Summer 2011 report

Just counted 25 tomatoes and most of them are heritage ones. And of course the ones that do best seem to be the Moneymaker and Sweet 100. Can't do without them. Tonight I noticed some of them have white marks which look like bird droppings and I suspect I will have to get more neem oil or neem granules quickly.

Convolvulus is coming at us from all directions and a big clean up is indicated, as well as all the weeds. I am trying to get some of the areas back to easy care. Beans are being picked now and I am grateful to Chris Cairns next door who watered for a week while we were away after Christmas.

Looking forward to a good rain as it takes so much time to water.

Have harvested heaps of garlic and some onions. Potatoes will take a while yet and the kumera is growing well now. Pumpkins are looking wonderful and we are eating courgettes daily.

We now have 48 fruit or nut trees planted

Been here about 18 months and have this many fruit trees planted now. Most of it happened this winter after we had felled the silver birch trees which were keeping the sun off the section. Three different figs, six dfferent apples, two pears, three plums (Damson, Hawera and Luisa), three feijoas, three cranberries, one grapefruit, three kiwifruit, one lemonade, one lemon, one gooseberry, three grapes, three passionfruit of which one is grafted and has two varieties on it, two blueberry, four raspberries, one boysenberry, 2 thornless blackberries, two tamarillos, two red currants, one nectarine, one apricot, one macadamia nut.. I think that is all. Apples are golden delicious/something else, sturmer, lobo, Monty's Surprise, gosh I forgot the others.

We have 8 blocks of vege garden in which there is very good garlic and onions, heaps of broad beans some of which are ready. This week I dug all the parsnips and have buried them in sawdust in the front part near the letterbox and dug a trench round it.

Huge pile of compost that Ben and I made and Paul turned is looking ready. Wow, we should have good tomatoes this year. Next job is to repot the heritage tomatoes I have growing.

Planted parsnips today

Yes it took a while to prepare the ground. Have put in rock dust, powdered seaweed and blood and bone, not to mention a bit of lime. Fortunately had the iphone playing new tunes all the time so managed to get the ground fairly fine. Then I planted the soaked seeds and put on some sacks.

Must keep it well watered and take the sacks off the moment they germinate.

The tiny celeriac plants I grew from seed have also been planted but the cat dug it up. I also sprinkled some celeriac seed around. My word it is so tiny. My sister Lesley in Christchurch said she grew her plants in trays last June!

And I have taken off the netting from the strawberries, which have been so wonderful. The pine needles mulch has been a great success. The strawberries are now having babies and I am not sure what I will do with them. I got mine from Christabel Jackson in March and maybe I will keep them for others.

The beans are flowering and the tomatoes are setting. The peas are nearly finished though another lot is coming up. I have just bought some wallflowers to plant tomorrow.

Carrots, snow peas, tomatoes, broad beans, corn and beans

Yes I have actually learned how to grow carrots, Also grown some beetroot and plenty of peas. Trying to tell the difference between snow peas and snap peas, not succeeded yet.

But a shocking spell of weather after Christmas. in fact Otaki has hardly had any summer yet.

My huge numbers of tomates turned out to be in the wrong place with too much shade in the morning. Funny, cos that site is fine in the winter for sun. Anyway I have no fruit on the tomatoes out the back. Not the same for the ones in front the garage where the sun really shines. They are all in pots but at least we can see the fruit forming there. Then I have a couple in the garden proper out the front and the Sweet 100 has such a strong stem, I must have put a lot of wood ash there. It is thriving. And they are getting urine and sawdust as a mulch, which is turning out well.

Beans I have planted everywhere but the structure they climb up is not really high enough, will fix that next year. Corn is looking good because I put it in a sunny spot and fed it well. Not high but looks fruitful.

Earlier we had heaps of broad beans and they are not finished, and I am getting the bed ready for a next crop. Have put in lime, and blood and bone and hope to buy some late summer veges.

I have had a couple of courgettes, which I am growing near the kiwifruit but have had to water them heaps and feed them heavily.

The strawberries have been terrific. Four or five a day for six weeks now. Delicious. I thought I would be growing them but it turns out a success. Better than buying a punnet once a week and tastier.

As for potatoes, I will grow them closer to the house next year as only the big red ones thrived. Will grow more of those next year. See photo of last years spuds.

Sweet peas smell wonderful and how about this rose?

The rose is called Old Port Mackati and has a wonderful scent. As the the sweet peas, they bring back childhood memories because they really smell like sweet peas. They are a heritage seeds from Niche seeds.

More planting and hope the lousy weather is nearly over

A rotten spring, cold and windy and early November was no exception. Will summer ever arrive?

I am glad I planted Russian tomatoes, they are doing quite well in this climate. While the east of NZ swelters and South Australia is on burn alert, we continue with mild temperatures. But we had a good rain and the day after I spent four hours in the garden.

Today need to plant two blueberries but I really should plant them in peat and I haven't any.

We are eating broad beans and we pick four or five declicious strawberries every day. I must say they make the bought ones seem like cardboard. I have 28 tomato plants in, mostly heritage and of course I have lost half their labels, what with putting the glasshouse ones out in the wind to water them. Darn. Jaune flame, a beefsteak called Marmande, Oregon Spring, Abraham Lincoln, one Sweet 100, one Moneymaker.

Have been given some red currants by a guy at bridge, and I bought a couple of raspberry cuttings at a stall. They are planted but I am not sure if they are in the right place. Trying to imitate a food forest to eliminate work..

Corn is in, have three lots of peas going, all staked and have constructed structure for the beans to climb up. We took out a paving stone and put in a grape which may climb onto the wires between big posts out the back.

It is a pleasure turning the compost and I have put compost round all the fruit trees.

Most of the apples I grafted have taken and I have bought 1000 labels (for sale 100 labels for $5, I don't need them all) and finally I am using the correct waterproof pen.

Big mistake was not to take out the forget me nots. Yuk they now have burrs and I get them all over my clothes.

The damson plum has about 30 fruit on it. boysenberry is spreading as are the two thornless blackberries. One apple badly needs espaliering and I have no idea what to do and keep forgetting to organise it.

Still planting and bringing in new patches of garden

Fortunately the spring has been cool and wet, so I can still plant fruit trees. Perhaps today was the last one planted for the winter, a second mountain pawpaw tree. They apparently need two to pollinate. Hope they grow well. Have mulched up some and need to mulch the rest before the dry sets in.

With all the shredding of silver birches that Malcolm has done, there is a heap of mulch ready to use and half rotted. Today I moved three or four barrowloads over to the southern boundary, put some compost on, and planted pumpkin seeds I bought from the soil and health meeting today, together with a cucumber. Then sunflowers. And nearer the house I dragged some wet cardboard from the bottom of the compost heap and spread it on the grass. Then I covered it with half rotted mulch and compost and planted some corn and some cosmos plants.

So the vege garden has spread. And today I had the mower man deliver grass clippings so that should grow good tomatoes. Have been putting wood ash on the tomatoes.

We have the following heritage tomatoes growing: Russian Silvery Fir, Abraham Lincoln, Jaune Flamee, Marmande, Matts Wild cherry and Oregon Spring. All grown lovingly from seed by moi.

Couldn't resist buying some raspberry plants, a whole heap for $5 at the Soil and Health meeting. Heaven knows where we will put them. Already we need a structure for the two kiwifruit built, and I need a place to grow beans. Everything else is in, but the kumeras look a bit sad after the cold. Hope they perk up.

And today we had our first two strawberries! I made a structure to keep birds away. Couldn't wait for Malcolm to do it, so I got some bricks with holes in, laid them round the edge. Then I found the number eight wire, struggled with wire cutters unsuccessfully so ended up bending it in hoops and draping netting over it all. Seems to work well. Found the cat under it the first day.. But strawberries are finally ripening. Feeding them worm wee.