Late summer garden update

Although we are in the peak of summer I am pleased to report that our garden is doing well at the moment.  You may remember that when we returned from our Christmas visit to the relatives the garden had started to produce some goodies.

The garden mid January before the cull

There were, however, some areas that were not doing so well.  In what I feel was not in my normal 'stand back and see how things unravel' approach to life we pulled out the poor performers and planted some that we hoped would do better.  All with an aim to maximise productivity.  

The heirloom tomatoes were, heart wrenchingly, pulled from the front bed, along with a basil plant for harvesting.  This created a good space to plant something new.  

I also pulled the spent snow peas from the back bed, which wound up production just before we went away, and harvested some raddichio that was going to seed.   The garlic was harvested by Mr Fix It.  I am sad to report that it had rotted from over watering during its final stages of development.

Back garden bed and Paradise Patch with late summer crop

We added compost and soil improver to the cleared planting areas and in went a late summer crop of corn, leeks, lettuces, zucchinis, cherry tomatoes and some purple flowering plants to help attract pollinators.

The promising corn crop

It's been four weeks since the new crop went in and the corn has grown like crazy, which is pretty exciting.  We planted it thinking that it might not do very well.  Clearly the test will be whether the corn forms but we are feeling positive from the way it is looking.

The baby eggplant is still providing a lot of fruit and we harvested our first red capsicum this week, with a few more not far away.  We are also getting some strawberries too, which we are enjoying immensely after our recent battle.

What it is all about - from garden to mouth

The zucchinis are also doing well.  We've always been hesitant to plant zucchini since it needs a bit of space, which we are always constrained by.  Since the corn is such a tall thin plant we put one zucchini in the middle of four corns in the back bed.  We also planted three zucchini around the half wine barrel in Paradise Patch.  A couple of baby zucchini are growing so we should have some to eat reasonably soon.  I am also planning to harvest zucchini flowers for salads.

So far the cherry tomatoes are not looking so good.  We may have to accept that this year has not been a good one for us growing tomatoes.

It's great to see the garden changing and to have the courage to try out some new crops.  It is always a challenge to get out there enough but I guess that is the true test of a garden.  To see what flourishes despite, or possibly because of, the limited time that we have to spend out there.

Have you abandoned your garden during these hotter months or are you battling on and trying to get out there? Are you happy with how it is growing?

Old Stockings as Garden Ties

I have been using old stockings as garden ties for a few years now. It is a great way to stake or espalier plants whilst allowing room for growth.

Our crop of tomatoes after being pruned and tied using strips from an old pair of my stockings

I'm not sure where I heard about using stockings but I suspect it was from Gardening Australia. We are pretty big fans of the TV show and have been receiving their monthly magazine for a couple of years at least.

I can't say I wear stockings often but I usually ruin them the first or second time that I wear them if I do. It's great to have a useful purpose for them after they rip.

The benefit of using stockings is that they are soft and elastic so the plants can grow for quite awhile without the risk of being cut or damaged.  Hard plastic ties are rigid and don't last very long.

To re-use the stockings just cut into strips appropriate to the use. When expaliering the olive tree I use small short strips but when tying tomatoes around big stakes I use long strips. I usually cut them 2-3 cm wide for strength.

An olive branch tied with a small stocking segment - you can see the  stretch it provides.
I usually cut off the hanging ends to neaten it up.

I must admit that when I was checking on the olives a couple of days ago and tying some new branches down I realised I had forgotten to cut off the stocking ties I had used three years ago.  They were very tight but starting to break down.  So although stocking are much gentler to use make sure that you get out and cut them off once they have served their purpose.

The espaliered olive trees that we have trained for just over three years using stocking ties

Do you repurpose used household items in the garden too? I'd love to hear how.