Our garden is finally bouncing back after the drought and one of the first things we planted after lockdown was bok choy seeds. After only a few weeks (four or five we think, time seems to move a bit differently these days), they’re ready to harvest. The cima di rapa is coming up too, but taking a bit longer.
And a few years ago, Pete’s brother Uncle Steve and his wife Ali gave us a potted pineapple plant for Christmas. Sydney isn’t the ideal climate for this tropical fruit, but most years, Pete manages to coax a baby fruit out of it. It’s been slowly spreading, so now we have a mini pineapple garden. That is, a very small garden producing tiny pineapples.
There are now several plants in a large pot and an old concrete laundry tub which we found in the backyard when we moved in 30 years ago…
So far we’ve only managed to get one small pineapple each year, but it’s always been delicious and perfect. Here are photos of last year’s precious harvest…
How are things growing in your garden? ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Up here, we chop the pineapples back after they’ve fruited and plant the leaf top of the fruit to make a new plant, precisely because any subsequent fruit get smaller and smaller. It’s a tribute to your gardening skills that you’ve managed to get one plant to fruit multiple times!
Very impressive but I am waiting for your brocoli rabe :)
It’s growing well actually!!
Lots of chillies and nasturtiums… but we’re coaxing along a few eggplants, tomatoes, red peppers lingering from summer. Autumn planted spinach, cress, rocket, green beans, snow peas and self seeded parsley and endive might give us some homegrown winter greens. The elephant garlic has come up, and it’s almost time to put in broadbean seeds. Summer gardens are hard work, often disappoint… cooler months are so much easier. But it’s all worth it when you don’t have to go to the supermarket for a knob of ginger or a handful of herbs.
This is my first post, but I have followed your blog for some time now. I made my first half-way-decent sourdough loaf recently with Bubbles Galore (my feisty starter). Four bricks preceded this effort! Thanks for the ideas and inspiration your blog provides.
Hi Celia, thanks for your blog. I only found you recently via beginning to bake sourdough and clevercarrot linked you. I enjoy your posts over breakfast each morning.
My community garden beds are full of brassicas, but growing slowly now the weather has cooled off. My home wicking beds are also on winter slowdown but the glass house is chokker with leafy greens in polystyrene boxes. I leave enough room for a camping chair so I can sit and read in sunny warmth in mid winter. And a spot to proof dough!
Just planted some beetroot and radishes. Siverbeet is doing ok. but basil is gettting eaten by something. I can’t find any caterpillars so not sure what is causing the damage.
Hi Celia, things are coming along nicely in my garden here in Melbourne, Garlic and broad beans are just starting to come out and the broccoli 🥦 are doing well growing small heads (more of the Italian small sprouting variety). My kale 🥬 and cavelo nero have been an absolute winner during late summer / autumn and still going strong along with my herbs – parsley, coriander, thyme and 7yr basil.
We’ve also planted smaller variety lemon 🍋 and lime trees this year (for about the 3rd time since we moved here 15 years ago) and are hoping they grow strong and not succumb to gall wasp again. I’ve also had a go at the cima di rapa from seed and not really sure if they will grow as expected ie taking a very very long time and not looking like your picture. Hoping not to be hit too hard as the cold is really starting to set in down here in Melbourne.
We aren’t doing tomatoes this year. Lots of herbs and oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes, I think we have around ten citrus trees. For my birthday I got two chili plants. Hurray for spicy!
Hello
I followed you from a month ago but i can read anything because of study. I loved the garden work you have done and especially the mini pineapples they look delicious. Thanks for your blog.
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Looking more tidy than usual due to the lockdown attention. The weeds are being evicted to give (what I think) should be there opportunity to grow. Sweet peas looking good -should flower beforeblong!
Hi Ceilia
We’ve just moved house so our productive garden is 2 wine barrels of tuscan kale, spinach and cos lettuce, and an overgrown veggie patch which appears to have a lot of potatoes as well as an assortment of lingering capsicums. We have big plans to resuscitate the patch and build a chicken coop, but I think we’ll spend the winter months clearing and sitting by our fire.
I remember my dad trying to grow a pineapple in southern Melbourne – very unsuccessfully. Yours however, looks magnificent.