winter garden, readying for spring

[tielan]

Wiritjiribin is the name for this season in the language of the Dharawal people who lived from the south of Sydney harbour down to the Shoalhaven and the start of the Wollondilly river network. The season is characterised by cold weather and high winds, and we're certainly getting both.

It's been a pretty dry winter. Some rains, yes, but by and large not enough to really penetrate the soil. I've got a number of leafy green plants in and am mostly hand-watering them with homemade seaweed solution and worm juice.

Truth is, I'm not very good at eating my leafy greens from the gardne, which is a pity because they're growing pretty well this year!

I pulled out some turnips - they didn't do very well. Only the size of my thumb and about as long before they developed really fine roots. The parsnips did better - nice big tops for about...as long as my thumb before they split into two or three smaller roots, before ending up with really fine roots about 15cm below the surface.

I have caulis and cabbages and broccoli all growing, but they keep getting attacked by aphids and I don't seem to have sufficient ladybugs or lacewings to deal with them right now. I really have to plant some land cress to attract the white cabbage moth (although I did catch one the other day, killed it, and am now displaying its body on a fine copper wire in order to deter other cabbage moths).

But it's spring coming up, and time to start sowing early crops: tomatoes, corn, peas, beans would be a good starter. I actually have two eggplants and two capsicums that have survived the winter, and I am going to have to work out how to get them the kind of warmth that they need to get a leg up on producing. I am wondering if a plastic bag greenhouse might help?

Already had to start netting one of the trees. On Sunday, a cockatoo had spotted the nectarine tree and was perched on the framework I put up to hold the netting, intent on pecking off the fruits that had already set.

I've started digging out my compost, and while it's not quite as composted as I'd like, there's still some good soil in there. The issue that has beleaguered my garden in previous years is the lack of nutrients and fertility. I'm hoping that I've rectified that this season. I guess we'll see when the summer comes!

Have a picture of Hainan chicken perched in the chicken tractor over a garden bed:

Comments

[timespirt]

I tried the turnips last year and I had the same as you this year. Small and mine rotted before they could get bigger than my thumb. Didn't plant them this year. Sticking to tomatoes, eggplant and string beans with some flowers. My spinach didn't produce much and died after I got to make 2 batches. I will try a different variety for fall.

[tielan]

I've had turnips do really well...just not this year, in this bed. I think it might need more sun.

This winter has been better for tomatoes than I have some summers! But I think I have a better idea of how to grow them now. And I have several heirloom bean types that I plan to grow particularly and am quite looking forward to doing!

[timespirt]

My tomatoes are mostly doing OK. I plan to get my plants somewhere else next year. The place I bought them this year didn't live up to what they used to sell before they merged with another plant place. 2 of my tomato plants are not doing too well. My heirloom tomatoes I started from seed seem to be doing very well. They are still green but I'm waiting for them to ripen. We had too much hot heat in May and the plants all took a long time to start getting flowers. I have had plenty of beans but will start some from seed in a week or so along with the spinach for the second set of crops for fall. My eggplants took a while to take off also because of the heat but they are producing mow.