Updating the veggie bed

When we bought our veggie bed, we did not have enough soil to fill it all the way to the top. To fill it to the top needed at least 40 bags of soil, which was back breaking work. Hence, the first year, we only filled it halfway. Every year after that, we raised the level of the patch in part. This year was the final raise to bring the entire patch to a workable level. It did mean transplanting some plants that we had growing already and not being able to increase the height of the asparagus side.

Raising the level of soil

We added some seasonal vegetables like lettuce, spinach and eggplant to the mix. The potato on the right, and the chillis and capsicum on the left are from last year.

Last summer, we had bought 6 chilli plants. I wanted to try my hand at saving the plants from the frost, to see if they would survive. I am happy to say that they did. We covered them with a shade cloth throughout winter and pruned the dead branches at the start of spring. I later learnt that this process is called "overwintering".

Hot chilli

Jalapeno chilli

Mild chilli

This year I also tried  my hand at raising some vegetables from seeds. A couple of years ago, we had a basil plant from BAAG, whose dried leaves lasted us for two years! We wanted a new one this time, but were disappointed that the season was not hot enough for them to stock the plants. Instead we picked up seeds of a "cinnamon basil" plant. I planted it September, it has just started to show some leaves.

Cinnamon basil

Finally, we picked up Bhindi (Okra) seeds too.  I do not have much hopes with this vegetable as it needs heat. Our veggie patch gets direct sunlight only in peak summer (2-3 months) for 4-6 hours per day. Anyway, the seed did sprout and I planted two of them. There is a sign of a fruit/flower in the plant already, will have to wait and see what it develops into.

Bhindi plant

Flowers in the garden

With the progression of spring, more flowers appear. It is a great time to be outdoors after the cold winter and the sight of these flowers brings a lot of joy.

While most people revel in the beauty of annuals and perennials, a gardener will look out for the flowers on the vegetable and the fruit trees. These give hope for a harvest worth eating! Strawberry is one such looked forward to fruit. The white flowers start popping up in the October and quickly turn into fruits. Once they start flowering, there is a ongoing supply of strawberries (if the birds/possums don't get to them!).

Strawberry flower

Another vegetable to look out for is the cucumber. We have had cucumber plants before, but they were not pollinated enough to give us any cucumbers. This year the task is to prop them up on some support to allow the bees to access the flowers.

Cucumber flower

Finally, who can forget the humble potato. Not the prettiest flowers, nor the most elegant of plants. But the most bang for you buck! Plant one and you will get a kilo of harvest from each plant. This year is our fourth turnover from the one we planted in 2011.

Potato flower

Spring beckons

A sure fire way of knowing spring has arrived is the first flush of leaves on our pomegranate tree! The pomegranate is deciduous, so the first leaf on the tree is reassuring no matter the chill outside. This year we were rewarded with bright red flowers and a hope to have pomegranates.

Pomegranate flower

As the weather warms up in Melbourne in September, a lot of action is happening in the garden. The most exciting thing this September was a full harvest of asparagus. It took two full years, but it was so worth it! The asparagus spears are to be harvested when they are about as thick as a pencil, which in our case were about two and  half foot long! We were harvesting asparagus at the rate of 5-6 spears per week. This was enough for two meals for the two of us.

Asparagus harvest

September is the month the oranges are ready. We are still not getting a full harvest as the tree is young. But the fruits were fresh and really sweet.

Oranges

It is also the season for the first flowers of some fruits. We have a lime tree, which was one of initial purchases. For the first one year of it's life, we had planted it in a restricted environment. When a house guest pointed out our mistake, we moved it into a sunnier spot. This year we saw the first flowers in the tree and hope that there will be some limes to follow.

Lime flowers

Gardening is a joy that is to be shared. Last winter, I shared the chillies with some friends. One friend responded in kind and gave me the lemons from her tree. An aunt gave us some methi leaves, which were such a treat!

Lemons from a friend

Methi from an aunt