In Our Summer Patch

Our poor veggie patch has been somewhat neglected due to my ongoing-energy-zapping-exhaustion-inducing ‘morning sickness’. And right throughout the period when the garden should be at its most productive. Ho hum…

But I’ve slowly but surely been finding the time and energy again to do a bit of digging about (anti-nausea tablets be praised!) A bit of tending and harvesting and chatting to the tomatoes, the spinach, the beans and the rocket and the corn.

The garden bed behind the chook house was a bit of a slapdash last minute affair, filled with soil which has far too much clay through it and in a bit of a funny spot really, shaded in the afternoons. Nothing has ever thrived there, a few strawberries, clumping leeks (stupid clumping leeks…) and now some corn. Although the corn is producing silky ears that I hope will be super sweet, it’s the most vertically challenged corn I’ve ever seen! Oh well. We also had a serious slug issue in here, some buried jars of beer and liberal spreading of my coffee grounds most mornings soon sorted that out.

In the raised beds I am growing butter beans, capsicums, spinach, strawberries and silverbeet. I’ve always got silverbeet coming out my ears! And kale…which I’ve just started feeding to the chooks, we can not possibly consume that amount of kale so I’d rather have it turned it delicious eggs, thanks very much. We harvested about six big purple cabbages, to the point if I look at another coleslaw I’m going to scream. I’m also drying out the brown onions at the moment, they’re always used up quickly.

Tomatoes have been late here, we’re still awaiting our larger varieties, but we planted very late. Eleanor has been devouring the cherry tomatoes out in the garden of an evening. In fact, I don’t think any have made it inside at all! Matt arrived home one day with a heap of tomato seedlings from a client, as you do, and he planted them along the western facing wall of the shed, near the clothesline. They’ve gone great guns there in the afternoon heat, and it’s now got me thinking all sorts of thoughts about espaliering fruit trees on this wall. Hmmm…

It certainly is a very lovely thing indeed to wander out to the garden and grab some beans for dinner or spinach for lunch, and for it to be completely natural for Eleanor to grow up knowing that lunch comes from the garden is of course a delight. Now, to just find some more energy for garden tending.

What’s growing in your patch?
Sick of kale too and feeding it to the chooks?
Know much about espaliering fruit trees on a shed wall? Do tell.