What an awful day! I’m not sure what it’s like in other parts of the country but here in Auckland it is incredibly blustery with scattered showers. I managed to repot a dozen tomato plants into larger pots before I called it a day. The on and off rain was becoming too annoying!
The capsicums and chillies I previously mentioned that I sowed back in April are doing really well! See picture. Over the past week, I have been gradually repotting the bigger ones from 10cm pots into larger pots. They are a mixture of Mama Mia Rosso, Mama Mia Gialla and Muscato from Kings Seeds, Palladio and Double Up from Egmont Seeds and Long Red Cayenne from Yates Seeds. For now, they’re staying in the greenhouse, especially given how cold it is today. It is getting a bit crowded in there though, so I’ll need to move some plants into the big bad world soon, even if it’s just putting some larger pots in our patio (not planting them in the garden just yet). The radishes which I sowed in 35 litre buckets have germinated which is very exciting! I will update you later on regarding their progress. The lettuce seeds which I sowed last month are now seedlings in trays. They are almost large enough to be planted out! Some will go in containers, the rest will go into the ground. Some of our miners lettuce has already started going to seed which I will remove and replace with my new seedlings. I’ve also noticed that some of our Italian parsley has started going to seed. With the changing temperatures causing plants to bolt to seed, it’s a good idea to harvest things like lettuce and kale which have been in the garden over winter, before it’s too late and they become bitter. I like to let a few plants go to seed as bees love the flowers. It’s amazing what bees are attracted to – you need not have expensive and extravagant flowers in the garden! I’ve even seen them sitting on weed-like flowers in the lawn, such as daisies and another white flower I’m not sure the name of. I also like letting some plants go to seed to promote self-seeding and sometimes so I can harvest some seeds from the plants later on. Sometimes I can’t always do this if I desperately need the space for other plants, which makes me feel a bit guilty. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on any winter crops remaining in the garden incase they’re ready to be harvested. I’ve been so busy in the nursery tending to all my seedlings that I nearly overlooked two enormous cauliflower which were ready! Over the past couple of days, we have been enjoying cauliflower mash, which is really yummy. We use a recipe by Eleanor Ozich (a favourite of ours) but there are lots of recipes on the internet if you’re interested. There are still some more cabbages in the garden that are heartening up, which will hopefully be ready in the next month. We like to make coleslaw with them, adding carrots fresh from the garden. We also have broccoli that are approximately half the way there. I like to space out planting cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages to ensure we have a continuous supply throughout autumn, winter and early spring. As a little experiment, I planted some cabbage seedlings in August. I’m curious as to whether they will form a head as I was always under the impression cabbages (and caulis for that matter) needed cold weather in order to head up. Interested in others’ thoughts and experiences. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow! What did everyone else get up to today?
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