A picture from the patch

Here is a bit of the patch. Mostly we are working on soil improvement, getting it ready for Spring, but a few things have gone in. Under the chicken proof cage is mustard spinach, lettuce, coriander and some seed rows of carrots, spring onions, swede and orange beets. In a few weeks I'll put in another similar planting to ensure continual supply for the three households.

Kids planning their gardens

We had brunch at one of the local nursery cafes this morning, and as usual we had the wander around, dreaming of plants afterwards. In order to do this (and to encourage my littlies' green thumbs) my children have their 'job' of finding two things for the garden each - an ornamental and an edible.

My boy, who has just turned 3, picked up two plants almost straight away, a pansy and a strawberry. We have lots if pansies and strawberries already, but he could not be persuaded otherwise. I gave myself a little pat on the back that he could correctly identify the plants without tags on them.

My girl, well! She is older at four and a half and is developing a sense of value and compromise. She picked up different pots and put them back, she considered what she liked and changed her mind. Eventually she settled on a punnet of stock seedlings and a packet of pea seeds.

So here I sit, still in the garden after two happy children planted their purchases. What a good day!

The patch

Our community garden, lovingly referred to as "The Patch" is now up and running. Fence is up, gates are in, the grass has been ripped up, the soil is being improved and a few plants have even gone in. I'm loving it! And my neighbours are too.

The frosts have hit

With frosts the past few nights, the summer veg have reached the end if their time. Here is my zucchini plant, with the last zucchini for the season. Now for the post frost clear out...

Green tomato pickles

By happy chance I picked a kilo of green tomatoes today, just the right amount for a batch of green tomato pickle. Well, it's the right amount for a batch in the breadmaker, which I haven't used for pickle or jam before, so we'll just have to see how it goes!

I haven't made my pickle for a few years so I know my husband will be licking his lips when he discovers today's achievements.

Greenhouse heaven

Remember all of those seeds that I sowed a few weeks ago? Well they are growing beautifully. I have 'potted on' lots of tiny seedlings into larger pots, one plant to a pot and the shelves in the greenhouse are filling with potential produce. Communal garden, here we come!

I am also attempting to continue with some tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant) and lemongrass in the green house, but I'm unsure how successful they will be. The greenhouse provides some warmth and frost protection, but time will tell how long it actually extends the growing season.

Aubergine are actually perennials in warmer regions, but are treated as annuals in frosty areas. So while the aubergine in the garden will soon be gone, I'm hoping to still make a few more of those aubergine curries that I enjoy so much.

Garlic planting time

Remember the strange little garlic clove things growing up the stems of some of my garlic? Well it's garlic planting time, so they are going in the ground today. I'm also putting in some regular garlic cloves, and a few days ago I separated out the new plants that were growing for the heads that I left in the ground.

The other bowl has little onions that are sprouting. They were from my garden, but they are going back in. We can use the growing tips as salad onions and the bulbs will actually divide and give me more onions. How clever!