Wednesday, January 5, 2011

January, 2011.

We are still growing enough to eat and I have just been out there and started thinking about what we will be eating this month and what I need to get in for the months ahead so thought that I'd come in and write it down somewhere easy for me to find the information at a later date.  This be the spot.

Asparagus.  This is more or less finished though I did just have a couple of spears while I was outside.
It looks like a lot of the stuff that I got from M awhile ago has died off.  One of the tank gardens that I put some in is really dry and sandy so I will need to fix that and one lot in a half 44gal drum looks like it is waterlogged so that's not doing too good either.

Tomatoes.  Picking heaps of these.  One plant in a half drum has died for some reason.  I have 5 plants out the back that we are picking from now and younger plants in the tank garden with flowers on them.  Two more half drums with a plant in each, big with flowers.
I need to make up some chutney or sauce or something but without a stove I haven't done it yet.  Was thinking I might light the wood stove but it's been pretty warm.

Capsicum.  We are picking plenty of these, green as well as red.  I have 4 plants and that seems to be enough but they are a few years old now so may need to get some new ones in this year.

Peanuts.  These are growing good and have flowers on.  Soon they will start growing down under the dirt.
I want to make some Peanut Paste this year.

Potatoes.  I have 2 fridge gardens with these in, 4 half drums, 3 small *spare spots* and a few stray plants coming up in other places where they weren't planted.  I bandicoot them as I want them and always seem to have enough.

Sweet Potatoes.  I have a patch of these, about 16sq foot and dig them up as I want them.  I also have some in a half drum and 3 lots in pots to see if they do better than in the ground.  Too early to tell what is better yet

Broccoli.  8 plants, growing well.

Butternut pumpkins.  These are young but have tiny pumpkins on them.  I have 6 plants growing.

Corn. This was a failure this season but I kept trying and have a couple of dozen plants in now, only small but looking healthy enough. 

Cucumber. Not happy with these.  We are getting some but 1 plant has died off and another is looking pretty sad.  I have 2 healthy plants that have fruit and flowers and 3 seedling coming on.  I wanted heaps like last year so make bread and butter Pickle with so hope we get enough for that.

Celery.  I have an old plant out there, going to seed and a few young plants that have come up because of this.  I don't eat it but we could pick and eat it if I wanted to do so.  Hubby eats it sometimes so I am keeping it for him.

Beans.  3 plants in.  I am eating them now, off the vine, they are young and taste like beans but they are not a *proper* bean.  I think they are a Bolotti or something like that.

Beetroot.  8 or so in a half drum, ready to pick and a dozen or so more seeds planted a couple of weeks ago that are a few inches tall now.  Not nearly enough as I need to pickle some more.

Carrots.  One half drum with them in.  I don't have much luck with these, they are something that I need to improve with.

Onions.  Heaps.  Quite a few went to seed and I have collected those and sprinkled some over an empty patch.  Lots have dropped off into where they have been growing as well so they should get going in there.

Chillies.  All my red chili bushes died.  I bought some yellow ones and the 6 plants are growing well and have fruit that we are picking.

Zuchinni.  Two plants, producing heaps.  I need to use them better though, a few have been fed to the pig as I have left them too long as there are so many.

FRUIT.

Passionfruit.  Lots of green fruit, no ripe ones so far this month.  I have lots in the freezer though so if I need any I have it ready. We have 2 vines that produce heaps and 2 vines that need *talking to*

Strawberries.  I have dozens of plants in various areas around the place and can always get a few but a few patches are not doing as well as they should be.  I need to fertilize and mulch them.

Apples.  We have about 9 trees of different sorts.  We are eating red apples from one tree, I don't know the names of any though.  Three other trees have fruit on but it is not ripe yet and the others are doing nothing.

Oranges.  We have maybe 7 or 8 trees in, different sorts.  We picked from 4 trees last season but 2 were only new and didn't have a lot.

Mandarins.  Young tree, we had 4 fruit over winter but that will improve.

Lemon.  Our main tree is a bush Lemon and it had so many lemons over winter it wasn't funny.  I know we didn't get many fruit the year before last and we were told that it only fruits every 2 years.  I should know but I have never taken any notice and can't recall.

Grapes.  We have 6 vines in, and 2 are producing now.  Black seedless but I don't know the name.

Pepino.  I have 1 plant in a drum, surviving and it has a few fruit.  One plant in the front garden is massive and is covered in fruit, we are getting a few ripe ones from this.  I planted a couple of rooted branches in this garden and they have taken off and also have fruit.  I planted half a dozen cuttings out the back a couple of months ago and 4 of those are now growing.  This is an easy plant to grow and the fruit tastes a bit like Rockmelon.

Apricots.  Two trees  One tree had one fruit but the other has been producing for a few years now and had heaps.  This fruited during December but is now finished.

Peaches.  Four seedling trees with fruit, not yet ripe.  I have a half dozen small trees coming up from seeds, not sure if I'll keep them or not.

Plum.  Young tree.  It had one flower last year.

Pears.  Two trees planted 2010 winter so no fruit yet.

Cape Gooseberries.  Lots, grow for the chooks as we don't really like them.

Bananas.  We have 3 plants with fruit on them and maybe 7 or 8 big ones without fruit.  Suckers coming up.

Pineapple.  I have 1 plant that has a small Pineapple on it, 2 pups seperated from that and 2 *tops* planted and growing.

Fig.  One big tree and 2 smaller ones with fruit.  One small plant in a pot, needs planting out somewhere.  One small tree in front chook pen.

I will  add to this as I see and remember what we have out there.

2 comments:

  1. That's lots of food plants! Do you plan to plant any trees for nuts, like pecans? I want to grow celery, but I read they have to be wrapped or something? One year, someone allowed me to glean as she was sick of canning green beans and tomatoes. I accidentally picked green beans that were about three inches long and about the size of cooked spaghetti pasta. She yelled at me. I threw them in salads for several days. You must live in a semitropical area in AU since you have the citrus trees. Oh, the only thing I know about carrots is that they need sandy soil so the can grow down. I saw this on Martha Stewart's show...lol.

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  2. We've planted a few nut trees over the last few years but they have all died. One I whippersnippered in half but the others weren't my fault. "Cept the pet sheep I had ate one...lol.

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