Mid Winter garden update

As I said in an earlier post, winter is supposed to be our dry season… This year though our  winter started on a very wet note, probably making up for a considerably dryer summer than usual.

For three weeks we hardly saw the sun. Everything was damp and mould invaded the house. Especially the cupboards in the en-suite. I tried everything from bleach, to vinegar, to lemon juice. I was hoping for the later to work as we have an abundant supply of lemons in our garden and can't consume it all for fear of developing a stomach ulcer! Then I tried spraying the good old eucalyptus oil, as well as putting moisture traps everywhere.  Unfortunately, I've discovered that none of the above keeps the mould at bay. Every three weeks it starts to flourish again. So if anyone out there knows of an eco friendly remedy for mould, please let me know.

But the sun is here again, at last. That should keep the spores down for a while, hopefully!

We enjoy warming up on his comforting rays on a cold morning.

This winter hasn't been as cold as last year though, probably because of the cloudy and drizzling days.

The coldest night so far was 5 degrees and the coldest day was 15 degrees. Old Benny was on the whole day, keeping us comfortable.

Going in the garden  was impossible, as the constant drizzle was very annoying. But the veggie garden is doing very well I must say.

The cherry tomatoes have been growing up to 2 metres high and I have to stake them again and again because of the strong winds we've been having. It's a constant battle with the elements! The lettuces  have plumped up, pad choys, bok choys, sliverbeets have been on the table almost every night.

The broccoli  gave us some pretty healthy dinners, but has now gone into flowering, and I don't think it was worth it, as it takes too much space.

Radishes exploded… literally… And the carrots… I'm starting to pull out a few now, are so sweet and delicious.

The garlic seems to do well. Hard to know what's going on under that rich soil. I can't wait until November when it's supposed to be ready. That's an experience.

The eggplants also got a kick out this weather.

The French beans and the peas I planted didn't do so well unfortunately, but the snow peas are now starting to climb vigorously. So are the snake beans that sprouted from last year's.

And the broad beans are now flowering. But again the wind is  pushing them down, and I have to fix their support every few days. I've never seen broad beans growing and I wonder how tall they will end up to be…

We're getting a few flowers on our avocado tree and macadamia nut tree. The peach tree is also covered with blossoms but no leaves… I will have to remember to install fruit flies traps if we want to enjoy our peaches this year.

The strawberries are also doing well but we only managed to eat one so far, as Freja has developed a liking to them and gobbles them up even before they've ripen. I'm thinking about making sign that says "Freja's Strawberry Patch".

The banana trees are getting higher and we now have 5 suckers growing . Hopefully we will get fruits (one day!)

As well as pawpaws, which have finally started growing and have 4 flowers on one of them. I am doubtful as to their well doing however, because of…. You guessed it, very windy...

 And the bees are back into the Brazilian cherries tiny white flowers and entertain us with their constant buzzing.

I will have to make cumquat marmalade soon, as Svenne is very fond of it now and our tree is covered with fruits all year around but specially at this time of the year.

The calliandra,  gazenias, marigolds and gerberas add a splash of colour in our green environment.

 The grass is still growing and will need mowing this weekend.

I almost forgot to mention the weeds.  Ah! the weeds! Especially the clover is invading everywhere I haven't mulched. We will go and buy a hay bale soon, if we manage to fit it in Svenne's van, as the trailer is still full of sand and gravel for the next concreting job.

But some of the weeds are very pretty and it seems like a shame to pull them out, don't you think?

As always we value your opinions, so please leave your comments. Thank you!