Garden Update November

Dear Aunty,

November has been a busy month for me as I race to plant and sow the last of the Spring Vegetables, the beginnings of the Summer vegetables, clear two beds of spent broad beans and return the stalks to the beds, tidy up garden beds top, sides and bottom of yard, that went crazy with the first heat of the season, tie down climbing roses and generally weed and prune.  There is still some pruning and weeding to do along the side garden bed, mulch to chop up and add to the bark paths between the raised vegetable beds, dried leaves to add to the new side beds and grass to mow.

The iceberg lettuce has grown well and tastes juicy and crisp: a great addition to work and school sandwiches.

Iceberg lettuce:crisp and juicy

The several spinach plots are desperate to go to seed but continue to supply and endless supply of silverbeet and spinach.  YUM with lemon and garlic or on its own steamed.  This is some in the strawbale bed that I normally use to feed the guinea pigs.

Spinach desperate to go to seed.

The strawberry runners from the ground cover strawberry plants have taken off in their new strawbale bed on the bricked area.  There are lots of fruit...we can't wait.

Strawberry runners transplanted.

The raspberry canes are covered in flowers with more and more canes popping up in their bed.  There are big hopes for lots of fruit this season.  I am relieved to see all the new canes as my original 20 canes had been reduced by half. This is a bed that requires a lot of build up of soil, mulch and compost.  The two Stellar cherry trees can be seen at the bottom. They have some fruit on them too. Yahhhh, a first.

Raspberry canes with Stellar cherries at bottom.

I have been mentally willing the climbers, kiwi fruit, passionfruit, grapes and native climber to make their way up the strings attached to the old clothes line that is in the middle of one of my beds.  I sort of envisaged a pergola of vines here but it is slow going.  The huge bunker of a house that went up next door took most of my sunlight for the yard.

Urging the kiwi fruit, passionfruit and native flower climber up an old clothes line.

One of the new shaded beds on the side of the unit is coming along nicely with lemon balm, mint, hydranger cuttings from Winter that are growing well, roses, geranium and daisies. 

Shade bed at side of unit with geranium and daisies.

I love these pink daisies and pale mauve geranium that were from cuttings from Robin's Mum last Winter.

Daisy bush from Winter Cuttings

Pale mauve geranium from Winter cuttings.

#3 son's tomato plants in the large strawbale bed made up on the bitumen...the only available sunny spot in the yard...are doing well. Here is a small shot of their beginnings.

The beginings of the tomato bed.

More photos will follow of the rest of the plantings in that bed when it stops raining....glorious rain it has come just as the melon and cucumber seedlings were put in.