This blog is part of the Garden Share Collective.
The Garden Share Collective is a group of bloggers who share their vegetable patches, container gardens and the herbs they grow on their window sills. Creating a monthly community to navigate through any garden troubles and to rival in the success of a good harvest we will nurture any beginner gardener to flourish. Each month we set ourselves a few tasks to complete by the next month, this gives us a little push to getting closer to picking and harvesting. The long-term goal of the Garden Share Collective is to get more and more people gardening and growing clean food organically and sustainably.
Let’s get to it.
How’s it all looking
Still recovering from February and the heat seems to be not going away. Whilst everything has dried out from all the rain, the heat is killing anything new I put in and I am still having issues with fruit fly in the tomatoes and capsicums. I am going to write off this month as well, until the cool change comes.
Aquaponics system
It is still by far the best performing of all our garden, to control the excess nitrate we've loaded up with tomato plants. We still have constant issues with caterpillars and aphids but we're learning to live with it. I also chucked some corn in to see if it would grow, it did, way better than what I had in the garden! Although now I wish I put them all in as it's unlikely this one will pollinate.
The fish are getting bigger, we potentially might be able to start eating some of the bigger ones, so we're holding out until Easter.
One of the small jade perch in the aquaponics - we can't catch the big ones!
New Garden beds
So I've moved all of the compost into one section and emptied my R2D2 composter into this area and things seem to be picking up now. I've completely lost all my melons but that's OK, I've put in tomatoes instead and I've barricaded it with pots to stop the beagle from strolling through as well.
Check out my echinacea, isn't it amazing!
The raised garden beds
The first bed I gave up on my corn, I just don't think it gets enough sun here now with the neighbours tall trees. So I've pulled it out and replaced with some beets and cauliflower. I am also trying to get zuchinnis to grow - hoping we don't get as much rain!
The cherry tomato is going great, however we're not getting any because the fruit fly is getting it first.
The second garden is just sweet potato and luffa (loofah). I am just letting it go wild until the sweet potato is ready to pull out.
Harvesting
Herbs, lebanese eggplants, chillies, lettuce and bok-choi. We're also picking fresh ginger as well - it is amazing!!! Nothing beats it.
What’s up next
I am desperately trying to get my beet crops going. Love the fresh beets. I am also wanting to make sure I get cauliflowers, kale and peas in early as well.
What I have growing
- Luffa
- Bush Beans
- Perpetual spinach
- Corn
- Beetroot
- Thai Chilli
- Tomatoes (Yellow Pear, Timmy Toe, Italian, basket)
- Eggplant (Lebanese)
- Lettuce (mignonette, cos, red oak)
- Chinese Cabbage
- Strawberries
- Herbs (Sage, Sweet Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Basil, Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, Mint, rosemary, vietnamese mint)
- Sweet Potatoes
- Spring Onions, Leek
- Lemon Grass
- Apple Cucumber
- Zuchinni
- Purple Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Purple Kale
- Capsicum (Small yellow, Californian Wonder, Redskin, Chocolate, Patio)
- Melons (rockmelon)
- Blueberries, cumquat, lemons, pineapple, avocado, pomegranate, fig, coffee beans, lime.
