Garden Share Collective February 2014
I am actually quite glad that this post was due because it got me out into the garden to tidy up and get ready for planting! It was 34*C with high humidity. I used mosquito repellent and sunscreen alternately as the sweat dripped. HOT, HOT, HOT.
It is a little early to be planting out for our dry season garden, but maybe I can hurry the wet season along. :)
I have been unable to post photos so will post this without and add the photos first thing Monday morning - sorry about that! Done! Check out The Garden Share Collective for more updates to veggie gardens around Australia.
Harvesting
The long green beans are quite prolific, and in fact I trimmed the vine back quite a bit to make it more manageable which seems to have given it a new lease on life. It looks straggly but you can find the beans easier. I also have a winged bean vine that has volunteered and the loofas are going mad.
Galangal is taking over the back half of the asparagus bed, and I might have to pull some of it out in order to plant out my new asparagus seedlings. Even though I grow it I have never used it - in fact I am not even sure which part to use! For now the asparagus is in pots and I will leave them. Who knew the rosemary would like lots of rain? It is reaching for the sky! Rosemary success at last!
Planting
In the comments on Rhondas Down to Earth blog during the week I saw someone mention a website that offers seeds for 1.00 a packet and free shipping. I followed it up and placed my order. What a wonderful collection, and definitely the best deal on seeds I have ever seen. The seed collection
I ordered Eggplant -Tsakoniki, Purple basil, Cos and Salad bowl lettuce, lebanese cucumber, petunia, red russian kale, warrigal greens, cherry cocktail tomatoes, evergreen bunching onions and Italian parsley. total 11.70, including shipping! It is still fairly hot and humid but I dont want to miss the chance of an early harvest, so will start a few seeds as soon as they arrive.
In the garden bed that I cleared of weeds, I added a sprinkle of lime and blood and bone, and then put down three strips of bok choy seed tape and sprinkled some lettuce seeds I saved from last year.
I have a choko in my fruit bowl that has started sprouting and I think this is the right time to be planting them, so that will be planted out - maybe against the back fence.
This plastic edging is looking quite nice along the side of the path - I wonder if I should get more?
I put some micro green seeds in my MrFothergills seed tray, and then also put some into seed raising mix as I think they might do well in a little soil. I contacted MrFothergills about that and they said some of the staff were also experimenting with that. I will keep an eye on them and see how it goes. I love the microgreens as they are ready to harvest quickly and dont seem bothered by bugs. Plus they are ultra delicious added to salads.
To do
I did collect some seaweed and spread on the asparagus bed, that will keep weeds down and give them some nourishment.
Still trying to figure out an edging solution for my veggie beds - I put the old plastic edging along the side of one bed, and like how it has turned out so might pick up more of that. As you can see my soaker hose has been repaired with electrical tape in quite a few places. I will look at getting new soaker hose or replacing it with another system.
It is a little early to be planting out for our dry season garden, but maybe I can hurry the wet season along. :)
I have been unable to post photos so will post this without and add the photos first thing Monday morning - sorry about that! Done! Check out The Garden Share Collective for more updates to veggie gardens around Australia.
Harvesting
The long green beans are quite prolific, and in fact I trimmed the vine back quite a bit to make it more manageable which seems to have given it a new lease on life. It looks straggly but you can find the beans easier. I also have a winged bean vine that has volunteered and the loofas are going mad.
Galangal is taking over the back half of the asparagus bed, and I might have to pull some of it out in order to plant out my new asparagus seedlings. Even though I grow it I have never used it - in fact I am not even sure which part to use! For now the asparagus is in pots and I will leave them. Who knew the rosemary would like lots of rain? It is reaching for the sky! Rosemary success at last!
In the comments on Rhondas Down to Earth blog during the week I saw someone mention a website that offers seeds for 1.00 a packet and free shipping. I followed it up and placed my order. What a wonderful collection, and definitely the best deal on seeds I have ever seen. The seed collection
I ordered Eggplant -Tsakoniki, Purple basil, Cos and Salad bowl lettuce, lebanese cucumber, petunia, red russian kale, warrigal greens, cherry cocktail tomatoes, evergreen bunching onions and Italian parsley. total 11.70, including shipping! It is still fairly hot and humid but I dont want to miss the chance of an early harvest, so will start a few seeds as soon as they arrive.
In the garden bed that I cleared of weeds, I added a sprinkle of lime and blood and bone, and then put down three strips of bok choy seed tape and sprinkled some lettuce seeds I saved from last year.
I have a choko in my fruit bowl that has started sprouting and I think this is the right time to be planting them, so that will be planted out - maybe against the back fence.
To do
I did collect some seaweed and spread on the asparagus bed, that will keep weeds down and give them some nourishment.
Still trying to figure out an edging solution for my veggie beds - I put the old plastic edging along the side of one bed, and like how it has turned out so might pick up more of that. As you can see my soaker hose has been repaired with electrical tape in quite a few places. I will look at getting new soaker hose or replacing it with another system.
You've been busy. You put me to shame - I've let the vegie patch go over summer. Those seeds sound like a bargain. You should have a great harvest from them.
ReplyDeleteRoz,
DeleteI was away and the whole garden was in a very sad state on my return. Dont worry it is only this little patch that I have worked on! I certainly am hoping for a wonderful harvest.
The garden is looking great. The seeds sound like a bargain. We just invested in a new hose after the sun melted the old one! It is the best investment we have made in ages, it is so much easier to water now.
ReplyDeleteKyrstie,
DeleteMy gosh - I knew it had been hot in Melbourne - but melting a hose???? You poor souls.....
i miss chokos. i think isaid that on your last garden share post :-)
ReplyDeletei was reassured to read someone else who grows something but doesn't use it. i have a huge bay tree in my garden (too huge - needs a prune back) but i rarely cook the kind of casseroles that require bay.
as always, wonderful to read gardening in a completely different climate to mine.
Last vine I only got one or two fruit - hoping to do much better this time. I thought chokos grew all over Australia.
Deletei think it's too cold down here. fi we could, dad would have worked it out - and had them going! - by now!
DeleteYou use the root part of Galangal. We had some too, so I had to look it up!
ReplyDeletethere has been a lot of discussion on a Brisbane forum about differnt plants being called glanagal, and for a while I wondered if i had the right plant. Last week I saw the rhizome of mine for sale at the local market. I will have to try it one day.
DeleteI'm so happy that your rosemary is finally doing well..... along with all the greens and new seeds to be planted, your "eatables" garden will be in fine form this year.
ReplyDeleteGosh I hope so Virginia. I have been trying to eat 9 serving of veggies a day and Hubby is a bit upset that the vegetable drawer in the fridge is not big enough to handle my veggies. It would be so much easier if they were "stored" out in the garden on the plants :)
DeleteHey my far away friend! I have been so negligent about popping over to say hello and check up on your comings and goings... I hope you can forgive me! My fibro has been beating me up the past 6 months and I am just always so darn pooped! Anyway, so you are in the midst of summer... and all that luscious green, how wonderful! Not much snow here in my part of the world, which is unusual but then it has been an unusual winter so far here in the States. I moved my blog recently over to wordpress and you can now find me at http://elisabetpollockstudio.wordpress.com if you get the chance to pop over once in a while :D I love that frog in one of your other posts, and that sunbird, well, there are no words for her beauty. You are indeed lucky to have such a little visitor every year! It will be interesting to see if the hummingbirds come back to our garden since all that logging that was done this past fall... I'm not too optimistic. Believe it or not they are still logging and my guess is that they are going to be building come spring... I am so sad about it all! *sigh* Anyway... I am loving that quilt you are working on and that you included bits and pieces from your family in it is awesome. I also love the monotone colors you chose... I look forward to seeing it completed... have you decided on the quilting pattern you will use? That camping trip sounded like a lot of fun... South Africa, now THAT is a camping trip! :D
ReplyDeleteHugs my too far away friend,
Beth P
Beth,
DeleteYes I think I "lost" you when you changed to wordpress - am following you on e-mail now. Sorry you have not been feeling well and hope spring brings some warmth soon to your aching body.
Thanks for sharing the seed site it looks fantastic. I need to order more seeds too. the plastic edging looks really easy to use, we are currently also looking at putting some edging in, not sure what though as we have such a huge space.
ReplyDeleteLiz, my seeds havent arrived yet, but the price looks great and I would much rather pay less for plain and simple packaging. I have trieid so many different types of edging, and at least I dont have as much as you do. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
DeleteI love your use of plastic edging and name plate tags. These are really classy! Beans are great, yours climb well. That rosemary, I can literally smell it, it is a fine specimen. You should put your asparagus spears (or plants) in their dedicated bed as they take a couple of years to produce properly and live for - according to my father-in-law - about 20 years. Galangal at the back won't hurt them much either. I grow a chilli bush on top of my asparagus patch and they seem compatible. Thanks for sharing the Seed Collection link, I will look forward to viewing your garden next month :D
ReplyDeleteHi Merryn and welcome,
DeleteSome things do really well in the wet season, it is just a case of learning to like the different flavours. I have asparagus plants, but find the purple ones so much thicker and tastier, so am going to replace some of my worse performing plants with the purple ones. I mgiht have to increase the bed too since all 8 of my seeds grew!
Yuck, gardening in high humidity, you're more dedicated than I. We have heat but not humidity here, but even then I tend to stay inside. You're garden is looking good and I envy you your prolific beans, I've never done that well with beans.
ReplyDeleteGoodlife,
DeleteWhen you live in this climate it just has to be done occasionally. Keep trying with the beans, I find some years they do better than others.