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I read a few books, watched some YouTube videos and drew up some rough plans. Then I started to make my own shed. So far, I have put in a floor and framed three of the four walls. It is already a little wonky because, well, I’ve never built anything before and also I didn’t want to put in concrete. But that’s okay. It’s a shed, not a house.
This is a challenging year to grow cucumbers outdoors in Lyttelton. Not because of the shorter growing season (Lyttelton is inside an ancient volcanic crater and when the days get shorter we lose the sun before Christchurch does), but because we've had so little rain. I have planted Cuthbert in an area that I can soak with the hose. There is also a lot of mulch there. I prepared the ground by digging in masses of manure and compost well before I planted the cucumber. Last year, I got 15 cucumbers from Cecil. I've had one so far from Cuthbert, but he's got some time to catch up.
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Canterbury is one of the driest areas in New Zealand but even by Canterbury standards this summer has been exceptionally dry and there is a worry that we may have forest fires of the like that the Nelson area has been experiencing. My folks are visiting in March, so I'm sure it will rain then, but I'm hoping that it rains tonight, as forecast, as we need it.
I am having to water the garden every day. Unlike other parts of the world and even other parts of the country, Christchurch doesn't charge for water being used, which means that people often let their sprinklers run for a long time, at all times of the day (when a water main broke under our house when we were away, it gushed for months without anyone noticing). I usually water early morning, or evening, but it has been scorching in the middle of the day.
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It is noticeable in the garden which areas I'm able to reach with the sprinkler or hose. Most of the rest of the garden is looking very crispy. I have to hike up to the top with a can to water my precious Bramley (precious because most Kiwis think a good cooking apple is something like a Granny Smith or a Golden Delicious - tsk.), but it's worth it.
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I’m very concerned that the possums we see and hear around our house are going to lay into my fruit, veggies and young trees (they often ring bark them, which kills them).
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But then I found out that the Summit Road Society lends out possum traps in the Lyttelton area. You can borrow one for 3 months and buy them at a subsidised rate.
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So I installed one on Waitangi Day (see earlier post), which seemed appropriate, since possums are not native to New Zealand, having been introduced here from Australia for the fur trade. By the 1980s, they had spread the length and breadth of the country, devastating local flora and fauna in the process.
It should have been fairly easy to install the trap. I selected a pear tree at the top of our section, far away from the house (though they are not shy about coming right up to our front steps).
Initially I thought that the gnarly pear tree trunk was making it hard to install the trap
Then I realised I should have had my reading glasses on to read the instructions and put the tree mount the correct way round.
It was then easy to slide the main device onto the mount
This is the possum bait. It is not attractive to cats (I wouldn’t want to trap the neighbours’ ones!).
After unscrewing the cap, you push on the bitey thing.
Then you either squeeze the bottle or tap the bottle against the tree to charge it, wiping off any excess (I smeared this on the tree below the trap).
You insert the bite cartridge into the trap at the top.
Then you remove the black cap from the gas cartridge.
And screw it in at the bottom of the trap. You will hear a slight hiss as the gas canister opens and charges the trap.
Hopefully the possum will climb the tree and head towards the bait putting his head in here, being killed very quickly.
You can also attach a counter, as the gas canister is good for 12 possums, but sometimes the carcasses can disappear… I had to press the counter to zero it.
Okay possums, my pear tree is ready for you!
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I grew this kale from seeds I planted out last autumn, once the last of the cabbage whites (which can make any leaves of the cabbage family look like lacework) had disappeared. It provides leaves for stir fries and stews and Diana Henry’s great pasta dish with hazelnuts. So I’m delighted it has kept growing and I’m wondering whether the new lot I’ve planted will grow by the time this bunch has gone to seed.
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This feijoa is only one of the young trees I have growing in our steep back section. She has survived some brutal winds and I’m glad to see she is fruiting, but I do hope the possums don’t go for her.
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Waitangi Day (6th February) celebrates the day when Māori and Pakeha signed the treaty of Waitangi. The agreement was flawed, but at least here there was motivation from white (mainly British) settlers to treat the local caretakers of the land more equitably than they had in other places of the world (notably our neighbour, Australia). Normally, like other public holidays, I work, but today I did something different.
I made a basket for potatoes from harakeke (flax). I met up with a great bunch of other women in Lyttelton and we learned from Jackie, Trixi and Catherine, who have been learning themselves. I’m inspired to try more, as we have whakariki (mountain flax) growing in the garden.
The finished basket needs to dry and is weighted with bricks
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