Garlic bulbs drying before I plait them for hanging.
There are about 27 bulbs. I will wait a few more days, then wipe the remaining dirt off of them and trim off the roots. I will keep the three largest bulbs for planting next season.
These carrots were from one row. They were next to a row of parsnips and were substantially longer and larger than the row of carrots on the other side of the bed that grew next to beetroot. Food for thought for next year.
These are from the row that grew next to the beetroot. More like baby carrots, and I think I will blanch them whole and freeze them.
This strange carrot looks like a Mandrake fresh out of a Harry Potter movie!
I think this variety of Parsnip is called Hollow crown? This is the amount that grew in a single 2 metre row. Not too bad a crop. I will peel and blanch these tomorrow night as well.
I then spend the rest of the daylight hours until sunset planting 19 tomato seedlings of various cultivars. I only put 1.2m stakes next to them because I am going to stop them from growing any higher so that I can put shade cloth over the beds to protect the crop from the Summer heat.
Tomorrow night, I start the irrigation project in earnest. More photos tomorrow, and possibly a tutorial video from whoa to go. I will see how it all pans out.
Happy gardening,
Gav
Hi Gavin, Do you have a special tip for parsnips? mine seem to grow very large tops and not much root.
Every thing looks good, especially the garlic.
hi gav theve really taken off since i was there . they look really good, congrat
Hi Gavin,
I absolutely love the ‘mandrake’ carrot! Some of the best childhood memories I have are of our sporadic vege growing. About 95% of what we grew was deformed in some way, it’s very funny when your a kid! While I’m sure it didn’t happen on purpose, it was a great way to get me interested in gardening.
Thanks for the lovely moment of reminscing,
Bec.
What a good result!
Where was your garlic from? Mine has been disastrous (I bought australian organic but just from a market) very poor results.
Thinking I should have bought from diggers or similar?
🙂
Your success rate is fantastic, Gavin. I’ve been growing carrots (best year ever, but on a smaller scale than yours) and spuds (OK so far but not brilliant, not as good as last year), but I am inspired by your garlic.
Garlic has not been a total failure for me but not exactly a success story here in Sydney either. A bit wimpy so far, but it smells nice. So, I’ll give the garlic a try again next year, because I want to have a harvest like yours!
gavin, you are such an inspiration. keep up the great work! regards
kate
@ Olive. Tips for Parsnips? Well, I plant in a raised bed, and ensure that the ground is friable so that the root grows without too many obstacles. Other than that, lots of compost and chook poo in the bed before planting and just a bit of seasol and worm wee tea once a fortnight and bob’s your uncle, nice parsnips. Oh and thin them out to about 4 finger widths early in the season.
@ Dad, yes they did take off. I kept the water up to them even though we haven’t had any rain.
@ Bec. I too love strange looking vegetables, and pulling out carrots are one of my favourite delights in the garden. My son (10) thought the mandrake idea was hilarious.
@ mountainwildlife. I bought the garlic from diggers. Just two bulbs gave me all these new bulbs. I am going to plant lots more this year.
@ Jamie, thanks, and nice little garden you have yourself. I took a peek at your blog!
The garlic was so easy to grow. I just watered them when they looked a little droopy, and added lots of compost and chicken manure to the bed before planting.
@ Lyrebird, thank you very much. I don’t think I will stop gardening in a hurry. Food independence is will soon be a necessary life skill.
Live green and prosper,
Gavin
What a great crop, Gavin! Well done! 🙂
Nice strange carrot! Congratulations! You should consider entering it in the Weird Carrot Contest:
http://seeds.soggycreek.com/weirdcarrot/