July Garden.

Over the last couple of days I have been outside clearing some of the back tank gardens out.  The choko has died back and that in itself was a big job to remove.  It was all tangled between the wire of the fence and was a bugger to pull down.  I now have piles of the dead stuff around the place and need to decide whether to burn it or throw it in the chook pens.  I will finish that job today.  So many of the chokos that fell off have rooted in the garden and I am deciding whether to leave a couple or pull them all out...Husband will want me to pull them out and I probably will but may *miss* a couple.  I will plant a few more in different areas as I only have them in one other place and want to get a few more plants established.

I dug up the peanuts that were hidden under the lower bits but was very disapointed with them.  I have a small handful and don't know if the slaters ate them or mice or they didn't grow...They looked alright above ground.  Anyway I won't be making the peanut paste that I wanted too and will maybe eat them raw.  I don't think I'll plant them again, but might, depends, I might just shove these ones back in the ground and let them be.

The Asparagus out in the tank gardens was hidden by the choko vine and has now been uncovered and cut back.  I still need to put a layer of mulch over that, again a today job.  The stuff in the drums out the front was cut back and mulched a while back and is starting to shoot.  I could probably get a few spears a day from out there if I wanted to but will just break one or two off now and then when I am out there to munch   on while passing as that is what I do.  I don't think I have brought any inside yet and none has been cooked up.  One drum is only young and the spears are thin so that one will be left alone until next year. 

The Brocolli is heading up nicely and I could eat them now if I needed to.  I will need to keep an eye on them and not let them get passed their prime.  There are flowers on the peas.  I noticed some sweet potatoes poking above the ground when I was out there the other day but have a bag of big ones that were given to us last week that will need to be used up before I go digging ours up.
We are picking oranges and bananas, getting a few strawberries but the slaters are building up out there again and getting to the ripe ones first.  I need to get back onto them.  Heaps of capsicum and chillies still.  Still getting some small tomatoes.  Husband hates these, he says they are too small for anything but he likes tomato on toast so I will keep growing them as they are the only ones I can keep going when it is cold and if it saves having to buy them again I will make sure I have more plants going next year.  I pulled a lot up this year because he didn't want them but I wasn't happy when he then bought some so in my book...Small is better than buying!  If I had a hothouse though...

We culled 5 roosters last week and have another few to do.  The pig is in the freezer, we still have heaps of fish, the chooks have started laying again so plenty of eggs.  Simple fresh food and plenty of it.  We are so lucky to live where we do with sun, water, knowledge to grow stuff.  I know I whinge a bit a lot  but do know that we have it a lot easier than some.

I hope some of you have it easy too and those that don't, I hope things aren't too hard but I do know that for some it is.  Take care.