This week we went to Bunnings again!!... though unintentionally. We went to the markets for the week's fruits and veges and then decided to go to the shops after to do some shopping. But in Perth, Sunday trading starts at 11am... and we got to the shops at 10am. So all that was open was Bunnings and we ended up spending heaps of money there. Can't say I don't love Bunnings more and more even though it's mostly tools and stuff in there. But someone new to gardening like me, there are heaps of plants and tools you can get from there. And this week, we have added three new plants to the family!
This beautiful tiny strawberry plant is one of our latest addition to the vege patch family. I've been wanting to get a strawberry plant for a while but the first time we went and bought all these plants and ran out of money so we had to forgo it. Second time, both Bunnings we went to, ran out of them. Seems like third time's the charm!!
Next up is this beautiful aloe vera plant. This is another plant I've been wanting to get for a while. I get tanned very easily, so I don't get sunburnt very often. My boyfriend on the other hand needs a fair amount of sunscreen when we go to the beach in summer and sometimes if he forgets he would get burnt. Applying aloe vera onto burnt areas soothes the skin. Taking the juice internally is also very good. So once the plant gets bigger we are going to pluck a few and juice it!
Last but not least, a lavender plant. I was going to say that it doesn't really fit in the vege patch because it's not edible... but you can make lavender tea! That is an exciting thought! With our food dehydrator, I can not only make potpourri but also lavender tea! And who knows, maybe a bit more googling and I'll find more cool things to do with my lavender! Just like I found out I could use cauliflower and broccoli leaves to juice and make chips! Going to pluck some leaves once I get home since they are overtaking the vege patch.
As you can see, our capsicum plants are growing quite well. Capsicums are finally sprouting! The seedlings we bought are a mix of the long and bulb ones. So hopefully they will give us some red, green and yellow capsicums of different shapes and sizes!
This is what our vege patch currently looks like. It is pretty overgrown down the back because that's where the cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage are. Their leaves are growing so big, bigger than a palm! So my boyfriend had to reorganise a few of the cauliflowers... dig them up and replant them as they were overshadowing our capsicums.
The snails are coming back so we had to get some snail pellets to get rid of them. When we first started, some of our crops were so damaged, they are only just repairing themselves now. Next time, I will show you how well our chives and kale have grown. There is also one baby cauliflower that is growing back into the seedling that we brought back. It was so badly eaten by the snails that it was just stems left. Compared to the other cauliflowers, it is so tiny my boyfriend couldn't believe that it's a baby cauliflower plant.
