The Best laid plans.....

On Saturday morning the resident weather forecaster told me with great certainty that the rain was all gone until Christmas day. A weekend of gardening was the plan, tidying and mulching the priorities. By one o'clock it was pouring down! A brief respite in the afternoon saw me complete the weeding of the Jemima rose garden, wonder why I made such a big garden for such a little girl! I was really keen to put down a heavy mulch of newspaper and lucerne to inhibit the weeds. A week ago I bundled up all the newspapers and sat them out in the rain so they would be suitably moist for this job. I got about a third of it done and down came the rain again. Unfortunately the rain was accompanied by strong winds so quite a bit of my mulching was blown away.
Yesterday I did get the tomatoes tidied up and the Kikuyu dug out from the edges of the vegetable garden in between thunderstorms. As our ground is sandy we can still work on it when it is wet. The vegetables are enjoying this wet and mild summer. Everything is later than usual a bit due to my late planting as well as the cool weather. Finally the zucchini's are starting to flower.




The beans are loving these conditions, the climbers have gone right over the top of the trellis! Usually beans are a struggle here so I am hoping for a good crop.
                                                
Sadly the wind has blown quite a few unripe plums from the tree. Today is like a winters day here. Cold, dark and damp. Wouldn't we have loved that this time last year!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An abundance of eggs

Image
Silkie eggs Duck eggs Turkey eggs Hen eggs With five silkie hens, seven regular hens of mixed breed, four ducks of indeterminate sex and ten turkey hens we generally have an abundance of eggs. Despite the fact that several of the turkeys and hens are not laying, as they are broody the, there seem to be more than ever. Certainly more than two people can eat. Peter generally takes them to work and either sells them or gives them away. The turkey ones have not been that popular though. Today he said someone asked him for more turkey eggs as they had made an omelet with them and it was the best they have ever made. I find they rise up really well in omelets and Frittatas. I plan a big cooking evening sometime this week to turn the eggs into little herb quiches to put in the freezer for over the holidays when we will have a house full.
Read more

On my mind

Image
Puppy proofing my garden so the adorable Elle does not do too much damage! This is the result of my leaving a pot plant at ground level on the back porch. She is having a rest after her gardening!
Read more

Fried Zucchini Flower Recipe

Image
I was feeling quite overwhelmed by this monster of a garden on Saturday. I have been away three days a week for the last few weeks and things are quite out of control again. The tomatoes are in urgent need of attention as are the pumpkins. Zucchini vines and pumpkins are covered in mildew and my giant pumpkin has dissolved into a rotting mess. Not to mention the lawns need mowing, the edges need trimming, the cat heads are flourishing. I had hoped for a tidy, orderly garden by the time Katie and Jemima arrived but it is not to be. At least it is a productive mess. I was considerably cheered up by the very first decent eggplants I have ever grown. Aren't they just beautiful. I don't know why they have failed to fruit in the past but this variety in particular is doing very well this year. The eggplants inspired me to make a sort of tasting plate for our dinner fresh from the garden. The beans have come good again so there were: beans with olive oil, garlic and preserved lemon
Read more