One step backwards...

We had one of the worst storms on record for forty years a fortnight ago. Amazingly the only damage was to my globe artichoke. It had already grown to giant proportions so it was a bit of a setback for my vegetable patch. 

Interestingly, the damaged leaves seemed to be even more under attack from aphids (or similar) than when the plant was thriving. I've stripped those leaves off now and hope the plant revives itself. 

The pumpkin growing in my old compost heap is looking very healthy in comparison. It's still quite small but there are flowers already. There's a new choko plant growing alongside it too. 

In the native bed, I was delighted to find that my two dwarf kowhai are in good health and both of them have their first flowers. None of the native grasses survived the summer but some of the other ground cover plants have new leaves. 

Inside, I've been busy pickling red cabbage. 

We've been enjoying bok choi and winter salad too. Our first cos lettuce is in the fridge ready for a salad tomorrow night. Winter growing is off to a good start. 

Time for a tidy up

There were still a few flowers on my dwarf bean plants but not so many leaves so I decided that their time was up. I harvested the last of the beans and dumped the plants with a lot of yellowed kale leaves on the compost heap. 

The red cabbage was up next. There were three cabbages remaining and my strategy of leaving them in the ground until we needed them hadn't really worked. They were rotting from the outside in and home to quite a few slugs and snails. I salvaged over 2 kg though and that's more than enough for making pickled red cabbage. 

I gathered some windfall grapefruit for curd and silver beet, herbs and chillis for a soup. There were a few leaves leftover for a treat for Jasper too. 

I now have one quarter of a bed cleared and ready for turning over. I'll plant garlic at the solstice and then think about what new crops to start. 

Pukeko and Parrot Proof

The pukekos infiltrated my raised beds and uprooted my leeks. 

And the parrots have been pecking my cabbages. 

So I've now put bird netting over the top as well as the wind cloth around the sides. 

The only problem is that my globe artichoke is a little tall but I've used canes to prop up the net on each side of it. 

That should do it! 

First Frost

Hibiscus

An afternoon's work

...and a bee for my friend Barbara's birthday...

Impulse purchases

I bought some seedlings at the supermarket. Leek, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, pak choy and two types of salad.  

There were rather more plants per bundle than I expected so it's all quite tightly packed now. But I can always thin out some of the baby vegetables to eat when they're young and tender.