Did a little light gardening today. With the drought, is there any other kind of gardening? The deck is now the vegetable growing area, as the large patch at the back of the garden is too difficult to keep damp, particularly with the November southeaster now in full force for the next week. An assortment of attractive planters now contains beetroot (the unblemished young leaves being the most nutritious part!), radishes, rocket, celery, spring onions, parsley, mint, oreganum, chives, basil and Cape gooseberries.
The heritage seeds that I planted so hopefully in the garden have been disappointing, with only 4 out of about 20 mielies germinating, none of the sweet melon, a fair amount of the spinach, and four lonely little leeks still struggling to survive since last winter! Perhaps it's just that I don't have green fingers! But a lot of effort, compost (home-made) and sweat went into it, for little reward. Very discouraging when trying to save the planet by being self-sufficient. The sweet potatoes, as previously related, were munched by baboons, so that's another crop crossed off the list.
If I can't make a success of this small garden in very controlled circumstances (the water comes from roof run-off stored in a jojo tank), then I will have to admit defeat and go back to pillow packs (yuck).
The ideal garden under current conditions is a container of succulents, with their fascinating shapes and unexpectedly striking flowers that suddenly appear. Half a cup of water once a week should keep them happy and a little shade will be even more beneficial, despite their natural habitat being semi-arid areas of the country. Very rewarding little plants - my favourite being the lithops!
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