A Summery Summary

Time flies. The Summer's long finished and so, nearly, is the Autumn. Before having a look at what's going on at the moment I'm going to do a bit of a review of the Spring/Summer season and talk about the spectacular successes and the... er... other things.

The Good
Well you've probably already seen all the good stuff here. The corn was spectacular, the potatoes were tasty buried treasure and the sweet golden beetroot like jewels in our Summertime salads.

The world's cutest corn cob

 The carrots continued to provide orange, yellow and purple crunchiness and the early Summer lettuce crop was also wonderful, with the Australian Yellow Leaf variety in particular outyielding everything else in sight. The sunflowers were enormous, with only one mysteriously beheaded and the others slightly munched on by cockatoos, but not before the neighbourhood had a good chance to stop and admire them. The yellow-stemmed chard powered through its second summer, providing more than we could eat. I also planted a small trellised bed with frost beans (more on that when I finally get around to writing "Beans Pt 2") which was very productive.

Pretty frost beans dried for storage.

The mysterious goings-on in the as yet unseen back yard have also been very fruitful but I'll keep you in suspense on that one too for now..

The Bad
The tomatoes were a disappointment this year. Had I pulled out the volunteer "Tommy Toe" plant that sprung up in the wrong bed we would have had very few on our plates. The ones I actually planted were very slow to get going then started to wilt and look miserable just as the fruit was coming on. I have a few ideas about why, one of which is that the weather basically sucked. I shouldn't feel too bad though, because I'm not alone. From what I've heard and read just about everyone in Eastern Australia had tomato problems this year. Fortunately that one volunteer plant did very well, and kept us in tasty tomatoes for a few months. This year I tried growing some "Crystal Apple" cucumbers and they were pretty nice, but unfortunately we got maybe 6 or 7 before the plants dropped dead. The basil just didn't seem to get going at all, and the tiny plants sat there sulking until early Autumn before finally deciding to grow. Likewise the first round of rocket produced some unhappy, spindly plants as they bolted to seed in the hot weather.

The Ugly
The much anticipated fig bonanza failed to eventuate. The fruit was a little slow to appear, probably due to the big prune I gave the tree last year. The scale that was left after the prune was sprayed with white oil twice, so all was looking good for a bumper season. I even bought some netting to stop, or at least reduce, the losses from the nightly visits by a couple of hungry bats. But it was all to no avail as the tree was practically skeletonised one leaf at a time by wave upon wave of leaf beetles and their larvae. It went something like this:

1. Leaf beetle appears, it's this innocuous looking brown beetle.
2. Many leaf beetles appear, then go on feeding frenzy, feasting upon the new leaves as they shoot.
3. Leaf beetles lay leaf beetle eggs.
4. Leaf beetle eggs hatch into vast numbers of icky leaf beetle larvae. Sort of like green and black caterpillars.
5. Leaf beetle larvae reduce leaves to leaf skeletons in short order.
6 Did I mention that there vast numbers of them?
7. Leaf beetle larvae turn into leaf beetles. Goto 1.

Damge from leaf beetle larvae. That black blob in the centre is a fig covered in them.

Spraying white oil, "mechanical" removal and general harassment of the blighters had little impact. As a consequence, there wasn't a whole lot of fruit. I think we actually ate maybe half a dozen and left the rest to the bats. So it looks like a rethink is required for next season. There will be further pruning to try and get the tree to a more manageable size. Possible severe pruning. Also further research is needed into the best way to rain merciless death upon deal with the leaf beetles. I also tried to get in a late crop of "Parisian Pickling" cucumbers as well, but they dropped dead before producing anything but flowers and aphids.

The Verdict
The source of most of my problems this year was the weather. December was nice, but January and February were very hot and dry. We had 7 consecutive days with tops over 33 degrees. One night I went outside at midnight and it was still over 30 degrees. Nuts! The heat no doubt caused a few things to bolt to seed early and generally knock everything around a bit. Then March and April were wet. Stupidly so. March had about 50% more rain than the long term average, April more than double. With all this moisture it was party time for bugs, mildew and other damp-loving nasties. The mildew killed off the cucumbers, the beetles got the figs and I suspect it was some sort of fungal wilt or nematodes that bothered the tomatoes. So for next Summer I'm preparing a new bed for the tomatoes, in which I'm currently growing mustard as a biofumigant to kill off the nematodes and other soil-bourne baddies. This will be dug in and left to decompose for a while before the tomatoes go in next spring. The cucumbers will go in much earlier so they're fruiting well before the serious humidity arrives. Apart from that it's just a matter of accepting that when trying out new varieties, or trying to sqeeze in a filler crop a bit later or earlier than normal, some things are going to fail. It's all part of the fun and a good lesson in why diversification is a good thing.

Spring Sputters

Spring has departed. Like a slinky down the stairs, it slunk away from me. I know where some of it went, but there's still a large portion of it unaccounted for. One week was a quick trip to Tasmania. That was followed closely by a work trip to Germany which was supposed to be for only a week but turned into three. So that's one third of it gone. The rest, I don't know about.

I have to send a special thanks to Suyin, who kept everything alive while I was away. Even lugging a watering can down my annoyingly convoluted path when she was sick with the flu. She even did some weeding, despite her wormyphobia. Hopefully the fresh peas and radishes were some small compensation. Oh yes, the peas. Here's what they looked like back in late October, just before I went away:

Golden Podded Peas mit Golden Pods!

 The golden podded peas matured first and tasted great pods and all when eaten like snow peas.

They can be picked at this stage and eaten as snow peas or left a bit longer to use as shelling peas.

The purple podded Dutch peas took a little longer but have magnificent purple flowers.

By the time I got back they were all but done. There were a few of the purple ones left which had got a bit old and hard. No matter, they were all a bit of an experiment to see if I could get a Spring crop before the sun got too hot and toasted them. I'll plant some more in Autumn.

Now on to proper Summer crops, and here's the amazing circle of corn, again from late October:

Crop Circle

You'll notice that I have two sizes of corn. For some reason most of the seeds I planted on the left side didn't germinate. Either that or some little rattie dug them up and ate them. I suspect the rattie. 

Corn, lettuce and very small tomato seedlings

 Here you can also see the trellis for the tomatoes and some lettuce seedlings alongside the path... But NOW:

Big corn, big lettuce and not-very-big-at-all tomato seedling

Everything is huge. The corn is now flowering, or at least the large half is. Corn normally likes to be planted in a big enough clump to ensure good pollination. Hopefully my two slightly staggered half-clumps will be ok. The tomatoes got off to a very slow start and are only now really taking off. I'll have to work on my tomato seedling raising technique. However careful I am, they always seem to sulk for a month after I plant them out.

There's lots more happening, but that all I have time for tonight. Back soon.

What's Going On?

This time of year is always a bit unpredictable. I'm always wary of planting Winter vegies too early in case they get fried into brown crispyness by one final heatwave. As a result they usually end up getting planted too late. This year I'm also seriously thinking that now may be the right time to reorganise the garden beds, or rather the whole garden actually. I'd better decide soon as there are things to plant!

Anyway, right now there's not too much activity, just a few things maturing and being picked as needed.

There are a couple of carrots left from the disappointingly small number that came up (too hot when I sowed them). I picked a few this week for the hot pot, and although a little past their prime, were still pretty tasty. We've had a few very pretty eggplant although the plants haven't been very productive. Since this is my first attempt, and they did go in quite late, I'm not too concerned.

There's still quite a few beetroot as well. They're an heirloom mix, which may go some way towards explaining why they grow at such vastly different rates.

We harvested the first ones months ago and there are still some too small to pick now. We let one of them get quite large but it had a disappointing mealy texture to it so we'll only take the babies from now on.

I pulled out the Tuscan Black Kale a while back. The exploding aphid population had been joined by these sinister shiny green flies that gave me nasty looks whenever I walked by. This has freed up some space and allowed some much needed light and space for the Rainbow Chard to bounce back.

Some of the tomatoes have bounced back after dying off from the excessive rain and humidity. In the past I've let them grow back late in the season but never got any more fruit off them. This year they're looking good for a modest second crop so long as the weather and bugs are kind to me.

 I've also discovered that we have yet another tomato lover in our midst. It seems there is a little rattie that occasionally frequents the front yard farm, harvesting the occasional tomato. I recently went out to pick some, only to find the ripest ones missing. A few remaining ones had obviously been tested with little rattie toothies and rejected! I'm not sure where they've been taken as there's no sign of them being consumed on site..

However, the dominant feature of the garden at the moment is the massive WALL OF BEANS installation.

Previously populated by Purple King and Blue Lake climbing beans, the bean trellis has since been overtaken by the Madagascar beans. This has worked out really well since they really took off in late Summer just as the others were finishing.

Being a tropical species, they loved the humidity and have now overrun the poor lemongrass and chilli tree. It's looking like we may get a good crop off them as well.


After a slow start the radishes have grown huge and we need to pick them before they explode.

Tomatoes: how?

It's not hard to grow some tomatoes. It really isn't. But if you want loads of sweet shiny bug-free tomatoes that go on for months then you need to know a few basics about what tomato plants like, and what likes tomato plants. Hopefully by keeping things general here, what worked for me will work for you, but you never know given all the possible combinations of soil, climate and location. My aim here is to get you started, for more info grab some locally written vegie gardening books and talk to some other gardeners in your area.

Soil

Tomatoes, like most vegies, don't like wet feet. They need a well drained soil or they're just not going to grow too well. Tomato plants are nutrient hungry, so FEED THEM. Composted animal manure is ideal, pelletised chicken manure is fine too. They also appreciate the occasional dose of potash (potassium sulfate) and fish emulsion or seaweed extract as a liquid fertiliser to keep things kicking along.

Sun

Generally, unless you live in a very hot, dry location, full sun is the way to go. I've grown them in partial shade (maybe with 7 or 8 hours of direct sun a day) and they did just fine. If you stick them under a big tree they will hate you.

Climate

Tomatoes need a reasonably warm climate to fruit. Frost will make them dead. Most sources say germination and transplanting require a soil temperature of at least 15C. I've tried to get seedlings going at this sort of temperature and it takes a long time. A little greenhouse or heated propagator would no doubt help. I have neither so just wait until it's warm enough. Of course you could just buy the seedlings to get a head start, but that does limit you to the more common varieties. Warmer weather still is needed for fruit production. One trick in cooler areas is to grow them against a wall which faces the sun and retains the heat.

Bugs!

You won't be the only one in your garden who likes tomatoes. I have two main competitors where I am; caterpillars and fruit fly. Caterpillars hatch from eggs laid on the underside of leaves and quickly begin chewing holes in them. It's no problem losing a few leaves but they very quickly tire of foliage and take the express train to fruit city. Diligence is your first defense. Whenever you're in the garden look closely for holes in leaves and caterpillar poo. Check the underside of the leaves nearby and you'll most likely find the culprit there, trying very hard to look all green and tomato planty. The other pest I get is fruit fly, which appears here late in the summer when it's more humid. These are little fly things that inject their eggs into the fruit, where they hatch into yucky maggoty looking things that eat the fruit from the inside. The only evidence of this is tiny black spots on the skin, but when you cut open the fruit you find a whole load of wiggling nastiness. Rather than setting off some kind of toxic bomb I use fabric drawstring bags to prevent the fly getting to the fruit.

A few years ago we made a big batch of these bags, made from pale green organza fabric and they've lasted well with only a few needing repairs. I've also seen them commercially available if you don't have a sewing machine. They allow light and ventilation, but so long as the fabric is not stretched tight against the fruit they are effective in foiling the evil plans of both fruit fly and caterpillars. It's best to bag the fruit as soon as they start to form, or even when they're still flowers. Tomatoes self pollinate so do not need insects to pollinate the flowers.

Good luck and good eating. 

Tomatoes: which?

I am not a tomato expert. I am not an expert gardener. I have no qualifications in agriculture, permaculture or botany. With that in mind, here's my experience growing tomatoes. I started out growing them in pots, then in whatever bit of dirt I could find that the landlord wouldn't get upset about. Now we have a proper garden.

Anyway, when looking at varieties to grow, you can basically divide all tomatoes into small (cherry) tomatoes and large (beefsteak) tomatoes. This is overly simplistic with a big grey area in the middle but for simplicity I'll stick with it for now.

Small Tomatoes

Small cherry type tomatoes generally have the strongest flavour. They often grow in long beautiful trusses and can spread into quite large plants and produce over an extended period.

Large Tomatoes

Large tomatoes usually have a more mild flavour, and plants produce large, succulent fruit, perfect for slicing into sandwiches and impressing relatives.

If you're thinking of growing tomatoes for the first time, I recommend cherry tomatos. This is because you will never forget the fantastic flavour and they grow well in pots if you have limited space. There's also the safety in numbers argument. You see it is so disappointing to watch as your large, magnificent tomato starts to ripen, only to find a big hole chewed in it by a villainous caterpillar. All that effort and the fruit is ruined by one insect. With cherry tomatoes you get so many more per plant that you can afford to lose a few and it's no big deal.

So here are some of the varieties I've grown with a few brief notes. Bear in mind this is MY experience, and based on MY own inexpert techniques in MY garden, so any failures are just as likely to be MY fault.

Sweet Bite

A tasty cherry tomato that spread out along a trellis and gave excellent yields.

Cherry Plum

Attractive elongated fruit but not as flavoursome or productive as some other cherry types.

Apollo

Good large tomato, but keep the bugs away.

Yellow Pear

Small beautiful yellow pear shaped fruit with slightly milder flavour than most cherries. Mix with red ones to provide extra colour to salads. Prolific but tended to run wild and a bit more susceptible to fruit fly than some of the others.

Black Russian

I didn't get great yields from this but the fruit was specacularly dark and flavoursome. I'll be trying this again some time.

San Marzano

An Italian roma-style tomato. Mild in flavour and good for sauces and soups. I've found them more susceptible to blossom end rot than other types, so you need to ensure the soil is prepared with plenty of calcium (from dolomite for instance) and that they receive diligent watering (lower left of photo below).

Low-Acid Yellow

Large yellow fruit but not very flavoursome. Also an absolute magnet for bugs and fruit fly for some reason..

Tommy Toe

This is a new one for me this year but it seem to be very high yielding with tasty fruit about the size of a walnut. Spread out across a trellis and seems pretty robust (right of photo)

Tigerella

Another new one for me with gorgeous striped orange apricot-sized fruit and spectacular flavour (top centre of photo).

Grosse Lisse

A favourite of home growers for many decades.

Tough-Skinned Mutant

This year I had a bunch of volunteer tomatoes, that is they appeared by themselves. I suspect they are some genetic throwback from hybrid store-bought tomatoes thrown in the compost as they taste nice but have skins like leather!

Anyway, this is barely scratching the surface of what's available. I strongly recommend you check out some of the online heirloom seed retailers to see some of the funky fruits available rather than just looking at your local nursery.

Next up: Tips for growing them and keeping the bugs off.

Tomatoes: why?

I'm going to kick things off with tomatoes, one of the most rewarding crops to grow yourself.

Why grow them yourself?

Well... You see there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, quite the same as biting down on your own home grown tomato, ripened to perfection on the vine and still warm from the afternoon sun. It bursts in your mouth with layers of buzzing flavours fading in and out of perception.

Anything you ever bought in a supermarket that you thought was a tomato, WAS NOT A TOMATO! Back in ancient times (I'm talking mid 70s here) I remember store-bought tomatoes that had flavour. We used to eat them like apples with a touch of salt. Then they vanished, to be replaced by these pale red rubber things for the next few decades. Finally, in recent years, the real live tomato (or close approximation) has begun to appear again, and in season you may be able to buy half reasonable tomatoes from good green grocers. But you know what? Despite decades of hybridisation, hydroponic juju and the very latest in plastic packaging, they are still inferior in flavour to those you can grow and harvest yourself.

There are a few simple reasons for this: 

• Home grown varieties do not need to be picked before they ripen and transported long distances without damage. They can be picked when perfectly ripe and eaten immediately.
• All kinds of pests and diseases can occur when crops are grown in a large industrial monoculture, so resistant varieties, which may or may not actually taste any good, are created to deal with this. When you grow a few plants at home, this isn't a problem, so you can grow whatever you like without fear of pestilence or plague.
  
• Home grown tomatoes are allowed to be soft and weird looking. Commercial varieties can't be soft and weird looking because uneducated tomato buyers wouldn't buy them.
• Home grown varieties have been selectively bred for flavour over many decades.

So, while there may be all sorts of seemingly valid reasons for commercially produced tomatoes to be hard, tasteless and uniformly uninteresting, these reasons do not apply to you! So go forth and find the most tasty, tiny, colourful and crazy varieties you can.

Next up (hopefully) I'll write about the varieties I've grown, what worked for me, what didn't. Seeya.