After all the rain, today is clear and sunny. And though the creek has gone down enough to get across, the crossing needs some repair and it seems like a good idea to stay off the roads while water recedes. So I get the day at home to go through all the seedlings in the shadehouse that need planting out.
I have Principe Borghese and yellow cherry tomatoes. Both varieties are chosen for their fruit fly resistance and mildew resistance (autumn is often wet here), and they will cope with cold, so I expect them to keep bearing well into winter now. I have one Blackjack zucchini. There are several bearing now, and the tromboncino. I’m learning not to overdo it on zucchinis! I have a couple of Rod’s Lebanese cucumbers. This is the first time I’ve grown them, so I’m not sure what they are like. I planted some Giant Russian cucumber seed too but it was too wet and they failed to germinate. I have a couple of chilis of different varieties and a couple of Supermarket Flat capsicums and a couple of eggplants. This will be the last round for all of them. The ones I have in now can be expected to bear through to winter now.
I’ve planted out the Rattlesnake and Red Seeded Snake beans. I shall put another round of snake bean seed, and some Blue Lakes, in pots to germinate. The bean jars are starting to fill up nicely now. I’ve also planted out another dozen sweet corn, and I’ll put another round of seed in pots.
But I am very conscious of room at this stage of the year. In a couple of days it will be Lammas, the turning point when the days start to shorten noticeably. It won’t be long now till it is time to start planting onions and garlic, and all the short day greens. Lammas is the first of the three traditional harvest festivals, and it is easy to see why – the garden is looking so full, it’s hard to see where they will go.
Oh, I’m so glad to read you planted more snake beans! The ones you sent arrived today…and sat in a water filled letterbox for who knows how long until I rescued them! So I planted as many as I could today, and the rest are still soaking in the hope of planting tomorrow!
Hi Lydia, I thought that might be a risk when I posted them. If they don’t come up, let me know and I’ll send another batch.
Hi, I’m enjoying your site very much. I like your seasonal planting style; since I’m here in Los Angeles I should probably read you 6 months behind.
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
LA is about the same latitude as Sydney, so you’ll be just about exactly 6 months behind (or ahead). You will just be coming into very early spring there. Such a nice planting season – tomatoes and capsicums and eggplants and chilis and cucumbers and melons and squash and beans and corn and okra and tomatilloes and basil…. mmmm
Pete and I were talking today, and figured it was too late here in Sydney for another crop of snake beans! We’ve just put in a couple of black jack zucchs – the light green ones are finishing up now, as are the cucumbers, but we have another batch of them to go in as well. Is it time to start kale, pea and chard seedlings, Linda?
If you have room, I’d give another round of snake beans a go. They will germinate within a few days in warm weather, and they can fruit in as little as a month and a half. So if it stays warm for February and March, you could get a decent crop still. I think it’s still a bit early for the crucifers – the cabbage moths and aphids are still too active. I won’t start them till early autumn, and then only a few to see if I am lucky. And too early for peas – still too warm and wet -they’ll just get mildew. But I’m planting chard this month.
Some have germinated, probably plenty for us. Thank you!