It’s not just the asparagus – this mad Sydney weather has confused quite a few of our garden plants!
This kohlrabi refuses to swell at the root and is desperately trying to form a head – it thinks it’s a cabbage…
It was so mild last winter that the nasturtiums didn’t die back at all…
…and because of the ridiculously warm autumn weather, this self-sown cherry tomato has grown into a tree and is now madly setting fruit…
Robbie’s chilli plant produces multi-coloured fruit without a hint of heat. They make a very reasonable capsicum substitute…
And Joanna’s broccoli, which has grown into a giant plant in a crack in the bricks, can’t make up its mind whether it’s a broccoli or a cauliflower. It’s quite green – the overcast sky washed the colour in the photos out. It has cauli-like florets…
…with broccoli flowers growing in amongst them…
Thankfully, our young lemon tree isn’t confused – we’re close to picking our very first lemon ever…
The cos lettuce continue to be a big success, with very few pests. This may well be the most perfect one we’ll ever grow…
Here is today’s harvest, much of which went into tonight’s stirfry…
…and a close up of Joanna’s broccoflower (as Big Boy named it – I wanted to call it a caulicoli), alongside a head of broccoli and a tiny self-sown cauliflower. As you can see, it really is halfway between the two!
What’s growing in your garden this month?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Chives and herbs, some small lettuces – not much, yet. I may not even plant a proper garden- I’ve been gone most of the past few summers and my garden has been almost abandoned. :(
Ah, but you always have such a lovely time away, Heidi.. :)
Forgot to give a proper admire to your produce!
Love the broccoflower- does it taste more like cauliflower than broccoli?
You have a true Summer’s crop to go for Autumn’s bountiful harvest!
Thank you! It was amazing – the florets tasted like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower (with a cauli texture), but the stems were pure broccoli! :)
Wow! Your garden is so wonderful. Such lovely produce. You are an inspiration to us all.
You’re very kind, Glenda. We actually haven’t had a lot of time to spend in the garden of late, but the whole back yard is turned over to veg growing, so there’s often a lot there that has self-sown. We are very laid back gardeners.. ;-)
You have an incredible garden, Celia. So productive – even more so than ours! I’m very impressed.
Nick, thank you – it’s a product of space and a willingness to eat whatever will grow (with the exception of radishes, which no-one will touch). Quite a lot of the harvest in the photos was self-sown – the broccoflower, the baby cauli, the leeks and the parsley! We really can’t take credit for them.. ;-)
Seems your plants are cross breeding and self seeding very well :)
Tandy, they’re being very naughty and cross breeding with other people’s plants, as we’ve never had a cauli go to seed here! :)
Have you seen the Romanesco cauliflower that is green and grows in a sort Fibonacci sequence, looks like little pyramids? That’s what your brococauli sort of reminds me of…. Your garden looks like a riot of fun and self expression right now. how joyful!
Jo, we’re trying to grow a Romanesco cauli – in fact, that’s what we thought yours was (I hope you don’t mind that it became yours by default :)). But it just grew into a mad green thing instead. The garden really has a life of its own lately, we haven’t had the time or energy to fuss over it, but it seems to be enjoying the independence.. ;-)
Here’s a pic of one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fractal_Broccoli.jpg we get them quite often in the greengrocers here :)
Oh- I like that!
I’m going to go looking for some!
Like Joanna I too was thinking of Romanesco cauliflower. What did it taste like? All those colors on one chili plant, so delightful.
Norma, it tasted like a real cross – the florets had the texture of cauliflower but there was a distinct taste of broccoli. So much so that it made it past Small Man, who can’t stand cauli, but loves broccoli! :) The chilli plant is gorgeous, but I would have loved a little more heat!
Looking great Celia, congratulations on your first lemon…a happy day to look forward to!
Jane, I go out every morning and urge my little lemon to ripen.. ;-)
Oh I know those “triumphs and confusions” so well! As you say the lettuce and lemon look outstanding, and what the heck as to looks, I bet they all tasted great in your stir fry :)
Claire, it was the most delicious stir-fry ever! We used the broccoflower, broccoli, cauli, leeks, kale, pattypan squash, a carrot and a bishops’ crown chilli. It all went in with some Cape Grim tenderloin fillet and oyster sauce!
That’s a lovely and varied harvest. Green cauliflower? Did it taste any different to regular cauiflower? Your cos lettuce does look perfect and those cherry tomatoes will be excellent when they ripen. I am still unpacking and sorting myself out so am yet to attack the garden and start seeing if I can grow things xx
Charlie, the broccoflower made it past Small Man, who can’t stand cauli, so I guess it’s safe to say it was more like broccoli than cauliflower. I’m not sure if the cherry toms will actually ripen in this weather, but we weren’t using the space for anything else, so we’ve let it go wild. Can’t wait to see what you grow! :)
Celia, how wonderful! I love all that fresh produce! The self sown tomatoes are just like ours. We only planted two plants this year and still have basketfuls of tomatoes on the bench! Love the lemon, how exciting. We have very mild days here too… love it, given how dreadful the Summer was. Enjoy your day.
Lizzy, we’ve yet to have a tomato ripen in the garden! And over the past few days, it’s rained and rained and rained, so I’m not sure this one will now. And I’m very excited about our lemon too! :)
What a fantastic harvest, you must be thrilled to be picking so late. We are having a very long cool spring so we are awash with greens too, it is as though your autumn is the same as our spring, so weirdly we are having the same weather at the same time on different continents! WILD! c
Celi, there’s not a lot more in there now, but we have just put peas in, and we’ve got more kale seedlings on the go, so hopefully they’ll still be something to pick for a bit longer yet. Can’t wait to see what you’re picking!
I’m envying that kale. Mine is a couple of weeks off picking stage yet.
Linda, kale seems to do quite well here, although spinach just gets eaten to stalks.. :)
I envy the productivity of your backyard. We have chilli, cherry tomato, an occasional cucumber and a few greens. My newest lemon tree turned up its toes, i’m still hunting for a better drained spot for its replacement.
Liz, all our apple trees have been a disaster, so we’re hoping to plant a mini citrus bed, with finger lime, Tahitian lime and maybe a ruby red grapefruit. At least that’s the plan.. ;-)
The hotter temperatures are creeping in so there are a few last tomatoes that we are fighting the birds for. How wonderful to pick a lemon from your garden. Nasturtiums are some of my very favourite flowers – and not a single one grew this year.
Sally, nasturtiums grow like a weed here. Thankfully the chickens like it! :)
How wonderful to grow your own vegetables. Apart from my 2 pineapples and some herbs I don’t grow anything much. My pansies are thriving on my balcony and bridge here in Italy though.
Deb, I think your pineapples make up for a lot, I always think it’s amazing how perfect they are!
Gorgeous veggies! I’m intrigued by your broccoflower – looks excellent! Which one did it taste more like – was it intermediate between the two? Your cos lettuce looks amazing. I daren’t try growing lettuce, it’s just slug food round here!
Caroline, I think it was more like a broc than a cauli, although it really was a cross between the two. And thank you, I’m very very chuffed with the cos!
Celia what an amazing harvest!!! My garden has a great lot of chilis and tomatoes not much else.
Claire, it would be lovely to grow tomatoes that actually ripen and don’t get completely bug eaten! We’ve just about given up, so only self-sown ones pop up in the garden now!
Beautiful, Celia! I thought your caulicoli looked a little like a Romanesco too…interesting.
Interesting too about the chillis – is this all rainbow chillies I wonder that lack heat or just the variety you have? I was really tempted to grow some next summer – they’re so pretty, although hubby would definitely hope they’d be hot.
Here we’ve got summer tomatoes still ripening – amish paste which I’m loving! Also putting in lots of wintery type things..broad beans, broccoli, self sown silverbeet and so on. It’s great to get lost in the garden for a while, isn’t it?
What variety of carrots are you growing there? They look really good! :)
Chris, we were madly hoping it was a Rom cauli, but it wasn’t. FIngers crossed – we have one of them planted in the garden – not many of the seeds came up though. Mind you, I’d be happy if we get just one!
This the first time we’ve had multi-coloured chillies, but this variety is really heatless, a bit like a capsicum. They taste quite nice though.
And I think the carrots are from an Italian seed company called Franchi (the Italian Gardener) called Gigante Flakkee 2:
http://theitaliangardener.com.au/products/CARROT-%28Carota%29-gigante-flakkee-2.html
You are so cool! and it actually made me feel really jealous :) Those colorful chili are so gorgeous … how do you use them?
I would never want to make anyone jealous, I’m sorry Tes! The garden is kind of a productive jungle, stuff just grows! I use the chillies for colour, like a capsicum..
I went to a plant sale at the local Junior College with my awesome gardener Mother-in-law Friday and picked up a box of tomato plants, basil, herbs and a chili pepper plant. We have more artichokes then we know what to do with. Lots of lemons. Oranges and peaches are coming in. Herbs are doing great, tons of cilantro. The hub built a raised bed and it’s got tomatoes and squash. Should be a good summer. :-)
Maz
I will never be a true foodie, because I just don’t know how to eat an artichoke. It seems to much work, and then I always end up with either a spine or hair. The raised bed should be good for the back, Maz!
The weather this year is making a majority of gardeners a little crazy. My apples and pears are blooming a full month early.
Karen, hasn’t it been crazy!! We’ve now had a solid month of rain forecast for Sydney!
Looks amazing. I’m really envious of those peppers!
Greg, I just wish they were hotter!
a basket of home grown vegetables like yours is manna from heaven..i don’t have anything at all at the moment except the odd zucchini..i’m having some cement removed from my south facing backyard tomorrow to make way for a vegetable patch..hopefully my vegetables will fare better there than in the very hot and exposed northerly aspect where up to now i’ve been growing them..
Jane, see, I always think people who can grow zucchinis are very clever – no matter how we try, we just can’t seem to grow more than a handful…
How lovely Celia! What gorgeous produce.
The weather has been wierd hasn’t it? I’m still picking a punnet of strawberries a week at the moment.
This winter I’ve got in leeks, onions, carrots, peas, womboks, silverbeets, romescue caulis, and beetroots. Canberra has such harsh winters that I usually don’t bother at all with veggies over the season, but this year I’m giving it another try.
Hey love, we’re going to give up on strawberries. They just won’t work here, we’ve now tried them in three or four different spots. We can’t seem to keep the snails, slugs, birds, or Bob the dog away from them.. :)
I have been having such difficulty with your site over the last few months. I assume it is due to the heavy load that your popularity places on your site. I am still waiting for the images to download, so I am just going to have to take your word about the broccoflower. Due to not having seedlings prepared in time I am about to experience a dip in production as the garden transitions to a winter crop.
I’m sorry to hear that, Jason! WordPress have changed their format a bit, which I think now makes it a little more download heavy. We’re way out of the production loop as far as seedlings go – life has gotten in the way a little – but after a couple of years, the garden has taken on a bit of a life of its own! :)
What a bounty! I am very envious of your lemon and your cos lettuce is perfect. We have pink blossom all over our tiny apple tree and tiny signs of fruit on the raspberries. Looks like the frost killed off the cherry blossom. We just planted some strawberry and lettuce seedlings and today are hitting the carrots and radishes. You can’t grow apples and we will never have citrus trees…
We can’t grow raspberries either, Anna! :) It all sounds very beautiful, particularly the apple trees in bloom!
Celia, your garden looks lovely with all your wonderful produce!
I’ve been growing strawberries this summer with the help of a snail trap filled with the dregs from guinness cans; don’t know if it would work for Bob though?
Nothin’s growing here.. which is why I come see you.. so I can celebrate your pretty little caulicolli’s.. or broccoflowers.. You’re astound AND you’re inventing new plants!!
astounding.. I’m typing way too fast after tooo much wine;)
I am green with envy…
What a beautiful produce & what a mix of great colourful veggies! :)
Well written too, I laughed & smiled all the way! ;)
Thanks Sophie! We harvested more broccoli and carrots for dinner tonight!