February has been such a busy month, the rain and warm temps have continued. Our garden is falling all over the place!
Do you ever surprise yourself by doing something erratic? While standing and staring at a dwarf tomato covered in smelly uninvited green shield beetles the other day, I leant over and ripped out said plant.
I must admit being slightly surprised with myself but then truth is I had over planted as per usual and this tomato had got super bushy stopping air flow and making it perfect for pests and disease. But don’t worry, I froze a couple of bags of green toms, pickled others and handed the rest to Andrew who loves green fried tomatoes (minus the bugs of course).
Green bugs aren’t the only thing that is annoying me lately either .. Each year thanks to the humidity in Auckland the fungal nasties appear and as I have cucurbits growing everywhere (think pumpkin, zucc and cucumbers) the odd leaf is just starting to sport those white floury spots. Fantastic! I can hardly wait … So I’m going to rise early in the am and spray those culprit leaves with baking soda. Time to give that fungi a mini wakeup call, change the pH of the leaf (hopefully) and make their day a tad unpleasant. Does it work? It makes me feel better, let’s put it that way.
Our orchard seems to be on steroids! We have never seen a crop like it. Sure some trees are devoid of fruit, but there are others that have never produced before and are laden. Time to ring up friends in the neighbourhood and tell them to ‘help themselves’.
Thank heavens for Bill! He is such a star in the kitchen freezing damson plums and peaches, making jam which he is going to take home with him and cooking us the most amazing meals. I’m going to miss him when he is gone!
We had a quick trip to Marlborough for the Wine & Food Festival to spread the Toi Toi love. If you love culinary and wine events, then you should pop it on your calendar. A good excuse to get away! Lots of divine food, cooking demos, entertainment and some fine New Zealand wine (of course 😀 ).
I couldn’t resist taking this pic at the Blenheim airport – it was early
And mentioning going away …
I’m leaving Frog Pond for a few days to visit Australia. And while I’m there I’m catching up with a very special blogger who lives in Melbourne (one of my favourite places) .. I’m very excited!
My garden will have to do without me for a few days …
Happy Gardening