…the garden grows quickly.
I thought it was a good time to give you all a veggie patch update, as a lot has changed since you saw it on Vasili’s Garden. You would have seen me harvest all the broad bean, but have not seen what I replaced them with and all the other stuff I have planted. A big kiss to Kim who took all the photos whilst I was at work.
So let me take you all on another journey.
Loganberries, getting fat and juicy. I will have to net them soon. Did you know that this is the first crop I have had out of this bush. It didn’t fruit last year, so hence I have never tasted Loganberries. Looking forward to the day we pick them. There must be about 200 on the bush.
Kim keeps promising me apple and rhubarb crumble. Well honey, here is the rhubarb!
The garlic is just beginning to yellow. This time last year, I had harvested the garlic and had it drying in a basket. Lots of rain, so I hope that this means big fat bulbs.
Nasturtiums and Strawberries. I have found by chance that the slugs are staying away from the strawberries this year, because of the close proximity of the peppery nasturtiums. Obviously a good companion pair.
Lots and lots of Strawberries in both pots.
This was the broad bean patch. It now contains Tomatillos, Tommy Toe tomatoes, Amish paste tomatoes and Basil.
A better shot of the Basil. Funny story, I bought the basil in the supermarket in the herb section. It still had the roots attached, so I took a chance and repotted two thirds of it, put it in the greenhouse, and low and behold, it took off. I put it in the bed last week and it is doing fine.
The onions are massive. My best crop ever. I am going to have to knock them over to get them to die off. I already pinched out all the flower heads.
The onion forest.
A bed of zucchini, cucumbers and spinach. It also has 3 beetroot that I waiting for the seed to set.
The old cabbage patch, which is now the pumpkin patch again. It is the perfect place for it because there is so much room to sprawl. I added two big buckets of sheep poo to this bed and dug it all in a week before I planted.
The iron snail pellets are working a treat, with only a loss of 2 plants out of 20 so far. I put in Australian Butter, Queensland Blue, Turks Turban, and Butternut.
The wicking bed is still going strong after two months harvesting. We are now eating every plant including the celery. None of the lettuces have gone bitter, and I only water this bed via the tube once a week.
The repurposed frame is working wonders. The Lazy Housewife beans have really taken off. This bed has had a mountain of chook poo mixed in over the last year. A very convenient place to dump it.
A bean stalk close up.
Still harvesting the winter rainbow chard, and giving the occasional leaf to the chooks as greens.
Zucchinis already! I could not believe it that we have to think about eating these so soon. We love them so much we have 3 plants in this side of the garden, and 3 more on the west side. I know some neighbours who will soon grow tired of them!
Zucchini abundance and goodness! I love those flowers.
Last but not least, the entire chook side veggie bed. The earwig traps sure did work in this bed. Even the sunflowers are going tall and strong.
I still have lots of tomato seedlings in the green house to plant out when the garlic and onions are finished, and will even pop in some baby corn which I will let grow into pop corn. A few more sunflowers will fill up the beds as well.
“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~Mirabel Osler
I will try your trick with the strawberrys and the Nasturtiums. My grandmother taught me to tie the onions and garlic to produce a larger bulb. You just take two or three of the plants closest together and tie them in a knot. Not too tight, just enough that they will stop growing and put that energy into the bulb.
She was a great garderner and raised all her 7 children during the war in greece buy what ever she could produce.
Wow – it is looking absolutely wonderful. Those onions! Are you doing a standard wicking bed or one that has a worm farm integrated as well? I am pretty tempted to transform my raised beds into wicking beds. I am also about to harvest my garlic -although am a bit nervous as the rain in Sydney has been relentless.
I did n’t know that about strawbs and nasturtiums, I have loads of the latter but none of the former this year. And I put two earwig traps in yesterday…tally so far, 1 earwig, 2 slaters and 2 cockroaches, yuck! So they work, lol, less roaches is a good thing too.
Fantastic! What is almost as good as having your own garden growing and thriving… seeing someone else’s coming to life and imagining their future abundances!
Fantastic! What is almost as good as having your own garden growing and thriving… seeing someone else’s coming to life and imagining their future abundances!
How did you get zucchini so soon, I started pretty early but mine are only just flowering now. I do have crook necked squash though which are just as good I think.