This is one of those l-o-n-g posts boarding on being boring 😀
We have had so much rain over summer Frog Pond Farm is looking lush … very unusual for this time of year.
Those thieving possums have been paying nightly visits to the orchard munching on an array of fruit, while the turkeys are gathering in numbers window shopping. Hubby netted a couple of trees, while Bill my father-in-law has pegged some paper bags over pears (interesting to see if this works). Frankly anything to keep the wildlife away is a bonus, trust me!
Our peaches are ripening in a hurry and are just delicious. There is nothing much better than standing in the orchard biting into a peach and having the juice dribble down your chin. Heaven!
The Damson plum is laden with fruit, as are the apple and pear trees. Our persimmon is boasting fruit this year and the figs are coming along nicely. The only tree which appears devoid of fruit is our quince tree. So no paste or jelly this year.
Bill has been so busy in the kitchen. Pickling garlic, green beans, poaching plums and drying peaches in the dehydrator. How lucky am I?
It’s funny, do you ever brag about things? Our olive trees which were laden and yes I was bragging, have lost at least half the crop thanks to the wind .. it will be interesting to see what we finally harvest.
As for our veg gardens. There are plants spilling over beds and self seeded curcurbits crawling along paths and through gardens shouldering other plants out of the way in their quest for garden dominance. Why am I letting them do this? Good question!
From having no pumpkins last year (ok about 4) it looks as though we will probably be able to open a shop that sells only pumpkins this year. They are loving daily waterings plus my homemade fertilisers, needless to say the bumble bees are loving their flowers.
The state of eating affairs at our place: –
- Tomatoes – oh I love Black Krim and they are just delicious
- Cucumbers – loving the tendergreen variety that I have grown this year
- Loads of zucchinis and beans (the runners are delicious)
- Herbs – the salad bed is chocka with them
- Strawberries – sharing these with the wildlife
- Fennel – these are divine and currently resemble sumo wrestlers
- Eggplants – only just flowering now (oh dear)
- Chilli – always slow starters but we have been munching on a couple
- Spuds – we dug some up for Christmas and I planted more just a few weeks back
- Beetroot – we hauled out a monster beetroot the other day which is going into the morning juices
- Bananas – our chooks are loving them and we have several hands on the way
- Eggs – mini production line about 6 per day
- Walking onions – I harvested some the other day, nice size too
- Spinach – thrown over the fence for the chooks waiting impatiently on the other side
Needless to say, the veg garden is full of flowers (which we don’t eat) as I am a huge fan of companion planting and encouraging those beneficial insects into the garden.
Zinnias
As happens at this time of year the insect pests arrive to have their fair share. Entrance – green shield beetle (I hate these suckers), they are loving my beans and happily sucking the goodness from my tomatoes. I won’t mention the rodents!
Dan our border
Pull up a chair and grab a coffee or vino. I did this video just before Christmas, it was a grey, windy day and it’s old news now, but hey .. I hope you enjoy.
Happy gardening