Diggers

When I first got to Ballarat a couple of weeks ago I joined the Diggers Club. Or, more accurately, rejoined after a hiatus of 20 years or so.  My membership included a little welcome selection of free seeds (green beans, zucchini/courgettes, beetroot, cucumber, lettuce, stripy tomatoes) and free entry into their various gardens.

We decided yesterday to take a drive out to the nearest of the gardens to Ballarat, St Erth near Blackwood.  It's about an hour's drive from Mount Helen and the Satnav took us along country roads rather than along the freeway. It was all rather pleasant.  We didn't actually look around the gardens; it was very windy and it's a bit too early in the spring for the gardens to be particularly interesting. We'll go again in a month or so and have a potter around.  There's one not far from Mount Martha as well.  We'll go there too.  We did, however, have a lovely rummage in the shop and bought some more seeds. Rainbow silver beet/chard, black cherry tomatoes and runner beans. The Builder is very pleased about the runner beans.  You don't find them in the supermarkets here, and not all that often in the greengrocers.  Runner beans are positively his most favourite food!!!

Now all we need is a garden in which to grow our vegetably bounty.  We could, of course, grow them here at Mount Helen.  I'm sure the rabbits would love them! We are pondering trying in pots and containers and attempting to keep the rabbits off them. And The Builder is going to make me a wooden box to grow carrots in.  I don't think Mount Helen is much troubled by carrot fly, but carrots in a box up on a table or bench will definitely thwart the rabbits!

First though is to plant the seeds.  I bought some little coir seed pots at St Erth. Now I need some seed potting mix. We might try and find the garden nursery we've been to with Lindsey a couple of times.  It was some time ago so this might be another exploring challenge.

We took Sam for a walk in Buninyong yesterday afternoon when we got back from our explorations.  He enjoyed the walk and was much admired by passers by.  Having a dog to look after certainly makes sure that you get your 30 minutes of exercise a day!  It is less amusing having a dog to look after when that dog decides at 5am that it is time for everyone to be awake and definitely that it is breakfast time.  As it happens I was awake anyway when he came a-knocking on the bedroom door.  It had been raining very heavily and the combination of that and the wind had woken me at about 4:30.  I hadn't actually intended to get up at that time though. He has had his breakfast and has gone back to sleep.  We have not :-(

I think the rain has set in for a day or three.  Not sure about the doggy walks in your actual, proper rain!

Oh - and Tony has escaped from Beleura.  He's back home again, with his own bed to sleeping, his own squishy chair to sleep in, and his own kitchen table and chairs, not to sleep in.