Monday Harvest – 12th August 2013

I am struggling for time at the moment and this week it has impacted on both my blogging at my harvest photography.  I failed to write a Spotlight post over the weekend.  Happily there are other bloggers who managed to find the time.  Head over to Garden Glut for her take on Romanesco Broccoli and to Our Happy Acres to find out more about Rattlesnake Pole Beans.

Meanwhile in the garden I am harvesting a lot of lettuce and watercress and not much else.  The broccoli side shoots have dried up and my chooks put paid to my succession planted second round of plants.  The broad beans are currently flowering but are a long way off mature pods.  The kohl rabi is slowly sizing up, and the brussell sprouts are forming tiny sprouts which I have no idea when to pick.  Which kind of leaves (get it?…he, he, he) a lot of lettuce in the basket and not much else…except for watercress which I am particularly enjoying at the moment.

Salad

Oh and the sole result of my experiment with growing tomatoes over winter in Melbourne.  I think its safe to say its an experiment I wont be bothering to repeat.  Of the 3 varieties I tried the only one to fruit (and this is its sole fruit) was the Siberian.  That same plant does have more flowers on it but its also not looking in the best of health.  The other two plants are looking just plain sick.  Basically I think its just not warm enough here over winter for tomatoes to grow happily.  They grow over winter in Sydney but then its at least 4 degrees warmer on average in Sydney which doesn’t sound like much but it clearly is a lot for a tomato.

For more impressive harvests – some of which may even include baskets full on nice ripe tomatoes head over to Daphne’s.

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16 Responses to Monday Harvest – 12th August 2013

  1. Maybe light levels affect tomato growth too – maybe the days are just too short!

  2. Sarah says:

    I’d love to be able to make some sypathetic comments about your not being able to grow tomatoes through the winter in Melbourne… but given that tomatoes in summer can be a struggle here, I can’t think of any! The lettuce and watercress is looking good though.

  3. Balvinder says:

    Hi Liz, I am also curious to know how some of the bloggers find time to post regularly every 2nd or third day and also actively participate on social networking sites. But I can understand your busyness. I ma impressed that in spite of cold weather in Australia you are getting some leafy greens and I can also see a tomato in that basket.

  4. Michelle says:

    I don’t feel so bad about not finding the time to do a Saturday Spotlight post now. 🙂

    The leaves look good. I know how it feels when the garden leaves much to be desired. Ha ha. It seems like it wasn’t all that long ago here, how time does fly.

  5. Nina says:

    Is the sole Siberian tomato from the seed I sent you?? You’re welcome. 🙂 I admire you for giving growing tomatoes in Melbourne in winter a go but I didn’t hold out a lot of hope. Sometimes we have to bow to the limits of our climate (as favourable as it is, compared to other parts of the world).

    So. Pineapples next? 🙂 🙂

    I can relate to your busy-ness. One more day to go and I’ve got 16 days off. The garden and the chooks will be excited.

    • Liz says:

      I think it was from your seed, but I had some from a few sources so I wasn’t quite sure. I’m sure I have recollections of planting pineapple tops when I was at school. I suspect they didn’t fruit though……
      16 days – that should be lovely!!!!!

  6. Dave's SFG says:

    You’re allowed to take a break now and then. You ordinarily put so much intensity into your writings that a rest is deserved. As far as winter tomatoes, maybe the only reason to grow them would be to have them survive and provide some early tomatoes in the spring? Do they look irrecoverably ill?

    • Liz says:

      Thanks Dave. I like your thinking about them providing Spring tomatoes – I have left them in to see what happens. I should probably give them a bit of protection and try to nurse them through.

  7. Jenny says:

    I’m impressed that you got any tomatoes in winter! Nice greens too 🙂

  8. Daphne says:

    I wish I had lettuce right now. It is growing. Maybe in a week or so I’ll get to steal a few baby leaves.

  9. mac says:

    Amazing harvest, you get winter tomato and greens.
    Take some time off, don’t feel bad, blog when you have time and energy, I couldn’t keep up with my blog most of the time.

  10. Bee Girl says:

    It really is amazing how a couple of degrees can affect a vegetable! I’m a bit worried about my tomatoes and what remains of our warmest days…time will tell. my winter tomato experiment was an incredible bust last winter…full of aphids and incredibly gross, so at least you didn’t have to deal with any gross pests, ha? 😉

    • Liz says:

      Hmmm I think it depends on whether you consider rats gross. The aphids go for the brassicas this time of the year, my brussel sprouts are looking really sad and infested.

  11. Sounds like this is the time of year that one is grateful for what the garden provides, lone tomato and all!

  12. Barbara Good says:

    Liz, you do like an experiment don’t you. I reckon it’s the light as much as the warmth that the tomatoes are missing. Sydney is just that bit further North that they’re days don’t quite get as short as ours as well as the temps being a little higher. And hasn’t this tail end of winter had some bite to it, did you get the wind today? It was incredible here.

    The greens are looking good though and are a great source of solitude when other things are not working so well in the garden. I’m finally going to get something done in the garden this weekend I hope. So some lettuce will be among the first things planted.

    • Liz says:

      You’re probably right about the light. As for the wind – yeah – I really don’t like it much at all. I can’t remember it being so windy last winter – I thought it was more of a spring and summer thing. And the greens – if only I could keep those birds away from them…..

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