I thought anaerobic microorganisms were bad

I have always heard how stirring up the compost was so good, and I know it does heat up the pile immensely.    So with gardening I thought aerobic (with air) was good and would bring in more beneficial microbes, earthworms etc.  a couple of weeks ago I thought that the ponytail palm which is in a fairly large pot really needed to be re-potted. I noticed that the water was not flowing through - rather sitting in a puddle on the top.  Sometimes potting soil will develop a crust that stops the water going through, but I suspected the pot was not draining out of the bottom.

I tipped the pot onto its side and as I dug out the earth I discovered that the lower third was compacted mud and stones (that had originally been put into the bottom of the pot for drainage.).  There were also THOUSANDS of worms :) , OK maybe not quite a thousand, but certainly lots. The drainage holes were clogged with mud and clearly no water could run through.  Since originally the pot was filled with potting soil, I suspect that "mud"  was really worm poo! wow!

I follow Phil the smiling gardener and he has lately been talking about anaerobic microorganisms being just as effective (but different) in the garden as aerobic microorganisms. See his story here On Gardening Australia too they were talking about the anaerobically processed mud in the base of the pond and how it was filled with wonderful nutrients.Who knows, but as I spread the dark goopy wriggling mess around the plants in the garden I hoped it would help them in some way.  I often don't know scientifically what I am doing to help the garden, but little bits of odd stuff here and there might bring something to the soil that it is lacking.  I throw on seaweed when I find it, compost when it is ready, trace elements when I think about it, mulch all the time.  Do  you have  a "proper" sequence of soil amendments or do you do what I do?

I once again put stones in the base of the pot and filled it with fresh potting soil when re-planting the ponytail palm, but have noticed a trend towards using pieces of polystyrene in the base instead.  I know that will make the pots lighter to move around, but I wonder what sort of chemicals will be leaking into the soil.  I think I kind of like the idea that there are so many worms in my garden that they have to go searching for other places to hide out in.

I have been meaning to take some worm photos to go with this post, and still haven't got around to it so am posting sans photo for now.  

Healthy garden greets me on return from holiday

One of the first things I did after returning from three weeks away was to survey the garden.  The lychee tree is full of leaves, and most of the plants underneath it have recovered quite well from the sudden blast of sunshine. Luckily we have had a little rain to ease the way, and my darling hubby has been watering. Of course it also allowed a spate of weeds to grow up everywhere!

 Among the weeks are plenty of cherry tomato plants which I have left where they volunteered. They fill in the gaps and hopefully will give us some tomatoes.  This has not been a good year for tomatoes - maybe not enough sunny days to ripen them.  We often have cloud cover and I think they like clear sunny days, or so they tell me!  It is warm though - I have not stopped swimming all through the winter, other than when I was away. The gardens seems quite happy.

 In the veggie garden the kale, lettuce and carrots have come along well, although I never get those enormous leaves that seem to grow in other climates.  I do pick the leaves small though - before the bugs can find them ;)  I think next year I might plant even closer together.  The eggplant produces prolifically, even though it does get a bit of bug damage.  A bandicoot got in one night and dug a few holes - they seem to lie in wait for a gate left open and then they pounce.....

 A jap pumpkin vine has made itself at home against the fence, and climbing up the happy plant where the passionfruit vine used to be. Vertical gardening at its best.  I am not sure what will happen when/if I actually get some pumpkins forming, if they will pull the vine down. I guess I will face that when I come to it.  I tied it off out of the way so that it doesn't take over the entire veggie patch.  A branch of the pawpaw tree got too heavy and broke off in some strong wind.

There is already a baby pumpkin - I have killed so many by trying to pollinate that I will leave this on its own and see what happens.  How do you know when it has been pollinated?  Has anyone tried baby vegetables - they are delicious in stews, and potjies (those cast iron three legged pots you use on the fire in South Africa.) I am not entirely sure if they are a different hybrid or just vegetables picked immature.  I had butternut not much bigger than this little guy - delicious!

The silverbeet has been languishing for months and now suddenly took off once some zinnias sprung up beside them - new companion plant?

The rosellas are ready to pick, so I plan to try and dry them for tea - I have taken the seed out of the rosella and then dried some petals in the sun. I find inside the car one of the best places for drying teas (and raising bread dough)

 I have an idea that I would like to try to make rosella "tea flowers"  insert a slice of ginger in place of the seed, but leaving the flower whole and dry them together to make rosella ginger tea flowers.   Tea flowers look so pretty, and are mostly made from chrysanthemums, but I thought I would try my own version. I am hosting an afternoon tea in September to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, so tea is on my mind at the moment.

Book review - Lemongrass and Ginger by Leemei Tan

I am an avid reader, and recently discovered a site where bloggers, educators and authors have the opportunity of downloading e-books to review. I haven't been making full use of my e-reader, so I jumped at the chance, and the first book I read was "Lemongrass and ginger" by Leemei Tan.  I think I am going to enjoy this new project - you have to request a book, and then post a review either on your blog or online.  I have been thinking for a while that I might like to post reviews of books I have enjoyed, so this is the first.  Once I get my HTML brain in gear these will come up on the separate tab on this blog....  the next review will be a gardening book, so stay tuned.

Leemei has a blog as well, here are the details.  

available from Amazon   (if you buy from this link I will get a little credit)

There are so many recipes here that I want to try - so many of these ingredients I grow in my own garden and that is what I really love to cook.   I do like the fact that she has included the recipes for the curry pastes in the back, as making them fresh really makes a difference to the taste..  

there are 

Malaysian dishes (I have been there and so enjoyed the foods, especially as they bring back happy memories of travelling with my two girls)

Japanese dishes (I lived there for six weeks many years ago, and one of my favourite dishes was okinomiyaki, which is included)

Indian food (my daughter has gone there - does that count?, and I have always loved Indian food - the rotis that we enjoyed in Malaysia were superb - and now I can make them in my own kitchen!)

Korean food, Vietnamese food, oh my gosh the list goes on and on. 

The recipes are all very clearly written and  use fresh simple ingredients.  This is a beautiful book!

I am going to be away for two weeks, so will post again on my return.