Next winter plans

- Plant sugar Bon Bon and cover with fine wire immediately, sparrows and snails will stunt or kill it and it will never ever grow.

- Red Russian, curly kale, Brussel sprouts, and purple broccoli. No dino kale or Georgia collard. Only 3 each max except broccoli. And SPACE them out.

- loads of broad beans as green manure. 

- cornflower is adored by the native bees

- as well as radish flowers, they are also pink and edible and the pods are loved by mother and Aunty. Give lots of sun and space out. 

- sorrel will barely tolerate high sun and brown. Borage will shrivel eventually and burn. 

- pick watermelon radish and daikon root young! 

- plant enough beets for 1 a fortnight is enough! 

- try winged bean and purple King bean again. 

Summer Gardening - Pot Compost Potting Mix!

Oh I'm hopeless!
I learned why my seedlings take forever to grow. REPOT THEM!

These seedlings are several months old! 

I repotted the baby tomatoes and the friendly black bird did dig around the seedlings, they find the friable compost topping irrisistable to search for insects, but none were unearthed as i planted them deeply!
Still have the gooseberries to go and quite a few other plants too. Will try get them done before christmas shopping tomorrow!
I'm trying to strike a bunch of plants and the mints are looking pretty crappy.
I had a swarm of these flies i have not identified yet.
I also put a pepino in the soil to see if it faired better than the pots. It's quite a drought tolerant plant i'm finding!
I managed to grow a pumpkin in an ICECREAM CONTAINER! I'm surprised too. Volunteer! I hope it will produce some female flowers though!

POT COMPOST POTTING MIX - Black, Friable, Nutrient Rich!
I also experimented with a cool new trick to make BEAUTIFUL dark soil for plants rich in organic matter- that means its good for pots because it holds water!
I collect banana peels (Potassium) and egg shells (Calcium) and just toss them all in a newspaper bottomed pot (as these are great for tomato season). I also grab plants I am pulling up (Ie the greens for beets, stray sunchoke stalks, broad beans and etc) and any trimmings i will cut up and place in a pot. THEN i put in a shove full of worms from the vermicompost tower and a layer of any dirt, even rubbish clay or sand. I then basically keep adding in clippings (grass or plants) and various scraps, and keep it watered. By the time it is full it is composed enough, nice and black and rich and i imagine my new plant will be really happy! I may need a top layer of soil to plant the seedlings in but that's it.

I'm super happy with how rich this soil came out, and with the edition of vermicompost, i can tell there was also some bacterial decomposition due to how dark it was (and vermicompost is a brownish, compost is more black). It looked so good I was super impressed. I've done this with grass clippings and soil and water in a cardboard box before, it only takes a few weeks to turn to a beautiful black mix.

Lettuce

Harvested some lettuce.

Planted out some scarlet runner bean near where I had the mouse melon.

Worm tea-ed my favourite.

Got some impressive (for me) beets maturing.

Hamburg Parsely - a taste test

Before I begin, dad dug these up early because he was amending the patch and the greens had been more than decimated by snails.

I microwaved them for about a minute and ate them, i still had a chinotto flavour in my mouth so that may have skewed the results. They were tiny, only a sample! haha...

 

Ok the ends were woody.
They taste like a weaker carrot with a peppery undertone without the spicyness and less sweet and an almost more starchy consistency, strangely getting a hint of banana though... Interesting. 

---NOTE I have never tasted parsnip other than in a soup once so it could very well taste like parsnip?

Make the most of your small garden space.

I have a space 5x7 with half being full shade. This is how i make do...

GO VERTICLE -
i plant pots on shelves, it quadruples the plants. Also planting trellises to keep vining plants vertical. And strawberries in recycled stacked 2 Lt bottles etc.

DOUBLE PURPOSE -
Hamburg parsely (root and leaves), entirely edible plants, like nasturtium or radishes (flowers, green seeds, leaves), strawberry spinach (berries and leaves),

BE CHOOSEY -
only plant the plants you actually love to eat

GO DWARF -
Plant mini varieties or heavily prune.

POTS -
put post on concrete that is otherwise useless.

PLANT SMART -
I have half of my patch in pretty much full shade, so i plant greens here to prevent them bolting early and keep them tender. Also broad beans and peas and other plants that aren't so warmth and sun thirsty like some alliums just for the greens. I also plant stuff under my fruit trees because I have no choice. I don't have problems with them competing too much but it's best to plant deeper rooting plants with trees i think.

HIGH YIELD VARIETIES -
plant high yielding plants like mouse melon and green tigerella to the most bang for your buck so to speak.

PACK IT IN -
but not too much so that things get starved for sun. It keeps weeds down and if you have good soil it actually works out well! Try not to monoculture too much and have patches about the place so pests don't find all your patches and you can have some untouched plants.

Replacing murdered seedlings

Sigh....

Well the birds, sun, and snails alike just won't give me a break!

I had to let some go and not even bother with replanting them. The uncharacteristic random boiling days fried a bunch of seedlings and my corn salad. That mache being fried, will leave a hole in my heart. Seriously my FAVOURITE green, the stems are tender and delicious. I love love love it so so much. I will definitely plant a huge crop. It is a magnet for leaf miner, but so is milk thistle so I purposely grow that too (the birds like the flower heads too!). So I did replant some later that I felt would be worth it.

Ok, I replanted the last lot of "Spring" seeds, even though summer is at our door. The last tomatoes and another cotton plant.

I bought lots of ornamentals from bunnings. It was the best fun. I'd love to create terrariums as a job in all seriousness. I did spot green zebra at bunnings, and they didn't lie on the internet when they said they produce the biggest crop. I'm super impressed!!!!

I looked into permiculture recently and I'm excited to work some things into my garden.

I feel this year everything is growing at half speed. I'm super anxious about it too.

Repotted the blueberries, thyme, got a caper bush, ...

I do hope my seedlings make it.

We will get cherries this year for the first time!

my beetroot and greens

my flowers

my beets, white and red, the white might be swiss chard...

spirooli veggies, nothing but the lemon from my garden.

brussel sprouts leaves are perfect for round wraps!

dog loves chroming the southern wormwood and so do i!

my daikon! Flowers and greens (not olives).

my dried stevia for sweetness! It came up after winter! YAY I should repot it thought it hates the sand.

my greens serves with a croquette.

yup, this was a bit ago but still.

daikons, they were all woody :(

Also Green Radish seed pods are edible?!  Spicey! Who knew!?

kale taller than I, only took 2 years!

native stingless bee

my daikon spirooli gluten free "pasta"

I think it looks like a Dr Zeus character! LOL

My entire carrot harvest so far.

I love a fresh cardboard pathway!

lentil bud

 

Yes I take screen cap photos from my instagram. :p I'm lazy, what can i say?!

 only got 2 poppies

 Sorry neighbours, no doubt you'll get borage popping up in your yard! 

 Kale went Ape this season!

This is how i weed.

SPRING HUSTLE

OH the hustle and bustle of spring!


I mad rushed planted seeds, waited a fortnight, realized barely any sprouted, and repeat. I like to plant them early, and also some late, just getting a range of "ages" to extend harvest and ensure germination if the weather is being weird.

Got my tomatoes in, gooseberries...etc

I really hoped to get capsicum this year, didn't happen, so i ran out of seed and gave up!

Birds attacked half of my seedlings and i had to replant!

The best seedling pots is newspaper THROUGH AND THROUGH.

Also I'm over Kale. LESSON LEARNED only 2 max of each kind of kale, you don't even like Kale anyway! (except as "pizza" chips)

 Did some weeding too...some plucking, some digging for this nasty heart shaped leaf rhizome one, and some smothering with cardboard:

I have seen an influx of a native bee here: They love the radish flowers and the cornflower so I may continue to plant cornflower (thought I haven't actively this year). Don't really want to dedicate too much to a plant that has 1 purpose, though it is edible I did NOT enjoy it so instead of being edible and bee attracting it is just one. (petals are tough and has barely any flavour). But it is pretty and my nephew loves it. So I wont pull out the existing one.

LOVED the watermelon radish. Tasted ok. Low calorie and so so pretty! I am trying to seed some, the flower is above, root below.

We are being run by these bunching onions. They are more like spring onions or even chives. A bit hopeless barely a bulb, not even worth it!!! I think I'll pull the lot out, slowly eating them, and then I will have some planted in a sandy area. ATM they are in almost every pot plant and just all over the place, it's excessive and I'd rather plant something else there.

I'm excited for some first time plants:
crimson forest onions, Salad burnet, Summer savoury (less spicy than the winter kind), brahmi, yacon, gooseberries, Oca / New Zealand Yam, strawberry spinach, winged bean (looks not promising), nigella (fail), black salsify, sage, toothache plant, dark opal basil, ...

Repeats: purple king bean, ...

Yummy Greens (non bitter)

Hi!

I harvested 2 watermelon radishes today! (snails took a bite, but still ok!)

Also received the pepino-melon cuttings in the male, i refreshed the cut diagonally at the bottom and put in season water for a few weeks as this makes the most vigorous roots asap and then i'll plant out in a fortnight or so.

So I'm super fussy, I enjoy bland, but delicious foods- and bitter, pungent, peppery greens disgust me and make me feel sick! So i've compiled a list of delicious tasting greens so you don't have to do what i did- and plant things that are actually bitter and you don't want to even eat! Wasting valuable retail space in the small garden!


Light Green Leaves - It's pretty universal for a nice buttery light flavour, seldom bitter (unless the plant has bolted).

Darker leaves - more at risk for bitter flavour


YUM ALWAYS (Unless bolted)
Tom Thumb - Super Buttery lettuce- nice compact shape means you can fit 12 to a shoebox and harvest outer few leaves of each twice a week! *the leaf shape makes for difficult cleaning
Tom Thumb x Baby green oak/Tango - I'm not sure the variety crossbreed i have here, but it's equally nice as tom thumb *The leaf shape makes for difficult cleaning
Mache/Corn salad - Grainy/floury texture, but creamy flavour, very delicious and mild *Can fold when cleaning
Mushroom Plant/ Rungia Klossi - Taste exactly like mushrooms! *delicate and can snap when harsh cleaning

YUM WHEN YOUNG (and not bolted)
Rocket - I pick these when young as the kick hasn't kicked in yet, extremely peppery when mature, a lovely nutty flavour when young! Something with a bit of taste! *pretty tough leaf
Kales- Tend to be palatable only when young- otherwise a salute is in order. Mind you, not the best taste at all, a tolerable bitterness and tender. Like spinach. Very good when very young, otherwise they make great chips. I tried rolling dinosaur kale and it was so fibrous i couldn't chew it despite cooking. May steer clear of those ones. Red russian makes a decent chip. Curly makes a better chip. *stem can snap when washing and repels water.
Spinach - can get bitter when not young, a strong not so pleasant flavour, unless very young.
Broccoli - These are ok when young. They do taste like a kale and broccoli hybrid.
Red Veined Sorrel - These were sour and lemony and already quite fibrous in a bad way on their own, but mixed as a garnish, you can't notice. I will always grow this for garnish alone. The appearance makes any dish look 100x healthier and more appealing! It's a truly strikingly beautiful edible.

YUCK ALWAYS
Nasturtium - Pungent, akin to capers. I hate it- because i hate capers! If you like capers however, tuck in you'll love it. Peppery. The seeds have KICK! *repels water
Black Mustard - I am pretty sure it was this plant that had the most bitter leaves i've ever tried, i had to spit it out- unless it was a rocket leaf. They look very similar.

I'd have to say that my "yum always" and rocket are the greens i'll always grow- i do still grow nasturtiums because my mother is obsessed (I personally HATE HATE it, to me it smells like chook poo if you leave it to wilt in your pocket for a day....).

CARE of YUMS:
Mushroom plant- hates wet feet, being dry, and super hot days. It constantly wilted even in a shady spot. I think a pot, with a water reservoir is how to go with this one. Wasn't the happiest with frost but made it.
Tom Thumb- super easy to care for, ensure you mulch around it or else cleaning will be annoying. I am growing butterhead to get a leave shape i can roll and stuff, and will be easier to clean and just as tasty! (lets see how it goes!) They take to tranplanting REALLY well. Shade may slow bolting.
Mache- Delicious, very slow growing, slow to bolt. Frost hardy. Great plant.
Rocket - Bolts super fast, leaves are so small in a pot, in ground the leaves are huge and thick. We grow a hybrid with radish, so this makes for a stronger kick. Is a shame when it gets bitter however.
Kales- They grow well in the ground, but do wilt when dry.
Sorrel - Super slow to grow, just as well it's a garnish. Otherwise hardy even through frosts.

Getting Ready for Spring!

So I planted my first batch of spring seeds a few days ago as the weather seems to be warmer and the fruit trees are starting to blossom!

Dill
thyme
lettuce leaf basil
sage
walbergia
parcel
yellow stuffed tomatoes
tigerella
black salsify
butter crunch
vulgaris cress (natural dead end crop)
mesclun
grande rapid lettuce
heirloom variety tomatoes
black nightshade
nasturtium (edible flower, whole plant actually)
capsicum heirloom varieties
upland cress
rocket
sunflowers (giant russian)


stupice (good for low sun)
green tigerella tomatoes (big yield)
lucerne sequel (green manure)
crimson forest onions
indigo rose tomatoes
winged beans (entirely edible)
salad burnet (tastes a bit like cucumber apparently.)
yellow and red pear tomatoes
summer savoury (peppery)
snow white tomatoes
pepino (melon pear)

I think I should invest in a patio tomato plant also...



My new batch of seeds arrived in the mail- i think i still have a few more to arrive- and my pepino cuttings!

I emptied out some pots. Harvesting the bolted rocket, and bitter black mustard, and giving up on the basil i attempted to overwinter. One basil DID overwinter, in the tiniest pot. I dunno how but it did! So that will have a head start this year, i will collect seeds from it- perhaps its genetically hardy!(then it died...at the very end!)

I have 1 overwintered capsicum which is only now in late August showing signs of distress- but the hot weather is soon among us! (also dried up in a hidden spot)

I will do a lasagna pot method. Newspaper in the bottom, then layers of egg shells and banana peel mainly and other scraps, and newspaper. Then a handful of worms, and mostly done compost for the top layer. This will hopefully set the tomatoes up- which I intend to plant in there.

I repotted some strawberry runners into a vertical bottle garden also.

Took many hours- but not much to show. All in a days work!