It is interesting to follow the blogs of gardeners in the northern hemisphere as they plant their seeds and begin to plant out their seedlings in the spring there.
It makes me feel fortunate that I can grow vegetables all year round.
Things go slowly in the cooler weather here
but they do grow...so long as manage to keep
the chooks and goats out of the patch.
The brassicas are flourishing under their protective butterfly net.
The early purple turnips will be ready for a soup soon.
The garlic is thriving and was even wearing crystal buttons today.
The last lot of broad beans are up
along with the telephone peas and sugar snap peas.
The onions and leeks I planted out don't appear to have grown,
but I know they are putting down roots.
There are tiny kale and english spinach babies in one of the raised beds.
This earlier planting of broad beans are reaching for the sky...
well they are up to the first string anyway.
If only I had a little hot house
or hoop house,
I could be in veggie heaven.
I love your photos! Things look like they're coming along nicely in your garden. I love the garlic sparklies!!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't we all, and if it was really warm in there, Id make enough room to put a chair in there so I could read in the warm...lol...
ReplyDeleteHi Hazel, I am jealous that you can grow year round! It's so nice to find your blog, I look forward to stopping by again! Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeletelovely photos I am sure I will be able to grow all year round here but a hoophouse or green house would be great for the salad veg
ReplyDeleteI too feel lucky to be able to grow such a variety of vegies over the colder months,more success as our summers can be so hot!Have been enjoying your great photos,giant carrots&frosty mornings. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteOoo you cheeky munchkin, look at your lovely brassicas... I am very envious, mine are looking as though they have had a big night out... several big nights out in fact. And your broad beans! I still haven't had a go at them - next year...
ReplyDeleteGreat photo's!
ReplyDeleteIt must be amusing to 'watch' us go mad for a few months as we try to get as much stuff to grow in a short space of time :)
We're hoping out polytunnel will extend the season for us a little bit this year, apaprt from that it will be a frenzy of freezing and preserving :)
Its such a great feeling seeing veg grow. Even better when not being attached by pests, always my fear! Those carrots a few days ago... grew and grew, wow! Do you ever need to buy veg at the market?!?
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful sight! I'm soooooo envious! Especially of your brassica underneath their cosy netting. I reflect sadly on my caterpillar chewed lot. Sigh. Need to use smaller netting next time...
ReplyDeleteI love that your header changes all the time!
I feel such a fraud...I only photographed and wrote about the successes...The last lot of carrots and beetroot didn't come up, the second lot of brassica seedlings were munched by snails and slugs, the chickens ate the silver beet and a lot of the peas (not all thank goodness), and the goats have had a nibble at the tops of the garlic. Now that is off my chest...
ReplyDeleteAli, I don't think you would be able to grow broad beans...they need cold temperatures to set beans..but give it a go anyway.
Kelli- I don't know how those carrots got like that...neglect? We should be able to eat from the veggie patch all through the year with just a the 'hungry gap' in early spring...but I am not that organised yet. We try to eat what is in the garden first then top up with bought veggies. In summer we manage quite well, but at the moment it is a bit slow in the harvesting arena...we are eating things we froze in the summer, and there are the pumpkins and a few meagre offers from the garden.
I wonder if Cook has set out a plan for the purple turnip when it is ready to be harvest. Our turnip has funny roots some form globe some longish probably lack of water. Your cool season veggies are growing so fast!
ReplyDeleteHi Hazel
ReplyDeleteI definitely envy you your year round growing. Having said that I am not sure I could handle the scorching heat of summer anywhere else!
I don't so much mind the fallow period of winter, it's the light that I miss!
Moyra (reapwhatyougrow)
Your brassicas are doing well under that "veil" I am wondering if I need something like that - this year we have an amazing amount of little white "moths" which in turn seem to be laying little green caterpillars. Just about all my leaves have a lovely lace pattern on them, so I am using copious amounts of garlic chili spray.
ReplyDeleteHa! Ooo it makes me feel better that you have had some failures :D
ReplyDeleteShaudenfraude methinks, although I certainly can't spell it.
Not cold enough here hey... the same for lovely brussels sprouts, and I so want to try them... and kiwi fruit. Hey, why don't you try kiwi fruit? They need 300 chill hours I believe. I don't even think we get three here.
You're lucky indeed that you can grow pretty much all year round without needing too much fuel and light in the 'winter'. Gardening can get pretty stagnant here in the colder months and heating a greenhouse can cost a bomb!
ReplyDelete