This summer has been incredibly dry - the driest summer in NZ in 70 years. By mid March all of the North Island has been officially declared in drought, and parts of the South Island, including the normally very wet West Coast, have followed. Where I live, water restrictions have meant I've only been allowed to use a sprinkler for 2 hours every second day, between 7 and 9 pm. Hand held hoses are allowed on our alternate day, but watering during the day is not worth it as high temperatures mean rapid evaporation. With all the garden beds I have, it has been a major challenge to keep them watered enough.
The zucchini in the front bed have been producing much better since I started using this idea - I pushed an up-turned empty soda bottle with the bottom cut off into the soil next to the base of each plant. Now all I have to do is go along with the hose and fill each bottle, which slowly drains right into the root zone. This eliminates wastage, and also the otherwise uneven watering that is inevitable when I walk along with a hose and hold it on the plants for a bit each. Our zucchini harvest has been huge! See posts under Harvest Totals for details.
The first bed of sweetcorn is going great guns. The other two are slower and smaller. See this post on corn for more details. The one you see closest in the pic is the 3rd patch.
The herb patch is doing well. There are parsley, two kinds of oregano, lemon balm, thyme and lemon-scented geranium plants in there. The pumpkin vine has grown a lot, and also up the fence, and a number of large pumpkins are forming. I only grow crown (grey) pumpkin because I like this variety and they store well. I haven't gotten much from the cucumber vine, which has now been swamped by the two tomato plants I put at the back of the bed. As an experiment, I didn't pinch out laterals or do any early training of these plants - they went ballistic, but I don't think they're going to produce nearly as much as my trained plants. You can really learn a lot of Bible truths in the garden, and the importance of staking and training tomatoes is one thing that has a lot of truths hidden in it! Until now, I didn't really fully understand why "staking tomatoes" is used as a analogy for training children in some circles.
Some of the pumpkins growing under the vine.
Green beans are starting to yellow off, but there is some new growth happening, and still plenty of harvesting going on.
Starting to thin the carrots - it's so exciting to see how well they're growing - my first successful carrot crop ever!
Kale was badly attacked by white butterfly. I cut the heads off the plants and fed them to the chickens, leaving the stems to re-grow. I've planted a few cut-and-come-again lettuce here, and added a soda bottle for root-zone watering. The kumera vines are still doing well, as is the Mexican Sunflower.
The other three beds are doing pretty well. Have been harvesting peas and yellow beans, along with some lettuce. I harvested the radish and made relish from it. The beetroot is coming along.
My kids cleaned out some calf pens for a local, and brought home 8 trailer loads of old sawdust mixed with manure for my gardens. We've started to put down the rest of the bed frames and begin filling them with sawdust and later compost when we get some.
My kids cleaned out some calf pens for a local, and brought home 8 trailer loads of old sawdust mixed with manure for my gardens. We've started to put down the rest of the bed frames and begin filling them with sawdust and later compost when we get some.
Front section of potato plants are flowering nicely. The rest are growing.
Tomatoes, planted on Feb 13th (wooden stakes at back) and 21st (green stakes). When I dug holes for each plant, I added pieces of fish my kids caught, crushed egg shells, chopped up banana skins and a little compost to each hole. The ones at the back got the fish, as I ran out. This is very late to be planting tomatoes, but whatever I get from them is a bonus.
Comfrey is really coming along.
Second zucchini bed is producing lots and lots and lots! The silverbeet and lettuce behind aren't doing so well, as every time my chickens decide to come over the fence in the morning looking for their breakfast, that's where they go and either peck them or dig them up.
An idea I'm trying. White butterfly is a major scourge here. I'm using these translucent bins as mini-greenhouses to raise brassica seeds and protect them from the butterflies. They're upside down here because the larger seedtrays I bought for inside them won't quite sit down in the bottom of the bins but will sit on the lids ok. These are sown with white and purple cauliflower, broccoli, buk choy, brussel sprouts and cabbage, as well as some gourmet lettuce and celery.
Tray of beetroot seedlings. I also have sown trays of onion and leeks, but without success. I think it's just too hot.
The late pumpkins in the front yard are growing well and have some small fruit on them. Might even get a few worth harvesting.
The pumpkin vines on the lawn. There is also a huge patch of self-sown pumpkins in the chicken run, but I don't seem to have a photo of those.
What's a girl to do with upwards of 45 kgs of zucchini? Make lots of pickle of course! We also have eaten lots fresh, frozen some for baking, and dehydrated some to add to stews in winter. For recipes see posts in Preserving the Harvest posts.
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