beginner fruit/veg garden

[Marsie27]

Have you grown heirloom bush beans, Venomous? If so, I'd be interested to know which variety you have found reliable.

 

[Venomous]

Have you grown heirloom bush beans, Venomous? If so, I'd be interested to know which variety you have found reliable.

I have only just planted some so I cannot comment on what is best.

I am learning as I go along.

Recently(last 3-4weeks) planted so either still seed or small seedlings by now:
Three different lettuce. Giant Swish chard. Facing heaven chillies. Cauliflower, bush beans, chives

Then lavender I am trying to grow from cuttings. Some in soil, some in water. Lavender is a good pest repellent. The only thing that does not avoid it are bees.

Marigolds, chives and lavender are there for the pests. Thinking of planting some garlic too.

I am trying to avoid any insecticide if at all possible. So while I cannot say I never will, I can say I've managed to avoid it so far.

 

[Venomous]

The puple jalapeno's today.

See the one red one...
Also see the red one next to a green/purple one.

 

[Venomous]

 

[Venomous]

see the green black cherry tomatoes on the plant

 

[Venomous]

I harvested some of them now before the birds can get to them. Tomatoes will ripen off the vine. There are still many on the vine.

 

[Venomous]

Lettuce for tonight's salad

 

[Venomous]

Some seedlings I am raising in pots before planting them into the garden. Seem to recall those being mostly swiss chard

 

[Venomous]

A few lettuce and a facing heaven chilli

 

[Venomous]

Note the suspended lavender top right corner.

Placed in water on Fri, and not looking dead so I'm hoping it will start rooting. So keeping the water topped up at all times.
Currently only giving it filtered water or rain water(if it rains, which it did last night)

 

[Venomous]

All of the above are heirloom plants.

 

[Marsie27]

We have two vermiculture 3-tier towers, using local earthworms, and we manage to produce enough compost from those for our 2 vege containers - I do have to buy in for other purposes. We started our first in 2005 so lots of worm compost has gone into our garden, as well as the worm tea runoff. Our veges seem to thrive on that compost.

 

[Marsie27]

All of the above are heirloom plants.

I will look out for heirloom seeds - I have seen them at one nursery, but not a huge range, so I guess it will have to be online.

 

[Venomous]

We have two vermiculture 3-tier towers, using local earthworms, and we manage to produce enough compost from those for our 2 vege containers - I do have to buy in for other purposes. We started our first in 2005 so lots of worm compost has gone into our garden, as well as the worm tea runoff. Our veges seem to thrive on that compost.

Well done.

We have so many earthworms in the garden that it's ridiculous. Even the pots I grow the lettuce in have loads. Lettuce I grow in pots to help prevent snails and such getting to them.

 

[Venomous]

I will look out for heirloom seeds - I have seen them at one nursery, but not a huge range, so I guess it will have to be online.

While I have found a few here and there (stores and nurseries seem to only stock a few each, but often stores have different stock.

There is an online store that predominantly sell heirloom seeds. You have to check which are and which are not. There are actually a few online stores that sell, or claim to sell, but check for yourself.

I've bought a few from livingseeds.co.za but as I looked late in the season, now recently, I bought seeds that need to be planted in autumn, so will let know once that is in progress how those are going.

 

[Venomous]

where possible I will try preserving a few seeds to plant next year. Then I can avoid having to buy seeds again and again.

I do find that the bees seem to love the marigolds and chives that are inbetween the veggies. And as such they also visit the veggies.

See the tiiiny birds eye chillies starting. There were a few ripe ones, but they have been eaten.
Chillies are so small they barely measure a few mm, so look carefully.

 

[Venomous]

The golden-flaming orange are the marigolds.
Soon they will die so that's why I'm trying to get the lavender growing.

 

[AchmatK]

Olive harvest today. Got just under 6kg. Still probably another 5kg to harvest next month.

Some of them are over 2cm.

Now the long wait to cure them in brine.

 

[AchmatK]

Now to cure and ready in 4 to 6 months.

 

[Marsie27]

Signates, so you don't do the soak in water which you change every day for a month routine? Supposedly to remove some of the bitterness. How many trees do you have? We have 3, but the South Easter hammers them in the blossom stage, not to mention the drought, so they are largely decorative at the moment, more's the pity.