What happened to summer!

Well, its been a while and its been busy. Tis the busy garden season I guess. So much to pick, weeds doing their thing (lots of them) and moving into getting ready for winter planting! I love planting.

Out with Lomandra and in with herbs!

I am in the process of destruction and creation. I decided that it is time to start the lomandra transformation! I put these hardy little fellas in so that I don't have to peer out at doom and gloom all winter long (all 6 months of it!) into a world of brown. These guys have provided me with little rays of greenness that can be enjoyed from inside. However, their demise has now commenced! I have removed the closest ones to the house and have composted, mulched and planted an assortment of herbs. There is currently common thyme, oregano and a lonely rosemary (more of that one to come). I am planning on putting in some other varieties of thyme, more rosemary and a lil patch of English lavender (this variety seems to cope quite nicely to a continual barrage of minus 8).

Whats pickin'!?

Basil awaiting harvest

Well, while I have been picking tomatoes (very tasty ones) there are still quite a lot of green ones. I can feel some green tomato pickles and chutney coming on!!!! I have been picking basil amd making the most delish pesto and just love deliberately brushing against it to obtain that delicious fragrance! It is almost time to harvest the lot to make the big batch of pesto to freeze for the winter - I love it! A day of beautiful smells...

What else??? Hmmm, oh how could I forget those zuc's. I left a few to accidently get a little too big (because I couldn't quite remember what I planted - thought they may have been pumpkin, and they could well have been). It turns out they were mediteranean zuc's. I also have the yellow variety of a standard shape, so there were no probs there. Yummo. I have also been eating the male zuc flowers cooked in a tempura batter and fried (I tell my son they are zuc chippies and so he eats them :)). There are purple beans and I have picked the last of the corn. I need to work on my corn picking skills! I have been leaving it too long or not long enough - need more practice!

The unforgetable mediteranean Zuc's

I still have celery (not something I use a lot of) and silverbeet (which will take me through the winter). I used all the onions and have decided that it is well worth it to grow them, so will plant more this year along with my usual mass patch of garlic.

A venture into fruit world last night saw me picking pears (the birds decided they were ready, so I thought I should beat them to the rest of them!). I have saved a few for when my son gets home. He would be most upset if he couldn't pick some. The same has been done with the Nashi's. I am awaiting the aroma that I have been told comes from the quince, before I pick them. I have still been battling pear slug, but you get that. The grapes this year were basically a no go! Too much rain and too many fungal diseases attacking them, which I didn't pick up til it was too late. So I shall be on to it next year (they were so amazing last summer!!!). I have pruned and pruned and pruned. Was given some sound advice that I should prune now. So now it is done (except the quince - will wait til after the fruit).

The reason we do it!

 The joys of playing with compost. It is such a beautiful batch! The chooks do a great job and the worms finish it all off nicely! The post summer spread has begun, mulch has been spread and planting has just started. I have put in a few brassicas - broc and those hideous little things (brussel sprouts!). I am growing brussell sprouts for my son to try cause I can't stand them (maybe because I can't cook them??). Oh yeah, my chooks are all back to laying again and they are no longer suffering from scaley leg, so are once again a happy bunch!

Today will see me continue weeding and getting ready for planting seeds next week! Hooray!