Bounty

Well maybe not a 'bounty' exactly, but one I'm pretty happy with :-) There were also a couple of strawberries, but they didn't make it back up the yard... oops ;-)

Some of the carrots were a bit small to pull right now, but it is a good indication that the variety I have chosen (nantes) is going to grow well in this soil.

I was frustrated at only being able to pick a couple of tomatoes, or a handfull of lettuce leaves every now and then. I had visions of over flowing baskets of fresh veges like I'd just walked through a farmers market.... well it's getting there!

If nothing else, I am learning patience.

We've had three days of unseasonably hot weather for July, tops of 25 - 27! The beans are all covered in tiny baby beans and the snow peas are flowering. The bok choy and spinach can both start to be used this week, so I will be planning some dinners during the week to incorporate them. The strawberries have lots of flowers and tiny strawberries growing. There are a couple of mushrooms ready to add to the omlettes in the morning. I guess it really is quite a bountiful time on the Nugent plot at the moment :-)

Garlic Update

The garlic bulbs I'd planted in the styrofoam box looked to be struggling. Compared to the ones I put in the garden, the leaves were not as green and they didn't seem to be growing anymore.

I transplanted them to the end of the new garden bed. You should have seen the root system actually growing into the styrofoam!! Three of them didn't survive the move, so I pulled them up today. They are so cute! about the size of cocktail onion and a nice white and purple colour.

Apparently it's not too late to plant bulbs, you can trick them into thinking they have been through winter by putting them in the fridge for a week. They should be ready for summer.

Dilemma ....

Been thinking .....

So how does self sufficient work in the southern climate? I am spoilt with the sub tropical climate here in SE Qld and there is little we cannot grow. The book I have been gathering inspiration from is Nthn NSW based. Pretty much everything will grow quickly. I am frustrated by the slow growing of our winter plantings, so it got me thinking about the southern areas of NSW and Vic and how your vege patches fare, and how you cope with the slower growing season. Probably quite naive of me, having never grown in those areas. Is there a whole range of veges to concentrate on for cold climates? The food miles travelled is a big factor in my purchasing and if it's not sourced locally we can go without.
I did read in one of many gardening magazines how a Melbourne gardener pushes her wheelbarrow of herbs and veges around the garden to get as much sunlight as possible. I admire her dedication, but I am sure she reaps the benefits.

Input please!!

Seeds vs Seedlings

I have been growing pretty much everything from seed, even the tomatoes that came up for free were seeds from the scrap bucket. While it is quicker to buy seedlings and you are pretty much guarenteed the success, because lets face it, they are already 'up', I love the satisfaction of growing something from scratch.
We make paper pots out of newspaper and fill them with seed raising mix and propogate them in a seed raiser. Much slower this time of year, time but still with a 95% success rate. I will do a post soon (and hopefully a little video on making paper pots)

I've been reading a book that touched on what the big companies are doing to seeds, so that the plant you grow will not go to seed. Also companies like Monsanto are genically modifying seeds so that they are not viable after the first planting. It goes against everything that is sustainable. Seed saving is as old as agriculture.
We have been saving the seeds from capsicums, pumpkins, tomatoes and rockmelon so far. I am sure we have enough to feed a small town already when you consider each seed will in turn produce another crop bearing plant. My neighbour planted the corn from the bird seed that was always left - must check on his success.

I have been buying organic seeds from a company based in Maleny call Green Harvest. www.greenharvest.com.au I hope I can collect seeds from everything I am growing now, ready for the next crop. It will be a learning curve, I've hardly ever grown carrots let alone letting one go to seed and collecting them!

Free Tomatoes

We call these the 'free tomatoes' because they all came up where the chook tractor had been. At any given time we have about 24 plants at once. There are roma, grosse lisse, truss and most recently it looks like I have some cherry tomatoes come up. These tomatoes taste and smell like real tomatoes, if that makes sense. They remind me of the tomatoes when I was a kid.

After the sabotage of tomato seedlings in Bowen last week, everyone needs to buy a punnet and get them in now. You are only a week or two behind the ones they were growing in Bowen, so you can avoid paying an arm and a leg in the coming weeks. They are one of the easiest things to grow. Pinch out any little side shoots and concentrate on a nice healthy centre stem and stake it to keep it growing up (not out and all over the place) Go on - I dare you!!

New Additions :-)

I went to the homegarden expo at Nambour on Friday! OMG what a fantastic set up. It was the first time I had ever been and I was overwhelmed by the size and range of things to see and buy.
I ended up with a dwarf olive tree, granny smith apple, red cabbage and cauliflower seedlings, yellow passionfruit vine and a mushroom kit. I dreamed of a native bee hive, but at $360 I will be content with the ones that visit me for free.

I enjoyed four different talks and demonstrations and loved being with like minded people. As Jerry Coleby-Williams said he was preaching to the converted, so his talk was very informative and educational for gardeners with established plots.

All of the above mentioned plants went in the garden this morning along with chokos and more carrots. Recent additons last week were pineapple, zucchini, celery and bok choy.