeds at Bunnings (One of the hardware shops in Australia). I have liked seeds since I was small. I think of seeds like a time capsule. It has been waiting for the day of opening. Every time I see a germination, I'm happy.
I have started sowing Capsicums, Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Brussel Sprouts and Japanese vegetables. I knew buying seedlings was easier and quicker than sowing seeds, but you know, I love seeds.
I thought I could manage it well, but gardening was not as easy as I thought. Usually, seeds don't germinate 100%. It depends on temperature, pests or how old seeds are. That was why I sowed seeds generously at once, this was my mistake.
Not every time, but most of the time, seeds germinated well. I didn't expect it. According to the specialist of cultivation, I should have sorted out the seedlings. The weak seedlings had to be pull out and throw them away, but I couldn't do it. I felt sorry for them. This was my second mistake.
Then, what happened after few months was lots of lettuce. Lettuce, lettuce everyday. This was the first wave. Second was tomatoes, and capsicums followed. If I were in Japan now and read this journal, I'm sure I would have said "I wish I had that problem." Please imagine eating lettuce everyday. Even if I changed dressings I couldn't stop from getting tired of it. I gave some to my neighbor, but there was still some. I didn't want to throw food away, so I ate them all.
Since I have learnt from my mistakes, I haven't sowed so many seeds at once. However, there are still seedling that I showed lots before I noticed the mistakes, and I'm paying the price of my failures now.
Okra, okra, okra...