First video

I finished editing together my first garden video and uploaded to YouTube.

Summer swing

Weather has been pretty nice, cool nights still which is welcoming. A few horror hot windy days but all the supports held up well.

Here are some harvest pics.

Not many blueberries left after the main harvest. I'm hopeful next season with better care, soil and following the fruit tips we get more and bigger fruit.

Shallots and Paris market carrots. I was a bit disappointed in the shallots - they really just taste like small salad onions. Maybe I should get some purple ones.

These transplanted strawberry runners are looking healthy, but may not fruit this year. To the right I have planted more Paris market carrots. The black fleece keeps the potting mix from drying out so fast while still allowing enough light for germination.

Cos lettuce struggling on, bolting baby spinach (which is nevertheless still giving me plenty of leaves) and spring onions some of which are forming flowers - I guess this can happen the first year if you start them in winter. I'll start a new pot and plant less densely this time.

Sorrel unbothered by pests or shade still producing plenty of leaves to eat. Looking forward to trying the red veined variety. The leaf lettuce has bolted so I'm keeping it in the shade so it will produce enough for a sandwich mix..

Coriander germinated in this shady spot. I hope it grows well here as apart from the sorrel, not much else does.

Cucumber and zucchini bed. There are some beets in there too but they're just seedlings at this point. Had one Lebanese cucumber so far, tastes infinitely better than store bought. None of the lemon ones are very big yet.

Potatoes have been topped up (need to get some more straw mulch) and looking healthy. Not sure where to put them as they could become really obstructive in this spot as they grow taller.

Lots of eggplant flowers but can't see any fruit yet. Some caterpillars have been munching holes in the leaves but I don't think it will affect production.

Several tiny capsicums on the chocolate beauty.

Scarlet runner beans with pretty flowers, kiwano, celery.

Broad beans still going! Removed the spent stems and kept the ones that looked healthy.

Transplanted out the sucker-tomatoes to the whiskey barrels. I'll tie them to the support at the back, semi-espalier style. It's more of an experiment. The sweet bananas in front are very tall - unfortunately a rat took our two early ones but looks like being a heavy producer.

Chervil flowering.

Mints and behind chives and tarragon. Mints are really exploding in the full sun.

Oreganos and Marjoram, rosemary, thyme and sage at the top. The sage wasn't liking the shaded spot so I've moved it here to full sun.

More sucker tomatoes I probably won't use, some basil cuttings, and on the left seedlings - a very late started Jimmy Nardello, beetroots, a melon that I may or may not plant, and Lebanese cucumbers to replace any plants that die or stop producing early.

This is the white cucumber. None of eating size yet but many flowers and the bees are well and truly back.

The mini pumpkin vine was falling over the side, so I'm going to try to lead it back to the trellis with soft ties. Some of them didn't get pollinated and fell off but it's looking like it will produce many more. I have noticed two different lady bugs on this pumpkin so maybe it's attracting them?

Blanco lungo zucchini - huge plant, only two so far and one on the plant, hope it's worth the space!

Borage in flower - flowers through purple and pink to blue. The bees really love it and can't stay away, it's really helped bring them back to the garden.

Okra had its first flower, still a bit runty but the taller they get the more sun they'll get. Squash growing but slowly - I'm contemplating removing one of them.

Marketmore cucumber - had two so far (took them off while only about 15-20cm) and they were really nice and sweet. Hopefully I'll be flush with cucumbers soon so I can let them get to full size.

Spinach doing okay, one is bolting though, but not bad for summer. White beets have been planted in the middle there but have not germinated yet.

Enjoying the swiss chard. I tried one of the chicory leaves and it was quite bitter - looks nothing like the cabbage-like plant that is supposed to eventually form in the middle.

 

Tomatoes - still no signs of ripening yet but they are getting darker.

The plants under the tomato canopy are looking a little better aside from some of the basil which is still ratty. The marigold is even flowering.

Some of the corn has produced tassels already, even though they are only about a metre high. Hopefully this won't cause problems with the cobs. The beans are doing a good job climbing the stalks.

This corner getting more sun now. I'll probably move the raspberry back here once it's done fruiting and move the lemongrass into full sun.

Got a very modest amount of fruit this year, but it was from only two canes (one which split into two at the bottom, so more like three canes). There are 5 canes for next season assuming no more pop out later in the season. I'm going to put a much bigger tomato cage here to attach the canes to. I also think that this needs to be in a spot which gets morning sun but is a bit more shaded in the middle of the day.

Sunflower head is forming.

Hot wax banana, can't wait for these to be ready.

The hot wax in the side bed is catching up.

Thai/cayenne (unsure, came from a long red supermarket chilli) only now producing its first flowers. Interesting growth habit that sends up many stems from the base.

Poblano still getting taller and pushing out blossoms. I wouldn't be surprised if it reaches the top of the cage.

Jalapeno, should have some fruit soon.

Red cherry has lots of fruit forming.

Rosemary and lemon thyme struck from cuttings. Taking a long time to establish but they'll get there.

Going to let this coriander go to seed. Planted more in the shady bed and another container.

Started new leaf lettuce and baby spinach in this spot by the fence which gets shaded a bit from the hot afternoon sun. Should have started the lettuce a few weeks ago.

Enjoy your gardening.