Autumn in my garden

Autumn in Southern Tasmania is a beautiful time of year. In life before the changes that have and are being implemented here in Australia and my island state Tasmania,( different states within Australia have taken extra caution over others) and around the world, I was really only leaving my home for appointments, grocery shopping and taking my dogs for a walk.

I know I am so fortunate because of where I live and how much space I have.

As we are heading into Winter down under down under, I am ensuring I spend time outside and we have been having the most wonderful days here in Southern Tasmania. Brilliant blue skies, warmth, sunshine, bees and birds, butterflies and numerous other insects all getting prepared for winter. I watch things that make me laugh, and am dancing like no one is watching because no one is. My dogs make me chuckle.

I hope many other people are also taking time to see beauty about their own homes, and if you have them gardens. Or when out walking or wallking your dog.

Of course walking around my garden is so joyful I can finally see yellow petals appearing out of one of the self-seeded sunflowers. I am feeling uplifted that I at least will have one flower if not seeds.

This time last year I was picking eggplants/aubergines and a plethora of lovely ripe heirloom tomatoes. I do have flowers on the eggplants, I am not confident they will develop fruit. My tomatoes on the deck are looking so much better than they had been.

My butternut pumpkin has filled out more and is beginning to change colour to the pale orange/fawn colour. (photos below)

I also have one resonable sized pumpkin (sadly I have forgotten the variety) with two more that have begun to get a bit larger. Perhaps I will be able to harvest them too. (photos above)

My zucchini I really have to laugh. No one I know has ever had so few zucchinis I may get two more if I am lucky for a grand total of four. Neighbours are offering me theirs every time I see them from a social distance.

you can just see the zucchini behind the tomato on the left and he tiny two in the photogarph on the right

My broccolini is producing very small heads and I pick them regularly and eat them raw or cooked. I am a bit disappointed with them. I have let some go to seed to see if next year they may be more productive as they have acclimatised to my garden.

brassica bed first two photos, broccolini on deck gone to flower.

I have one capsicum/pepper plant that just keeps on surprising me, it has so many capsicums on it, four are such a good size. Several others are getting larger. I am very happy with this particular plant that came from a punnet of seedlings I purchased from my local hardware garden centre. The two other plants are in a different bed. The large capsicum is in my asparagus bed. Much happier plant.

top three photos show the two capsicums
bottom two photos show the capsicums/peppers that are really growing well.

Seed saving will be happening from these I can tell you, Actually seed saving from all my successes is really important.

Seed saving from your own fruit and vegetables that you have successfully grown in your own garden, means that this seed is now acclimatised to your weather, hours of sun, exposure and soil. Though I know some of my seeds will not be true to the variety that they came from. As long as the result is edible and tasty I will not be complaining.

The above group of photographs show a self seeded bed with a couple of cabbage seedlings, rocket and coriander. In the next bed is cucumber I have one growing you can see this one last photo middle row. Broad beans some with flowers, along with self sown cabbage and an unknown brassica.

I am happy with the seedlings in the post on my deck which have carrots, beetroot, silver beet, and kate. I am finding that there are many self sown seedlings appearing in many other pots. Every time I look I see more funny combinations. I have know idea how many will grow and mature providing me with peas, and broad beans from these pots. No matter how I try I will always have miners lettuce throughout winter. I am not really complaining well yes I am it pops up in every pot. It is perhaps one of the easy winter greens to grow. It just comes back every Autumn and is really nice to eat, even children love it

The photos below are mostly of my plants in pots on the deck. The herbs sage, rosemary, thyme, mint and oregano. Lemons and limes. Lobelia, alyssum, strawberries, onions chives, garlic, chive, carrot seedlings, beetroot seedlings, silver beet and spinach. Amaranth, violas,

I am thankful for a roof over my head,
I am thankful for all the hospital workers Nurses Doctors cleaners administration staff, pathologists, ambulance workers, police, supermarket staff, those landlords who are offering rent reductions, or free rent for a month or more without being made too.

blessinga to you Tazzie

March 27, 2020 4

Around the garden chase the teddy bears..or dogs

Today it is quite mild only reaching a maximum of 15dC/59dF with showers, wind and tonight a minimum of 4dC/39.2.
This weather will continue slowly warming back up again mid week.

Yesterday I was enjoying coffee and a book in the sunshine on my deck getting my vitamin D.
I sat outdoors on my deck marveling at how lovely a day it was. Watching the little puffs of clouds float bye.
The brown butterflies and white butterflied, bumble bees, honey bees and native bees buzzed about.
Birds chatter and song filled the air. Caw of crows, and songs of blackbirds. Wrens and pardolottes.

My washing was drying in my solar drier.
Whilst doonas, dog beds and blankets all aired in the gentle breeze and sunshine. So lovely to snuggle under last night. To me that is the perfect scent to go to sleep with. Bliss.

It is has been a while since I wrote about the veggie garden. So the dogs and I ventured outside in between showers. It is not really as cold as I thought lol. Just going from a beautiful sunny 28dC/82.4dF yesterday to this is a bit of a shock to my system.

I shall start with the deck. There is still quite a lot happening on the deck as you will be able to see. So many flowers still going. Cornflowers and sweet peas which I have had since late spring. A beautiful long period.

Things on the deck are doing OK even though they may be getting a bit wind blown and the chillier nights may not be to all the plants liking.

Herbs such as sage and thyme are still growing new leaves, as is the Greek oregano I have that grows about the wine barrels and path. I still live in hope that some of my tomatoes still on the vine will develop enough to ripen as temperatures are to warm up again next week.

I have been getting tomatoes off both areas. The deck ones I have had to pick a bit greener as some critter has been getting in under or between the netting gaps, the night before I have decided I will have those couple for breakfast in the morning.
I now I should have learnt by now never ever think let alone say out loud that you are going to pick that fuit/vegetable tomorrow.
Exact same thing happened with the grapes. I did score a few and they were delicious.

Top Row L-R Carrot seedlings: Brassicas in polystyrene, carrots seedlings in small pot, beetroot? seedlings in large pot.
Middle Row L-R Amaranth and small pansies: Egg Plant/Aubergine with flowers: Self sown Peas and a broad bean seed growing that I just popped in there.
Bottom Photo Centre in post beet root seedlings; left front lavender, right blueberry plant;

Top row L-R Sage: lemon tree in recovery: SweeAlyssum (Lobularia maritima): Corn Flowers (Centaurea cyanust)
Middle row L-R: Carrrot flowers; Spring Onion Flowers; Surprise me seedlings.
Last photo carrot seedlings

Top Row L-R Eggplant/aubergine flowers: Deck tomatoes fruiting:
Middle Row L-R Lemon and lime trees bottomerow lemon and lime tree and sad looking brassica self sown

I have been picking a few beans every day, often eating quite a few as I wander about the garden watering or looking. Similarly with the broccoli I just eat it raw at the time or in salad raw. Too nice to cook.

The corn is swelling. I did try my first cob last night for part of my dinner. It was so sweet and tasty, some of it not so developed. I picked it because I could see something had been trying to get into it. I have a few cobs left. I know that if I were to grow corn next spring summer I will not be doing it in a three season bed. Same thing with the pumpkin.
Everything grew well. Everything has produced is producing something but in tiny amounts apart from the beans. The only thing that I feel was really successful and I feel it would have been on it is own is the bean tripod.

I have self sown rocket, red sorrel and a brassica of unknown origin or type just popping up about the beds on the paths of the Vegetable garden. I have not had plantain in my vegetable garden for years and this year I have it. I am so happy about this. This does not bother me in the slightest. Gaia is so generous if we allow her.

I keep thinking I should pick some Rosehips, and make some Rosehip syrup.

The dogs enjoyed being outside between showers, and sniffed, played and rolled about in delight. As I picked and ate some blackberries. I also looked at the wild apple tree in the hedgerow and picked a couple of apples off it. They look a bit green to me.

The middle photograph in the top row is of a watermelon plant that was planted as a seedling back in November. It is only just flowering now. I do not like my chances of getting any fruit. Oh you have to gamble some times. I feel the position of this bed and the metal walls protecting it were to much contributing to it not doing well.

The middle row shows the dogs and I looking at the hazelnut shrubs. I was picking hazel nuts off the branches, and off the ground. Noting that some thing has been eating them.
It is interesting to note that almost every nut on the ground still has no nut inside. How do these critters know this?
Busby likes chewing the shell and seeing if their is a nut inside. The two he got that I had dropped on the deck both had nuts in them.
I can find it hard to distinguish if there is a nut or not. I have four different types of hazelnuts so do not understand why I am not getting fertillised nuts. Something to research.

As the garden heads further into Autumn I am thinking of what I need to do to prepare for next spring.

I have to soon plant garlic. Possibly in the next week. Peter Cundall who was one of the long term presenters of Gardening Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV. He happens to live up in Tamar Valley in the North of the state. Used to say plant on the shortest day and harvest on the longest. This worked for the first few years I grew garlic but no longer. The season has changed.

These final photos are back on the deck some garlic that was sprouting (not my home grown ones but some I had bought as locally grown) I placed in the pots. The bounty of hazel nuts and all that was left on my Huonvalley Crab Apple tree. The rest show a hodge podge of pots on the deck with cos lettuce, mints, sage, brassica, flowering strawberry plants, cape gooseberry, a small pot with a self sown broad bean and pea.

I personally find gardening wonderful, challenging, and constantly requiring evaluation. I find for my mental well being it is a wonderful place to be. I rarely wear gloves (even with risks of Scorpion stings and Jack Jumper Ant bites) preferring to have my hands connect to the soil.
I call it being earthed. For me it brings a sense of well being of contentedness to Gaia. That perhaps things are not so bad in the world.

Blessings to You all Tazzie

March 14, 2020 6

Gardening and Life in the Roaring 40’s

I live approximately at 43dSouth of the equator. The Huon Valley is the southern most council in Australia. Living in the 40dSouth region of the globe means I live in a very windy area. Especially around spring and summer. The west coast of Tasmania can get wind speeds of up to 200km/125mph and this can be relatively regular. I living more in the tip of the island sort of, and in a river valley with Bruny Island to the east at the end of the Huon River.

The wind is causing mischief with my plants. So far so good I have not lost any.

The Roaring Forties bring wild winds, wet weather and cold temperatures to Tasmania and southern Australia. The bane of sailors since Cook first circumnavigated Antarctica, these mighty winds influence everything from delicate native rainforest rodents to parrots and penguins.
Heather Catchpole
https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/20/2038604.htm
This is a really interesting article on the subject.

Tasmania, smack bang in the path of the roaring forties. Image: NASA (Source: NASA /https://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/may2007/gallery.htm) Below.

https://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200709/r184965_690326.jpg

I I hear you saying ok so what has this got to do with anything?

It has so much to do with my garden. The wind dries everything out so much and currently we are having minimum 8dC/40dF maximum 27dC/80dF with wind speeds of between 20kmph/ 12.4mph up to 42kmph/26mph then Tuesday the forecast is min 7dC/44.6dF to maximum 17dC/62.6 dF, thankfully the wind will be less and the maximum will be 20km for a short period.

We have had such high winds for the last few days and nights. So the garden is being knocked about badly. I was very grateful to receive some much needed rain the other night which has filled up my tanks by two rungs.
The birds are so quiet and non are flying about I have not had to fill the bird baths, just give them a top up as the wind has been making waves on them and blown water out.

Seedlings coming up I have planted carrots, and beetroots. Though some of these do not look like either. Mystery seedlings.

It makes it very hard to do anything outside. I managed to water, but this took a couple of tries as it is hard to water plants when most of the water is being blown away. Quite humourous actually, poor Miss Treacle was sitting under a shrub and I had no intention of wetting her, the wind had other thoughts. The soil and every Olle was dry this afternoon when I checked them! I had checked them yesterday morning as we had rain the night before, all were fine. Which saw me just water the deck plants yesterday. Today I watered everything again.

Below my grape plant and my first delicious sweet grapes. This is its first ever year it has actually produced grapes and I have eaten some.

Above the plants, herbs and vegetables in the pots on the deck are doing it a bit tough in the wind.

This is my Huonville Fanny crab apple and I hope to begin to pick it in the near future. Sadly the birds, and wallabies have eaten quite a few. Similar to the small apple in my paddock. I went down to pick the apples only to find the birds, possums or wallabies had beaten me to them.

Onions above I thought these were walking onions, but um they are not developing the tops so they must be normal onions. Another issue with the wind is so often the labels I put with seedlings is blow away or animals and birds knock them out.

The unknown ‘chilies’ are flowering, I doubt that I will get any fruit from these this year. These plants survived the winter and grew so fingers crossed they will survive this coming winter, and maybe next year I will get some fruit.

Above photo, the Three Sister Bed is perhaps the bed that is copping the worst off the wind. The beans nearly were destroyed. You can see the framework I have put in place to try and support the plant and post that have fallen. Thankfully they seem to be doing a great job. The beans are producing well. The corn is filling out, but one smaller piece has been opened by the wind. The corn plants have not produced as many cobs as I had hoped. I am not too disappointed as this is the first time I have ever successfully grown corn. The squash has three tiny butternut pumpkins on it. I did hand pollinate the two that are close together. The third one has been on the vine for quite a while now and is not developing. I was advised by a helpful reader that it happens when the female flower is not pollinated. It may be too late for the two hand pollinated pumpkins to develop much, I will just have to wait. All part and parcel of getting to know your garden, soil and plants.

The tomatoes both on the deck; photos above, with white netting and those growing in the garden bed, have all got quite a bit of healthy looking green fruit on them. I have been getting small red tomatoes, on average one or two a day. My fingers and hopes are high in getting many more ripe tomatoes. Our weather forecasters have been saying that Australia is going to have a warmer Autumn this year. I am being positive that I will have ripe tomatoes.

The capsicums/peppers in the asparagus bed are thriving. It is strange to realise that the ones that are in the tomato bed are so small in comparison. I transplanted them as they did not look happy in the asparagus bed. Hmm so glad I left one plant in their. The capsicums are about 9cm/3.5 in length and quite well formed as can be seen in the above photographs.

The two plants in the tomato bed are fruiting, sadly very small fruit. The plants never took off. This is not a happy bed. I may have over done it with minerals and trace elements.

I find being in the garden so good for my mental well being. It has been a difficult week in some ways for me. Spending time today in my garden and doing a couple of things outdoors in sunlight and physical exercise has been a tonic.

I am so thankful to have my garden, my beautiful home and the lovely if windy weather. I am very grateful that my veggie garden and fruit trees are all doing OK with the wind.

May your weekend be blessed and blessings to you all Tazzie

February 29, 2020 8

Vegetable Garden Update

With the strange weather patterns we have been having here in the Huon Valley, Tasmania, it is good to know I am not alone in not having tomatoes ripening in the garden. In fact my garden is slow in many areas.

I forgot to mention I picked some plums that had to ripen off the trees, as the birds were getting too interested in them. I was happy with the plums as this is the first year that I actually managed to get some. They have never produced as they did this year, and it was not a huge volume, about 3kgs for four trees. I obviously am not doing something right with them.

I am delighted with aspects of my Three Sister Bed, Corn, squash and beans growing in one bed. As you will see below the corn and beans are flowering, sadly the pumpkin is only just producing some flowers now.
I have a feeling that I will be buying pumpkins this year. I may have planted to many beans. I put in climbing and bush. All the plants look healthy, the corn has a few swelling cobs. Fingers crossed I will at least have succeeded in growing edible corn.

The Sea Holly is such a beautiful flower the purple/blue is striking, and the bees love it.

I harvested some things from my garden today Yipee! I picked some beans, tomatoes, silver beet and kale. They will go into my dinner tonight.

In my vegetable garden I grow flowers along with veggies. Sea Holly which I have no idea where it came from. I had this weird plant growing in a veggie bed, and thought I shall let it grow as it looks like no weed I have ever seen. I did and the first year nada/nothing well just green leaves flat on the ground. This year it has grown and I love it. Great for cut colour just watch the spikes, and as I said the bees love it! Not just our huge bumble bees. (above photo).

Bumble bees are not native to Tasmania or Australia. They were imported from UK to pollinate tomatoes in poly tunnels but escaped and are now found here. They can get massive here. When I moved from the mainland 20 something years ago, I had never seen a bumble bee. I loved them and would watch them flying about pondering how something so chunky could fly. I was told you could stroke them, and they did not sting.

You can indeed stroke them, but be warned Bumble bees do sting. Unlike honey bees and native bees (I think) they do not die after stinging you.

In the photograph above is a Honey Bee I assume from my neighbours hive. Similar to a bumble bee with a lot less hair.

Which makes me wonder how Bumble bees keep cool in the extreme temperatures we have been having this summer. Yet I see and hear them buzzing about the flowers on my deck.

I make sure I have water in small shallow bowls with some pebbles to help them access the water. I also put a rock and stick or some thing to help them access water in my other bowls and bird baths.
I have Blue Banded Bees but have not been able to take a clear enough photograph to share here.
I also see dragon flies, butterflies, hover flies and most delightfully frogs.

The little frog in the photograph above was rescued and just popped into the jar for a minute or two for safety as I was moving pot plants about the deck and he/she had been contentedly sitting about between them.
I popped a bit of shade cloth over the top of the plant where I sat the jar as I moved it to its new location and the other three I then let the frog out and it hopped in behind the pots. I see frogs regularly when I am out watering the pot plants on the deck.
I also see geckos.

A sad lack of sun ripe tomatoes growing on my vines out doors. I do have tomatoes, and some small ones have reddened the majority remain small and green. I am not having a good season with getting bigger tomatoes. Last year I grew cherry tomatoes. This year I am not but I may as well be.

Tomato Timing
Hurry up and turn on the red
The sauce must be made
before retiring to bed

The garlic, basil, and oregano are waiting
the jars sterilized and warmed
there can be no time for hesitating.

Mother can slow living down to a trickle
choices I honor, but please be fore warned,
you will soon be a jarred green tomato pickle.
https://allpoetry.com/Brownisk

Now onto the deck first order of the afternoon was to get all the brassicas together, then began the search and destroy mission. The enemy had succeeded in landing, and dumping leaving eggs behind. Which in turn ate and ate my brassicas! No option but to find these green blighters and leave them for the birds.

It was a task to gently rub my fingers over ever leaf, every nook and cranny of the plant to find eggs, cocoons, and caterpillars of the white moth! As you can see the mission bore great success.

I realised my current method for stopping the white moth from laying her eggs was not working. I decided to move all the brassicas under the netting I had put up to keep the birds from getting to my tomatoes.

Now in thinking about this I have come to realise that this may not be so great either. As during the day I usually drop two areas of the netting to create openings that hopefully will not let birds in but bees can come in and pollinate. (I have done some hand pollination). If I leave these openings the white cabbage (thought her babies eat all brassicas so she will lay her eggs on any) moth can also enter. Sigh. Back to the planning board.

A lot of people do not like leaving their gardens to self seed. I am quite happy doing this. I do not let everything and I do pull things out as I need to. I love letting any of the Allium family flower and go to seed. The leek flower heads are also attracting so many bees.

Capsicums (peppers) these were in a punnet that for some reason I just grabbed in December from the local hardware shops nursery. I usually do not purchase any vegetable seedlings from them. The one on the right is in the asparagus bed which is more shaded than the other two which are in the tomato bed, They are only about six feet apart, but such a difference. The one on the left is twice the size of the other two and has capsicums forming well. The other two have heaps of flowers but I am not expecting huge if any capsicums to develop.

Along with the capsicums, in another bed where the Sea Holly grows are some chiles. I have no idea what sort, nor what is going on with them. See photo below. It looks like something has been having a try at eating it. On the other side it has scratch marks. Mystery plant mystery as to what is going on.

When I was in the vegetable garden I realised that some of the tomatoes were beginning to go a bit reddish. That will mean the birds will be wanting to get them. I popped tow bird wire cylinder around them and I am pondering if the birds will still try and pop on down into the area. I may have to cover the tops with some netting and hand pollinate the flowers that are still appearing. You can see the protection below. I have used bent wire to pin them down.

In the right of this photo below you can see the self sown sun flower. It is growing and I may end up with at least one. Which would make me so happy.

In the back ground You can see the brassica bed. The Kale on the left of picture the dark green is tall and very healthy. On the right is silverbeet going to seed. The green bending plant is seed of the silverbeet.

On the 9th Feb I sowed some beetroot seeds and carrots in areas of the vegetable garden. I also sowed several cabbage seeds. I left them in small seedling pots on the deck. I was so pleasantly surprised to see some of them have already germinated. I am hoping that they can go in the garden and perhaps the cabbage moth will not be about to lay eggs.

My intention is to sow some carrots in pots on my deck and perhaps some carrots too. I am going to plant more in the veggie garden.

I cleared out the garlic and coriander bed, putting some old manure on it. I have to work out what I will plant there next.

I noticed this week in one of my smallish pots on the deck a couple of broad beans are growing well. I intend to plant more about so will put some about the vegetable garden

I am so thankful for my garden, and to be able to spend time with nature. I am grateful for the bees that come in to collect pollen for their own needs. That the insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, all the creatures that make their home in and about my gardens are here.

I am thankful for the garden producing food some of which I had for in my dinner tonight.

With the addition of garlic and spring onions from my garden, the only purchased items for my meal were two eggs. So my delicious meal cost me a whole $1.10.

The blackberries grow on my boundary, in a hedgerow. It is a wonderful season for the blackberries this year.

blessings to you all, Tazzie.

February 15, 2020 8

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