Thursday, November 13

The Growing Challenge - post # ummmmm...??


Need some pressure to get you movin'? its not too late! Join the Growing Challenge hosted by Melinda and it may be the finger pulling ya need! Click this link for teleporting to Melindas host site.


What grows up, must get eaten... i've got minor cabbage issues- who doesnt? never grown a cabbage without holy(?!) leaves.


planting them amongst the 'decoy' rocket appears to have worked as only a few have sufferred from the perilous green grub so far. i read somewhere that the cabbage moth is attracted to the shape of the leaves, so hiding the leaves inadvertantly among the feral and flowering salad leaf was, retrospectively just brilliant! Despite the few grubs and holes, they're looking healthy and happy (but there is something that makes my skin crawl seeing that black spotty crap they leave in the budding heart). For the record, the grubs were removed and 'disposed' of.

The carrots are devloping stems that look like tree trunks and are fluffy and forest like, im pretty pleased with how they are growin. No problems with the carrots above ground except trying to keep the water up to their needs; who knows what they look like below ground.

The beetroot is booming and im using leaves from the bulls bloods almost every night in salads. Its never ending! Ive got tonnes of the stuff. Sadly the parsnips havent germinated as well as the carrots coz im a total nerd for a roasted/or fried parsnip and i read today that maybe soaking the parsnip seed overnight aides germination so next sowing i will give that a go. Cant remember whose blog i read it on, but Thank You!

My beans, like every other bloggers, are zipping up and away; its shamefully effortless with beans. The purple king climbers have wonderfully sticky tendrils and seem to know exactly what they are doing and find their supports with no problem. i wish climbing peas had the same sense! Im forever assisting the damn things early onwith their climbing drection as they wander in the breeze until they're well established.The bush beans look strong and healthy and have started getting flower buds. I planted the corn among the climbing beans so they would grow within the structure provided and make use of space. Most of the kernels germinated and after they sprouted i trenched lightly between the rows to make watering a bit easier.

Only a few parsley plants haven't gone to seed and im hoping that they last until we leave on holiday; I really like whole leaves of the stuff in my salad. Likewise, the rainbow chard has bolted and im salvaging small leaves. The boy bean is enjoying it in his pumpkin and sweet potato smoosh. I need to plant out some more. Im picking coriander which is heavenly. I bought some weeks back ,not from the asian grocer, from the white mob up the road and bloody hell, they're grown in perlite stuff which knots in with the roots and takes hours to remove! Im mean c'mon, i use the roots! Don't most people?

Finally, my tomatoes are in, pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers too, although the damn cat, who tends to follow the newly turned earth for his defecating pleasure, has abandoned attempts in the coriander patch and promptly buried a few hard fought for pumpkin seedlings whilst on his daily rounds.

And finally, after months of meaning to do it, a Nellie Kelly passionfruit has found its obligatory home on the new rain water tank.

6 comments:

Em said...

Hi Kel, love your corn under the beans, think I'll squiffle that idea for next year :)

Would you like some wasps for your cabbage moth grubs? We've got lots and they pupate for about 2wks, so I could mail you some pupae to hatch out (now only on the internet could you have this conversation!!) - these lovely little wasps have been parasitising the caterpillers in our garden for the last 6 mths; since the Good Bug Mix plants have been flowering to feed the adult wasps. They don't wipe out the whole pest population (so you'll still get some grub poo) but it sure is satisfying to see their little pupae appear through the broccoli :) Garden nerd here ;) LMK if you want some.

Anonymous said...

Genius companion planting!! And I love the photo of the rainbow chard forest. Wouldn't that be a lovely forest to walk through?!

Kelly said...

Hi em, thanks for your kind offer. Yup, weird pupae swapping talk! LOL. we have lots of native wasps around here, are they the kind you are referring to that do a great job munching on unwanted pests? If not, then i'm interested, but im wondering about issues of introducing non native species into new areas, i know nothing about this but it was the first and only concern that popped into my head???

Em said...

not sure if they're native Kel - I did lots of image searches to try and find their name, but no luck finding the exact species yet... they appeared once there was a fair bit of "good bug food" flowering. I'd guess they are native, so may be similar to what you already have? Their larvae parasitise the caterpiller, eat it from the inside out, and then pupate in clusters of creamy-yellow wooly ovals. We're in Qld tho, so they way not be local to your ecosystem, good point :)

Kelly said...

i will check with the 'other gardener in the house' - he will probably know what we have here. thanks for your search efforts!

naturewitch said...

Everything's looking so healthy and lush. A tip with parsnips - the fresher the seed the better. If the seed is 12 months old or older, it generally isn't viable. So, plant thickly and thin out if necessary seems to be the way to go with parsnips. xx

Hello, how are you?

Hello. It's been a while. 5 years. Where did that time go? Reflecting back, I can't remember why I stopped blogging. Perhaps l...