And so that brings me to the current gardening lessons learned!

Being a southern gardener is quite a steep learning curve for me – and I have learned some good lessons these past few colder months (that I didn’t encounter last year). 

No1.  Don’t plant your potatoes in only half a bed ya dill!!  This is what it will get you – having to mound up half a bed, whilst trying to keep the other half low for the potatoes you put in a month later!!

 



 










It possibly doesn’t look that bad in this photo – but imagine how it looked last weekend, when the right hand side was only just above the tank edge and the left side was as high as it is now…

So it was just me and 4 wheelbarrow loads of mulch (straw, sifted sand and mumby magic) to mound up those right hand ones = hard work!!  And if anyone knows why these potatoes have grown this high let me know – they are about double the height of last year’s ones (yes, different variety this year and planted earlier – is that all it is?).

Lesson No2.  Don’t plant late tomatoes – as much as you have absolutely loved the summer-ripe, just-off-the-bush ones in your salads!!  These late ones have got to this stage as mostly bird food – the parrots just get in there and snack away – which is kinda ok with me, but I was looking forward to some toms myself…so I have now picked what I can (mostly green as most have fallen off the bush). 

 











And worst of all, these tomatoes seem to have gotten themselves blight – due to the humidity of rain I suspect – but not good as it is now in our soil for years to come…I have done something I have never done before and that is actually rip plants out and put them in the bin!  I am a compulsive composter so this was a form of torture to me but it needed to be done for the greater good!   And now I am praying that next summer’s tomatoes – when I will sensibly plant them nicely spaced out (to lower humidity) and as far from the affected area as possible – will survive the blight!!!

Now these might be obvious lessons to some, but I seemed to need to learn them the hard way ;-)

 

Seems almost sacrilege to cook up heirloom tomatoes – but there are too many for us to eat and I am sure it is worse to let them go into the compost (some already succumbed on the bushes…hope they resprout!  That is the thing I have learned about heritage tomatoes – they are ripe before they look it, but if you pick them when they have a little bit of ‘give’, they will last as good as ‘normal’ ones – and look prettier and taste better!!  Those yellow ones looked superb – I don’t think I have eaten one of them yet…).

 

















Everything in the pot was homegrown J!  A rainbow of tomatoes, leek, parsley, oregano, spinach and half a zucchini.

 



 









I think its colour will lend it to a nice curry base – I don’t’ think I could get away with pouring it over pasta.

And if you are needing some reading on food gardening – I found this one interesting today, “Why bother?”

This week in Sunny Strawbales:

Paving – of course – getting there….the going is slow with so much cutting around the plinths – and it is very noisy and oh, so dusty work – so it is good to just take it steady!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardening – lots happening which is lovely – we set up three new raised beds.  Valerie painted the waterproofing on them and I (mostly) filled them with our usual lasagne of rocky sand/rocks; then cardboard and paper; then straw; then mumby magic; then sifted sand and mumby mix; and finally more straw for mulch. 

I’ve decided our tractor sure could do with power steering – I was feeling my muscles the next days!  But we do love our Bob (that is our tractor’s name).

 

 

 

 

 

The hard work is worth it – we have got this to show for our efforts:  asparagus and tomatoes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And three rows of potatoes – we will plant more next time it is below-ground planting days:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This here is our current, most exciting waiting:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our boy loves his corn and these ones he planted are looking delicious!!