March 6, 2009
Bright red harvest. I will fry it all up tomorrow with garlic and olive oil, and scatter on some fresh basil and lemon thyme I am growing.
Bright red harvest. I will fry it all up tomorrow with garlic and olive oil, and scatter on some fresh basil and lemon thyme I am growing.
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Mystery plant - the ferret seems to find it interesting, but I have no clue what it is. It doesn’t look like anything else I’ve planted. It started growing in the pot with the sunflower in, so I just let it grow as the sunflower died.
Mystery plant - the ferret seems to find it interesting, but I have no clue what it is. It doesn’t look like anything else I’ve planted. It started growing in the pot with the sunflower in, so I just let it grow as the sunflower died.
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February 15, 2009
The first Turkish Orange aubergine harvested - it doesn’t seem to be quite ripe, as it’s very hard - but some animal has already nibbled a hole near the top.
The first Turkish Orange aubergine harvested - it doesn’t seem to be quite ripe, as it’s very hard - but some animal has already nibbled a hole near the top.
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January 25, 2009

Drip feed spikes

Given the heatwave, it seemed a good time to try some irrigation gadgets. I bought this tomatoes hanging basket from a market, and it is desperately struggling with the heat and dries out all the time. So I’ve put a gel-spike device in it. It wasn’t very impressive: all the gel started glooping out without even having to pierce the bottle as directed. It doesn’t look like it will last long.

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The other thing - and cheaper - is these adjustable spike nozzles that attach to regular water bottles. I will do a few experiments with them, trying out the different settings. I’m not very convinced they will be that accurate or consistent, but so long as they work a bit, it should help.

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Ancient herbs

The Pocket Encylopaedia of Herbs contains a lot of fascinating historical information about once commonly-used herbs that are now rare or even unknown today.



I had earlier managed to grow some Salad Burnet, which is supposed to taste like cucumber but doesn’t seem particularly noticeable when I add it to salads. I’ve been struggling to grow various other herbs, such as Lemon Basil which germinates well, then the seedlings die. Also Lemon Balm/Melissa, which never managed to germinate until now.



Then today in a hardware and garden centre, I discovered Lemon Savoury which is in the book, but I’ve never seen before. I also bought some Sage, as I cannot get it to germinate (likewise Meadowsweet and Evening Primrose just will not seem to germinate). I planted them next to the Salad Burnet, in the space where a Borage plant once grew. L-R savoury, sage, salad burnet.



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We’ve had a heatwave of unprecedented intensity. It has devastated many plants. In particular the Baby pumpkin which has absolutely collapsed. It’s not dead, but it is nowhere near what it was if you compare these photos from two weeks ago (top) and today (bottom).
We’ve had a heatwave of unprecedented intensity. It has devastated many plants. In particular the Baby pumpkin which has absolutely collapsed. It’s not dead, but it is nowhere near what it was if you compare these photos from two weeks ago (top) and today (bottom).
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January 24, 2009

Balcony garden 2009

Due to an urgent overseas trip, I had to leave the garden over December and early January. Luckily a good friend watered it for me, and everything was alive on my return.

- tomatoes ripened but lost nearly all of their leaves from the mildew
- Crookneck squash and Jack-Be-Little pumpkin struggled and are half dead
- Sweet Mama red pepper got curly wilting leaves, but has two peppers
- Baby pumpkin was ENORMOUS but no fertile pumpkins yet
- Violet Queen was pretty much dead
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli was ravaged by caterpillars
- Turkish orange aubergine/eggplant was flourishing but pest-ridden
- Rainbow chard/silverbeet just grows and grows, such a beautiful, easy plant
- various herbs continued to grow nicely

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December 7, 2008
It doesn’t have to be vegetables or flowers. The cool white star at the top is Sweet Mama red pepper and the flamboyant golden-yellow trumpet below is Baby pumpkin.
It doesn’t have to be vegetables or flowers. The cool white star at the top is Sweet Mama red pepper and the flamboyant golden-yellow trumpet below is Baby pumpkin.
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December 6, 2008
The hyssop has finally flowered. Bees are supposed to love this plant.
The hyssop has finally flowered. Bees are supposed to love this plant.
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December 2, 2008
The Tommy Toe tomato has fine hairs that shine golden in the sun. This is a close up. They actually look like they are glittering, it is beautiful.
The Tommy Toe tomato has fine hairs that shine golden in the sun. This is a close up. They actually look like they are glittering, it is beautiful.
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