The (Moor)Field Guide 1
Mid Spring, October 2023 - Rose TLC, Veg Seedlings, Tom Tips & Job Lists
Welcome fellow green thumb friends to the first (Moor)Field Guide!
It is October, the second week already of a month that feels like it only just arrived. We have been travelling to visit family, hence feeling time in the garden just disappeared because it did but it was to celebrate people making half a century and that’s a great thing is it not!?! To grow old-er, to have that privilege. I am a few years off that milestone yet but it does make you think about how you’re spending your time in this life and I for one, feel very grateful that gardening is a large chunk of how I spend the time I have. It feels a worthy endeavour.
This week’s (Moor)Field Guide will focus on a few areas in particular, the Productive Garden and the Rose Garden with a fleeting glance at a couple of other bits and bobs that we’re up to. Grab a cuppa, or a wine, a comfy spot and we hope you enjoy. I have opened this first edition of the (Moor)Field Guide up to everyone but beyond that will be part of paid subscriptions and alternate fortnightly with the Garden Journal 🌱
The Productive Garden:
The productive garden is essentially the vegetable garden which also contains the cut flower garden, berry patch and the orchard. It will also soon be home to our glasshouse (footings being dug in the next fortnight), as well as a potting shed, then chooks and beehives, both of which we are missing very much since leaving our former home and garden, Little Oak.
The Veg Patch
I always get a lot of people asking me what I do when the peastraw I use to mulch or make lasagne beds with sprouts and do I mind when it does this? The answer is, absolutely not, these pea shoots are extra organic matter and nitrogen for my beds so I either turn them in and let them compost down or, as I will be doing in the veg patch next week, pull them and lay them back down where they are to become more food for the bed.
If you want to learn more about this part of the garden beyond my crude mock up and see real plans see The Productive Garden Guide, a link is provided after the orchard section below.
We are busy sowing our first seeds for the Moorfield Veg Patch ever! We are beyond excited. This month, October, for our climate zone (we are Australian BoM Zone 7 ‘sub-alpine’) we are starting the following in seed trays:
Beetroot > Cabbage > Tomatoes > Broccoli > Leeks > Capsicum > Watermelon> Zucchini > Lettuce > Pumpkin > Cauliflower > Cucumber > Spring Onion > Eggplant > Sweet Corn
Carrot, Parsnips and Potatoes sow direct
Of all the veg we grow and have grown over the years, nothing beats the tomato for us and we get rather obsessive about them. This year, given it is our first year growing them in this climate I have been somewhat restrained in the number of different varieties I am growing until I know how long the season is and any new challenges I need to learn before really going nuts but below is a list of what we are growing this year based on tried and true varieties we love and a newbie.
Toms we are sowing this year:
🍅 Periforme Abruzzese - All Rounder but used mostly for our passata and sauces
🍅 Costoluto Genovese - Used for passata and sauces.
🍅 Big Rainbow Beefsteak - A great eater as the name suggests for it’s size.
🍅 Tommy Toe (cherry) - A cherry is a must if you’ve little ones around.
🍅 ‘Uncle Tony’s’ La Stupenda - A new one for us but it looks like a goodie and I love the story.
I put a couple of Tomato Tips in last weeks Garden at Moorfield Journal: 34 in Pip’s Plant Pick which just so happened to be a tomato cos after a year of not being able to grow my own I have Tom Fever!!
But here’s a few more tips cos I’m obsessed:
🍅 Make sure your tomatoes are planted atleast 40cm apart to allow for space to grow and good ventilation. Tomatoes can get all kinds of diseases and air circulation is really important for healthy tomatoes. Do not let the lower leaves sit on the soil.
🍅 Consistent watering is very important with tomatoes. Too much will result in flavourless, floury tomatoes and yelllowing/wilting leaves and affect the overall health and vigor of the plant. Too little water, or erratic watering, will result in poorly developed fruit, split fruit and blossom end rot (this can also be due to a lack of calcium in the soil which I mentioned in the journal tips, or too much nitrogen which causes the tomato not to be able to take up the calcium).
🍅 Ensure they are in nutrient rich soil and full sun 🌞 This increseases their flavour.
🍅 I use to add biochar and blood and bone to tomato beds along with the compost and a little composted manure just to ensure the soil was the healthiest it could be. The beds where we planted them were very hard working and inside a polytunnel which got extremely hot, so could easily be depleted in a season. Biochar also helps to improve soil structure, microbial abundance and therefore, health and moisture retention.
The Berry Patch
I haven’t been doing much in this back area of the veg garden where we are creating the berry patch, after some good glugs of seaweed solution every fortnight for a month or so, the bare berry canes have all come up, which is I am thrilled about as a couple were looking like they may not. We have bought some steel rods from a local fabricator and by the next time I send you a (Moor)Field Guide, they will be installed and i can share some pics with you. It’s a cheap and easy way to make a support that you can then begin to manage what will become a rather unruly plant that is worth all the training for bowls and bowls of berries.
The raspberry beds are different again and will be a much more involved trellis, think timber and wire, and by the next edition I will have some sketches for you of what we will create for them. They are moving slower than the other four berry types so we have a bit more time up our sleeve with them. FYI The berries we grow in the 4 individual beds are Boysenberry, Tayberry, Silvanberry and Loganberry and the raspberries we grow are Nootka and Autumn Bliss, a combination of two varoeties that will ensure our fruiting season runs all summer and autumn.
The Cut Flower Garden
While the Asiatic Liliums are in the cut flower beds, the first flowers to be planted, I am waiting on putting the dahlias in which are happily sprouting away in their pots in the nursery area nearer the house. I have been told to wait until after Cup Day here in Vic to put them in the ground but I have it on good authority by a flower farmer here, who deals with the same heavy frosts we do, that she plants hers out mid to late October. I am not sure what to do yet and tbh will probably end up so busy with everything else we’re doing they won’t end up going in until after Cup Day anyway.
Sowing ‘Annuals’
As well as the Asiatic Liliums and the Dahlias, the cut flower garden is also a place to indulge my love of certain annual flowers.
I purchased most of my Cut Flower Garden seeds through a grower who I have followed for a long time and who I greatly admire and she is known as Sam and the Wild Violet Flower Farm and you can follow these links to her Website and Instagram I absolutely adore her range and she is such a fantastic grower.
Here’s a few of the annuals I have sown this year and am most excited about:
🌸 Cosmos ‘Double Click Bicolour Pink’
🌸 Teasal
The Orchard
The 1 year old orchard is entirely overgrown and we need to get a jump on the brushcutting AGAIN (spring growth is relentless), despite it having been done only a couple of weeks ago, so we can work in it safely 🐍 We need to weed the mulch rings (a circle around each tree, diameter 80cm, clear of grass and weeds) and put down composted manure, a slow release organic pellet fertiliser and mulch with the compost from our big orchard bay..…..which is a job I feel like I’ve said I’d get to every week for the last 3!
The new trees gone in this spring are covered in new growth or are starting to show signs of waking up and last years plantings are well on their way.
Our Care Plan:
Mid Spring - Once we have finished putting down compost and composted manure and an organic pellet for each tree and mulched, we will liquid feed with a diluted seaweed solution.
Late Spring/Early Summer - We will liquid feed again but with an organic liquid feed for fruiting, to help support growth. If our trees were more mature, fruit development would be our focus but they are too young so we will pick them all off and allow the trees to concentrate on root development.
For more detailed information on The Orchard, CLICK HERE and for more detailed information on The Productive Garden, CLICK HERE. These are working guides and are updated as the garden areas grow.
The Rose Garden:
Rose gardens, as you may or may not know, are busy places come early Spring with lots to do.
Our Spring Rose Garden Routine:
Established roses love having had a good prune this time of year (if you haven’t done this in winter, do it now unless it is already too hot where you live) and treatment for any disease or pests that will show up as the weather warms (Rose Pruning & Treating Guide HERE 101 & How-To Video HERE)
Established, or newly planted roses love a good spring feed, a nice layer of new compost and/or composted manure and a good cover of mulch (we stick to nitrogen fixing mulches, like peastraw) to help them produce those big blooms and trap any winter moisture left in the ground to use as the weather gets dryer (Rose Planting and Feeding 101 HERE)
We’ve also used late winter and early spring to lift and divide beneficial insect attracting perennials planted in the rose garden last season which have established enough to separate into new “FREE” plants.
Rose Pruning Tip: If you do decide to prune late cos let’s be honest….life, make sure you water the roses well in the coolest part of the day to begin with to ensure they’re not already stressed with a diluted seaweed solution and only if the day is not going to get above 30 degrees. This can help them manage the stress of the prune. Make sure you do the soil work of compost, composted manure and mulching also, to ensure they come back healthy and you don’t put them on the backfoot for a harsh summer early.
Rose Mulching Tip: Avoid mulching roses with pine bark, saw dust or mulch containing eucalyptus waste, as it is too acidic, it changes the pH of the soil and can create ‘Nitrogen Drawdown’, whereby roses are starved of nitrogen which they need, as do the microorganisms which take up the nitrogen from the soil below to help them breakdown woody matter.
How we use woodchip/tree waste in the garden: We use woodchip as composting paths to act as insulation to beds and add more microorganisms and mycelium to our garden. They are slowly broken down/compost down thanks to those microorganisms and add to the health of garden areas, especially when first created or where excavation has occured and topsoil lost BUT we ensure our roses, especially those growing along the borders have a heavier dose of composted manure to deal with the potential Nitrogen Drawdown. 💩
A few of the best beneficial insect attracting plants for rose gardens:
Agastache ‘Liquorice’ - Grow from seed or in pots. Most of ours come from Antique Perennials whihc are sold through our local nursery and onsite at their nursery. Agastache originated in the prairies of the US and is member of the mint family, and I adore the smell of their foliage.
FULL SUN 🌞 WELL DRAINED SOIL 💦 PREFERS ENRICHED SOILS 💩 DROUGHT TOLERANT 🥵 ATTRACTS HOVERFLIES, BUTTERFLIES, BEES & MORE 🦋
FLOWERS - EARLY SUMMER > LATE AUTUMN
LOOK GREAT WITH……
ACHILLEA, ROSES, ECHINACEA, ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, SEDUM, ECHINOPS.
Nepeta ‘White Cascade’ - Grow from seed or in pots. Establishes quickly and is easy to divide. We grow the above variety as well as blue nepeta’s,“Walker’s Low”, on the edges and “Six Hills Giant”, inside the bed.
FULL SUN 🌞 WELL DRAINED SOIL 💦 PREFERS ENRICHED SOILS 💩 DROUGHT TOLERANT 🥵 ATTRACTS BUTTERFLIES, LADYBUGS, BEES & MOTHS 🦋 REPELS APHIDS 🪲
FLOWERS - SPRING > AUTUMN
LOOK GREAT WITH……
ACHILLEA, ROSES, ECHINACEA, ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, SEDUM, ECHINOPS.
Achillea ‘Pineapple Sorbet’ - Grow from seed or in pots. Establishes over a season and is ready to start dividing by the following season easily.
Also known as ‘Yarrow’, we also grow, ‘Salmon Beauty’ (Long Border) and ‘Credo’ (Dry Pool Garden) - avoid White Achillea as it is very weedy.
FULL SUN TO PARTIAL SHADE 🌞 ⛅️WELL DRAINED SOIL 💦 TOLERATES POOR SOIL, DOES WELL IN, IN ENRICHED SOILS ALSO 💩 DROUGHT TOLERANT 🥵 ATTRACTS LADYBUGS, HOVERFLIES & LACEWINGS 🐞 REPELS MOSQUITOS AND SOME OTHER FLYING INSECTS 🦟
FLOWERS - SUMMER > AUTUMN
LOOKS GREAT WITH…..
EREMURUS, AGASTACHE, ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, HELENIUMS, RUDBECKIA, SALVIA, IRIS, ECHINACEA.
Going forward into hot weather…
Our year feels like it will heat up quickly and spring will soon be dryer and hotter than normal, so I will be watching for stress on the roses.
🧂 Ensure you don’t over-fertilise in Spring. Follow the directions on your organic pellet fertiliser and don’t do it more than you need to, this goes for said dry pellets and liquid feeds, this can ‘salt’ the soil. We only feed in spring ONCE with both dry and liquid organic fertilisers and if we get a cooler day or overcast day in summer I might do a diluted seaweed solution. The trick is to ensure you have composted, fed and mulched well in the spring, each year and soil health will soon do a lot of the work for you.
🪲 PEST ATTACK! Hot conditions or dryer, warmer than usual conditions can cause higher than normal pest numbers, and in some cases, infestations, so, firstly, don’t freak out and look at the following:
Do you need to plant more beneficial insect attracting plants next spring? Look at when they flower, do you have spring, summer and autumn covered?
Remember stressed plants attract more disease and more pest problems. Did you overfeed? Underfeed? Does the soil need some work? Are they waterlogged, or too dry?
Then look at treatments but only if you get a break in the heat. Heat and pest/diseased stressed plants can’t always handle being bombarded with treatments, even if organic, in the middle of a blistering day. If using a store bought treatment, read the label and follow instructions carefully.
🌬 Wind! Spring often brings strong winds, summer too and wind can dry out soil really quickly especially in already hot conditions. I try not to waste water as we are on rainwater here, (we have a bore but don’t use it) and some dam water but not in the height of summer when that water, like all water sources becomes increasingly precious. If you’ve done the soil work and good mulching, the roses should be coping, even on these days.
💦 Watering. If you do have to water, DEEP WATER first thing in the morning before the heat gets up, or if you water last thing in the evening be sure not to wet the foliage as it will not get a chance to dry out and this will invite disease. Deep water means you give each rose a decent “deep” drink, anything less will waste the water as it will only evaporate, water at the trunk where there is a gap in the mulch so as not to lose half the water to the mulch and it not make the root system. With good soil work and good prep re-summer, you shouldn’t need to do this too often and if you do and can’t due to water shortage or not wanting to be wasteful, let them suffer a bit, roses are tough, they’ll come back when the weather eases.
Something Useful:
Recently I was informed by a Senior Rose Consultant at David Austin Roses in the UK, that Australia now has it’s own dedicated David Austin site. As there is always a bit of confusion, especially with those new to growing DA’s, which are actually available in Australia, as not all are, this site lists them, their recommendations and stockists and online suppliers, though they’re sold far and wide and are in most nurseries and garden centres in this country.
Visit www.davidaustinrosesaustralia.com
PS If anyone knows where I can get my hands on ‘Wildeve’ and ‘Anne Boleyn’, let me know!?!?
What do you guys want to know?
The Living Pergola - What are they? And how do you create them?
A request from one of our reader’s this week was in regards to our 6 x London Plane Trees planted in “The Green Room” garden area, here at Moorfield and our slowly turning them into a Living Pergola.
So, what is a Living Pergola?
Well, it is essentially a pergola like any other used to entertain or relax under out of the sun but it is alive, in that it is formed using trees or robust climbers. It is a beautiful choice for any style garden.
How do you create them?
The tree or robust climber you decide to use is trained over a number of years, it can take up to 3-5 years to look how you envisioned depending on the maturity of the trees for example when you buy them. Wisteria’s are very fast growing so can be a good example if you want something to establish quickly. The tree or climber you choose is important because not all species are suited to such a an endeavour.
A few popular choices are:
🌳 London Plane Trees
🌳 Maple Trees
🌳 Tilia Trees
🌳 Wisteria Climbers
What to do:
🔨 A framework is usually set up along the trunk as it grows to keep them straight and all growth removed from the trunk except for the crown which you want to grow and spread.
🔨 A wire or steel framework support is also used to shape and hold the canopy as it grows and this forms the ceiling/roof of your pergola.
🔨 Generally 4 to 6 specimens are used to create a living pergola but you can always use more if you need a longer space. You need to consider how far apart you are planting them, we have planted 1.5m apart and also the height of the crown or ceiling.
Pip’s Tip: I let my London Plane trees establish for one year in the ground before cutting the growth off them up to the crown as they were quite advanced when I bought them and their root systems pretty overcrowded and there were signs of stress on the leaves. Once they were looking healthy and settled this spring, I made the chop. I will let the top fill out this spring and then start to train next spring. As we create the supporting structure we will share that information also.
Quick Bits…
Planting Combo Snapshot:
Location - Long Border
Elements - Colour > Texture > Shape > Contrast > Food > Habitat
Overall ‘Long Border’ Colour Story - Rich Maroons/Burgundies > White and Off-White > Peaches > Mauve and Blues > Soft Pinks.
Salvia ‘Shangri-La’
Kniphofia ‘Zambia’
Salvia ‘canariensis var. candidissima’
Good Garden Reads:
I stumbled across this article on social media and it is everything that myself, and many others, have been banging on about for years and what you as gardeners have probably suspected. Jump on and give it a read.
Follow the link below:
I am also excited to start reading ‘The Well Gardened Mind - Rediscovering Nature in the Modern World’ by Sue Stuart Smith, which I have just ordered for myself.
Off my shelf….
Here’s a favourite and I think you’ll love it too, if you love………..Naturalistic Plantings (and just ridiculously beautiful gardens).
And yes, Tom and Sue, are husband and wife. Tom is one of the world’s leading garden designers and Sue, is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist - so both are well versed in the making of gardens and the affect gardening and being in nature can have.
Last years cuttings from the non-invasive privet hedge are proper little plants now that I have popped them into an area I am currently using for growing on so they can get nice and established before we plant them out in their new home next winter. The Garden at Moorfield Journal: 22 has a “how-to” on taking semi-hardwood cuttings from our young, non-invasive privet hedge, to learn more CLICK HERE.
The Next (Moor)Field Guide will be in your inboxes Friday 27th of October and will feature:
✍️ 2023/2024 Veg Patch Crop Rotation Plan, the how and why?
✍️ Veg seedling watch and some seed sowing tips and pics
✍️ Reading leaves - what different colours and patterns tell you about your plants
✍️ Tom and Dahlia Watch
✍️ Pick of the Pumpkins - what we’ll be growing this summer.
✍️ Plans for rasberry trellising (and netting) and the other berry bed trellises
………and whatever we’ve been up to in the garden here at Moorfield.
Until then, we hope you enjoyed the (Moor)Field Guide and got some useful bits for your own gardening journey. As always, thanks for being here and happy gardening!! 💚
Pip I’m looking everywhere for the story of a visit you and your mum had to a gardening weekend maybe in Tassie in this past winter where you learnt new tricks about composting. I am just about t build a new composting bay system and wanted to see what you had learnt. Can you please point me in the right direction? Particularly looking to build walls with bales of hay/straw as the structure as I think that was what I saw in the pictures you posted. Seemed like a clever idea on our farm.
Pip, what a wonderful read! I love the new format of the Guide, just the sort of information I need ☺️ Thank you so much on the section on the living pergola! I now feel confident going out to buy my London planes. Happy gardening 👩🏼🌾