Towards the turn of Summer 2012, the bug bit and I absolutely HAD TO HAVE A GREENHOUSE to grow my own Winter veggies in! And we all know how that ends... in action!
After trying my hand at engineering the dimensions (surprisingly successfully), it was off to Builder's with these and a list of peripherals (including greenhouse plastic, plumbing pipe, plastic glue, hinges, handles, a new drill and all the extras).
With a little help from the muscled quarters, my box was built and shortly thereafter, I built the cover - MYSELF, hehe.
I'd been cultivating three large compost heaps from kitchen and garden waste (with a little help from a grain-based bacteria as decomposing aid) since December 2011, so I had a good base to work from. By adding a few bags of good top soil, nitrates and Canadian sparghnum (peat moss), the box was filled with a healthy growth medium.
The bad news? Not really, just... it all only really came together by the end of August (household-related priorities - including hibernation through Winter - getting in the way).
But this afforded me the opportunity to do a first plant on the full-moon Equinox of 01-09-12 by candlelight - how Pagan of me :) Something must have gone right, because within the first month, leaves were towering up to the roof of the box!
This elicited praise from my city-dweller neighbours - and no end in interest from the rural nannies and grounds staff from Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Polokwane region in seeing their field plants sprout up from my box! They were invaluable in helping me separate the weeds from the edibles - a virtual thanks to Motsidisi, Jameus and Gladys!
I'd planted the following in neatly compartmentalised zones: beetroot, radishes, Chinese cabbage, plain and Creole red onions, chantenay Karoo carrots, Swiss chard, beetroot, spring onions and as insect deterrents: marigolds and nasturtiums.
What I hadn't counted on, was the seed in my compost. So, as a FREE added extra, I gave away no less than 4 fledgling Avo trees, 15 pumpkin plants, countless Marogo (African version of spinach) plants, AND I transplanted around 10 of last season's Italian tomato creepers, bonus!
I have made a first harvest, beautifully decorated in a brown paper-lined fruit basket and donated as part of our first Summer family BBQ - felt good :) AND has inspired my well-to-do sister and her German hubby to pursue a massive greenhouse project at their Emmarentia abode, complete with the accustomed precision of the Germanic bloodlines infused in both our families!
I moved my compost boxes next to the kitchen door and vegetable greenhouse box (Summer-hazy laziness, i guess...) This time of year, the compost contains A LOT OF FRUIT.
Guess I should have known better. Anyhow, on Sunday morning, a massive swarm of bees moved in there - to the surprise of me, Leia, her BFF Atlehang and our two dogs - all streaming out of the kitchen for a morning walk... STRAIGHT INTO a grey cloud of buzzing bees!!!
Lucky for me, I had seen the spoof flick, Attack of the Killer Bees :) So I knew not to scream and bunched the girls back into the house. Even my two miniatures knew better than to play CATCH with honeybees and were uncharacteristically quick back in through the kitchen door!
After the customary recovery period in such situations, I peered outside to reconfirm that it would be a stay-at-home day. Yes, for sure. The bee-movers would only arrive the next morning, as the swarm needed time to settle into their customary honeycomb-building for their Queen.
Even in the simple act of finding a Bee remover, there was SERENDIPITY. I had met the MindFrame specialist Terry Winchester last year November, while attending a Sustainable Living Expo in Hoedspruit (of all places) with friends and Leia.
Upon returning to Jo'burg, I'd been surprised to see his practice was around the corner from my daughter's pre-school. I'd seen that a signpost there said that they sold honey. Long story short - so I immediately knew who to call when last Sunday's emergency presented itself!
Below are some pic's of the bees being removed - rather uneventful except for the guffaws from two bee removers when they saw me exit the house swathed in a jersey, head scarf and shades on a balmy Summer's morning :) Excuse the quality, but I dared not entertain the confirmations from bee experts that I could go much closer to the buzzing hive - not me, sirree!
Much as I'd love to claim it, this close-up was taken by the bee-keeper, not me! The hive was safely moved to a farm in Midrand, where - I hear - they are thriving among their own kind.
After trying my hand at engineering the dimensions (surprisingly successfully), it was off to Builder's with these and a list of peripherals (including greenhouse plastic, plumbing pipe, plastic glue, hinges, handles, a new drill and all the extras).
With a little help from the muscled quarters, my box was built and shortly thereafter, I built the cover - MYSELF, hehe.
I'd been cultivating three large compost heaps from kitchen and garden waste (with a little help from a grain-based bacteria as decomposing aid) since December 2011, so I had a good base to work from. By adding a few bags of good top soil, nitrates and Canadian sparghnum (peat moss), the box was filled with a healthy growth medium.
The bad news? Not really, just... it all only really came together by the end of August (household-related priorities - including hibernation through Winter - getting in the way).
But this afforded me the opportunity to do a first plant on the full-moon Equinox of 01-09-12 by candlelight - how Pagan of me :) Something must have gone right, because within the first month, leaves were towering up to the roof of the box!
This elicited praise from my city-dweller neighbours - and no end in interest from the rural nannies and grounds staff from Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Polokwane region in seeing their field plants sprout up from my box! They were invaluable in helping me separate the weeds from the edibles - a virtual thanks to Motsidisi, Jameus and Gladys!
I'd planted the following in neatly compartmentalised zones: beetroot, radishes, Chinese cabbage, plain and Creole red onions, chantenay Karoo carrots, Swiss chard, beetroot, spring onions and as insect deterrents: marigolds and nasturtiums.
What I hadn't counted on, was the seed in my compost. So, as a FREE added extra, I gave away no less than 4 fledgling Avo trees, 15 pumpkin plants, countless Marogo (African version of spinach) plants, AND I transplanted around 10 of last season's Italian tomato creepers, bonus!
I have made a first harvest, beautifully decorated in a brown paper-lined fruit basket and donated as part of our first Summer family BBQ - felt good :) AND has inspired my well-to-do sister and her German hubby to pursue a massive greenhouse project at their Emmarentia abode, complete with the accustomed precision of the Germanic bloodlines infused in both our families!
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
I moved my compost boxes next to the kitchen door and vegetable greenhouse box (Summer-hazy laziness, i guess...) This time of year, the compost contains A LOT OF FRUIT.
Guess I should have known better. Anyhow, on Sunday morning, a massive swarm of bees moved in there - to the surprise of me, Leia, her BFF Atlehang and our two dogs - all streaming out of the kitchen for a morning walk... STRAIGHT INTO a grey cloud of buzzing bees!!!
Lucky for me, I had seen the spoof flick, Attack of the Killer Bees :) So I knew not to scream and bunched the girls back into the house. Even my two miniatures knew better than to play CATCH with honeybees and were uncharacteristically quick back in through the kitchen door!
After the customary recovery period in such situations, I peered outside to reconfirm that it would be a stay-at-home day. Yes, for sure. The bee-movers would only arrive the next morning, as the swarm needed time to settle into their customary honeycomb-building for their Queen.
Even in the simple act of finding a Bee remover, there was SERENDIPITY. I had met the MindFrame specialist Terry Winchester last year November, while attending a Sustainable Living Expo in Hoedspruit (of all places) with friends and Leia.
Upon returning to Jo'burg, I'd been surprised to see his practice was around the corner from my daughter's pre-school. I'd seen that a signpost there said that they sold honey. Long story short - so I immediately knew who to call when last Sunday's emergency presented itself!
Below are some pic's of the bees being removed - rather uneventful except for the guffaws from two bee removers when they saw me exit the house swathed in a jersey, head scarf and shades on a balmy Summer's morning :) Excuse the quality, but I dared not entertain the confirmations from bee experts that I could go much closer to the buzzing hive - not me, sirree!
Much as I'd love to claim it, this close-up was taken by the bee-keeper, not me! The hive was safely moved to a farm in Midrand, where - I hear - they are thriving among their own kind.
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