Rainwater tanks and Broccoli

The moment I sat down to write this blog someone quite nearby began using a chainsaw or some such noisy contraption. This upset the neighbour's hens so I'm typing to mechanical and animal squawking. My teeth are on edge. What began in my head as a blog about my garden may morph into a rant about the noise with full expletive accompaniment.

The Garden Whisperer and his partner gave up last Saturday to continue working on our tanks. Both of the tanks - did I mention they're enormous? - are now fully set up and plumbed to the rumpus room gutters. One of them has an overflow pipe which sits discreetly behind the rumpus room and leads to the back corner of the garden where there is nothing but rubbish and weeds. Our neighbours have fruit trees, however, in that corner so it will help water them. The other tank needs to have its overflow pipe buried underground so it will water our bottlebrushes. The pipe can't just sit in the middle the path to our garden shed. The tanks are so big, however, that I can't imagine overflow ever being an issue. Obviously, the second overflow pipe is the next thing on the agenda. We're getting a pump for the tanks to share so The Sparky (who happens to be The Boyfriend's brother) is coming in the next week or so to put in a power point for the pump. We're also waiting for the pump itself to come into stock. By having them pumped we can attach the garden hose to the tanks and water straight from them. Of course, we haven't had anything but magnificent, dry spring weather since the tanks went in...

Meanwhile ... in the veggie patch. We were veggie patch-less for a couple of years. We built a rumpus room in the old veggie patch and didn't set up a new one until last summer. I don't really know why but we chose to set one up just outside our front door. I think because, being out the front, the dog couldn't get to it to pee. We had a bumper harvest so it's a great spot. When The Garden Whisperer first visited, he remarked on the location. He wants to expand the veggie patch but leave it where it is. The soil is good and fertile but, beyond that, we walk past it several times a day on our way in and out. Husband, a self-confessed black thumb, cannot walk out without a small detour to the veggie patch to check things out. He knows when it needs water and which veggies are doing what.

At the moment we have spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce growing. Each time he leaves home Husband lovingly checks the broccoli. We love broccoli in our house and cannot wait to eat it. He went out for several hours on Sunday and, in his absence, I fertilised the patch. Upon his return, he remarked on it. There is nothing that escapes his notice in the veggie patch. I've never seen him get remotely excited by growing veggies before but moving the patch has made all the difference.

Cheers.