Winter Veg

I've been slack again with my posting so here is a quick run down on what's going on in the veggie garden. To date I have in some Broccolini, Brussel Sprouts and Cavelo Nero. I've been eating the Broccolini for a week or so now so all the little main heads have been eaten so I'm now looking at all the little side shoots. I've also been eating the Cavelo Nero which for me is maybe the best winter veg you can grow.

There's also some Radicchio, which I've never grown before, that is just starting to form hearts. My garlic went in a while ago and is going well along with some leeks and red onions. The white tubes are an effort to
blanch the stems of the leeks. I'll be interesting to see how this turns out. I've got some more leeks in a pot without tubes so I'll be able to compare the results.

Last weekend I put in my potatoes in two trenches. These will be filled up as the potatoes grow and will end up being mounds. After a futile search for some Royal Blues I ended up finding some King Edwards at Zanthorrea Nursery that I'm happy with. They are a floury potato so great for roasting and mashing which is all I really use potatoes for. It's really hard to find interesting seed potatoes in Perth and the guys at Marmalade Cottage just use interesting varieties that they find at markets. Everything you read tells you not to do this due to the risk of bringing in disease but they've never had any problems.

Winter Veg

I've become a bit slack with posting lately so time for an update. As you can see the potatoes have gone from the trench to a mound. A bit more hilling up to do and they can be left to their own devices with the occasional Seasol treament and a good cover of straw.

The broccoli and brussels are doing ok. It's a bit hard too tell, but there are six dwarf broccolis in the front and four brussels in the back. These are in a no-dig part of the garden which is pretty rich. They still get the occasional feed of Seasol and fish emulsion to boost them along.

And finally for this post here are the broccolini, at the front, and tucan kale or Cavelo Nero, the three along the back. I ate the first of the tuscan kale in a minestrone on Friday, delicious. I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the best backyard plants to you can grow.



Cavelo Death

The Cavelo Nero has come to the end of it's life and is dieing a failry undignified death. It has been completely savaged by cabbage moth caterpillers. I was going to pull them out and dump them in the compost, but I've noticed that they are always surrounded but wasps, hoverflies and ladybugs and the rest of the garden remains pretty much unscathed. They can stay there now as sacrificial plants while bringing in those other beneficial insects.



Cavelo Nero

This is the first time I've grown Cavelo Nero, or Tuscan Black Cabbage, and I'm completely sold. I've been picking this for a couple of months now from just two plants and I can't keep up with the growth. It has a richer, nuttier tast than normal cabbage and is the stuff to use in Minestrone soup. Growing ball type cabbages is fine but they take ages to form and then you have to do something straight away with all that cabbage. Anything you can harvest over a long period is a boon for the backyard veggie patch.