Garden Share Collective Report for February

 

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.

You can see last month's report HERE. 

Above is the view from the back door.

Last month was hot, and there is more coming. Although we did get one nice little dump of rain about a week ago.

Planted

Four yellow Zucchini - three in the planter bag where the Broad Bean experiment failed, and one in a worm bin, below.

This was a bit of fun, as it was very "raw" compost, and kept shrinking as fast as the zucchini was growing - sometimes it was way down below the top of the bin. But it has won, and a good, healthy plant is now well above the lip, and starting to produce.

Spaces in the last red beet row were filled with a second planting.

Continental cucumbers in a pot.

  More lettuces and moving them along. One of the things I do with flowers is that when I cut back old plants (alyssum, lobelia, pansies, violas etc), I throw the spent plants in a bucket that has dried potting soil in the bottom. Seeds fall into that, and I sprinkle a bit onto the top of appropriate pot plants, and get little volunteer flowers everywhere. I have had a few volunteer lettuces coming up, so think I will get serious about them, and grow a few the same way. I think it will suit basil, parsley and wild rocket as well. I already have lots of Italian parsley coming up in pots, and leave it as I like the feathery green leaves and the seed heads are quite ornamental.

Harvesting

Zucchinis, cucumbers, tree onions, spring onions, French beans (almost finished, but the climbing beans are about to kick in), capsicums, tomatoes, carrots, sweet corn, lettuce.

I did some calculations on tomatoes, and they are not really late, taken on figures for the past eleven years.

Watching

The Butternut pumpkins - they are growing like anything in the compost/worm bin, but not setting well, even when I hand pollinate. Only three on there so far, but one is the biggest I have ever grown.

The Giant Sunflowers. There are flower buds on there, and I reckon the tallest is only three foot tall. So much for cheap, generic seeds.

Plans

As always, weed, water and watch. Get the corn out and get it ready for garlic there, think about where the Broad Beans are going this year.

 

I like this shot - it does not show the weeds like the other ones do! The beautiful bronze foliage on the right is on the banksia that almost died in the heat.

Do more work on the shade and bird netting. You can see adventures so far HERE and HERE.