shiukopuppy's Blog

mandarin blossoms
Oct 10, 2007 | 2:50 AM PST
Tags: mandarin , lime , Lemon , snowpeas , Asparagus , kaffir lime , lemongrass , vietnamese mint , coriander , cilantro

Weather has been cool again - so still not quite spring. Still.. there are blossoms and new growth everywhere, but my little lettuces got distressed by the recent cool nights. I've been yearning to garden but have had to do other things.

We're harvesting handfuls of snowpeas every day. I bought a replacement raspberry to plant in between my black and red currants. I planted an asparagus with them but think I should probably move it somewhere else..

I'm still waiting for the tomatoes to start flowering before I move them into the garden. The smell of citrus flowers from the lemon, lime and mandarin is invigorating!

I've never liked winter.. now I'm also doing a makeover of my home in preparation for all of the barbecues, dinners and drinks we'll be hosting during spring, summer, autumn.. there will need to be major garden tidying as well..

I'm growing chillies for Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, and Indian food as I eat them more during the summer.. The lemongrass and kaffir lime are perking up and the thai basil is starting to show. The Vietnamese mint (laksa mint), common mint and coriander (cilantro) are thriving.

winter food projects
Jul 6, 2007 | 7:29 PM PST
Tags: Pomegranates , almond , pak choi , gai laan , shungiku , raspberry , red currant , black currant , pear , onion , coriander , cilantro , spring onion , olive

It's winter in Australia and very frosty with misty days. I used to do nothing in the winter, just play playstation, watch movies and ignore the garden, growing only herbs and lettuces on the window sill. This year I decided to see what could be done at this time of year.

Herbs wise, I have planted some coriander (cilantro). It's doing very well; in the summer it often went to seed. I also planted lots of onions. Usually I only grew spring onions and shallots (yum!) but recently I tried growing red onions and they were so delicious that I planted out white, brown and red onions again. I bought some flat pickling onion seeds but they need to be sown in warmer weather, alas!

I planted several varieties of winter hardy peas. I was pleasantly surprised as they are now a few inches tall. Winter spinaches are doing well, as well as pak choi, choi sum, gai laan and shungiku. Some winter lettuces are also growing but they are very small.

I also bought some dormant plants - raspberry, red currant and black currant canes. An almond tree, a couple of olive trees and I bought wintry flowers: snapdragons and foxgloves. Today I want to buy another pomegranate tree and a multigrafted pear. It's been busy and I never would have thought that a winter could be this fun.