Trouble Tomatoes

It has been not an easy journey for our tomato plants through this summer. The tomato plants have to get through many kind of problem and endure the 40+degree Celcius that came. At least this summer the heat waves were not that bad as previous summer when we had continuous everyday in one week of heat waves that will certainly made them not easy to survive. So this is what happened to large tomato variety(Black Russian?Rouge de Marmande?can't remember which one nevertheless all of them share the same fate) after a few days of 40+degree Celcius.

Not sure why but Tigerella variety skin split easily. Other tomato varieties seems allright and do not have this problem. I wonder if it is over ripe because I waited for Tigerella to show more stripes before I want to harvest them.

Caterpillar has been making tomatoes its own house and grow very fat living inside the tomato.

I thought that this variety of cherry tomato will turn red when its matured. I finally realised that this tomato turn brownish green when it is ripe. No wonder I have several fruit skin split while waiting for it to turn red. Last year I bought a packet of rainbow cherry tomato mix and I thought it will be different variety of red and yellow cherry tomatoes. This variety is the most sweetest tomato growing in our veggie patch, sweet like eating candy. I have to remember to collect some seeds from this tomato plant. From the random cherry tomato seeds that we planted only one seeds popped to be this variety.

The most hardy heat-tolerant (or heat-wave tolerant) tomato plant for this summer is the yellow cherry tomatoes where other varieties suffer major casualties, yellow cherry tomato got through the 40+degree Celcius with just a small scratch. Tomatoes are originally yellow in colour before the old world came sailing to new world and brought back this plant. Maybe the colours do make a difference against the hardiness towards the sun force. May the force be with you my cherry tomatoes to provide us many harvest this summer. We hope your other big brothers will bounce back again next month as they are now growing new shoots from the bottom of the plant like baby seedlings to recover from being sun-burn.

What is your favourite tomato variety?

1st half of February harvest

Main fruit or vegetables that were harvested in the first half of month February has been the yellow pear cherry and yellow tiny cherry tomatoes. Other tomato varieties and cucurbit produce has been decreasing since we had extreme hot weather. But last week the weather has cool down a little bit, all the effected or burned leaves has been pruned and new shoots has started to grow. The first week of February harvest there were many of tomatoes top that has been burned in the harvest photos. Bitter gourd unintentionally were harvested a bit mature with the sign of yellowish bottom. Australian Brown Onion grown from seeds had to be harvested even smallish size due to extreme hot weather that cause the plants to wilt.

Harvested 3 sweet corns but only Ilhan ate them all. Ilhan really like sweet corn and always wanted us to harvest the one still developing on the plants like to eat them fresh.

Harvested earliball small hybrid cabbage variety, Chinese broccoli, apple cucumber (had to harvest them early as the weather was so hot it ripen to quick turn yellowish) and some leeks (clearing the pot to sow another batch of Chinese broccoli).

I harvested some carrot that were growing in very heavy clay soil and was surprised to see that the roots can grow longer than I expected. Carrots that were grown in clay soil is so much paler than the ones grown in containers. We managed to hand-pollinated some zucchinies this month. I observed that leaf amaranth bolt very fast during extreme hot weather so have to harvest them frequently before it bolts.

There are some vegetable that were grown over winter that we can harvest this month such as leek, Chinese Celery and spring onion (the bulb has grown looking like white onion).

We are thankful with the opportunity of harvesting different variety of cucurbits this month such as button squash, zucchini and apple cucumber.

The ever reliable cut and come again KangKung (water spinach) that we grown in polystyrene containers. We have 4 polystyrene container that we used to grow KangKung to supply our kitchen. I would love to collect KangKung seeds this autumn but I wonder if it will ever flower here.

From ocean to our kitchen last Saturday are 9 squids that were caught by my hubby. We have better luck this year catching squids. I deep fried them with lemon basil for lunch.

What is your main harvest this 1st half of February?

Visit Daphne Dandelions for Harvest Monday.

Seed Week Sidebar button

For easy search for posts that have been linked during Seed Week, I have finally managed to figure out how to make a sidebar button for it. Just click on the sidebar button and it will open a new page which have the compilation of inspiring post linked during seed weeks if anyone needs some information.

Fun reading and planning!

February Container Gardening in Progress

Fortunately for this summer, gardening with polystyrene container has helped a lot in giving us harvest for kitchen supplies. We have one veggie patch (1metre wide X 7metre long) which is not suitable for growing almost anything during summer as it received sun whole during the day and the soil temperature must be more than 40 degree Celcius. We tried mulching it does not helped. But in winter this is the most happiest place for the plants to grow. So it is time to let that patch rest and let the polystyrene container do some talking or rambling. Our mini tropical garden; JAP pumpkin, cherry tomatoes, okra,bitter gourd, sweet potatoes, water spinach, ginger and others.

One of our mini SUB-tropical~mediteranean garden. I can't say tropical because leek don't belong in the tropics. It will be difficult for leek seeds to germinate above 30 degree Celcius. Sweet potato plants are all over other plant space as well.

I was surprised to see watermelon seeds that I sowed less than 2 months ago have started to produce female flowers. I had trouble with watermelon seed germination this year as the weather were late to warm last spring.

Pak choi's family usually don't grow well here in Adelaide during mid-summer as we have really hot weather during the day. But Mei Qing F1 pak choi seems to be very heat tolerant.

Due to cool weather at night this summer, our okra's Clemson Spineless that grow so well last year is not growing healthily and growth are stunted. However, Okra Burgundy look promising as this can tolerate cooler weather from the information on the seed packet that I bought. Water spinach and okra grow well together.

Youngest batch of Green Gem Cucumber sowed in December has started to produce flowers.

Seedy Sunday

We planned to be in Melbourne this week and this day is supposed to be Rayyan's complete corrective cardiac surgery that we have been waiting for a long long long time. However, the day before Rayyan's pre-check up before we fly off to Melbourne, on Thursday morning Rayyan fell down from the bed and fractured his collar bone. I did not realised he fractured his collar bone as this was not his first time fall down from bed. But he seems in pain the whole morning and I had to rush to a meeting with my supervisor after he settled down to have his morning nap after breakfast. My husband brought him to the hospital after he finished work and Rayyan had his X-rayed confirming that he had a minor fracture in his collar bone. So Rayyan had to wear a sling now for about 2 weeks. Of course, the next day for his cardiac appointment the nurse and doctors were stunned to see someone had a fractured collar bone when he is set to be operated. After discussion with the surgoen in Melbourne, the surgery will be postponed for about a month until Rayyan collar bone is properly healed. We are having a difficult time to make sure Rayyan not hurting himself, with a sling in one hand, he still attempt to climb the sofas and bed. Although he is already 17months old now, he is just learning how to walk a few steps and he weights 8 kilogram. It amaze us to see Rayyan with a sling and out of breath (due to his condition), he is still determine or stubborn to walk  a few paces carefully. I honestly don't know how I survived last week.

So, I thought I could not participate Seedy Sunday at Glandore Communtiy Garden which is organised by Seed-Savers Group Adelaide where you bring your excess seeds,seedlings or cuttings and share with other seed-savers because we were supposed to be in Melbourne.  But due to our bad luck, we managed to join in this group of wonderful people. I always wanted to join in but I am actually a very shy person. I needed something to boost up my spirit after a very busy and eventful week. I would like to thank Andrea and other people inviting me to this Seedy Sunday and made me feel so welcome.

I made a seed inventory and my seed wish list last month, from this 'Seedy Sunday" most of my wish is fullfilled and I am so happy! So many seeds and bulb will be my first attempt at growing them, I hope in my hands they will grow well. I never dreamed that I can have a go at growing potato onions and elephant garlic this year.Any idea how to plant potato onions? My mother was so happy to meet someone that is very generous to share some blue iris (Japanese~ayame) rhizomes. She planted it almost immediately after we reached home.

I have always wanted to try dragon carrots and looks like this autumn we will be growing them. Hopefully in early spring, we have colourful carrot harvest as we plan to grow other afghan carrot variety as well.

I was planning to buy some parsnip seeds but there were parsnip seeds on Seedy Sunday! My umbellifers seed wish list has all been ticked off~ fennel, chervil and parsnip. We also got some parsley and dill seeds.

This are silverbeet seeds look similarly like lettuce. I really have to plan my cold-season planting very well as there are many new seeds I am trying this time which I have never even eaten these western vegetables before like silverbeet, red chard and rainbow chard. There are also other new brassicas seeds that will be introduced in our garden mizuna, purple sprouting broccoli and giant purple mustard that comes from Seedy Sunday.  I learn a lot from this Seedy Sunday about seeds and meeting people dedicated with collecting seeds is very inspiring and motivated me more to collect my own seed as well.