Gardening by the moon & suitcase planting

Hello dear friends & readers,

Do any of you use the lunar calendar to help with your gardening??

Back in June my friend Donna gave me a moon calendar ... it looks like this ...

Each month you set it at the date of the new moon & then work from there .... this month (in our hemisphere) I am waiting for the 10th to begin planting again ... currently I am mostly digging & weeding

I decided to try this method for 6 months & see how I went (I figured I had nothing to lose)

My vege garden has been growing prolifically since I began using the lunar calendar ... it tells when to plant all things that produce below ground (root crops, like my beetroot) 

and when to plant things that produce above ground (like my broccoli & cabbages)

slowly developing their broccoli heads

I also referred to it for when to prune my roses as last year, I experienced lots of die back

The Mr meanwhile, thinks I am completely batty & just shakes his head & rolls his eyes when I try telling him the best time to sow seed at the farm, to spray or to use liquid fert !!!!!!!!!!

The upturned wire baskets are to stop the birds eating my young plants ... my moon calendar hasn't quite figured this problem out yet!!

This week Cedric got a bit of a makeover - he was looking the worse for wear after standing outside for a whole year!!

The Op Shop provided some new/old clothes, he got a new hat & gingham scarf, & some new hair as well

He whispered to me that he was really rather chuffed with his "finding Nemo" overalls   :-)

Late last year, while shopping with my friend Sally, I bought a stool  from the Op Shop for $5.00

Finally, this week, it got a make-over . . .  a paint job, (Resenes Amulet) & a new oilcloth top

Thank You Catherine for recommending this green colour which I absolutely Love !!

I quite like my new/old stool with its freshen up  :-)

You may recall a few posts back when I helped my friend shift house & earned myself the nickname "Mrs Steptoe" for carting all her rubbish home . . . ??

Well this gorgeous red tartan rug was IN  one of the rubbish bags - this week I made a doorstop Owl from some of the wool fabric

and still have plenty left to spare  :-)

A lovely group of "oldies" doing a "country ramble" by bus bought their afternoon tea & enjoyed in the garden last Wednesday ... the sun came out, they sat & chatted, by the time they left, it was 4.30.

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Lastly I thought I would give you a bit of a "how to" on making a suitcase planter . . . yes I can hear you saying "Oh hellooo Julie ... we are not dumb ... we actually KNOW how to make a suitcase planter you foolish girl" . . . but some folk have actually asked me how to do this so (for those that already know) just scroll down to the bottom here . . .  

I loved that my suitcase still had the key with it  :-)

Take one op-shop suitcase - can be any size but do remember you will have to lift it, so filled with soil, it can get real heavy

I just use a cheap black rubbish bag to line mine - poke holes in the bottom of the bag to let water through

You will need 2 pieces of wood to hold the lid open - I just used my kindling firewood - doesn't need to be heavy duty ... now heres the tricky bit ... this depends entirely on whether your Mr is around & helpful ... if so, then ask him nicely to screw 2 small screws through from the outside of the suitcase to hold the wood in place . . .  however if (like mine) he is always busy & is always "going to get to that" then just use your hot glue gun to hold the wood in place - works fine as the soil will hold it firmly once thats in anyway

I find a couple of clothes pegs stops the liner slip sliding around

I used a bit of my mulch in the bottom for some drainage - you can use broken pots/ stones/ whichever ... then begin filling with potting mix ... then add your plants - I wanted to make a herb suitcase garden this time but flowers too look lovely - I have even seen them done with a vege selection

When full, trim your black liner around to the top of the soil & give your plants a drink ... stand back & admire your handiwork & tell yourself how absolutely magnificient you really are !!!!

Don't be tempted to overplant as they will soon grow & fill the area between the lid ... here is a pic of one I did last year with flowers

Hope the coming week brings you only good things my friends 

thanks so much for popping by - happy suitcase planting to you all :-)

much love/hugs/friendship,

Julie x0x0x