silverbeet better than chinese cabbage

at last

CORN MUST BE SOWN

Fall gently and still, good corn,
   Lie in they earthy bed:
And stand so yellow some more -
   For beast and man must be fed.

Thomas Carlyle

our Chinese cabbage…..we have enough plants to pull off the outer leaves and get more than a mouthful each……they’ve certainly not hearted up yet, but I’m hopeful they’ll keep growing like the silverbeet….well, maybe not quite as prolifically as the silverbeet, but you know what I mean

excited to see more broccoli and caulis getting nearly ready to be consumed too – I don’t try to stagger my planting to ensure a continuous supply, but it just happens that (apart from silverbeet) we never have too much of one thing at one time – there might be too much Chinese cabbage in the end though

oh, and we’ve got one hot yellow pepper….the plant has barely grown any bigger than when we transplanted it as a seedling….but it has produced one fruit…and that one fruit is almost as long as the plant is high!!!!!!

planted (mostly in seedraising mix, a few directly in the garden)…baby beetroot

planted in the garden: turnips, carrots, radishes, red onions

discovered: self-seeded coriander (I was busy picking the *weeds* out when I realised what I was tugging at with gay abandon……so I gently repatted them into the soil……I can’t quite bring myself to throw plants away, not even if we have too many!)

I had thought there would be nothing more to report, but I want a record of the fact that today I transplanted a huge lemon grass clump. Will it take? And if it doesn’t, is it because they don’t take kindly to being moved or because I’ve put it in a less sunny more clay-y position?

Also divided and replanted the rhubarb.

Moved more strawberry runners.

Noticed the cape gooseberry has appreciated its severe pruning and is now looking quite bushy.

Accidentally picked a potato plant – pleased to see some little taties growing! Obviously the bug which is feasting on the leaves is not affecting the underground miracle.

I read the other day that now is the time to be planting kumara. Must try to get hold of some – the couple I sprouted unintentionally in the bottom of a basket in the pantry never made it to the garden.

Providing fodder for the mosquitoes, I watered my newly-moved plants tonight in the dark. The full moon peeping out from behind a cloud was glorious and I realised that quiet moments in the garden are something quite unlike anything else. I’m glad I started to garden!

As I looked round the garden tonight whilst watering, I realised I only have a few sessions left of pulling out summer crops and putting winter seedlings. And I was pleased. I’m only too aware that we are going away in the spring and so soon the garden will be able to go on the back burner apart from the odd weed-pulling and picking silverbeet, Chinese cabbage or brussel sprouts for dinner! (or cabbage or cauli or lettuce or beans or peas or radishes or potatoes or spinach or rhubarb - it’s looking not too bad for winter, really)

I’m looking forward to being able to forget the garden for a spell and devote my grey matter to working out when to order which visas and how to get to the right bus station in Laos. Much more exciting for now!

Though I do hope a few strawberries have ripened before we leave!

runners and rooty bits on the ends of them transplanted….almost filled an entire patch

more still to do when the beans come out

I’ve decided (on the spur of the moment, as most of my decisions are made) to try to make my vegetable garden low maintenance for while we are away. By their very nature, vege patches require regular attention, but I thought if I plonked in lots of non-annual herbs and let the strawberries and rhubarb go wild, it might pretty much cover up the whole patch and keep the weeds down till we get back. You see, I’m not convinced we’ll get tenants who are avid gardeners and it would be a pity to come back to a prairie patch!

So this afternoon we’ll be out there dividing the rhubarb and redirecting the strawberries that are spreading out over paths and edges.

What other crop could we put in that takes 18 months to grow?  

planted out this week:

• coriander; hopefully it will do better in the cooler weather
• endive
• lettuce
• spinach

pulled out this week:

• zuchinni
• scallopinni
• gone-to-seed lettuces