Garden Share Collective January

This months garden share collective is all about herbs.  This is the middle of the wet season, when everything struggles with the heat, humidity and occasional floods..  Everything except the weeds that is.  A neighbor kindly offered me a couple of barrow loads of mulch, and the weed spiral was the first to benefit.  I pulled out weeds, and drastically cut back the plants that were there.  Something was really enjoying the lemon balm, and it wasn't me!  Then I spread out a fairly thick layer of mulch.

 In the herb spiral I have cuban oregano - a tropical perennial that is similar to oregano in taste, but the leaves are quite fleshy.  Very versatile - I use it in any sort of tomato based dishes.  It doesn't get any bugs, and there is a green and a variegated one. It sort of wanders around, but never gets overwhelming.  The perfectly behaved plant!  Then on the other hand I have sawtooth coriander - oh my gosh, if you don't keep cutting off those little spiky flowers it will spread everywhere!  My hubby is one of those people who hates the smell and the taste, whereas I just love the fresh clean smell that emanates from it while watering.  The taste is just like the regular coriander leaves, but sooo much easier to grow. Right in the top section I have rosemary.  My last rosemary bush died so this is a replacement.  In the bottom corner I have a struggling bay tree, and right next to it mexican tarragon.  That makes a lovely fresh tea (as does the lemon balm).  the tree is a moringa which is supposed to be so good for you.  I occasionally grab a few leaves to munch on while I am gardening.

 In the back section I have mint in a wicking bed, with thai basil and tumeric alongside it.  The tumeric pops up throughout the garden during the wet season.

  Alongside the fence is lemongrass - I made lemongrass chicken last night - sooo yummy.  Basil is another plant that pops up in odd corners, but you can never have too much basil. I also have my ginger bed - I use a lot of ginger, and luckily never have to buy any - this keeps me supplied.

Parsley struggles on with the heat, but as long as I keep re-planting we do ok.
Most of the gardens in Australia seem to be struggling with the heat this year, but herbs are often the one plant that survive through it all - luckily for us gardeners, as they are so wonderful to add an extra special something to our meals.
Do check out all the others in the garden share collective rosehips and rhubarb or on  facebook. , and share in the fun by telling us what herbs you are growing.  You might be surprised like I was, at what a variety you have in your garden.
Planting
I will be planting out some microgreen beds shortly, and I have ordered seeds to get ready for my March planting.
Harvesting
I am harvesting lovely asparagus - at least a couple of stalks every day.  It is tender all the way down the stalk, and the flavour is awesome.  I have been making smoked salmon and asparagus frittata, and steamed asparagus with a little butter and lemon juice - oh yummmmm!
Also harvesting the odd pawpaw and lots of passionfruit.  I have some pawpaws coming up, and want to try and plant out a couple between March and July as I have heard those wont grow as tall - has anyone heard this?
To do
I mulched most of the garden, but still the weeds seem to appear, so it is a continuous thing to keep weeding.  I picked up a bit of seaweed and lay that over a couple of areas.  The asparagus especially loves that.  I also have to keep moving the compost out of the tumbler and into the bin so continue composting down.  The worms are also going crazy munching on everything I put into their buckets so I need to harvest some of the castings to provide them with a cleaner living environment.