One of the great advantages of writing this blog is that it has allowed us to keep track of how the garden is faring. Comparing these photos that I took over the weekend with the ones I posted a month ago, it’s astonishing to see how much growth there’s been in the last four weeks, especially as we’re now entering the second week of winter!
A shot of the garden from the back door – it’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, this was all overgrown buffalo grass that I had to nag the boys to mow…
The cos seedlings that we planted in May are thriving, as are the transplanted perennial leeks, which seem to be bulletproof…
The brassicas are making slow but steady progress. The weather has turned very wet and chilly, but hopefully they’ll survive…
The celery seedlings are well established…
…as are my transplanted celeriacs. Can anyone advise me on when these will be ready to harvest? Thanks…
At the back of the paisley shaped bed, we’ve planted comfrey – Pete thinks it will make excellent mulch, and it has medicinal uses as well…
The peas are coming along nicely. Our recent wet weather will test the “mildew-resistant” claims of the three varieties we planted…
We only seem to be able to grow sorrel in one spot in the garden, which is probably a good thing, given that some gardeners find that it spreads like a weed in their backyards…
The asparagus bed continues to fluff up, and we’re still getting the occasional new shoot…
We find Tuscan kale seedlings very hard to raise and establish, but once they’re going, they keep producing for ages. We’re slowly refining our planting choices – we now plant kale instead of spinach, and cos lettuce instead of non-heading varieties…
The bed most recently vacated by the chooks has been planted and mulched. This time we used sugar cane mulch instead of pea straw, and found it more economical and easier to work with. In this bed we’ve planted beetroot, broccoli (you can never have enough broccoli in the garden), garlic, peas (around the chicken wire teepee), dill, coriander and cos lettuce…
My beautiful bishops’ crown chilli keeps fruiting – it makes me smile every time I look at it. The seeds were hard to raise – we only managed a 50% strike rate, and of those, only this one grew once it was planted in the garden. But like the kale, once established, it seemed to gain momentum…
This is what can happen if rogue tomato seedlings are left unchecked! This is a single self-sown cherry tomato which grew in the small bed near the house once the cucumbers were finished…
I’m not sure how much longer it will last with the cold snap that’s just moved in…
We have a bay tree in a pot that hasn’t grown much over the past few years. It more than provides for our cooking needs though…
Finally, a short clip of our girls. They’re in our good books at the moment, as they’ve been tidying up all the really messy spots in the garden for us. This patch near the fence was covered in (no exaggeration) waist-high weeds. In the space of a few weeks, the chooks have done away with the weeds, turned over and fertilised the soil, and eaten all the grubs. I’m hoping Pete will let me plant potatoes there, although I’m not sure if the spot will get enough sun…
How’s your garden going this month?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 