If at first you don't succeed ...

Over the past few weeks I've watched a lot of YouTube, learning how to divide and re-pot various plants as part of my back verandah revamp.  We sit out there often, particularly during autumn and winter, so I wanted to reclaim the area (which had become a bit of a dumping ground).

More appropriate furniture was sourced via the FaceBook marketplace and my dried out herb garden re-instated. The rear deck is once again a very pleasant place to sit, watching our bird visitors and generally relaxing.

I had limited success with my vegie gardening efforts last year - and obviously didn't bother documenting those failures!  (Trust me, you didn't miss much)!

Our local library runs "learning for life" events though and the most recent one I attended was presented by a well respected gardener.

He stressed to us the importance of not giving up - so I'm trying again, now that the weather is less hot and my motivation is re-kindled.

Two varieties of beans were planted in the corrugated metal raised bed.  Cherry tomatoes are in the large, black plastic pot. 

Bunnings had a promotional sale on the modular garden bed, which seemed a good idea.  It's been placed over last year's longer bed, then filled with a mix of garden soil improver and mushroom compost.  I was sure I'd calculated the volume of the beds accurately but have enough soil and compost to do another one, perhaps down the track when I see some evidence of sprouting seeds.

I started a spreadsheet last year to record what had been planted, when and where.  I wanted to track germination times and harvesting notes.  I've noted my recent plantings and have fingers crossed for positive outcomes!

In just about every rental property we've lived in, we have inherited gardening challenges from the previous tenants.  "Compost" bins or heaps have regularly included large and small rubbish, plastics and other non-organic matter.  This house had a number of overgrown, old and deteriorated pots.  Erin re-potted some plants soon after our arrival.  More recently (after a lot of YouTube instruction) I've divided and re-potted a flowering snake plant, some aloe vera and an orange lily (perhaps clivia).  I'm hoping they all appreciate my efforts!