The climbing beans can’t decide up which stick to climb. Every time they make a decision they get blown back down. A few days of warm sunshine are what they, and the rest of the garden, need. They haven’t made much progress since this photograph in mid-November. The mulching has kept the weeds down well though. I picked the first zucchini and tomato from the tunnel house – about a fortnight behind last year. I’m pinching out the tomato side shoots almost daily it seems.
There will be two fresh food garden courses on Saturday 30 January or 13 February 2010 to help you have a successful autumn and winter garden.
Mabel has gone broody and I’ve safely relocated her, with her eggs, from under a manuka bush to the broody coop. I’m hoping she’ll be a good mum and raise some Mabel/Rhode Island red chicks. I have pure-bred fertile Rhode Island red hen’s eggs for sale for $2.50 each if you have a chook that goes broody and you want to raise some chicks.
There’s plenty of weeding to be done and it’s time to spray the brassicas with Dipel spray to keep off the caterpillars. I’ve cleared one lot of peas but I’ll try another sowing for a later crop. The next sowing of potatoes is ready for a mulching and I’m feeding tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins and strawberries weekly with seaweed or worm tea. I’ve sown some more lettuce, carrots, radish, turnips, beetroot, dwarf beans, silverbeet, coriander, basil and spring onions. It’s almost time to sow autumn greens – kale, broccoli, cabbage and cavalo nero.
Rhubarb crumble and custard dealt to an oversupply of rhubarb and eggs. Venison was delicious wrapped in proscuitto and in pastry for venison wellingtons. Served with broad beans and new potatoes of course.
