2012 End Summer Harvest Finale

Summer ending for us here.

I am sure many gardeners living in Northern hemisphere are happy greeting spring.

Did not take many photo lately.

But here some what we had been harvesting at the end of summer.

Sorted some of our brown onions that are left curing in the shed, brought in some onion for the kitchen use which does not going to store well.

Pak choi grown in container and miraculously survive the extreme summer heat.

We harvested our first batch of kang kong/water spinach bamboo leaves, second summer broccoli and bonica eggplants.

Mice have been nibbling on the top of our root vegetables, so we harvested carrots and beetroots.

Beans, cherry tomatoes, brown onions and shallots.

Carrots and self-sowed amaranth (bayam).

We harvested our first banana capsicum that we grown from seeds this warm season. 

Pak choi, hon tsai tai, daikon, baby beetroot and cherry tomatoes.

The weather has cool down a bit now.

Hoping that our summer veggies will set fruit well now.

It was too hot before for them to set fruit, although they have blooms.

Wishing for more cucurbit and solanum family harvest at the moment.

Visit Daphne's Dandellion for harvest monday and see what other gardeners doing with their harvest.

Parsnip Life-Cycle

The white root vegetable parsnip seeds shape are different from other root vegetable such as carrot, radish and turnip. Parsnip seeds looks like a round flat brown disc. I was surprise when I first saw them. Parsnip seeds are much bigger and easier to handle compare to carrot seeds. 

Newly sprouted seeds. From right: a seedling still attached to the seed coat, a seedling free from the seed coat, and seedling with its first true leaves. 

More growth and bigger leaves.

Parsnips growing in rows with carrot and leek as companion.

If parsnips is grown over-winter, it will be better to harvest the root before mid-spring before the root becomes woody and start to flower. It will be good to left a few parsnip to flower as the flower attracts beneficial creatures into your garden. Parsnip roots takes a long time to grow compared with carrot. It will take at least 6 months before it is ready to be harvested depending on the climate.

Parsnip flowering.

Parsnip seeds developing stage.

Parsnip seeds ready to be harvested.

Are you planting any parsnip this year?

How long do you usually wait to harvest your parsnip?

Hon tsai tai ~Purple Choy sum

We have been harvesting some Asian veggies hon tsai tai this month. Hon tsai tai is also known as purple choy sum. Its like choi sum twin but the stems and leave veins are purple. Usually its difficult to differentiate the leaf of some brassicas at the stage of newly sprouted seeds as they look similar. However, as it is clearly can be seen that the stem of hon tsai tai newly sprouted seedlings are purple.

The first true leave sets of hon tsai tai.

Look ready to be transplanted.

Ready to be pick Hon Tsai Tai.

They are also enjoyed harvested when flowering.

Flower part is also edible.

Hon tsai tai flower resemble choy sum flower closely.

Have to be aware that this plant will cross-pollinate with other Asian veggies.

On cooler weather, the purple part of hon tsai tai will turn darker.

Time fly so fast!

I have not been updating my blog regularly this year.

Hope to catch up with you and see what you are posting in your blog soon.

Water dragon year is sure a busy year for me.

Top 3 main things for me this year:

 (1) Complete my PhD before middle of this year.

(2) Rayyan has to undergo another surgery schedule in May.

(3) Hormonal changes and welcoming a water dragon child.

I am counting on the luck and blessing no. (3) to help with smooth (1) and (2) journey.

Till Valentine End Summer Harvest

The cherry tomatoes did much better than the other tomato varieties this summer season. We were lucky to  be able to harvested some round eggplants last week.

We harvested our first time home-grown potato onions. Should have reduced the watering when it was ready to be harvested. But I was relying on dear hubby with the watering so I let him do whatever he wants as long as the plants were watered during peak summer.

Brought in some garlic into the kitchen that we left curing in the shed.

Challenger tomato variety but it got scorched badly by the sun. 

I was cleaning up some part of the garden last weekend because it look so shabby after the scorching weather cause during mid-summer and I was surprised to find some cucumbers. It looks misshapen but I never expected to get any cucumbers this summer. First time we harvested a broccoli in end summer that was grown/sowed from last autumn. Another unexpected surprise that the broccoli plant manage to form a curd and not bolt in hot weather. Possibly the cool weather we had a few weeks helped. We also harvested a few root vegetables; carrots, turnip, beetroots and volunteer  potatoes. Some hot red sexy chillies for valentine were harvested as well. Will be making some sambal sauce stock this afternoon with mama after we buy some lemon/lime this afternoon.

With the love valentine theme, some red harvest; strawberries, chillies, tigerella tomato, challenger and cherry tomato.

Visit Daphne's Dandelions to share and enjoy together what other gardeners has been harvesting all over the world.

Nellie Kelly 'Sweetie' Strawberry

We entered end summer season now. The weather changed drastically when February came, the weather really cools down. Instead of summer, somehow felt like autumn weather. Wishing that some of the plants will bounce back. I was hoping eggplants and peppers will be able to flower and set proper fruit in the end summer season as it usually does since mid-summer they spent more energy to survive. We will just have to wait and see. Due to the heat this year, more than 90% loss of strawberry plants for us this year. This is the first year we actually loss any strawberry plants. The only variety of strawberry that survived are Nellie Kelly (the first strawberry plant we bought from Bunnings 3 years ago and provided many runners) and alpine strawberry. These are the varieties that produce well for us in our micro-climate here in Adelaide plain. I am sure in other areas, other gardeners have their own strawberry variety that does well in their garden.

Nellie Kelly strawberry growing in container at the end of December.

Last end winter transplanted some of Nellie Kelly strawberry runners in this polystyrene container. Now after mid-summer only one left in this container.

We tried growing pansy and Nellie Kelly strawberry plant together.

Pansy and strawberry flowers blooming together. Rayyan did managed to enjoy several strawberry fruits from this container before the 40 degree Celsius came. I was aiming for natural mulch after the pansy wilted and died beside the strawberry plants during summer which it did. Mulching with straw will just attract birds to uproot strawberry plants.

So far, Nellie Kelly strawberry has been the most prolific and heat-tolerent variety apart of alpine strawberry that we grow here in our small garden.

What is your favourite variety of strawberry?

Which strawberry variety does well in your garden?