garden share collective: july

I was chuffed when Lizzie at Strayed from the Table invited me to be part of the Garden Share Collective – a virtual tour of people’s vegie gardens from the tip of Australia right down to the bottom (ie, me!). Oh, and across the way to New Zealand too. Unfortunately, I missed the last round – the first round, the inaugural round! – but I’m excited to contribute now.

My tatsoi - isn't it pretty?

After I got over the initial ‘wow – me?!’ of Lizzie’s invitation, I then realised what a potentially boring post you would be reading. At this time of the year, there is not much going on in my vegie patch on Hobart’s eastern shore. I’m largely resting my three small garden beds before spring. Around Easter I pulled the last of the summer beans and dug in lots of bags of goodness to feed up the soil. I don’t have the luxury of lots of garden beds that I can rotate plantings in, so I just rest about 80% of it over the winter months.

Silverbeet with bird deterrents that don't appear to be working

Those winter months can be best described as ‘dark’. Before I leave home for work, the sun has barely peeped over the horizon; by the time I get home around 5pm, the sun has gone for the day. It’s dark. This lack of light and my full-time job means that, at this time of the year, I see my vegie and flower gardens only on the weekend; my friend B and I have lamented how disconnected you become from your garden (unlike in the summer months, when we can joyfully garden for a couple of hours after a day stuck inside the office).

Frozen parsley

 

We had the shortest day - winter solstice - last week, and it is something that every person in Tasmania (or so it seems) anticipates and celebrates, because it’s a promise that the days will slowly creep ‘upwards’ towards summer, light and warmth (even if, in reality, the next few months are the coldest in the calendar).

 

So this time of the year, I am doing my gardening on Saturday and Sunday only. Even though I’m resting the garden, I do have some hardy leafy greens in: hardy stalwart silverbeet; a pretty row of curly kale (which seems to love the frost we get here); my first attempt at purple sprouting broccoli or ‘PSB’; and another newbie, tatsoi, which is so pretty to look at in the garden and tastes good in a toasted cheese sandwich.

Garlic sprouting thru! Trying a grow bag; hopefully it won't get waterlogged this way

Kale above and PSB below - both with pots of pyrethrum to deter caterpillars (like the bird deterrents, also not appearing to be working)

And... frozen kale!

What's on my to do list for the coming month? Well, if you'd asked me a few weeks ago, it would have been watering. Contrary to popular belief, Tassie is not all wet and rainy; not in my neck of the woods anyway. Hobart's eastern shore is sometimes called the 'sunny side of the river', and the downside of that is I can watch rain clouds swirl around Mt Wellington, but the wet stuff never seems to cross the bridge and come over here. So watering is a regular part of my gardening schedule if I want it to survive, even in the winter months.

Current water tank, collecting from the garage

But I am pleased to tell you that a fortnight ago, we got some decent rain. Not just momentary drizzle, but actual rain that lasted days and made a proper dent in the rain gauge. I took most of these photos on that wet weekend, because everything looked fresh and glistening; it was a pleasure to get soaked while I took these pictures for you.

Ever the optimists (or pragmatists), dad and I are in the process of installing a second tank for the vegie garden. To clarify: dad is installing; I am doing what I am told and making cups of tea and cake. It’s not connected up yet, as you can see, so keep your fingers crossed that by the time we do that, there is still rain about.

New water tank. Not quite installed properly. Below: self portrait in puddle! I couldn't resist

I hope you enjoyed this wintery tour around my Hobart vegie garden. Please check out the other gardeners in the Garden Share Collective!