It’s wet wet wet at my place today. This is the view outside my writing room window.
I do love this weather. There’s no wind (I hate wind) and the rain is steady and gentle and very very persistent! Great for the garden.
I’m working on my Butterfly House book, trying to incorporate my Escape Publishing editor’s feedback. I have too many point of views (story of my life!) As usual, that objective editorial eye helps bring out the best in my writing and I know this new version, and the further stories I plan for Butterfly House, will be better for it.
In a break I’ve also been gardening, throwing fertiliser around. My hubby is convinced the best fertiliser for natives is blood and bone. (He read it in a book somewhere). I’ve been very careful with fertiliser on our natives because even though I followed the instructions, I know I overdid it last year. Nothing here has been fertilised since September… so if everything curls up and carks it… you know who will be in the firing line for these blood & bone suggestions!
Whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope you’re enjoying the day.
cateellink
June 20, 2016 at 1:17 pm
Hi Miss Lily,
So glad to hear your words are flowing with the rain!
I’m putting my soilsy hat on here to say that natives don’t like lots of fertiliser, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. And I’m guessing that on WA’s light sandy soils, they’ll like even less because they’ll be used to less. And if you were on heavier soils in SA and used to chucking out fertiliser fairly heavily, then go light, light, light with your spreading 🙂 Blood and bone is still pretty high in nutrients, so go lightly even with that. You might be able to get native plant fetiliser that’s lower in nitrogen and phosphorus and more suited to your garden – you could ask at your local rural produce store they’ll probably have something. (That’s my 2 bob’s worth, and it’s not even Wednesday 🙂 )
Write well, Butterfly House girl!
Cate xox
Lily Malone
June 20, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Hi Cate, you can visit me here in any hat and on any day.
I did go very lightly with the blood and bone. I hope to heck it’s okay as I put out a full bag, must be close to 20kg, over our half acre garden. I know the slow release fertiliser you mention and was using that last year, and since we moved here – but that’s what I think I went too hard on, even tho doing it at manufacturers recs. So I haven’t fertilised at all for about 9 months now. But we are on sand (meaning – yellow brickie’s builders sand) the block has a lot of fill and I don’t do anything with the natives bar plonk them into this sand… so I feel they must need a little bit of help, I’d just like to get the balance right. Will have to see what happens from now. Lots of rain overnight to wash it in. Watch this space. 🙂