Garden update - winter is here.
It's the 1st of June, therefore the end of Autumn and the beginning of winter, and don't we know it!
This last couple of weeks have been cold, rainy and windy and although the garden is pretty wet, we've managed to get out for a couple of hours to weed a couple of garden beds and plant some more seedlings.
So, what has gone into the ground recently?
(Garlic doing well despite the cats digging in the garden)
We've planted garlic (I know it's not the shortest day yet and purists would insist that garlic only be planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest day), but I had a few bulbs that were already sprouting in the cupboard so split them up and got them into the garden. If all of them take and don't get taken out by the frost, we should end up with over a hundred garlic plants.
Other members of the onion family have also been planted this week. Several rows of red onion and several rows of leeks were planted earlier in the week and so far are looking good.
(Lettuce are running rampant....all self seeded and cost us nothing)
The self seeded lettuce that I pricked out and replanted....60 or so plants....have all done well and we've been harvesting the leaves for a couple of weeks now. There are still a lot of lettuce growing and I must make use of them before the frosts come and shrivel them up to nothing.
(Newly planted Kale)
Not exactly my favourite, but Lizzie insisted we plant Kale - so 6 kale plants also went in earlier this week.
The very last few strawberries and raspberries will be picked in the next couple of days and that will be that until springtime. We have been very fortunate to have been able to enjoy such a long season for both these types of berries.
(last of the Raspberries and Strawberries)
Now it's time to gather in the nets, prune back the autumn fruited raspberry canes and take out the old growth. The strawberry plants similarly need attention between June and August and I will be splitting the old plants from the new runners and expanding my strawberry beds. We had about a hundred plants this year, next year we should have double that.
We also picked the last of the courgettes/zucchini this week. When I get a chance I'll pull the remaining plants out and throw some lime and compost on the beds ready for spring.
The last few walnuts are hiding in what's left of the lawn so next chance I get I'll rake them up and get them dried ready for storing/cracking.
The fresh plums and peaches we enjoyed in summer are a distant memory, but we do have some peaches bottled and more still frozen to see us through winter. Our apple tree (singular) produced about a dozen large tasty apples on it's slender branches this year, so we should get about double that next year.
We have yet to see any fruit from our two pear trees and our three fig trees which were too immature to fruit this time around. Hopefully next year!
Same applies to our two almond trees. They seemed to be doing well, producing small soft coated almonds but then they would drop of before anything solid formed. Again, maybe next year.
Our citrus trees are another story.
(Lemons!)
We have three small lemon trees - that's the trees that are small, not the lemons. Two of which are fruiting very well whilst the third is totally disinterested in pushing out any fruit it seems.
The mandarin tree - again a new young tree - has almost a dozen fruit on it, almost ready to pick.
(only a small tree but nice sized mandarins)
The lime tree has produced nothing, but this was to be expected as I cut it right back to the base a year ago to combat the borer. It appears to be growing quite healthily again despite the severe pruning I gave it. I expect fruit either next year or the year after.
(the beautiful tasting Ugli fruit)
The Ugli Fruit - like a big orange with a thick skin - is producing heaps of fruit yet again. Not many are ripe enough to pick as yet. It's not a great eating fruit, but does make amazing fruit juice.
Oh yes and if anyone wants any Jerusalem Artichokes, (also known as sunchokes - because of their sunflower like bloom), we have heaps and only Lizzie likes them. Call round anytime and I'll dig you a bucket full.
(Jerusalem Artichokes/sunchokes.)
I dug up two roots and got almost a bucketful. The garden is full of them so please don't be shy.
You can cook them just like you would a potato: roast, boil, saute, bake or steam. You can leave the skin on or peel it off — up to you. You can also eat them raw or grate them into salads.
They are high in potassium. A one cup serving of sunchokes contains 643 mg of potassium, which is essential for overall health and can help to reduce heart disease. Increasing your dietary potassium, in addition to reducing excess sodium, is especially beneficial for people at risk for high blood pressure. So there you go.
Their only downfall is that they can give you gas/cause flatulence or otherwise upset delicate tummies. I quite like the flavour of sunchokes, but THEY don't like me, so I tend to avoid them.
Once you plant a root of Jerusalem artichoke you will be digging them up for life. The roots divide and reproduce like rabbits! Great if you love eating them....not so great if you don't.
Other plants doing well....as always the spinach and silver-beet and other leafy greens are still putting out heaps of leaves.
I already have two rows of peas where the runner beans used to be so chanced another row and so far all seeds have produced plants. They are still very young and tender and could be zapped by the frost, but so far so good.
The celery are coming along nicely and we have had a picking already.
(Celery in the middle along with Leeks, onions, beetroot and in the background yet more lettuce)
We still have lots of food in store that we bottled earlier plus a kitchen cupboard full of pumpkin/squash and more under the carport. I'm guessing that sooner or later we'll become bored of eating it....roasted, mashed, made into soup, stuffed, in salads etc etc but for now it's helping to keep the grocery bill manageable.
(just a few of the pumpkin/squash still to be eaten)
We were hoping to buy a glasshouse to get an early start on spring growth, but our savings have been eaten into so I may end up using a few bits and pieces from around the section and build a big cold frame instead. Got a couple of old windows and a shower door, a few lengths of wood and a roll of clear plastic so no doubt I will be able to cobble together something useful, if ugly.
Thanks for reading and meantime we'll keep living the good life.
