March often sees the end of the summer crops for me, and while this was true of cucumbers and to a lesser extent tomatoes, the eggplants are still going strong whilst some of my capsicums are barely getting started. I think I’ll try a different variety next year as these have just been too slow.
Whilst some plants have had their day others are growing well – there are parts of the garden which currently look particularly lush. Anywhere near the sweet potatoes – the picture on the left below shows a very healthy lemongrass plant about to be swamped by rampant sweet potato vine. The turmeric, ginger and mint are all still looking happy, I will definitely wait until the plants die back before harvesting any turmeric or ginger rhizomes – my feeling is that they are putting on most of their underground growth at the moment. The picture on the right is one of 3 newly acquired blueberries – after L & Mark both suggested they were great plant pots I felt I needed to get some as I love the fruit.
Whilst some things are still going strong there are others which are about to finish. The figs are almost gone, the tarragon will soon die back and go dormant for the winter, the passionfruit have finished and the Thai Basil is starting to flower in earnest.
I was pretty busy in the garden in March. I replanted a shady side bed with some Vietnamese Mint, Mint, and Lemon Balm that had previously lived in pots. I am hoping their invasive natures will ensure they well and truly take over that area.
Otherwise it was harvests, harvests and more harvests, usually they included chillies:
But my plant of the month would have to have been the rainbow chard, which looked happy, healthy and provided us with leaves whenever we needed them.
I am feeling quite pleased with myself because as well as all the bounty I’ve had from the garden there is still more to come. From left – Potatoes sprouting in pots, Tuscan Kale ready for harvest, Spring Onions gradually developing, Raddichio getting slowly bigger.
And most exciting of all – tamarillos ripening:
You deserve a big pat on the back Liz! All that hard work has paid off and you have had a wonderful harvest and with the promise of more to come…Fantastic!
Everything still looks great Liz. How many truly winter months do you have?
I would say 3 compared with your 6, nothing as cold as the UK but cool enough to wear a thick jumper if you know what I mean. Daytime temps in the teens and night time in the low single digits is typical for June – August. July is our coldest month, June and August can be fairly mild with temps in the high teens, even 20 at times.
Your garden is so beautiful. The chard looks delicious. Our chard is tiny, but growing ever so slowly! I hope you’re enjoying your bounty, even as we look forward to ours.
I got out yesterday and cleared three wicking beds. Planted seeds… now I have to tackle the two big in-ground beds. *sigh*
Autumn will be a busy month with harvest and growing new plants. You still have many beautiful harvest there. Pepper and eggplants are just starting for us too. I found that ‘early long purple’ eggplant yields early than other eggplants that I sow from seeds. It was too hot in summer for them to bear proper fruit for us here. I never have yellow stalk with our rainbow chards.
Funnily enough my early long purple eggplant has been my poorest performer – neither early or long and not very purple either. Probably just a bad plant, I will try it again as it did well for me last year.
Love tamarillos. They are an underappreciated fruit. My daughter loves just eating them (So much so that a musician friend composed a song called “The Tamarillo Kid” about it!). I like cooking with them. Great added to the pan to deglaze it after frying kangaroo steaks. Really good chutneys and sauces. Nice in crumbles and poached fruit dishes.
I’ve noticed your recipes before and am looking forward to giving them a try. I love them in their raw state but it looks like I’ll have more than enough to make other things with this year.
What a great job you’ve done Liz! Such an amazing harvest. Chard looks beautiful, ready to go on the plate.
Your post looks like a gardening catalogue! A most impresssive collection of lovely things. “Is that the way to Tamarillo?” 🙂
That is a very nice thing to say. And in response to the last question – almost certainly! Well I hope so anyway – after the fruit bats stole most of last years crop I am eagerly awaiting these ones. Hopefully Peter Kay doesn’t find his way to these ones, I might allow Tony Christie to have a few if shows up though….
Liz, I admire your garden. I love your crop of chard and tamarilllo.
What admirable lushness, for any time of the season! You seem to grow a lot in containers, would love to know more about that… maybe a Top 5 candidate?
Great March summary – totally envious of your tamarillos.