November in the Veggie Garden

 

It is that time of month again, when gardeners across the country, and across the world, report on their activities, as part of the Garden Share Collective. This is kindly hosted by Liz at Strayed from the Table. The records we create are building up really well, and I am learning heaps from others.

So here is the post for the start of November in my Gippsland (Victoria) suburban garden. You can see my post from last month HERE.

 This was the veggie garden yesterday. With the eight foot high broad beans.

 

 This is the view looking back the other way.

Firstly, we have again had a little bit more rain than I would have liked. Whenever the moat around the raised beds dried out, it rained again. There has not really been enough sun to get the cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins moving along. A couple of times there has even been unseasonal snow in the hills.


November is one of the busiest months in the garden. I am wrapt as I have had 99.99% success with the seedlings - only one lettuce lost. The secret is that I cut up heaps of drink bottles to make individual guards, which were held in place with skewers. The only problem with them was that on hot days they trapped the heat, and that is how I lost one lettuce. I've also been keeping big vats of water spread around the garden, to dip a little bit of water (with added worm juice) frequently onto them. I don't like hoses or large watering cans when they are small. We used to use a jam tin with holes punched in the bottom with nails to make a sort of sieve to water carrot and other small seedlings.

We have previously used pvc pipe for this, but the birds just sat on the edges and used that as a perch to eat the lettuces. They can't do that with the drink bottles - too thin. But the pvc was cooler.

We have also been out working hard on the weeds around the garden beds - my beloved is absolute murder with a flame thrower. We are nearly there, and almost look respectable.

Harvesting:

Last of the Broad Beans
Parsnips
Carrots
Lettuce 
Snow peas finished during the month and pulled out

Planted in October:

Parsley seedlings
Radish seeds
Tree onion bulbs (not the right time, but I grow them all the time as shallots, and these are sprouting)
Broad Beans (Aquadulce) (seeds) in a planter bag of compost along the fence. 
Zucchini (Black Jack)
Mixed capsicums (seedlings)(Big Bertha, Cherry Pick, Golden Bell)
Mixed lettuce (seedlings)
Mixed Basil (seedlings)
Tomato seedlings (Roma and Grosse Lisse)
Carrots (seeds) Chantenay Red-Cored
Parsnips (seeds) Hollow Crown

This is where the next Broad Beans, Zucchini and Butternut Pumpkins are - in worm bins or bags along the fence. Looking down on the pumpkins in a worm bin (below), you can see a little inverted pot. As we start the bin, with put slotted drainage pipe down the centre, with a tomato stake in the middle, and a "cap" over the top so it doesn't get filled when we throw stuff in. We use it them get water into the centre, and allow air in.

Plans for the month:

Dig over the broad beans bed and get it plated with tomatoes.

Get the three lots of seedling onions in

Stake the tomato seedlings, and build a semi-permanent bird net over them. Prune tomatoes as required. Weed.

Plant:

Red Bunching Onions (seedlings)
Red Spring Onions (seedlings)
Spring onions (seedlings)
Beetroot (seeds)

More tomatoes - not sure what next, but any spare capacity at this time of year goes to tommies. This is cup weekend in Victoria, when it is often traditional to get them in. Except we are hoping some seedlings might come in the corner where the Redorta were last year. It is impossible to get seeds this year, and we didn't save any.




And this is the view of the Broad Beans Bed this morning. We had a barbie last night, and cut them off low and have cut most up for green manure. I can see the whole veggie garden again.