ANZAC Day

A solemn day, and we have a Monday off. The weather has been wonderful and much garden work has been done. It was also the weekend of the West End Wiggle, a long board surfing contest at West End Ohope. Six side shooting broccolli have been joined by six beetroot plants and I'm planning a carouby pea tower. They are winter growing mange tout peas, flattish and you eat the hole pod, lovely and abundant. The courgette plant has been a wonder, I have kept it raised off the ground and removed any leaves that were showing the slightest sign of insect ot rust, countless beautiful zucchini have come from the one plant.

a small butterfly on the oregano flowers

A whole new year!

And it's already not looking too much better. Oh yes it is there is a new administration in the USA, whew! The garden has been doing it's bit, we now have plums as large as ever, green beans,zucchini, three types of tomatoes and lots of herbs, just like every year. I had a search for the same time in my previous posts and year after year it's all the same :) I do notice the garden shape changes which seem to be on going.

Tomato Time!

 Yes, warm enough to press the go button. This year an Early Girl, medium sized fruit, fast maturing and over and done with before the insects and diseases take their toll. A roma, thick flesh bush type good for sauces etc and a Red Tumbler dwarf, planted into a large 40L tub the garden mix from Tui.This is like a sweet 100, small cocktail fruit. Also a zucchini, Black Jack :)

Trio of toms

And Mitzi guarding the parsnips

Daylight saving!

 Yes, we made it Covid-19 and all. Level one is OK at the moment, hopefully we can keep it at bay. Things are gently warming up but it's still not time for tomatoes and capsicums as the soil isn't really warm enough for a while. I have popped in a few more potatoes that were chitting nicely. I had read that instead of digging a trench (into cold deep soil) you put the potato close to ground level and cover them with soil and compost which will be warm and encourage growth. So far so good the ones I had put in a week or so ago have come up above the surface already so I have mounded up more soil again. Made a containment fence out of gutter guard things I never used. wired the together to make a circle. Wire on top to keep the blackbirds out :)

Potato heap in front of the Mandarin tree

The colours of silverbeet

Good old silverbeet bit with pretty colours, must be good for you

Past the shortest day!

Onward and upward though we have just had our first 0 degree morning yesterday but it rose to 14. Today was 11 rising to 16 so we really can't complain too much so far. There has been a good lot of rain so the soil is good for a while and everything is growing very well, there is even a very small cauliflower head showing

The first cauliflower 

The peas have grown taller than my frame

A flat carouby winter growing pea

Original aragula rocket

I want to share (and remember) the cool things that can be done will sticks and branches like these

Here is a facebook posting
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1652308074920604&set=pcb.1652308601587218&type=3&theater