Harvest time

Mini wombok

The Easter Bunny rocked this year – I scored a basket of carrots with a few packets of carrot and spinach seeds. So much better than chocolate – my mother in law is awesome.

I picked more stuff today. The early maturing plants in the front garden like the wombok cabbages, silverbeet and lettuces are reaching maturity, and the last of the summer crops are ready to eat. Yesterday we had a family Easter gathering, and I brought a salad with home-grown lettuce, rocket and beans plus a large bunch of silverbeet for my mother-in law.

Today I harvested the first of the womboks, and apart from a few nibbles it is great. I made some healthier 2 minute noodles for the kids at lunchtime with wombok and chinese broccoli (also from the front garden). For dinner I picked a bunch of green beans and some baby carrots. The carrots were out of the ground for about 30minutes before cooking, and they tasted absolutely amazing.

J harvesting the edamame (soybeans)

Also, today J and I picked the first of the edamame. The growth has really slowed down since the weather turned, and I’m doubtful that they will grow any more, so I started harvesting. There are still many more unfilled pods on the plants, so I’ll leave those to see if they grow further.

Edamame soybean harvest

Green manure

The green manure is now 40cm high in the front bed, and I’m in two minds about what to do with it. Should I hack it down now, or wait till spring? It really is pretty ugly, and I wouldn’t mind hacking it down.

My peas are finally starting to gain some traction in the front garden. The sweet peas are just starting to reach the first layer of twine on the tripods, and I really need to put more layers on.  It’s really obvious that these guys like the cooler weather because their growth is so much faster than just two weeks ago. The front garden in general looks pretty good. I’m struggling with the slugs, so I’m thinking of setting some beer traps over the weekend.

Pea tripod

Once I picked the wombok today I left a very obvious hole in the bed – you can see it at the bottom left of the picture below. My intention was that by the time the wombok was ready the broccoli and cauliflower on either side would need the room to expand. I think that will be the case, but in the meantime I’m wondering if I should plant some more leeks in the gaps. They should get tall enough to push above the brassicas, yet thin enough not to crowd them out.

I think I’ll also need to stake the brussels sprouts soon – I should have done it earlier so I didn’t disturb the roots.

The front garden

Lettuce 'Little Gem'

Oh, and a plug for the best lettuce ever – it’s a baby cos lettuce from Green Harvest – the variety is ‘Little Gem’. It is absolutely gorgeous, and so far, completely pest and disease free. I don’t know if that is because they are finding the cabbages more delicious, but I just want to plant hundreds of these guys – they are that pretty.

In other news – my dwarf mandarin has responded well to the root rot treatment I gave it. The leaves are starting to uncurl and it is looking like it is going to pull through. Phew!

Recovering mandarin