Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Veg about - November

October ended with warm days, warm nights, laps at the pool and adventures in mowing the grass in shorts and a t-shirt (a note to the mowers out there - don't wear shorts when mowing the grass without a catcher. IT HURTS AND THERE WILL BE BLOOD.)

November started with cold icy winds, rain and the hayfever that I thought I'd kicked with all the injections I'd been having. Salads from the garden just don't seem right when it's 9 degrees outside.

Vegetable garden

Back in July, I photographed my fallow garden. We don't tend to grow things in winter unless it's parsley, and it grows itself - we don't enjoy a lot of the winter vegetables, and the resident gardener, to be honest, needs a break for a few months of a year.


Vegetable patch - Spring 2010

In late October it has transformed somewhat. (That brown fluffy stuff is from our giant elm tree, and the reason my hayfever has returned, I expect). We have rejuvenated the soil in all the beds and barrows, and the resident gardener has lowered the soil against the fence, transplanted all the fruit trees and mulched the access areas.

We are currently eating lettuce, strawberries, snowpeas and spinach. I really need to do something with the rhubarb, but I've been a bit busy doing other things so haven't had the chance. We planted one tomato plant a month ago (frowned on in Canberra - most people wait until the frosts have finished in early November), and we have fruit and expect to definitely have tomatoes by Christmas this year. The other tomato plants went in on the weekend, as did the capsicums. My cucumbers will go in when I can squeeze some space next to the potato bed.

Potato bed

In about a month I'm going to start bandicooting for new potatoes in my temporary potato bed. This bed will eventually be permanent when we get around to putting the hardwood planks together.

Lettuce tub

Our lettuce consumption is getting a little bit ridiculous, but soon it will bolt and we'll have to replant. We're already planning for this and will be planting out some seedlings in the vegetable beds soon.

Baby nectarine

We sprayed the nectarine for curly leaf this year, and we still got it. Not as bad as usual, but still not good. It doesn't affect the flavour of the fruit though. I go over the tree every couple of days and remove the curly leaves to prevent the virus spreading. (The leaves go in the bin - not the compost).

Snowpeas

I'm really enjoying eating the snow peas straight off the plant. They never make it to the kitchen.

I can't wait to see what the rest of November holds for us in the garden, especially with all this lovely rain we've been getting.

To see more gardeners who veg about, head over to Bellgirl's place.

10 comments:

  1. What a difference a few months (and a change of season) makes!

    Your garden is looking fantastic Michelle, the lettuce looks great in the half wine barrel.

    Good to see you around the traps too, I've missed your posts.

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  2. Yum. Especially the snow pea munching. We lot always have to try very hard to remember that horse race stopping the nation bizzo - too busy planting tomatoes...

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  3. Great post! I loved this tour of your garden, looks like it's working well for the family. I must get my seedlings in this weekend, the beds are ready but there has been no time! Need to mulch the fruit trees too...so much to do! xo

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  4. Nice. Our veggie garden is still waiting for soil, but the fruit trees are coming good. All looks very delicious!

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  5. Your garden is looking wonderful. So beautiful and so much growth already. My partner is grew up in Canberra and he says tomatoes shouldn't be planted until cup day. Frankly I've given up trying to grow tomatoes all together... I've never been able to beat the bugs :(

    Happy gardening.

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  6. I love your garden posts! The difference in our seasons always makes it seem so exotic to me. "Tomatoes at Christmas! Well I never!" *pearl clutch*

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  7. Ooh yummy, spinach is my favorite! And I'm growing peas specifically to eat straight off the plant, they're so yummy!

    I saw this recipe for rhubarb the other day, if you've got supplies: http://owlet-designs.blogspot.com/2010/10/rhubarb-lemon-cake.html

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  8. Lovely pics! I'm hoping reading this will inspire me to dig over the rest of the vege bed so I can get my tomatoes in soon. They're in pots on the front porch (out of the way of frost) where I put them a few weeks ago...sigh...

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  9. What a lovely garden. It definitely reflects all your hard work.

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  10. Love the garden. Wishing I had had some more energy over Winter and the last few weeks so that mine was clear instead of covered in weeds....

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