Garden share collective July 2014
Once again another month has rolled by and it is time to link up with Lizzie at Strayed from the Table our monthly collective where we share what has happened in our gardens for the last month and what we hope to be working on for the next month. Wrapping up June and heading into July.
Last month I wanted to work on:
harvesting some food from the garden. How did I do with that? Not so great.... since we have had so much rain and not much sunshine there has not been much going on in the garden veggie wise. The salad greens and cherry tomatoes are the mainstays in the garden
A couple of pawpaws, some bok choy, lettuce leaves and cherry tomatoes. A few cucumbers before the vine succumbed to powdery mildew. The same story with the squash. Certainly not much of a harvest for all the work I put into the garden. :(
Soooo....
The asparagus was cut down and mulched, but it didnt take long until new ones sprouted - this one made a nice snack out in the garden....
I have a choko starting to grow on the fence, this is a white one - they have a more tender skin than the green ones, so I am looking forward to a great choko bounty.
My little parsley hedge in the besa bricks is looking good.
the cherry tomatoes are awesome.
To do:
I am going away for five weeks to spend some time with my new little grandson in America (and his Mom and Dad).... so excited.
While I am away it doesn't matter if my bok choy and lettuce go to seed as then I will be able to collect them on my return....
I normally don't grow much in the wet season but am going to research more asian greens that will maybe grow throughout the year.
See you on my return.
Last month I wanted to work on:
harvesting some food from the garden. How did I do with that? Not so great.... since we have had so much rain and not much sunshine there has not been much going on in the garden veggie wise. The salad greens and cherry tomatoes are the mainstays in the garden
Soooo....
I live in the tropics, and when you go walking in the bush there are trees, and undergrowth. I have been hearing a lot about food forests lately and wondering whether I am fighting a losing battle trying to grow a normal type of veggie garden in this climate. As you know I have been earning Bunnings coupons from the surveys I do in my free time, and so I think I am going to focus on buying more trees with my "free money". I think I might plant a dwarf avocado in the middle of the back veggie bed. The front of the bed already has a barbados cherry which is doing well. The odd lettuces and bok choy can grow under and around the trees. They like a little shade and why put up a shadecloth when I can have living productive shade? Whatever cherry tomatoes come up on their own will be a bonus, but I am not going to continue to fight bacterial wilt to grow a few odd tomatoes and eggplant here and there. I enjoy picking the greens small and so I don't need huge beds of lettuce. I sow seeds thick and often. I also love to grow a variety of sprouts, and am still working on perfecting my microgreens. I love lots of herbs, and those are a fixture in my herb
spiral and pots. My gerberas are flowering - a couple of white ones and then these huge double reds.
The eggplant in the wicking bed are slowly getting a bit bigger.
To do:
I am going away for five weeks to spend some time with my new little grandson in America (and his Mom and Dad).... so excited.
While I am away it doesn't matter if my bok choy and lettuce go to seed as then I will be able to collect them on my return....
I normally don't grow much in the wet season but am going to research more asian greens that will maybe grow throughout the year.
See you on my return.
That salad bowl looks so gorgeous I just want to dive into it. YUM.
ReplyDeleteIt does look colourful doesnt it, the only purchased ingredient was the purple cabbage and carrot.
Deleteoh AA, i love your idea of 'not much happening in the garden' - compared to me, down here in chilly dark hobart, you are positively over-active! your choko brings back memories of my NSW childhood. we can't grow them here. yours looks beautiful.
ReplyDeletee,
Deleteyou brought a smile to my face! I suppose I should be more grateful. I hope the choko grows I have had one get to that stage and then die on me.
PS meant to say, can i join sue in your salad? :-)
ReplyDeletesure :)
DeleteChokos every child of my era has horrible memories of endless chokos in our meals. They are way too prolific (and tasteless).
ReplyDeleteJoan,
Deletewell I am a newcomer to chokos and buy them at the local market. I love them lightly steamed with salt pepper and butter. It seems as though most people that grew up with them dont like them!
My sister lives in northern India and she has great success with avocados there . It can be very rainy in the summer but they still get lots of fruit.
ReplyDeleteJenny, Yes I am in the right climate for avocado, but dont have room for a huge tree, so that is why I am looking for a dwarf one.
DeleteHi, your garden looks great. Wish we could grow tomatoes at this time of year ... I have tom envy! Gosh, that's an interesting mulch you have happening there. :) I have never grown asparagus but have often thought about it. Did you wait for a couple or years before harvesting? Chokos .. I too remember them from my childhood ...
ReplyDeleteFrog,
DeleteAre you talking about the shredded paper mulch? I am always on a quest to supply everything free for my garden. I started with two year crowns about four years ago, and at the same time started the purple seeds. Now the purple ones have overtaken the Mary Washington in production.
I have never tasted a white choko, is it only the skin colour that is different or is the taste different as well?
ReplyDeleteYour garden will survive until you get back....enjoy your trip and time spent with your family....and please don't spoil your grandson...yeah right!
Virginia, the taste is the same, but the skin is much softer - you can eat the skin, no need to peel. I am packed - one more sleep...
DeleteHope you have fun!!!! Love that salad....and bok choy is oh so delicious:) Are you sure you want it to seed?:) All my best!
ReplyDeleteChris, my hubby will not eat it, so I suppose that is what will happen to it. should get a lot of seeds :)
DeleteIt does sometimes feel as if we put a lot of work into our gardens for little return doesn't it? I think even the smallest tastes of really fresh veg make it worthwhile and your salad looks delicious! I've been eating sugar snap peas straight from the plant - absolutely yummy as mange-tout pods - and it just makes me feel incredibly healthy! Have a wonderful time in America, we'll see you when you get back I hope?
ReplyDeleteCaro,
DeleteI tried snow peas but it was too hot and humid, some years we can grow them, but this year they didnt work :( I will definitely update on my return.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSend me some rain please. Enjoy your trip away to see your grandson, it will be great I am sure. I love that you can leave your garden, if I walked away for five weeks ours would be dead and need some major love. Powdery mildew is a nightmare in the warmer wet weather, mind you have not had it for a long while now.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely time in America with your family and grandson. Your garden is looking splendid, such healthy greens and gorgeous tomatoes. I have not heard of white chokos before. Good luck to the bok choy and lettuce self seeding - they are always a treat. Love your purple asparagus :D
ReplyDeleteYour garden is gorgeous! lovely tomoatoes and greens, with a rather unusual white choko vine and purple asparagus. For winter no less, well done :D Have a lovely trip seeing your family and grandson :D
ReplyDeleteIt wonderful to hear from you. Your garden is absolutely very productive and 'self-sustaining'. Great job! I have only seen that lady slipper orchid a few times. The blooms are intriguing. Love them. Have great moments with your new little grandson :-D
ReplyDelete