November 2014 Garden Share Collective

The bees are buzzing, the vegetable flowers are flourishing and everything is G-R-O-W-I-N-G.

These lovely crisp beans are hanging ripely for the picking.  

They will grow for months and we will still be picking from the same vines in January.

Picking out the strawberry plants to weed their roots and top up the bed with compost and dirt, there were enough strawberry plants to make two patches.  Hence there are strawberries to be picked daily.
I prefer to pick them at the end of the day when the sun is lower and they have ripened all day.

Artichokes are especially a seasonal delight.  I picked the first ones last weekend and will pick about three weekly for a few weeks.  The plants are perennial so this artichoke bush will be even stronger next summer.  I simmer the artichokes and simply serve them with a hollandaise sauce for dipping.

 These shallots are flowering, so the seeds will blow in the wind and produce more shallots.

Likewise, we are now letting the radishes and lettuce go to seed as well 

so the next plants will be a pleasant surprise when they pop up, well, everywhere.

The leeks are now producing baby leek " puppies " so I hope they grow to maturity 

after the main leek has been picked.

Here are the baby grapes.  This is the second year for the vines.

There are Thompson Seedless, Golden Muscat, Black Isabella and Pink Iona amongst others.

They will be netted when the flowers have finished and the bees have fertilised them all.

This corn, grown from seed is growing daily and as well as pleasant eating,

also create a delightful wind break for a while.

The husks are dried and we burn these in the bee smoker for a pleasant stream of smoke. 

 After 3 and 4 years in the ground our olive trees are flourishing and are about to produce fruit!

I cannot begin to describe how excited I am by this happening.

Last year we harvested 20 and they were the sweetest olives I have ever pickled.

This year, I believe there will be at least one or two buckets = how wonderful.

These broad beans were planted a bit late but have now come to fruition.
There will be broad beans daily, or bi daily for weeks to come.

It really is a dynamic time in the garden, we are also growing cucumbers, zucchinis, tomatoes, snow peas, soy beans, lettuce, fennel, kale, garlic, chillies, capsicum, eggplant and broccoli,

Please, browse the other gardens of all members of the Garden Share Collective.
You will be amazed at the variety of vegetables and fruit that can be grown.
Till next month, bon appetito, enjoy, Merryn.