Veggie garden and flood report in May

The bugs are quite prolific at this time of year, and I wonder whether growing Asian greens is feasible.  I grew a type of Japanese cabbage Tokyo belkana- I have no idea what it tasted like because it was just reduced to slush by some caterpillars.  Might be cabbage moth as there are lots of little moths flying around.  I dumped it all into the compost - hope they don't breed in there.. ..  the bok choy is also getting attacked, so I just pick the leaves as soon as they are almost big enough - seems to be working. My garlic and chili spray seems to attract them... sigh. I see cucumbers in our future though -


 some ready to eat...  I love to pick them right out in the garden and munch on them while I carry on working.  I might have to research the recipe for bread and butter pickles as it looks as though this is going to be a good crop.
I also have rosellas!  I had them once preserved whole in a jar, and you put one into a champagne flute and then filled it with bubbly - very addictive!  I will have to look for a recipe for preserved rosellas - anyone have one?   I imagine it would be the same as preserving any fruit in a light syrup.
 The herb spiral is doing well, and I love the colorful zinnias and the cosmos in the vegetable garden.  Hopefully they will all attract beneficial insects.
lots of them.
I am loving the winged beans - they will definitely have a permanent place in my garden.  I find the bigger ones need to have the strings removed, and then just lightly steamed they are lovely.  Some other recipes I am wanting to try are Thai style with coconut and chili and also straight on the barbecue  - the same way I love to cook eggplant, and mushrooms, and lots of other veggies.
I have lost a few beans and tomato plants to wilt - obviously still a huge problem in my soil.
After writing this post yesterday it started to rain and this morning I am flooded in - 300mm overnight!  I hope my poor veggies survive their roots being drowned!
some views of the side garden
 Under this river you can see the paving stones for my path :)
It just continues to fall
 The paths between my veggie beds look like lakes.  I thought the wet season was over!
I am going to hunker down and make some fresh bread and lentil soup for lunch!

Comments

  1. Clint BakerFri May 25, 09:40:00 AM

    Wow! What rain that was!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MarisaFri May 25, 11:31:00 AM

    Great to see all around your garden, even in the wet. You have such a lovely range of foliage plants, but that variegated spiral ginger is still my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:11:00 PM

      Those spiral costus are probably quite confused as they normally die down in the dry season!

      Delete
  3. AmiFri May 25, 01:31:00 PM

    Hope your veggies survived the rain, although your garden looks so fresh and tropical in the rain! hmmm, picking the cucumber right off the garden and munching on it sounded so appealing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:12:00 PM

      So far so good - I do seem to have lost some little lettuce seedlings, and a cucumber that was drowned!

      Delete
  4. MaureenFri May 25, 03:03:00 PM

    It is pouring it down in Brisbane this afternoon and my plants are loving it..

    I love the champagne and Rosella idea, in fact I just love the champagne idea, now where are the car keys.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:14:00 PM

      After a pretty cloudy weekend the sun is out now so hopefully all is well. I am not a fan of champagne but the rosella makes it palatable.

      Delete
  5. RoslynFri May 25, 03:30:00 PM

    I heard Mossman copped a real soaking and thought of you. Hope it goes away soon without too much damage. Apparently there's been landslides on the Rex Range according to the news here. Strange weather for this time of year.

    Oh, and I love your idea for using the rosellas.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MLM247Fri May 25, 06:40:00 PM

    You can easily make rosella jam. Ask your local CWA members for a tried and true recipe. It is really easy. Separate the seed pod in the middle from the bit around. Keep both but keep separately. Weigh the seeds. That is how much sugar you need. Cover the seeds with water and boil. (I forget how long.) Strain. Add the water to the sepelts and sugar and boil. (Again I forget how long.) Bottle. Cool. Check with the CWA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:15:00 PM

      The ones I want to make keep the fruit whole -definitely do some more research and the CWA is a good start.

      Delete
  7. AnonymousSat May 26, 08:07:00 AM

    Those darned cabbage moths. They are a constant battle. I use a similar spray and I like to think it helps, but it's impossible to be sure. Still the best method is daily hunts and squishing of any eggs I find. Now that I have chooks I do see the caterpillars as a good thing because I pick them off and feed them to the hens and they LOVE them.

    I have never had any success with cucumbers - mine always get some sort of mould which stunts them and then something (probably the bandicoot) eats them when they get more than a few cms long.

    I've never had (or heard of) rosella. Looks yummy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:18:00 PM

      I suppose if you let the chooks search for them themselves they will dig up the roots? Well I hope everything survives their roots being flooded like that.

      Delete
  8. WallySun May 27, 12:00:00 AM

    Sorry you're having some gardening challenges, I hope the weather and the bugs start to behave themselves soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:20:00 PM

      Oh well what is life without its challenges..

      Delete
  9. Plant ChaserSun May 27, 03:23:00 PM

    Good luck with your vegetables. No root rot for you, I hope. -- Bom @ plantchaser.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:21:00 PM

      Hopefully it wasn't long enough to leave any lasting problems.

      Delete
  10. africanaussieMon May 28, 12:20:00 PM

    Oh maybe I will try wombok if they have a little resistance. I will definitely look at your recipe if I get lots of cucumbers

    ReplyDelete
  11. Malay-Kadazan girlThu May 31, 09:49:00 PM

    We probably won't see that kind of pouring rain here in Adelaide. Wow I was drooling on your cucumbers. Looks good to eat. Your rosselle is very pretty too.

    ReplyDelete

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