we've got some huge marrows here too. a friend mentioned marrow wine - must get the recipe from her. simplesam would you mind posting a recipe for your marrow jam. It sounds delicious. Thanks
javlin,
Jan 28, 2:16am
simplesean - sorry
javlin,
Jan 28, 2:19am
we've got a few plums here, and heaps of beans which we have been harvesting today to freeze. Lots of spuds, corn coming ripe, a few strawberries, and lots of other greens. One of the chooks is eating the eggs - other than that its all good here.
jules.,
Jan 28, 3:00am
got another KG of beans today, more spuds are just about ready for digging up, cucumbers for africa (going to make cucumber pickle). the strawberries have all but finished fruiting now, they are putting out runners for the new plants. plums are wonderfull and juicy, had one round of jam so far and given 2 bags away also, you cant even see where we have picked them from as there are so many! oh, and picked the fisrt corn cob for dinner last night, was absolutely heavenly!
stevee6,
Jan 29, 2:32am
Strewth I'm tired of waiting for the tomatoes to do anything. Lots of green lumps(I put in 8 different heritage varieties this year) but will any of 'em soften or for the red ones, turn red! Heck as like.
juliewn,
Jan 29, 7:59am
How are all of your gardens growing. hope you're all enjoying wonderful goodies. :-)
juliewn,
Jan 29, 7:53pm
Aww thanks Dabountyhunter. your message is lovely. and I agree there's lots of great info shared by so many here. I'm learning a lot.
My garden is growing beautifully now. sweet corn almost 1800mm high, flowers on and cobs forming. yum! We're harvesting celery, beans, silverbeet, many kinds of lettuces, many kinds of herbs, the beginning of the cherry tomatoes, and the first Oxheart tomato is ripening. The first courgettes are a few cm long so not far away. I'm pleased with the growth - I didn't plant until later November when I finished building the gardens, so harvesting later than would have been if planted earlier. the gardens look wonderful.
I also have cucumbers and apple cucumbers growing, as well as cauliflower, swedes, kohl rabi, beef steak & money maker tomatoes, more beans, plus 3 kinds of beans for drying for winter soups, etc., carrots, parsnips, capsicums, aubergines, butternuts and buttercups, etc.etc.and chickpeas - they have the daintiest - almost fern-like - leaves.
I also have rockmelons and three kind of watermelons - including a mini melon - the fruit will weigh around 1kg, plus strawberries, alpine strawberries, pepino, etc.
My fruit trees have settled in. found a great bargain recently - our local garden centre here has peach, pear, plum and quince trees marked down from $35 to $10 each. I bought the two pears I'd been wanting to buy as a duo-graft this coming winter, and have those to plant.
I'm away for a while as my Daughter moves away to study in Hamilton. and am guessing my garden will look quite different on my return. with many veges ready to harvest. have a feeling there might be a few overnight parcels sent to her with veges fresh from the garden.
raewyn64,
Jan 29, 8:31pm
Now Julie while you are away if you want someone to come around and pick all your veges I am sure I could make a few trips over ha ha. Are you getting this rain we are getting here now (Tauranga) - just wonderful for the garden at long last !
stevee6,
Jan 30, 1:52pm
Tomatoes are absolutely wonderful! I guess it makes up for the lettuces which are running to seed because of the heat. And the courgettes are doing well too as is the spinach, baby carrots, radishes and most of the herbs. I've had a few sugar snaps but they're stressing too.
bjkiwi,
Jan 30, 3:29pm
so in the latest get growing email they have a special offer saying they have reprinted Homegrown 1 and you can get it free when you subscribe.I already subscribe but am dying to get my hands on a copy, am I going to be able to just purchase it by itself! Please someone tell me yes you can! :)
bjkiwi,
Jan 30, 3:37pm
its ok, have just answered my own question, there is a link to buy it further down the page!Now I just cant wait for it to arrive!
jules.,
Jan 30, 6:52pm
they are talking about the new home grown 4, its going to be all about fruit trees etc. sounds so great! i read and read the 1 & 2, but didnt get the 3rd as im not into the herbs as much, but cant wait for #4!
jules.,
Jan 30, 6:55pm
stevee6 im all but ready to pull out ALL of my tomato plants, they are fruiting but just rotting on the plants. i get my hopes up with each new tomato that grows only to have them dashed, so i think i will give up and use the space for something else. maybe have more luck next time, i think i will need to take better care of them and not plant them so close together as i have this time. oh well, you live and learn :)
misskittydragon,
Jan 30, 8:34pm
I have been down with a migraine on and of since Wednesday. I walked out to my veggie garden (absolutely stoked about that) today to find something has munched its way through my veggie garden. Also the veggies are covered with black ants. What would be suitable to spray or place around the garden to get rid of the unwanted guests. My cabbages are starting to go yellow and some look as if they are mildew or fungus affected. Have started harvesting pears and apples. mmmm they make a nice Apple crumble. My tomatoes are in the same boat as yours. I wish they would ripen.
jules.,
Jan 31, 3:43am
oh, the satisfacton! it was SO nice again tonight to sit down to dinner and know the only thing that i didnt grow was the meat for thr rissoles! corn, salad greens, cucumber, potatos, beans, they all taste so much better when you know where they have come from and the love and attention they have received to get there too. i pulled another couple of potato plants up today and re planted another 4 plants, so that makes 10 on their way for winter, they are about 3-4 weeks apart. when the corn has finished they will come out and be replaced with spuds also. the caulis are doing OK, but i think its too hot for them, so will take what i can get and put a new crop in when they are finished too.
jules.,
Jan 31, 3:49am
cucumber pickle!1 i have so many cucumbers i have got a recipe from my nan for cucumber pickle. my husband and 6 year old daughter cut up the cucumbers while i cut up 13 onions today, they are sitting in a brine for the night and i will do the rest of the process tomorrow. when the caulis are ready they too are headed the same way. i was hoping to have some tomato relish, but as the toms have not done so well this time, we will have to wait for next year. i wonder if its not too late in the north to try another few tomato plants. might try at the plant shop in the morning to see if they have some that are already on their way, rather than start from seed again.
jules.,
Jan 31, 3:51am
hi misskitty, i hope you are feeling better now. sad to hear about all that hard work being 'eaten'. hope someone can offer some answers to help fix the damage.
juliewn,
Jan 31, 7:02am
Hi Raewyn :-). thanks for your offer! lol.
Yes, it is raining here. good to have as it's been quite dry until recently - we packed the car around 11.30 tonight during a short break in the rain. and it's steady again now - good to hear on the roof :-)
I'm hoping I've timed things right so veges are ready to harvest when I'm home again - used 4 courgettes tonight with dinner so there aren't any left on the plant, so flowers will come and hopefully more will be ready soon after getting back. Finished the beans too, so the flowers will hopefully be beans on return.
I'll share the recipe I invented tonight. I had a couple of handfuls of a mix of butter and green beans - the smooth kinds - two thick stalks of celery and the courgettes. cooked them for a few minutes till just tender. I cut up my first Oxheart tomato (would have used more if they were ripe) and chopped a handful of mint and a large sprig of parsley. Once the veges were just tender, I drained them, added the tomato and herbs then a splash of spiced vinegar and tossed all together gently. It was delicious - tangy - just the way we like it- and all was grown in my garden - I'll be making it again.
jules.,
Feb 1, 2:59am
well i think our drought has finally finished, fingers crossed. we have had almost 24 hours of almost solid rain! read in the paper over the weekend (before the rain), this has been the most significant drought northland has had in over 28 (i think) years.
great for the garden, but not so great for my plums and golden queens im afraid. i will be very hard at work using them all once the rain eases before they rot.
hows everyone else doing! i have seen pics and news clips of the gisborne area floods of late, not very nice, hope you are all holding up :)
jules.,
Feb 1, 10:05pm
bumping. for misskitty :)
juliewn,
Feb 2, 7:03am
Hi everyone. hope your gardens are growing well . Has anyone grown veges indoors at all, and if so, how did they do! We're thinking of trying to grow several lettuces (the take leaves off as needed kind), a couple of silverbeet plants and a parsley plant, in a rectangular planter. We're wondering if these would grow ok in a well lit area inside an apartment that doesn't have any outdoor area. Any suggestions please, would be appreciated. and thanks for help. Cheers. Julie
Homegrown book Hello, can I please have the homegrown book!You can contact me at pandapaton at live dot com. Thanks.
books4nz,
Feb 2, 9:35pm
It's stevia - I've bought seeds for it on Trademe and have seen it at Palmers too.
misskittydragon,
Feb 2, 9:59pm
Hi. Well we are stumped as to what is eating the veggies. I have Derris dusted and laid down Quash but it hasn't helped. There are hundreds of ants running over the veggie garden and the back flower garden. I have never seen so many.I am going to go down to our Nursery tomorrow to see what they can suggest. I sent my son back to school yesterday with a salad picked from the garden with three different lettuces. A tomato and an Apple cucumber all from the garden. Also starting to pick some of the herbs as well to go into the salad.lol He couldn't get over the different taste in the veggies. I have just planted a Feijoa Unique today. It is fruiting and the flowers have just finished.We are going to put some of the plants in pots to see if that makes a change and see if anything tries to eat them. Ialso have a really good book from the library on square foot gardening and pottager gardening. Looking at different options for the back of the section.
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