During the winter, there has been quite a bit of activity at the farm in Australia to expand our herb garden before spring.
With a new driveway cut to allow easy access for large vehicles to our laboratory, it has also allowed us to move fence lines and plan for a new rose garden, therefore opening up more land to cultivate new herb plots around the rose beds. Our glass house is brimming with new cuttings of roses, rose geranium and preparation is also underway for potting sage, and other succulent herbs.
In addition to the expansion we are constantly working to keep the weeds at bay by layering garden beds with compost, and mulch. This will deliver its valuable nutrients to the soil during winter so that our spring plants will thrive. Soon our 30 year old rose bushes will be pruned to encourage strong growth at the beginning of spring.
We are continuing our experiment with green manure crops that work to enrich the soil for the late winter planting of calendula.
The Australian winter gives us the water to fill our dams to irrigate our herb garden during the long dry months of summer. We are anticipating a higher than average rainfall this year, which has already begun as we eagerly watch the water levels in the dams rise each day.
With our annual organic certification audit confirmed this month, and the expansion plans for the garden now underway, we are a looking forward to the rewards in the months ahead.
Happy Gardening
The team at the Janesce farm