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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Out in the Veggie Patch

Hello dear friends,

I think it is time for a garden update. All the plants in the veggie patch are growing great.

This plant came up by itself in the compost.  I thought it was a rock melon (cantaloupe), but it appears to be one of the "Greek" cucumbers I grew last season.


I have tomatoes popping up everywhere.  They have grown out of the fresh compost I put in the beds.





I might actually get a good crop this year, and hopefully get enough for making sauce and the like.

Baby Zucchinis...

Baby cucumbers...


The rhubarb is doing well...

I have a baby eggplant...


 Some of the tomato plants are reaching the top and touching the shade cloth now, not sure what I am going to do about that...


 I am happy with how the veggies are progressing, they seem to like this way of growing, and so do I.  Our water bill dropped quite a bit last year...





Zucchini plant I raised from seed.


 Red capsicum plant.

I was a bit late planting apple cucumber seeds this year so I haven't picked any yet. They wont be long though as they have flowers.

We have moved a couple of baths ready to make into wicking beds. They just need to be made level,and they ready to go. We have another three to move over from the other side. 

 This is one of the older wicking beds.  I have decided to keep this one and plant a variety of "all sorts" in there.  I have planted a neglected rose bush and some lavender. Some lemon grass, ginger and chives. It seems to be keeping quite moist with the pea straw mulch on top.

The rose bush appears to be happy as it is getting buds.

The lavender.

This bed is producing the yummiest of strawberries




 Figs...

 One lonely fruit on this tree.  First time fruiting and it is a type of mango, but I cant remember the name.

 Nectarines...

 Mandarins for next winter...


 Grannies...

 The grapes suffered in the heat on Christmas day, not sure I can save them...

And I am picking heaps of apricots.

Apart from madly stewing for the freezer, I am solar drying the fruit. I may have to dig out the preserving kit I think, the tree is loaded.

 Some peaches and apricots almost dried.

  And another fresh batch. I lay them on non stick baking paper as it makes it easier to remove them. They tend to stick to the wire otherwise.

What a difference a day can make. I started this post yesterday and as I am writing this tonight there is a huge storm happening outside.  The wind is horrific and I do not know what state the garden will be in by morning.  I know all the apricots will be on the ground and possibly being eaten by the ants!

This is the thing with mother nature. She is unpredictable and one never knows what she has in store. There have been floods in Northern Australia and now a warning of possible flooding here.

We have had rain, but at what cost I wonder? I will find out when the sun rises tomorrow. Stay safe anyone that is caught up in this storm.

How is your garden growing? Are you reaping the rewards of growing your own?

See you soon.




31 comments:

  1. I hope you don't have much damage, Tania. It looks like the barrels are working well and it is amazing what you have been able to grow considering the heat where you live. I don't have much growing at the moment as we had a week of heatwave conditions which was unusual for us here and that knocked the stuffing out of the garden as our watersaver garden was leaking so hubby dismantled it and hasn't put it back together again and my barrels ended up being used to store feed for his birds instead of for growing veggies. After a wet winter we had a very dry spring and the ground is rock hard once again. Good to see you posting again.

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel, The garden has a bit of damage from two storms we have had. I lost a couple of plants and a few are a bit battered but hopefully they recover. We had another storm this afternoon that dumped 54mm of rain in 20minutes. It was a deluge and the wind was horrific! Needless to say the apricots are now finished whether I like it or not!

      I am very happy with how the wicking barrels work. The veggies grow so much better now. I think you should try this method as it really does work well.

      xTania

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  2. Under shadecloth is the only way I can grow anything here. Your plants are looking great!!

    Oh, for some rain here. Everything is bone dry...

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    1. Yes shade cloth really does help in the heat Dani.

      We had a storm that dumped a lot of rain on our garden. It also caused some damage as the wind that came with it was really strong! It also caused local flooding.

      xTania

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  3. So nice to see things growing, I needed that at the beginning of winter!

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  4. Your garden looks so good! I've let mine go for summer, I just can't keep the water up to it in our heat, and the humidity brings every fungal disease under the sun. I pulled almost everything out, and laid a heap of horse manure over the bed, I will let that sit as a type of mulch for a while, then dig it in a few weeks before summer is over, ready for Autumn planting.

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    1. You should try the wicking beds or barrels Cheryl, they work really well and save water :)

      Horse poo makes good mulch.

      xTania

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  5. Hello Tania,
    I can not thank you enough for posting all the beautiful photos of your veggie garden. Since we live on opposite sides of the equator, your summer garden sharing provides me with inspiration and spurs me to planning our growing season while waiting for the snow to melt.
    We had a blizzard blow in on Christmas day which made for a relaxing and quiet day. Yesterday and a good portion of today has been spent digging ourselves out. The snow plow showed up late this morning and removed the three 6ft. - 13ft. snow drifts between our mailbox and the highway. Our weather is good today ... although our temps. are only in the teens, we have lots of sunshine and no wind.
    I hope your garden faired well through your thunder storms.
    Blessings,
    Mrs.B

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    1. Dear Mrs. B,

      The garden did fair okay in the storms. I lost a couple of plants and some were damaged but they should recover. However the apricots are no longer on the tree, the strong winds made sure of that!

      Hard to believe that you are dealing with snow storms while we are sweating in this humid heat.

      We had an awful lot of rain in one shower today. It caused flooding around the area.

      Take care in all that snow.

      xTania

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  6. It looks like things are coming along well. I hope you have a great season.

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  7. Tania your garden is looking brilliant. Hope the storm didn't do too much damage. Our garden, here on the Fraser Coast is on its summer holiday. It's hot and humid and the Qld Fruit Fly is to be found in absolute abundance. I will get the seed all down in February and plant out the garden at the end of March. Any sooner and the bugs just munch their way through the smorgasbord of goodies.
    The Rock(Ularu) had waterfalls coming off it yesterday. Kintore looks like it's under water. Central Australia is a most unusual soggy mess.
    We have had a bit of rain and are hoping that there will be more soon. Looked at todays radar on the bom and it's not looking likely for today. Oh well might just have to head to the beach and go fishing. It's a hard life.

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    1. Dear Jane,

      That is the one good thing about growing things in the dry heat, there are not many bugs!

      I saw those pictures of The Rock on facebook, they looked amazing!

      We had 54mm in one downpour today! Caused a lot of flooding in our area.

      The garden has some damage but it will recover.

      xTania

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  8. Hi Tania. Your garden looks really productive. I'm envious of all your apricots! At our place, there's capsicums, baby zucchinis and cherry tomatoes on. Lettuce all went to seed during prolonged heat while we were away on holidays but I've put in some more seedlings, shaded by other plants, and we'll see what happens.Our mandarin has lots of baby fruits too. Cucumbers seem to be the crop of summer...I love eating them straight from the garden as they are as crisp as fresh apples. Hope your garden fared well in the storm! Meg

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    1. Dear Meg,

      You garden sounds like it is doing well. And I agree with you about the cucumbers. YUM!

      I did lose a cucumber and capsicum plant in the storm, but otherwise just a bit of wind damage. Those lovely apricots are now gone, thanks to the wind! I did managed to get some picked before the storm hit.

      xTania

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  9. I am jealous of your rhubarb, having twice failed to get one to thrive here in Perth! Is it in a wicking bed? Maybe I should try again. Hope your garden survives the rain.

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    Replies
    1. Yes definitely try the wicking method. The plants love it!

      xTania

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  10. I hope the storm bought good rains and the wind didn't damage your plants Tania. We are not doing much in the garden at present aside from keeping the water up to the plants. There are jobs I need to be doing in the garden but the heat and the time spent watering means other things are left undone. The mango trees didn't fruit this year, but I understand that was the case in lots of areas. We have some apples coming on and the trees are netted, just not sure what damage the insects may do before they are ripe.

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    1. Dear Sherri,

      The veggies did get a little damage and I did lose a couple of plants. The apricots are finished though thanks to the storm.

      The little mango fruit picture in my post has been blown away, so I will have to try again next year.

      Sounds like the garden is keeping you busy. Our apples dropped off last year in the heatwave we had. I still managed to use them up though.

      xTania

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  11. Dear Tania, I hope the damage wasn't too bad and the rain good. It is a mess here. But the peaches I have my eye on stayed on the tree! Plus it is wet and warm things will grow like rockets.
    Your garden and produce is amazing! I loved seeing it all! More rain coming....and thunderstorms tonight. I hope the soaking just does everything good! With love Annabel.xxx ps Happy New Year and I hope 2017 will be wonderful for you! xxx

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    1. Dear Annabel,

      Considering the force of the storm, the garden didn't sustain much damage. Just lost a cucumber and capsicum plant and most of the apricots. The tomato bushes look a bit battered, but I think they will be okay.

      Happy New Year Annabel!

      xTania

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  12. Hi Ho Tania, your water barrels are inspirational but i think its your shade cloth thats amazing. I've wanted to cover my veggie patch entirely for years but too many other things are on the list of to do. Watch those tomatoes. Mine got to 4m high last year and i am resolute about keeping them down to my arms reach this year. The hot northerly wind has made everything limp but a quick water this morning and its all perked up. Wish i could do that to me as well. PS. I dream of growing mangoes and avocado.

    Cheers Lynda (yes, im alive)

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    1. Well hello Lynda, it is great to hear from you :)

      I am not happy with the shade cloth as it is just roughly covering things. Hubby has promised to make a proper cover, but it has been two years since he said that lol!

      My mango got blown into next week! I guess I will have to wait until next time now for a taste!

      Hope your gardening adventures are going well.

      xTania

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  13. I was just thinking your garden was going great guns
    We have had the chickens come out and dig up all the seedlings just as they were getting ready to explode
    And we too have had storms and flooding this after noon. So I guess my apricots will be on the ground too
    Luckily we don't rely on our crops or starve like in the old days. When they grown that means we are blessed. But if they fail for whatever reason then we just have to go and buy our food.
    Again blessed to be able to afford to do that

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    1. You are right about the old days Angela, I hadn't thought about that. They relied on their food crops and when disaster struck how devastating it would have been. I know I was upset at my small loss, but in reality it is not a disaster at all!

      I hope the garden survived the storms you had and that you didn't lose your apricots. I was lucky to pick another bucketful yesterday, so I am happy.

      xTania

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  14. Your garden is an important testament of just what can be done in the driest state in Australia (despite the storms!). I use the wicking method too and love it.

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  15. your garden beds are looking awesome! so much green! it is drier than a bone here, hanging on the storms to bring much needed rain
    have a safe & happy new year
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Thank you Selina. I hope you get rain soon to give everything a boost.

      xTania

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  16. Your gardens look fantastic! I'm not doing nearly enough with ours but really hope to get back into it all soon. Looking at yours is great motivation, thanks.

    Barb.

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Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.