Lockdown in the garden



Hey All, 

I just couldn’t face the chaos that work would have been today so I took a mental health day and spent it in my garden.  It has been going great even though I’ve got a spider mite problem at the moment.  My back garden outside the fence is doing fantastic. I have spinach beetroot and celery here as well as other bits and pieces.  


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Next is the potatoes I harvested out of there.  Only 5 potatoes planted and I got all those you see down the side from the dug area you see.   I’m starting to work this potato thing out!   I’m keeping my small ones to replant as soon as they9779360064?profile=originalSuch a pretty basket full!   These were from memory Dutch cream.  They also did really well for me at the farm.  

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My bloody chooks have been getting out again and made a mess of my gardens.  I decided to rip everything out and replant except for a marigold and some brassica in the first bed.  Let’s hope I’ve managed to contain them this time.  I also have a choko that a lady at work gave me and it seems to be reasonably happy.  It is shoved between the concrete and the garden beds, a space of about 8cm! It seems to be doing fine and I hope I’m finally able to grow choko.  Plan is for it to grow up the fence. 

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My blueberries have all burst into bloom so hoping for some decent blueberries this year.  Just fertilised them today. 
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Do you rip out your broccoli once it’s main head is gone?  Don’t! Have some patience and it will reward you with an even greater harvest of side shoots. 

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We are getting so many trombonccino! My plant takes up the side fence wall and I really ought to give it a trim back. 
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I’m just about out of citrus. I harvested the last emporer mandarin today, my 4 cara car oranges and some of the Afourer mandarins.  That tree is still loaded as my husband and kids hate how hard it is to peel.  Big babies!  It is a really nice mandarin. 
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I might finally be getting a pea harvest! My garden is so temperamental- peas especially! This is about the 5th time I’ve tried peas this season and looks like 5th time’s the9779359268?profile=original

I also just had to show you my strawberries!! So good.   About 1 punnet per week at this stage but soon it will be every couple of days.  Can’t wait.  

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If you look in the background, you’ll see my very full fruit fly trap!

Well everyone, hope you stay safe and sane in these crazy times.  I look forward to the day where everything goes back to normal but until then, at least I have my gardening to keep me sane.  

happy gardening folks. 

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Comments

  • Hope you’ll be fine Valerie. 

  • My daughter is too Valerie.  Feel free to yell if you need anything.  I'll pick it up and leave it at your door/gate.

  • Best wishes to you and your family, Valerie. I hope it's all a false alarm at your place.

  • We've gone from lockdown to quarantine. So I am looking at my garden wishing I had planted more and earlier. With one egg a day between the 4 of us, it is going to be an interesting 2 weeks. Luckily I had stashed some flour in the last lockdown and we just got our regular delivery of Who gives a crap. A good excuse to clean up the freezer and actually eat what I grow.  

  • I have a few stung Valerie but I have so many that most of mine are fine.  My biggest problem is the pumpkins.  Unless I cover them up, they get stung.  I’ve covered about 6 up so hopefully they’ll set. 

  • Garden is looking great. My tromboccino at Yoorala is all stung by fruit flies. I'm about to rip it off as nothing gets bigger than about 5-10cm without getting stung. Strawberries looks great. Only just flowering here.   Mandarin looos like a good option for my birdies. I am holding back from going to nurseries. We're so lucky to have our gardens indeed. 

  • Ya damn prepper.  LOL.  I like to do the same thing.  I'm still stinging from the time I had no electricity for almost 2 weeks.  I think it's a good think to be a bit self reliant. 

  • thanks guys.   If you’re interested, I’m challenging myself to only eat from the garden (with a few exceptions) for 7 days.  It’s being posted on Instagram city_girl_farmer if you want to check it out. 

  • I'm always impressed with your patch.  Gives me the kick in the bottom that I need.  Off to plant some Tromboncino. I tend to use it as a summer squash/zuch. It's weird because about half my citrus is just staring to come on.  Must be the different varieties.  And yeah, I'm happy to stay in my garden in lockdown.  What lockdown?!

  • Your garden is looking so beautiful and bountiful as usual, I envy your spirit in these hard times. I love what you have done outside the fence, and those potatoes, my favorites Dutch Creams. You truly are an Urban Gardener with the greenest fingers.   

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