Garden share collective - July already
I always look forward to this season, it is cooler, the humidity is gone, and I can grow "normal" vegetables in my tropical garden. We have had an usual amount of rain this year - it seems as though the wet season is starting later in the year and then continuing on later. Of course that means it is cloudy a lot of the time, and things need sunshine to grow. I suppose we cant have it all ways.
I have been re-thinking the perrenial asparagus bed. The only asparagus plant that has been satisfactory has been the purple asparagus, and I have tried to start more plants from seed with little success. The green asparagus is incredibly skinny, so I think I will eventually pull them out. I have popped a few tomato plants in between them for now. .
Out in the front fruit salad alley has a name tag. :) I moved both the lemon and the lime tree into the line-up. The pomegranate was re-potted into a bigger pot. The mulberry has been suffering with some kind of disease, and I sprayed it with my new organic bug spray which did nothing. In the end I chopped it right down and will see what happens next. The citrus trees are enjoying the full sun and putting out lots of new leafy growth.
My first passionfruit is forming, so hopefully soon we will be eating some fruit from fruit salad alley.
My cucumbers were the first crop of this season and they are still going strong. I made some pickles last night, and realized I dont have a pot high enough to water bath them, so they are in the fridge. How long can you keep them in the fridge unopened?
I have noticed a little bit of mildew on the lower leaves, so I might give it a bit of a spray with some milky water. These are growing on the edge of the asparagus bed. One thing I add to the asparagus bed that I dont put on the rest of the garden is fresh seaweed, and now I am wondering if that is worth adding every now and then as a mulch to the rest of the garden. The paths are nice and clear now that the rosellas have been removed. Along this fence I have purple podded beans and snow peas. With a row of lettuces in front of them. I am trying some seeds a workmate gave me - Darwin lettuce. rocket is doing well as are the spinach which I am constranly picking. I think I will let them go to seed eventually as I have never had any type of spinach do so well in this climate.
Out in the front fruit salad alley has a name tag. :) I moved both the lemon and the lime tree into the line-up. The pomegranate was re-potted into a bigger pot. The mulberry has been suffering with some kind of disease, and I sprayed it with my new organic bug spray which did nothing. In the end I chopped it right down and will see what happens next. The citrus trees are enjoying the full sun and putting out lots of new leafy growth.
To do:
The main thing to do this month is to keep up the watering with a little bit of help from some organic fertilizer and seaweed and charlie carp.
I will also keep sowing seeds so that I have a continual harvest of leafy greens.
I have my brother and his wife visiting next month so I want to make sure the garden is overflowing with yummy goodness.
I am linking to the lizzie for the Garden share collective and understand there will be different hosts
Garden Share collective
Off to go and see what everyone else has been doing this last month.
I have my brother and his wife visiting next month so I want to make sure the garden is overflowing with yummy goodness.
I am linking to the lizzie for the Garden share collective and understand there will be different hosts
Garden Share collective
Off to go and see what everyone else has been doing this last month.
Your garden is looking great, and I am so envious that you can grow passionfruit!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing what you grow in New Zealand - yummy cauliflower!
DeleteI love Fruit Salad Alley. Lovely to hear you are having a good spinach crop. I love having lots of it to add to meals. Have a great month.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of tropical greens that people call spinach, and a lot of them are very slimy, but this is amazing, will definitely let some go to seed as I want to grow more of this stuff!
DeleteHope you get some kiwifruit! Garden looks great :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could grow kiwifruit, but think they like a bit of cold weather.
DeleteThe garden looks wonderful! I love the name "fruit salad alley", so clever. I've just left my Vancouver garden behind for the summer in E but hope to come back to potatoes, tomatoes, leeks, celery root and a few other late season veggies. Oh well, for now my children have a wonderful (and free) harvest all summer. That plant in the white pot at the front fruit salad alley, is that a night blooming cereus? I love those. My grandfather used to grow one and when I was a child, I got to stay up past my bedtime to see the blooms. Well, hope your summer is wonderful and big hugs for a nice week ahead. Lovey to catch up with you a little. :D
ReplyDeleteLucky you Veronica, heading off to Europe while the weather is sitll nice over there. My daughter in Germany was complaining of the heat - (they did a cycling tour between three breweries)! The cactus looking plant is a dragon fruit - it does have a similar bloom, and the most delicious fruit. They get rather large and I hope I have allowed enough room for it!
DeleteI would not of thought that terracotta pots would work in far north QLD due to the heat and sun however a few of your fruit trees don't look too bad. I love that you have signage in the garden, it is the sort of thing I would of loved to do in the garden buy hubby overrules my organisation skills. Enjoy the cooler days and lack of rain, see you next month.
ReplyDeleteLizzie,
DeleteI cannot grow in the ground there as I am worried the roots will interfere with our very old drainge/ septic system. I do have to keep up the watering, but they love the sunny location. I used the wrong paint on my sign, so will have to get some better paint.
I love your fruit salad alley. What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I look forward to the day when one can walk alongside with your salad bowl.....
DeleteWas your green asparagus in full sun? I'm so thrilled for you - you have a papaya tree!! I so love papaya. My favorite fruits are papaya and mangos. Can't get them here in sunny California - too hot for them. And they cost a fortune if you find them. With the next batch of pickles try a recipe for refrigerator pickles - they're yummy. Thanks so much for sharing your garden. It's so nice to see green.
ReplyDeleteThe green and purple were in full sun, but I think most of the green plants were females. Yellow Papaya grow like weeds here, but my red papaya has been carefully cultivated, and is heavy with fruit - yum. Yes I think I will look up a different recipe next time as I only make a small quantity at a time anyway.
DeleteLove your garden. As to the pickles. If your brine is at least 50:50 vinegar to water, they should keep for months in the fridge. I often make refrigerator pickles that don't get cooked at all and aren't canned. I just make up a brine with spices and plop in the cucumbers as they become available. They are best after about a week as they need to pick up the seasonings, but you can eat them earlier.
ReplyDeleteOh well I am all set then with the pickles, and luckily we just got a new fridge so I have plenty of room.
DeleteNice work. What I wouldn't do for a cucumber right now. Well, I won't buy one, but I'd love to be growing one. Won't happen in our winter, but I can wish.
ReplyDelete'fruit salad alley ' - i love it! beats my 'kitchen windown walkway', much more romantic.
ReplyDeleteyou've been busy re-organising and tidying up - it's a good feeling to get in and do that kind of work, isn't it?
You really are a wonderful gardener. Such a small space and such excellent results.
ReplyDeleteAbout those pickles ... If you want to use tall jars and they will not fit the pan well, there are a few options.
I understand, although I have not done it, that it is possible to sterilise jars in the oven.
Try reading this http://www.taste.com.au/delicious/article/ask+valli/sterilising+jars,342 and this http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-sterilise-jars
I am a bit dubious about the dishwasher method?!?
I have boiled jars and lids but I hate trying to get them out of the pan.
I have successfully used a spray sterilising solution that I bought from a home brew shop.
Previously I used a solution from the same shop that I had to soak the jars and lids in. My son liked home brewing and he had used this stuff on beer bottles.
I have not had any of my homemade chutney go mouldy or horrible, and I store it on the shelf until opened.
Check with your local CWA ladies, especially the really old ones.
Oh Louise, I have my fair share of failures! I did sterilize the bottle and lids in the oven, and I never used to do a water bath for any of my preserving. At one stage I had a pressure cooker and used to can freshly caught salmon and tuna - yum. (That was when we lived on a boat) I guess you get out the habit and then start to question yourself. silly really.
ReplyDelete