garden

What's growing in my garden? August 2013

by Farmer Liz
Last month I joined "The garden share collective" and gave you quite a detailed tour of the garden.  This month I hope to just update you on the highlights and changes since last month.

In the first garden bed, we have harvested all the radishes (used up in salads and cooked - steamed or fried in butter - with other veges) and started harvesting the thinning carrots, swedes and turnips.  I've also planted shallots (also known as spring onions).
leeks, carrots and turnips
shallots
In garden bed 2, I still just have a mass of self-seeded brassicas and lettuce, nasturtium, and the chilli plants are still going (and I discovered that the chickens will eat the chillies, because we have run out of ideas for using them!).  I'm harvesting multiple small broccoli heads, rather than waiting for big ones.


In garden bed 3 I pulled out all the wheat that had grown out of the chicken litter, and planted celery, then the chickens got into the garden and dug up the celery (they like to dig where I have been digging), but they don't like celery, so I was able to rescue and replant most of it.  The (perennial) kale is doing so much better now we've had some cold weather and bugs have died off. The pak choi has gone to flower, which is nice because there's not much else in flower at the moment.


I tidied up the forth bed too and pulled out all the basil and cherry tomatoes, leaving some space to spread out some of my herb pots and lemon and lime trees, so they can get some sun through winter.  There's also broad beans and peas (just the odd one that I eat in the garden, none have made it to the kitchen yet), and the surviving capsicum bush.



Around the edges, the tromboncino and beans have died off, so I replanted self-seeded calendula seedlings to take their place (last year I harvested lots of calendula petals).  I also cut open some of the big tromboncinos and harvested some seeds for next season.  I also planted some potatoes that had sprouted in the cupboard, its way too early for them, maybe they will make it, maybe they won't....  I harvested some sweet potato because the chickens had started to dig them up.  I hope I left some in the ground to sprout when it warms up.



Bizarrely, it strawberry season (again!).  I only have two large pots of strawberries, so I just get the occasional tiny tasty treat.  As soon as I have space, I will have a massive strawberry patch!




a sample harvest basket
This month I'm going to start planning for spring!  I know its early, but last year I didn't get organised until November and by then it was too hot and dry to get things started, so this year I will be making use of my mini hot house to get tomatoes, corn and curcubits started early. We gave the cattle a roundbale of hay, which they proceeded to destroy and sleep in (even in a roundbale holder), so that will be some nice mulch to spread around the garden too.

How is your garden growing?  What are you harvesting?

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