Last days of 2011

Everything is growing well, picked the first zucchini yesterday. Eggplants are beginning to show growth from the leaf joints and I have put paving stones between them for extra warmth and moisture retention.

The corn is having sex all over the patch!
These tendrils have appeared out of the very tip of the stalk. When you tap the stem a fine mist of pollen drifts down.

 Whilst below them where the leaves are attached bulges have formed and opened their tops to reveal the fronds of the cobs, each one has to be pollinated to form a single kernel.

 

Plums are now starting to look nice, we may need to harvest them before they fall off by themselves, it seems as soon as one hits the ground it gets pecked open by the waxeyes.

 Both the yellow and green beans need picking every two days and look to keep producing for a while yet. The yellow ones do seem to make far more faster maturing pods and are also easier to find amongst the leaves. The first tomatoes are just starting to have an orange tint, and I have had put the extentions onto the tomato frames as the main stalk is now taller than me and I need a stepladder to tie it up.