The garden in mid-April - Cabbages

There is a special something about autumn. The sun is still warm but the colours of the day are different and the nip of the morning and the evening is such a pleasure especially after an extreme summer.

I am not alone in appreciating the season, the garden too is relishing the gentler weather and, as a result, I finally have a vegetable garden that is worth showing you.

It is of course brassica growing season and the beds are stuffed full of different brassicas at different stages of development.  Most have been raised from seed on the front verandah, just a few are shop bought punnets.

First, the cabbages.

I am growing several types this year - most for the first time. Red Drum Head is such stunning blue cabbage. So why is it called 'red'? Is it one of those Australianisms? You know where we call people with red hair 'Bluey'?

Crinkly, wrinkly Savoy

I am also growing my old favourite the crinkly Savoy. This is the only  non-Chinese style cabbage variety I have grown before and these are the only cabbage seedlings I bought.

Mini Cabbage

I am also growing a mini cabbage unimaginatively called Mini Cabbage.

As for Chinese cabbages I am starting my second lot of Red Pak Choi  - we have already eaten the first sowing, they grow so fast and are eaten so quickly.

Tiny baby Red Pak Choi

And I have a good number of Mini Wombok in. I went for a mini version as a full sized wombok can be a bit of a challenge to deal with unless you make endless amounts of kimchi (which isn't a bad idea actually, perhaps I will put some more in).

Mini Wombok

Strangely, I have had hardly any cabbage moth grubs at all. Mind you, I am not complaining! I have really only picked off half a dozen grubs and that was some weeks ago now. The Red Drumhead have been completely untouched. Perhaps it's their colour - that red or blue putting the cabbages off the scent or sight?

Which cabbages are you growing this southern autumn/ winter? Northerners, what are you growing for the first time this year?

Later in the week I will show you the broccoli and cauli I am growing this season.

Winter wrap - '12

Winter here in Sydney has been a season of two halves.  The first part of winter was decidedly wet and the second half quite dry -  a harbinger of the return of the little boy  El Nino? The last part of winter has also been unseasonably warm - I am not complaining....

Here are some of my observations from this winter.

Harvests

• cabbage - mine have been savoy
• cauliflower - these were fabulous
• broccoli
• snow peas
• spring onions
• lemons, lemons, lemons
• limes
• fennel
• rocket
• herbs - rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay and mint towards the late part of winter
• some chillies in the early part of winter
• some sunflowers in the early part of winter

What I have learnt

• lime your brassica patch lest you get mini caulies
• broccoli is less fussy liming-wise than caulies
• snow peas are heaven on a stalk
• my mint needs more winter sun
• never take your parsley for granted - it can lure you into a false sense of supply cause it lives for two years, but when it's time is up, it's up and you are left without even a sprig
• fennel loves lots of water - it will grow well without it and produce lovely bulbs, but when it gets water a plenty, the bulbs are fat and white and juicy
• plant more fennel in succession
• late winter chives are incredibly flavoursome 
• bok choi is pretty and easy
• brassicas planted in winter avoid the cabbage moth when they are babies but get the moth visiting in late winter - but by that time they are growing strongly and are little affected
• this year I was rubbish at having something to pick in late winter - I still have my second crop of brassicas in the ground and only now forming heads!
• prunning your citrus in late summer and again when the growth re-awakens is a good thing to do
• the beans you dried in summer are fantastic for winter meals
• baby rainbow lorikeets have black eyes and beaks
• lemon trees are sacred

Pleasures

• lemons all winter
• the beauty of a cauliflower
• seeing my first blueberries flower and form fruit
• thyme flowers
• the glut of lime flowers and miniture forming fruit
• the birds that visit my garden - rainbow lorikeets and currawongs especially
• Half-tail would be a comedian if s/he was a human

In transition

the snow peas are up

 Picked

• yellow-green chillies
• lemons (gathered fallen ones)

Planted

• lettuce seedlings
• cauliflower seedlings

With a  bit of sun to inspire, I inspected the garden to observe goings on. The garden is in a real transition phase. Some of the summer things are still powering on, some of the winter crops have gone in. Unfortunately I am not picking very much at all - bad planning.

The snow peas ARE ok.  They are all up, every single one -  they didn't rot in the soil like I had thought.

broccoli with self seeded sunflower

The broccoli is going well but getting the first of the cabbage moth visits.  I will need to check under the leaves each day and wipe of their eggs from now on and watch out for the first of the green grubs.  I find this surveillance works well enough for me.  I might have ragged edges to my plants but I always have lots of veg.

Some sunflowers have self seeded - strange time of year for them to to that.  I am leaving them in for the moment to see what happens.


The eggplant seem to have a second wind and are flowering furiously. Same with my brown berry tomatoes. They look like they think its October or November. They are green and upright and setting flowers -  will they set fruit I wonder?

a lime crop after all

the eggplant just keeps coming

I AM going to have a lime crop.

praying mantis eating a house fly

The giant praying mantis was spotted eating a house fly - go praying matis!