We've enjoyed a steady stream of visitors here since Christmas which has been lovely, but it's meant that I've had no time for blog writing or posting updates. So, somewhat belated, here are the photos from the beginning of January this year....
My main vege beds. A garden is an ever-changing thing; always something coming out, something new going in, nets being added or removed from crops, compost or other treatments being added, and so on.
In order to keep track of it all, now that my garden is so much more involved, I created a rough (not to scale) sketch on my computer of the beds etc in the main part of my vege garden, and have added this to my 2014 garden diary, along with pages for each numbered bed where I can record what has been planted, harvested or otherwise done to each bed when. This should making things like planning crop rotation and soil improvements easier to keep track of.
This bed is filled with three types of crop - Bright Lights rainbow chard on the left, parsley in the middle, and tomatoes on the right. There is a Sweet 100 at the near end, lots of Tiny Tims along the rest of the bed, with a Russian Red at the far end. Soon to be netted.
The parsley were transplanted from another bed, and initially all appeared to die off, but they soon made a come back.
The parsley were transplanted from another bed, and initially all appeared to die off, but they soon made a come back.
This bed is still full of beetroot ready to be harvested (I've decided to wait until a mother and daughter who will be staying with me for two weeks to learn about gardening and preserving arrive at the end of the month). The surrounding spring onions are still growing well, and the leek flowers in the back half are being enjoyed very much by the bees.
I've decided to create a new leek bed in a part of the garden away from the main beds, where I can leave it to do it's thing as a perpetual crop, and just harvest as needed. Leeks take a LONG time to grow, and like to bolt just as they're gaining some size, if conditions are right (or wrong, depending on your view point). My research indicates they do well in a permanent spot, allowed to bolt and drop seed then re-plant themselves as they will.
I've decided to create a new leek bed in a part of the garden away from the main beds, where I can leave it to do it's thing as a perpetual crop, and just harvest as needed. Leeks take a LONG time to grow, and like to bolt just as they're gaining some size, if conditions are right (or wrong, depending on your view point). My research indicates they do well in a permanent spot, allowed to bolt and drop seed then re-plant themselves as they will.
This bed has three zucchini at the front I planted early in the season to get a jump on things. We didn't have any late frosts, and they've done fairly well, but I'm considering removing them to make way for new plantings in this bed.
Behind them are a few shallots of the multiplying kind; they've been rather overshadowed by the zucchini, so when they are done I will take whatever bulbs I get and replant them in a better spot. The back half of this bed has been cleared from the last of the broad beans and is awaiting replanting.
Behind them are a few shallots of the multiplying kind; they've been rather overshadowed by the zucchini, so when they are done I will take whatever bulbs I get and replant them in a better spot. The back half of this bed has been cleared from the last of the broad beans and is awaiting replanting.
A bed full of Roma tomatoes, in early growth. These will be "staked" using strings suspended from a framework above. I've interplanted with a few calendula plants.
Sunflower plants are now as tall as the fence, but I still have no idea what colour or size of flower they will have. The borage also planted in this bed is starting to look the worse for wear.
I have undersown the sunflowers with some heritage beans given to me by a neighbour - variety unknown; I'm working in the supposition they are climbing beans and will climb up the stalks.
I have undersown the sunflowers with some heritage beans given to me by a neighbour - variety unknown; I'm working in the supposition they are climbing beans and will climb up the stalks.
The strawberry patch is still producing well - over 25 kg of strawberries so far! However, I've only managed to make one jar of jam - my kids have scoffed the rest! Clearly, can never have too many strawberries - soon time to start pegging down runners to produce new plants for next season. I'd really like to do some in some sort of narrow suspended channel or guttering type set up, so the berries hang down both sides, keeping them clean and making picking easy. In a regular bed full of plants, it can be a challenge to find all the berries among the foliage. On the other hand, smaller areas of soil/growing medium suspended above the ground require very consistent watering, so I'm considering an aquaponics set up.
The next bed over contained my garlic and experimental broccoli crops - both did well and have now been harvested, and this bed has been replanted with a heritage strawberry popping corn. I was too slow to order some from Koanga Institute before they sold out, but fortunately a friend had some seed which she kindly gave me.
The next bed over contained my garlic and experimental broccoli crops - both did well and have now been harvested, and this bed has been replanted with a heritage strawberry popping corn. I was too slow to order some from Koanga Institute before they sold out, but fortunately a friend had some seed which she kindly gave me.
Another bed full of Romas and Calendula - must get on to staking and pruning! Looking very lush at this point.
The first tomato bed I planted, looking good! The Silvery Fir ones at the front end of the bed don't grow very high, it turns out, but they have large fruit forming on them. The Money Makers are doing well, and the Cocktails at the other end of the bed are also doing well.
The marigolds planted underneath are beginning to look lovely. The dwarf beans with which I planted under all the tomatoes aren't very big, though they have a lot of small green beans on them.
The marigolds planted underneath are beginning to look lovely. The dwarf beans with which I planted under all the tomatoes aren't very big, though they have a lot of small green beans on them.
My daughter's wee patch is doing well....
The peas have all died off now - I really want to move that Rosemary out of this bed, and offer the bed to my youngest daughter so she can have a plot too.
Carrots...despite having been in this bed since before last winter, the carrots have not gone at all woody. We just harvest them as needed. Either we haven't been using as many carrots as we used to, or this bed is a magician's box, as it never seems to run out.
Bed full of raspberries and boysenberries - have been producing a lot, but they just aren't as sweet as usual this season. It's been a funny summer weather-wise here - very hot, dry November followed by rain and gales most of December and into January.
In this photo you can see my herb ladder, behind which are carrots edged with chives (hopefully the carrots will get to useable size before the other bed runs out). Behind those are buckwheat surrounding yacon - the buckwheat needs to be laid down as a mulch.
Further away is the potato crop - I noticed in mid Dec the first signs of potato-tomato psyllid on my potatoes (a major OH DEAR!) and sprayed them with pymethrum and neem oil. Since then, the plants have started to get blight due to the humid conditions and cool nights. Such a shame as they were looking so huge and lush! A decision on how to proceed is pending.....will post about TPP and blight separately soon.
My choko vine is happily climbing the fence - I wonder just how big it will get?
Further away is the potato crop - I noticed in mid Dec the first signs of potato-tomato psyllid on my potatoes (a major OH DEAR!) and sprayed them with pymethrum and neem oil. Since then, the plants have started to get blight due to the humid conditions and cool nights. Such a shame as they were looking so huge and lush! A decision on how to proceed is pending.....will post about TPP and blight separately soon.
My choko vine is happily climbing the fence - I wonder just how big it will get?
My bed full of zucchini as well as silverbeet and blackcurrants is producing masses of zucchini, though unfortunately most of them are yellow (I prefer green). A couple of plants have been broken by the high winds - I plan to thin them out and prune off some leaves to allow more room for the currants/silverbeet.
My "wild corner" is looking good - the pearl corn is getting big, the celery is happy, and the wildflowers are just starting to bud - should look very interesting in another month.
I dug up a big patch of lawn and planted a bed full of Rainbow Inca sweetcorn. I WAS going to make it a "three sisters" planting with beans and pumpkins, but upon researching the spacings required, I changed my mind and decided to only plant corn, which I did. Seems a bunch of pumpkins decided to plant themselves! I'm going to have to pull most of them out, or they will completely overtake the corn.
Dug up some more lawn and planted a mixture of blueberry bushes. The ground was prepared with peat moss added, and some acid plant food. At least two plants are needed for good pollination - I have 10. They have been mulched with a thick coating of old sawdust, which apparently they like.
This narrow strip on my newly created raised area has been planted with six fragrant and delicious Chilean Guavas, which in time will be clipped into a hedge. Meanwhile, they are underplanted with alyssum and cornflowers behind them.
Hard to believe the difference in this border since December's photo! The phacelia that were also in here did really well, got much bigger than I expected, and then died off when they were finished, so I pulled most of them out to leave more room for the zinnias. Meanwhile the cosmos and zinnias keep giving and giving and giving - I looked back at the seed packets and laughed when I realised I'd planted "dwarf cosmos" - just as well they're not giant lol - these ones are over 1.5m tall and still growing!
Grapes everywhere! Yum - I can't wait!
A self-sown pumpkin vine was growing in the corner, so I decided to lift it up over this structure and let it do it's thing. One day I'll be ripping all this out and building a garden shed, but meanwhile the space may as well produce more food!
Really enjoying the flowery-border to my vege gardens; can't believe the size of everything when I realise just over a month earlier it didn't exist! Have been harvesting gherkins from underneath all the cosmos on the right side, and stalks of celery whenever I need it for soup.
Border by gate from other side - giant marigolds are really huge! I had not idea they would grow so tall. First time I've had success with nasturtiums - bed is really getting very overgrown and soon I'll need to do something about it.
Pallet beds - everything bolted; I've replanted the front pallet with some seedlings and seeds, but I'm not sure how successful these pallets will prove to be for lettuces over summer. They really need watering every day, and more shade.
I'm undecided whether to remove the pallets and just put in a mulched lawn-level bed, or see how they do over winter.
I'm undecided whether to remove the pallets and just put in a mulched lawn-level bed, or see how they do over winter.
I've decided to block the chickens out of a run they don't use much, and have planted extra silverbeet and celery along one fence. A patch has been been cleared and will soon be planted with Sweet Bantam heritage sweetcorn.
I've decided to spread around all the sawdust and horse manure mixture my kids brought home from the stables, and plant pumpkins here - they can just ramble around and fill the area, and when they are done hopefully I will have had time to figure out just how I want to develop this area. When this photo was taken, I'd just planted out some seedlings at the front end, and intend to transplant some of the seedlings from the corn patch here too.
My old rose bush is doing well this year - accompanied by the face my son carved with a chainsaw. Otherwise the front border garden is pretty undeveloped this year (last year I used it for zucchini) apart from the citrus and herbs I've planted further along. Needs more thought/work.
Coming soon - posts on my garlic crop, Tomato-potato psyllid, blight, using mulch, and more photos!
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