Monday 9 November 2015

Spring blooms


Nice weather has returned for the moment but rain / storms are forecast for this afternoon and next few days. So I snuck out this morning to take some photos.


These are suckers I am trying to root in moist potting mix. Not that I have space to plant them, but I can give them away. It's just an experiment. It could also be a strategy for replacing any failed plants in summer.


Coriander and Vietnamese mint have been relocated to the shadier area. I will probably need to replant the coriander as it's starting to bolt.


Giant sage leaves.


First open capsicum flower of the season.



Getting lots of new sugar snap peas. I've tied the peas back a bit so they don't crowd the capsicums. The lime sulfur did a great job arresting the spread of the powdery mildew and I'm looking forward to this second crop.


Purple capsicum didn't germinate. So I've planted some more parsley here as I'm not getting much production from the two plants in the whiskey barrels. I'm sure they'll start producing more as they mature.


I pulled this broad bean out. I've planted some bush beans here. The kiwano is enjoying the full sun and not being shaded by the broad bean.


Celery. Buk choy are a little deformed. I put the ageratum here as it can tolerate partial shade apparently. The leggier broad bean is still producing and doesn't have any fungus so I'm keeping it for the moment.


The choy sum grew but not very well. Mizuna hasn't sprouted yet.


Looks like these strawberry runners have rooted.


Shallots are large. I think I should stop watering and let them dry out a bit now.


The cos on the right isn't looking good. Either some kind of bacteria in the soil or it's sun damage. They might get better as their root system increases. I had cloches over them before and there was no sign of this damage - maybe they kept it humid enough.


New potato bags but no sign of the plants yet.



Capsicums and eggplants looking great. Some minor insect damage but nothing too bad.


Opal basil growing well. I think the other basil is getting eaten by slugs, I'm going to put a slug trap in there.


Eggplant flowers.


Second Kohlrabi is ready, might eat it today.



This zucchini is looking a bit yellow, it needs more nutrients. This bed will get topped up as I remove more of the brassicas but for the moment I think some dynamic lifter is in order.



Cucumbers are smaller than in the other bed but doing okay now, no longer yellow. I'm sure they'll take off as they get more space/nutrients.




First alyssum flowers.



Pumpkin. Some marking on the leaves. I hope it's not spreading.


Borage are quite huge. I hope they don't get much bigger before flowering. Next season I'll just plant two I think, not five.


Zucchini plant is looking vigorous. I took out the spare. I planted some snow peas at the bottom of the supports.



I hope it's normal for Okra to take this long to establish. They're still pretty small.


These squash look very healthy so far I hope they don't have the deformed leaves.


Marketmore cucumbers. Don't seem to mind the partial shade.


There's a very fine speckling on the lower leaves - I hope it's not fungal.



Tomato crop. Some of the mixed heirloom plants are very short - I have no idea whether they are determinate or not. I wish there was an easy way to tell.


Young tomato.


Flowers.


Black cherry.


Heirloom - looks a bit oblong in shape.


Spinach.


Chard / chicory growing vigorously.


New perpetual spinach seedlings.


I trimmed the damaged leaves off the corn. I think I started it too early, plus some insect damage. I hope they will recover.




Lemon, lime and lemongrass, fennel. The early fertilised lemon blossoms fell off. I suspect it's just too early.


Covered blueberry bush. I don't think the bird would land on the ground and then go under the net but I have some pegs just in case I see it doing this.


Red cherry blossoming - I think this plant is going to be very prolific.


I think I'll swap the red cherry and jalapeno around.


Microgreen sunflower getting tall.


Raspberry with lots of blossoms. I wonder how long it takes for the fruit to mature. Netting this isn't going to be easy. I think I'll have to find a jumbo tomato cage for next season.



New herb pot arrangement. Thymes and rosemary at the top, oregano (Greek and Italian) and marjoram in the middle, tarragon and chives at the bottom. Plus mints and endive at the base. I had no luck growing marjoram from seed so I had to buy another plant.


Endive is enjoying getting more sun, but it does wilt when it's hot. So probably more of a part sun plant this time of year.

Happy gardening and happy harvest!


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