Autumn 2023, after the rains.
Easy to assemble raised garden beds saved the day last spring and early summer when half the garden was flooded and strong winds destroyed the hot house. This one is on the side of the drive way, and is one of several, in which cucumbers, parsnips, silver beet, capsicums, peas and beetroot have been grown in the last six months. Filled with plenty of compost and topped up occasionally, the plants can reach down into a medium of gravel and wood chips which make the surface of the driveway. The raised beds really give good drainage, but did not save me from the rust which came with the rain and in was in the farm fields all around where fava beans were growing. The farmers lost those crops and had to dig them in. I took my rust affected broad beans to the local tip, where there was an ever growing mountain of garden waste as every one’s garden had turned into a jungle.
While some plants could not cope with the weather, others did better than ever, especially the flowers; poppies, nigella, sweet peas and honesty in particular, made spectacular colour, colonising every corner with self sown surprises. And the garlic did not seem to mind, it did not rot and the soil was so soft it was easy to pull up. Although I think it was just good luck they were growing in a very well drained spot.
Summer has been cool and nights not really hot enough for growth of some plants. The zucchinis and pumpkins, eggplants and some tomatoes just failed to thrive at all. On the other hand, one tomato variety was a star, Costoluto Fiorentino, which is a strangely ribbed fruit, bright red, slightly flattened and makes excellent pasta sauce. It was amazingly vigorous, climbing up to 3 meters, and totally loaded with fruit. It was not fazed by whatever the weather. Surprisingly too, the Italian Capsicum, Palermo has made a bonza crop. This is a very crisp and sweet capsicum that lends itself to many culinary uses, raw in salads, pickled in chutney and complimenting casseroles.
Seed availability for peas and beans is low, in winter I struggled to keep some peas alive and could not start beans until well into January as it was too damp and cold till then. So yields are low this year. Still, as a seed saver, I always keep a few seeds aside , never sow every last seed, and even if I only get a handful of good quality fresh seed, that is enough to try again next season. In times like this I may not get to eat any of the produce myself, especially if the seeds are of a particularly rare variety.
Am just starting winter vegetables now, parsnips and turnips are up, garlic and bunching onions are planted, and the re-erected hot house has several shelves of Chinese broccoli slowly coming along. Time to get more silver beet started and coriander and corn salad. Always the hope for the next season keeps us growing. Always time to plan for the next season. Hope you have good luck and good weather ahead!!
Spring 2022
Although it is still cold and soggy in most areas, it’s time to think of spring sprouting. I now have fresh seed of the Australian White Bush Marrow, but only one packet per order, please. Plenty of Virginia White Zucchini available, Joe E Parker Chilli, and delicious Bulls Blood Beetroot seed. Still managing to keep Uncle Dick’s Turnip going, but I have decided to change the sowing schedule for both Beetroots and Turnips from Autumn to Spring. Our winters seem colder and frostier lately, and both of those vegetable have stopped growing late autumn, just sat through winter, and then bolted in spring, for the last few years.
If supermarket lettuce prices are too much for you, try using young Kale leaves and the very tender Lucullus Silverbeet, or the mini Cos Lettuce, Parris Island instead . More raised garden beds are my answer to lack of space: they come flat packed from the hardware shop, and II now have another compost bin to make more soil to fill them. No digging is great, and you can place them in driveways, on paths and lawns, just using the cardboard packaging as a base. Dealing with birds ,including my own ducks, is a constant problem, and the raised beds are easy to cover with domes of netting or cloth. Wishing everyone a successful growing season ahead. Rose
Autumn Update 2022
After wonderful spring rain, it was a dry hot summer. This was generally good for plants that love the heat, although the pumpkins struggled and produced poorly. Fortunately, the Marrows did well and a small crop has been harvested and is drying now. I hope there are good seeds inside those Marrows!! The Year of the Tomato resulted in a massive crop, enough to share with the ducks. The Chilli, Joe E Parker, Capsicum, Italian Long Red, and National Pickling Cucumber, have done very well.
Beans were all sowed very late, in early January, after we had some summer thunderstorm rain, and it looks like a good harvest will come in around Easter. The Burgundy Snake beans are a real winner, for growing fast and producing well, and the Rattlesnakes have proved again, to be very reliable. The Zagreb Soldier bush beans are just starting to flower now. After several years of disappointment with Beetroots, I have finally harvested Bulls Blood variety seed, and tested it for germination, which is good. Suddenly the demand for Russian Garlic has picked up: there was a very nice crop of huge heads. Interest in gardening has not waned, demand for seeds remains strong. However, my back yard limits the quantity I can produce, but more raised garden beds are being added. And more grass being converted to vegetable beds. Parsnip seed has been unavailable, so people were telling me, so after trying several brands, I finally got a good germination and am hoping to have fresh seed by the spring. Parsnip seeds are only viable for 12 months, so plan ahead and save your own regularly. Still lots of bees on the garden flowers, many daisies, different sages, sedums and chrysanthemums bring them in to fertilise autumn crops.
7 Christmas ducklings
Spring photos
Here is a group of herbs and vegetables going to seed. The pink radish flowers are over 2 meters tall, the bright yellow turnip flowers about 1½ meters high and the blue borage is the front row.
Broad beans and climbing peas will soon be ready to pick. Borage and calendula are self sown everywhere, they bring the bees to the yellow flowers of Uncle Dick’s turnips and to the pink flowers of the Fire Candle radishes.
The blueberry in the pot is covered with fruit. Capsicums, chillies and tomatoes in the greenhouse are ready to plant out.
Crowded in the garden and in pots around the water tank, curry plant, sages, lemon balm, oregano and thyme. Pretty with various flowers, colours and textures and close to the kitchen.
Yuletide, 2021
The dry inland of Australia covers a vast landscape. Here in The Wimmera, our rains come in winter, usually, and after a long dry summer and autumn, the garden responds as it would to the coming of spring in more temperate and coastal climates.
The grass grows again, and so-called weeds, which make good foraging for salads and medicinal teas. Lettuces, silverbeet, broccoli, kales get going , and beetroot and turnips begin to form nice bulbs.
Nettle, dandelion, rocket, self sown parsley, dill, coriander and fresh garlic shoots like spring onions, all add to the menu for both people and poultry.
The fruit trees are bare, but the wattles are about to burst into colour. Sparrows and blackbirds raid the garden for feed, but avoid all the plants mentioned above, and greedily eat the new pea plants, to the point that they have to be covered with cages to protect them.
Foraging includes olives from wayside trees and big bags of fallen leaves , to supplement the straw in the duck yard, which eventually turns into lovely compost and mulch. More lawn is turned into no dig gardens and small circular gardens are made on the Nature Strip as ever more space is needed.
Yacón is this year’s discovery. A tuber from a friend turned into a tall plant with large leaves. When the frost hit it, it was pulled up and yielded a good kilo of tubers, about 4 very large and some smaller ones. The Seed Savers’ Handbook gives information about propagation but a search on the Internet was needed to learn how to cook and eat it. They look a bit like potatoes, but are very juicy and crunchy, texture like water chestnut, mildly sweet and not unlike a Nashi Pear. They can be eaten cooked or raw. In a casserole, the Yacon took on the flavours of the stock and herbs and eventually softened to a texture like Choko. Chopped up raw, they go well in a fruit salad.
Pumpkins did not give a good yield this year. We had a cool wet summer and only got a couple of decent fruit. Here is a wonderful recipe for a Pumpkin Custard which can be eaten as a custard or used as a filling for a pie. It comes from a little recipe book that was originally sold at Aunt Emily’s Craft shop in Bowraville in NSW. It was contributed by Eva Spring
PUMPKIN CUSTARD
1 1/2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin, 3 eggs beaten well , 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and ground ginger to taste, 2 teaspoons grated orange rind, 1/2 cup light cream.
Mix together and pour into a pie shell or dish. Bake in a moderate over 30-35 minutes or till set. Goes well with yogurt , cream or ice-cream.
Keep warm and stay well till spring.
New Year 2021
Hello All Gardeners.
This Winter/ Spring we have had cool weather and average rain. This has meant rapid growth in the garden, ripe tomatoes before Christmas and zucchinis in plenty. loaded berry vines and good displays of flowers in spring.
As usual, I started the beans later than most people, putting in seeds after the Summer Solstice, December 20th. I do this to avoid rust and fungus in the area which tends to be prevalent in spring .
Still trying to get some beetroot started this season. . The stars must be against me this year. Seeds did not germinate or failed to thrive. And other disappointments included packets of new seeds which also failed to germinate. Given the good weather, I can only conclude that the seed was not fresh in spite of being within the Best By Date on the packets. By scouting around in local garden centers and hardware shops, I have discovered more brands of seeds available than usual, and I am always ready to try something new. But it is disappointing when the seeds don’t come through.
At present I am drying and packing Lucullus Silver Beet, large semi double Peony Poppy, Haw Lan Do snow peas and Telephone shelling peas, Big Big Russian Garlic bulbs, Nigella seeds, Dill seeds, and Endive. Endive makes a good addition to salads. It is slightly bitter and said to be very good for the health.
The Burgess Buttercup pumpkins are making fruit, also small purple striped Egg plants, Tomatoes ES38, too, which are small but quick to grow as they have a compact form and medium fruit. The fruit is round although slightly flattened and the colour, bright red. The skins are thin and the flavour is good, so I hope to start collecting seeds from them soon.
I was disappointed by Sweet Bite cherry tomato, recommended by several friends. It grew well, made big roots , but the fruit is very very small, and the skins tough and the flavour not sweet at all. Maybe the nights have been too cold here, as we had temperatures regularly down to 5 degrees at night, right up till January.
I am trying a bush snake bean with burgundy skin, and some Bulls Blood Beetroot and will sow Uncle Dick’s Turnip later this week.
Warragul Greens and self sown red stem Purslane are providing some leafy greens, very welcome now that the days are getting hot.
Drying herbs such as sage, oregano and coriander seeds ensures plenty of culinary flavour for the year ahead and my loaded nectarine tree will soon be ready to harvest. Drying the fruit is a good way to keep it for a long time and takes minimum space in storage.
All the best for a safe and happy season. Rose
Spring Surprises
This year – 2020, has certainly been full of surprises. Many have been unpleasant due to extreme weather events and the virus pandemic. But Mother Nature has blessed us here with winter rain and a mild spring after several dry years. This has led to many surprises in my garden. The fruit trees that did not flower last year have done so abundantly and are making bumper crops of fruit. Perennials like Honesty, which did not cope with last year’s heat , and had blistered stunted leaves, suddenly came to life with that winter rain, making lovely new foliage and tall stems of flowers. Self sown seeds of Rocket, Radicchio, Celery, Salsify and other volunteers started to pop up as the weather warmed up. Birds turned up too, and I heard their pre- dawn songs again after a couple of very quiet years. Nesting time is in full swing, and ducks’ feathers will be lining some of those nests. Apart from the usual Blackbirds and Sparrows, there are now New Holland Honey Eaters, Wattle birds, Willy Wag Tails , Top Knot Pigeons, all enjoying plenty of feed. Such feed includes the insects that also have proliferated since the rains came.
A bit of a battle has ensued with earwigs, snails and slugs. I finally learnt how to make earwig traps. Using cans and butter containers baited with about 2 cm of cooking oil in them, I find I get quite a few bugs and need to clean out the traps about once a week. Old BBQ grease and soy sauce added to the oil makes it more attractive to the earwigs. I had tried saucers before, but realise now that they are too shallow. Bugs can crawl out too easily. By setting the can into the soil, so that the ground is on a level with the rim of the container, the bugs venture in, drown in the oil, and cannot climb out again! The snails and slugs make good feed for the ducks, who finally came back to work after a long holiday and started laying again in mid August!!
Every year is different and with climate changing too, finding the best time to sow and plant can be difficult. I used to grow beetroot over winter, but nowadays, autumn sown beetroot grows too slowly over winter, then bolts in early spring. I found the same thing with peas too.( they don’t bolt to seed, but they sulk and get eaten by birds etc.). So I am starting beetroot and peas in early spring now. Winter crops of Garlic, Lettuces, Endive, Broad Beans still seem to do well in the colder months. Some Florence Fennel, left in the ground at the end of summer, just to be used as a leafy herb, has made quite good bulbs which are being harvested now. The silver beet, Lucullus, struggled in the cold months but finally looks respectable enough to eat.
A large part of grass has been turned into a no-dig garden and a crop of potatoes-Pontiacs and Kipflers, is now growing well. With vegetables like potatoes, it isn’t money I am trying to save by growing my own, but the better flavour I am looking for. Fresh produce that is really fresh has an amazing flavour that no supermarket can offer. Besides, it is organically grown and so, nutritionally superior.
Of course, there have been some disappointments. Purple sprouting broccoli has been slow to grow, and now the flower heads are very small, or non existent. The brussels sprouts did not sprout at all and the Red Russian Kale has gone to seed much too soon for my liking. But this has happened before with winter brassicas and a few times I had giant leafy plants with no flower heads at all. I think it is due to choosing a spot that is not sunny enough in winter. I’ll try again next year.
In just two years and here in an average size back yard, there has been a good transformation from bare grass to garden beds, trees and shrubs. Biodiversity increases all the time and pleasant, sheltered nooks are evolving. This spring brings much hope of healthy harvests in summer!
