Wongbok, cauliflower and broccoli.
Welcome to another tour of my vegetable garden. I have found a new appreciation for winter gardening. The days seem gentler and spending a whole day in the garden is not nearly as exhausting as it can be in the summer months.
My first photo shows my kale ‘tree’ towering behind several younger kale plants. I am harvesting kale almost daily and finding new ways to use it in many meals.
Burpees’s Golden beetroot reminds me of sunsets, autumn leaves and warm fires. OK, I might be getting a bit carried away but it is a glorious colour.
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| Golden beetroot |
These broccoli flowers appeared very soon after the first head formed. We have eaten the flowers, stems and leaves and I love it. It has grown much more quickly than the more traditional broccoli and the softer leaves are perfect for stir frying.
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| Broccoli, Sessantina Grossa |
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| Cabbage |
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| Snow pea |
June
Planted
Beetroot, Burpees’s Golden
Lettuce
Potatoes, Kipfler
Rhubarb
Silverbeet
Tansy
Thyme
Harvested
Basil
Buddha’s Hand
Capsicum
Coriander
Kale
Limes
Mint
Rocket
Thyme
Wongbok
Watching
Coriander and lettuce pop up from self sown seed all through the garden
My apricot tree is almost bare, the quince trees are still clinging onto their leaves and the pear and apple trees are somewhere in between.
Ongoing activities
I am assisting my daughter to submit a journal in the Country Style Harvest Table competition. We are not particularly worried about the prize but this is a fun exercise in documenting, drawing, pasting, writing and making observations in the garden through young eyes.
All vegetables are receiving a fortnightly dose of liquid seaweed fertiliser.
I need to chop back unruly asparagus ferns.
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| Wongbok |
Thank you to Lizzie from Strayed from the Table for hosting this tour. Please call into her blog and visit other gardening enthusiasts.
How is your winter garden?
Is your garden a peaceful haven in busy times?
Happy gardening!
Kate @ Kate Writes
The rain has certainly worked it's magic Jane! Your garden is looking lush and lovely 🙂 xx
Jane S
Thank you Kate, it makes a difference to everything doesn't it? x
tea with hazel
i agree with you jane..winter is a great time to garden..if i'm feeling particularly cold i'll get outside and work for a few hours and i warm up and the garden benefits..
it's great to read about your monthly activities in the garden..everything is looking so healthy..x
Jane S
Thank you Jane, I hope you are warm and well in your part of the world!
Anonymous
i SPY bunting!!! ♥ it too..
your garden looks amazing Jane , much more cheerful than MINE at the moment .. with the addition of a "Speagle" in January, (lots of garden digging and chewing going on,) i am resisting the urge to plant just yet as I know it will end in tears if i wake one mornig to find it demolished by one little " Missy".!patience is required until she "grows up" I fear! EWE BEAUTY
Jane S
Thank you Trish…clever Jemma J made the bunting and it is cheerful!
Missy Piggy
Your garden looks great! Things aren't going so well on my balcony. Too much rain + aphids have killed my chives, the broccoli went straight to flowers (with every leaf being munched by caterpillars). The woes just keep going on! Poor piggy hey?
Jane S
Keep gardening Miss Piggy, how about your world famous mint?
Lizzy (Good Things)
Jane, I am slightly envious of all that you have growing. Peter asked me today what we have growing for winter. All I managed to get in before falling ill was garlic and celery. My snow peas don't seem to like the cold this year. We still have carrots to pull up as we need them, and spuds too!
Jane S
Fresh carrots and spuds sound great Lizzy! Thanks for calling in 🙂
lucent imagery
How lovely that things are going well for your garden! When Kale became a trendy food I dismissed it because of just that. Then we tried it and fell in love with it, as I'm wont to do with green leafy vegies. Now it's a regular in my farmer's market purchases.
Jane S
I am new to the Kale bandwagon but it is easy to grow and versatile to cook with! Thanks Lucent.
Farmer Liz
Hi Jane, I'm visiting from the collective this morning 🙂 Its lovely to see the brassicas doing so well in your garden, I have a kale tree too, over 12 months old now! Cheers, Liz
Jane S
Thanks Liz, I wonder how long kale trees go on for if left to their own devices?
Liz : strayed from the table
How healthy is your wombok – stunning. I have never seen a tuscan kale plant get that big, I can't seem to keep the bugs off mine and then summer comes and kills it. Fingers crossed it will hang on for the next few months. I look forward to seeing your apricots, I wish I could grow them as they are one of my favourite fruits.
Jane S
Thanks Liz, I looked forward to apricots too! My tree is still young, I hope to get my first crop this coming summer.
Kyrstie @ A Fresh Legacy
Your garden looks lovely Jane, it is so neat! I adore the beets at the moment too. The colors are very pretty. I'd love to hear some of your Kale recipe ideas.
Jane S
Thanks Kyrstie. I don't really have any kale recipes I just put it into anything such as casseroles, stir frys, pasties, frittata, veg stock, lasagne, mince etc.
e / dig in
Hi Jane! You have been so busy. your words about the slowing down at this time of the year are apt, though in comparison with you, i have come to a complete standstill! You have reminded me to be more attentive with the liquid seaweed stuff for the greens that are going still; thank you.
i love seeing the soft autumn light on your green vegetables. the tender pea shoots are so pretty; and the burnished top of the golden beetroot is wonderful.
Jane S
Thanks e, yes the liquid seaweed is certainly helpful at this time of the year…I find anyway! I appreciate your thoughtful comments as always.
Anne @GtSlamseysFarm
There's so much happening in your garden Jane and all so beautifully photographed. What do you do with wongbok? Now thinking I should have kale in my garden.
Jane S
Thank you Anne. I use the wongbok mostly in Asian style stirfrys or I add it anywhere I need something green such as casseroles. It is very versatile and wilts quickly when cooked.
Jacana
Amazing garden – wish I had such as green thumb
Jane S
Thank you Jacana!
Andrea Mynard
Thanks for peek at your lovely garden, visiting from the garden collective and it's great to see what's growing in other climes. I love growing lots of Kale too, it's so hardy in the winter here. Your pics are beautiful, all looks so appealing.
Jane S
Thank you for calling in Andrea
jeanie
I have beetroot envy – this year I have worked full-time through the majority, and sometimes my lack of nagging means that certain vegetables get overlooked. Must dig that out (so to speak). Lovely garden.
Jane S
Thank you Jeanie, beetroot is lovely isn't it?
@ChristineSalins (Food Wine Travel)
Hi Jane, thanks for allowing me to peek into your garden! I would never have thought of eating the flowers and leaves of broccoli!
Jane S
Hi Christine, nice to hear from you. Yes, the soft flowers and leaves on this particular broccoli are great to eat.
cityhippyfarmgirl
oh look at your lovely kale. I was wondering the other day whether it would be worth trying to grow some kale in a pot…still not sure though. I've ambitiously added a few things to my pots again with fingers, toes and eyes crossed.
Jane S
Thanks Brydie, I would certainly try kale in a pot!
Merryn Galluccio
You have a beautiful garden. All the lovely green offerings; kale, soon to be snow peas, cabbage, broccoli and thank you so much for the photo of the wongbok. We have this growing in our brassica patch and now can name it! (It was the stray seed in the cabbage packet.) Do you treat it like cabbage? Great beetroot too 😀
Jane S
Thank you Merryn, yes I treat wongbok like cabbage. I have had great success growing wongbok, it really is reliable and very productive!
erin@shecooksshegardens.com
Hi Jane, your garden is wonderful and I just LOVE the bunting – what a lovely touch. I agree with you about winter gardening, I always find it that much more productive and easy to manage. I also have a Kale 'tree' but yours appears to be much older than mine. Thanks for the tour, it was has been great. Erin.
Jane S
Thank you Erin, we originally put the bunting up as a fun decoration when we were having lunch guests and it looked so pretty I have left it up!
Melissa L
Your garden is absolutely gorgeous and your vegetables look particularly lush, especially the wombok and kale. Have you been harvesting the beetroot already?
Jane S
Thank you Melissa. Yes, I have just harvested my first beetroot.