1 Feb 2015

garden share collective: february

 
Ah, Tassie summers. Ups and downs. Great weather one day, cold and grey the next. Sundresses and thongs, sun on bare skin; then pulling on a cardie and thick socks. We had a couple of scorchers, where the intense sun burns your skin in minutes (and if Hobart's weather says '30', add about 5 degrees for the eastern shore where I live). But then we had an amazing night of rain where my rain gauge hit levels never before seen; and this week has never seen a temperature above 18. A Tassie summer certainly keeps you guessing.
 
The same can be said of the vegie garden - ups and downs. Take for instance my little 'Paris Market' carrots. Beautiful little globes, with a wonderfully carroty flavour. And ... thickly covered in clumps of grey aphids at the base of the stalks. I never realised aphids went for carrots; Dad had never heard of such a thing either. Aphids truly revolt me, and to find them encrusted all over my carrots (along with the attendant ants) made my stomach churn. Harvesting them was a loathsome chore, as the ants would swarm all over me as I pulled the carrots; I'd simultaneously dunk the carrots into a bucket of water to swish off the aphids and flick the angry ants off my arms and legs.
 
But the trauma was worth it; they are delicious carrots, and rather practical too, as little or no cutting is required before cooking.
 
Next to suffer were my broad beans. Look how pretty they are, growing amongst the companion plants of marigolds and pyrethrum (with some bee-friendly blue larkspur and summery white cosmos thrown in for good measure):
Yet these too were blighted by aphids - this time, shiny black ones (and yes, the ants were there too). Again, not just one or two insects, easily blitzed with a modest spray of pyrethrum or left to the couple of ladybirds I have seen in the garden. No, thickly scabbed stalks and leaves and soft new growing tips. I would need an army of ladybirds to devour all these! It was truly disgusting - just typing this, I am pulling the same revolted face that I do when out in the garden; my jaw clenches and my lips pucker and twist downwards. But I was astounded by the fact that these creatures recklessly flaunted themselves (yes, aphids are evil creatures) right near my companion plants! How does that happen?
 
Last weekend I pulled all the broad beans out; they were all akimbo after some nasty winds and that was the final straw. Blackened with aphids and helter-skelter from the winds - and barely any beans to boot, either! So out, out damn bean.
 
I've pulled some other crops out already - sugar snap and greenfeast peas (shown above when lush and healthy) that had done their lot and gone awfully mouldy (see them here, if you're into pics of mouldy peas), the purple podded peas which were so pretty on the vine as flowers and little pods:


Gah, where's the moisturiser? Wrinkly hands!
 
Yet the purple peas also got blown over in the strong winds and went mouldy rapidly, and were not heavy croppers. I found a very informative local blog that explained all about mould, or rather mildew, and discovered I'd been doing everything wrong. Mainly, trying to cram too much into the garden, and each row - I am very guilty of sowing seeds very close together for maximum results. So there was probably very little ventilation. Okay, lesson learnt.

We won't say much about zucchinis; I told you how inundated I was in my last post and I do plan on talking more about then again soon. But, look how pretty the vines are:
 
Did you know that some peasant cuisines in Italy advocate eating the leaves and stalks of zucchini vines? I thought of that as, armed with gloves, I would trim off the spiky leaves smothering all nearby. Eating these? I'm all for not wasting anything, but that truly would be poverty.
 
 
 
I grew and harvested glorious beetroots, red and orange. I am tossing up whether to try sowing another crop now - I think I will. I love them cut into wedges, laid out in a single layer on a baking tray lined in foil, and roasted (wrapped in foil) with olive oil, white wine, and garlic. Tenderly soft and robust in flavour - though those orange ones did have a sweet edge. Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables. Oh, and it's never attacked by aphids.
 
To complete the list, I am currently and eating growing borlotti beans, more sugar naps, green French beans, curly yellow beans, basil, lazy housewife beans. Waiting for the corn (growing beautifully, though not yet ready to harvest) and almost, almost:  
 
Worth the wait.
 
What to do now? Keep watering, and feeding - garden maintenance. Think about sowing some late summer crops - beetroot, carrots, more beans - that may be okay as we head into autumn (though I think we are there already this week). And simply enjoy. Be sure to check out other green thumbs in the Garden Share by clicking on the logo at right.

28 comments:

  1. Good morning e. Your garden looks so vibrant and full of colour. It certainly sounds like the summer weather has kept you guessing. I have not heard of aphids on carrots either. I have grown Paris Market carrots before, they are a great size!

    I love the flowers intertwined with your beans and other vegetables! Your beetroot looks glorious and how about that perfect tomato!

    Happy Sunday and happy gardening to you. Can it really be February? x

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    1. hi jane! yes february already - winter already it feels like here; wehave had a dreadfully cold and grey weekend. i hope you had a nicer sunday in your part of the country.
      thatis a black krim tomato - my all-time favourite variety. i would be happy with a garden full of black krims! thank you for all your lovely words and have a lovely week ahead, jane.

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  2. Those beetroots are beautiful, and the tomato (?black russian) is fab. Luckily aphids haven't been an issue this year. I've only had a few on my cucumbers that were treated with the ever useful pyrethrum. But white fly, my god they have been everywhere this season.

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    1. we (dad and i) call it a black krim - but i htink that are also known as russians. it was delicious!
      my friend M in melbourned also told me of her plagues of white fly. i only get them on my basil, so easily blown off.
      if it's not one thing, it's another!

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  3. Your carrots are so adorable, and the beetroots are so beautiful, too! I'm also intrigued by the idea of how one could eat and prepare zucchini vines - especially given the spikiness.

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    1. i'm certainly not going to try the zucchni vines to find out and let you know, leaf. it sounds ghastly. and they are hollow, so what a desperate meal!
      and despite the aphids, i am going to try the carrots again - "adorable" is the right word!

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  4. What fantastic harvests, I'm particularly envious of all that delicious beetroot, I'm a big fan of it too. I've heard that pinching out the tops of broad beans once they're tall enough helps - apparently the tips are very appealing to black fly. I always seem to have loads though. Enjoy your veggies, your garden is doing beautifully. CJ xx

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    1. thanks for that tip, CJ. though I really think I - aphids aside - I enjoy growing broad beans more than eating them. as mum said, one or two meals is sufficient!

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  5. Hi there Elizabeth... all things considered I think your garden is doing beautifully... so vibrant and flourishing. It's so cold here in Canberra, that my tomatoes are struggling... I just love all the goodies you have harvested xox

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    1. thank you lizzy! i'm beginning to think everyone's summer is a bit un-summer. my tomatoes are very slow ripening. i'm getting impatient!

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  6. A wonderful harvest indeed! I know it can be disheartening when pests attack your vegetables particularly considering the effort you put in to get them to eating stage. However, that’s gardening and we keep trying until successful, just look at your tomato, wow you did it e! I know Italians suffered during the latter stages of WW2 and they ate almost anything to get by. I’ve heard of Italians eating zucchini leaves and the wonderful flowers (e.g., baked ricotta zucchini flowers) but zucchini stalks? Let me know how they taste.
    Peasant Italian D

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    1. thank you D, I am very happy with the harvest at the moment (aphids notwithstanding)
      oh, and no way am I going to try the zucchini stalks! even if stuffed - eurgh, all those funny little prickles. you can try that one yourself :-)

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  7. Glorious harvests e, the beetroot are so vibrant and gorgeous. I love those little round carrots the taste certainly sounds worthy of saving from the aphids. I have not heard of eating the zucchini leaves and I have to say that I really think that the zucchini gives out it's all as it is with such a massive production that I agree it's leaves can be left alone! Your companion plants are so pretty, they look stunning. Pity the aphids are not distracted by them. Have a great month in the garden. It comes around so quickly!

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    1. hello kyrstie. yes, I love my splashes of colour (even if they are not fulfilling their function!). I have another patch hidden down the back near my corn, with a mash-up of blue larkspurs, pink and white cosmos, and white queen anne's lace. the bees love it.
      (yup, I think we are agreed about the zucchini leaves!)

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  8. It all looks so productive. I haven't seen those round carrots before - I shall have to look them up to see if we have them here as carrots don't like going downwards in our heavy clay soil and often grow at right angles after the first couple of inches. I love the mixture of flowers and veg.

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    1. hi anne. the little carrots are designed just for heavy clay like yours (according to the packet), so do hunt them out. plus, the really small ones look great tossed thru salads or pasta dishes.

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  9. A Melbourne summer is not much different E. I also can't stand aphids and hated seeing them on roses at my old house. Your little carrots look fantastic and I would love to have tasted them. Your flowers look beautiful, the other day I visited a cafe with a veggie garden and they had gorgeous sunflowers growing in amongst the veggie bounty.

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    1. hi Catherine. you have reminded me that I planted some sunflowers along my back fence but they never appeared! though the packets were very old, and the soil not very good. I shall try next year!
      it's great having flowers around the veg garden, for the humans and the insects :-)

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  10. You must be stoked with that tomato it is pretty impressive. So much colour in your garden at the moment, if only we had the same. Glad you have been enjoying your summer and I bet you have been eating really well from the veggie patch.

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    1. yes, I am thrilled by my tomatoes. they are ripening slowly, and some of them are absolute whoppers - well, hand-fulls!
      yes, I have bought very little - just the odd onion or potato - I am eating lot of homegrown beans and greens!

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  11. It's all looking amazing! I dream of moving to Hobart, but then wonder about growing there and how different it would be to up here in the sunshine...you've proven it's absolutely do-able though! (And, I know EXACTLY the look for aphids. Exactly. They absolutely revolt me too, yuck).

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    1. we will both pull that face together now :-) or rather :-(
      sometimes becs, the weather really is against us down here in Hobart. we may not be able to grow tomatoes all year round, but we can grow amazing stone fruits and berries, and when it's daffodil season, I wouldn't be anywhere else :-)

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  12. That tomato is impressive! Mine are taking their own sweet time growing, I think it must be the cooler weather we are having this summer.

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    1. hello jan, and welcome to dig in!
      yes the tomato is impressive, isn't it? i know I have small hands, but the size of the tomato makes my hand look like a child's.
      glad to hear (in a way) someone else having a slower season. drat this weather!

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  13. Oh golly gosh your beetroot is awesome - I have never been able to grow it for some reason.... Roasting it is truly the best way to cook it. I love your litte carrots too. what is with the aphids? I thought ladybugs would eat up millions of them? Your heirloom tomato looks very tasty! Your garden is so pretty with all the flowers, I do hope you get on top of those stupid aphids. I use a spray of milk and water which seems to help with mildew on my zuchini and pumpkin leaves.

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  14. thank you for all your lovely words, AA! yes, I had stern words with the two ladybirds I found, and told them they weren't doing their job properly. pah, they will be fired !!

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  15. What cute little carrots. I didn't know anyone would or could eat zucchini leaves or stems. I think I'll stick with the actual zucchini.

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    1. cute's the word for them for sure, tracy! and yes, I have enough to eat without needing to resort to prickly stems and leaves :-)

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