Ready to go

It's nearly time for the main crop. I went to an agricultural supply place in Carlisle and got some 2400mm star pickets. These will be strung with wire to form a sort of cage for the tomatoes to grow in. I don't know why you can't get decent sized stakes from nurseries for tomatoes. They sell the seedlings knowing the stakes they supply wont be tall enough. Why? Anyway, this long weekend is planting time. 



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.



First Carrot

I pulled the first carrot on Saturday, just to see what was going on really. It was about 100mm long and well formed. It was a bit yellowish rather than rich orange and tasted ok but not as sweet as I'd hoped. I'm not sure if this is some sort of nutrient deficiency or, as one site suggests, too much moisture. Maybe I'm treating them too well.



First spring Planting

On the 12^th of September I sowed seeds of Derwent Globe beetroot, a heritageTasmanian variety from the 19th century apparently. These were up on the 18th and are being thinned out now. Seeds of Dwarf Sensation sunflowers went in too. I’ve planted these for some colour and to help bring bees and wasps into the garden. They only get around 40cm high so hopefully, if the seed packet is anything to go by, they will give the sunflower look without the space requirements of proper sunflowers. The “Potted sunshine” claim is a bit twee though. I used to grow Russian Giant sunflowers in a house in Bassendean and growing these monsters to over eight feet tall, with a single flower 40cm across, was fun but they took up a lot of space.

 I also planted some flat leaf parsley from seed saved from plants from the garden at my last home. My pot planted parsley is going to seed so I need replacements.

I found some volunteer basil seedlings coming up in some pot plants and I’ve pricked these out and planted them around the beds that will be planted with tomatoes this coming long weekend.



Carrots

These are the All Seasons carrots 14 weeks after sowing. I was thinking they were a bit slow but now, after a bit research, I think this is about right for winter planting. I'll see how long it is from sowing to pulling then decide if it's worth growing them through winter.

   I planted another row of this variety in early July, these are ticking along slowly but surely. In bed two, on the 30th of August, I planted a row of Chantenay, a stumpy variety that Peter Cundall always recommends. If they're good enough for The Man, they're good enough for me. Carrots take a while to germinate, up to two weeks, so I covered them with a strip of newspaper to keep them moist. They were up in nine days so pretty happy with that. The Sunday Times has never been put to better use.

  

First pods

I'm nearly ready to pick the first of the peas. It's about 14 weeks after sowing, which is a little slow but not too bad. Again this is probably due to the bed being a bit rich and the flowers appearing late. There are plenty of flowers setting pods now though so should be picking regularly soon. Few will make it to the table though as, if the past is anything to go by, I usually pick these as I wander around the garden and eat them like lollies.

First Bugs

With the garden being new the various pests that raid veggie patches haven't really been able to find it. A mystery to the bug world that will soon be solved I suspect. It's the cabbage moth caterpillers that are first to raised their ugly heads. Here's one of them on the Cavelo Nero. No need to spray these guys, even with organic sprays.

Just a few minutes to hunt down and squash.