Sweet Potato Deal

After her talk at the Tropical Garden Spectacular (06/06/10), gardening expert Leonie Norrington, gave away free samples from her own garden of sweet potato vines and cassava stems. That is how we ended up with those plants. Thank you Leonie for your generosity!

The sweet potato went into the ground weeks ago and seems to be doing well. So much so there is a mystery sprout next to it? Which may turn out to be a rogue pumpkin seedling after all... I have my suspicions.

SPROUTING (POTATO) SWEETNESS

The cassava stem however, has been steeping in a jar of water in order to sprout roots. After several weeks, several roots began to show at the bottom and quick-growing leaves and stems pushed out from the top. I planted the cassava a few days ago, between the fence and the pumpkin patch.

CASSAVA (aka TAPIOCA)

Just a day before the cassava went in, I planted two Golden Durantas next to the fenceline. I bought these months ago for I think they would make good screening / hedging plants. These plants seem to continuously shed their leaves once they turn a bright yellow colour. Which seems to be a bit of a shame as I think the bright green leaves contrast quite nicely with the yellow.

GOLDEN DURANTAS

I dug holes for all three plants, filled them with store-bought organic compost and covered them up with soil. Liquid Power Feed was then applied liberally in order to help them survive transplant shock.

SCREENING THE FENCE

Over the last few days, my boyfriend and I have been building up the borders in which we intend to make raised garden beds. We used recycled brick pavers measuring 18 x 18 x 5 cms. I now realise why I haven't seen many gardens which use pavers to make raised beds. It is very labour intensive and also takes up a bit of space which could be a problem in suburban gardens. I also have reservations about the pavers' structural integrity after compost, fertiliser and plants are placed within the walls. But it is only through experimenting that we will find out what works and what doesn't!

GARDEN BEDS x THREE!