Start planting garlic around the end of March for the Turbans, through to mid June for the latest, the purple stripes and Rocamboles @Cornelius_Gotchberg

Today's pick of tomatoes, a couple of Violet Jasper, a Chang Li, a few Sirja's Love and some 42 days

getting some big harvests from the tomatsos, have had average 1-1.2kg harvested weekly the last month from the tomatoes (mainly pear / cherry & Roma), none of the volunteer slicer tomatoes (Aldi gormet) have gone red yet .....but expect this week.

Side note are you finding your cucumbers going more gangbusters than normal with this wild weather we have been having? Last year harvested about 8-10 per plant (lebanese & SpaceMaster) this year getting 15-20 and still producing,

Even finding the capsicums / chili that were overwintered produced earlier and heavier, almost getting a second run with them after the first big harvest.

@Aussie finding that the cucumbers are doing really well, not necessarily more fruit per vine, but certainly earlier than normal. Often wind up with an excess of Crystal Apple, which normally get turned into relish but have plenty of that so have been offloading to friends and family. Long green supermarket I have not grown before but it has been prolific also, glad all the plants that the Mrs brought home from work did not survive, the one or two out there are plenty. Lebanese cucumber grown as mini muncher doing well also, but daughter happy to eat two or three a day if allowed, will be supplementing from shops.

That is my experience with overwintering capsicums also, one of the reasons why I will be putting up a green house for winter protection for them. You may also find the possibility of a third crop from them this year.

First of the beefsteak tomatoes to ripen is a 185g/5.5oz MS/Malachite Box
BLT worthy indeed

Violet Jasper, if it's the same, was a real spitter in my climate here, although early and productive - and pretty, even in a cold year.
Curious to hear if they are better tasting in a warmer growing environment.

Will keep those comments in mind when we go to taste them @bower

Still to try those Violet Jasper's, might have to do it after kids sports tonight.

Meanwhile starting to get more variety with each pick,
Today's pick including the plate full of cherries and 42 days, some Early Wonder's, a Costuloto Genovese, a Elbonian Hip Deep and a Midnight Sun

Been busy filling the large new bed, most of it now done, forgot to take photos, sorry. North side of bed will have a double row of Hokowase strawberries almost the entire length of it, which will curl around the end and go part way down the south side. About 90 plants in total. These are a Japanese variety and taste superb. From the earlier planting, managed to find three small ones today, kids had a small one each, shared biggest with the Mrs.
Not very large, 30g/1 Oz will pull up most, but the flavour is something special.

How are those early wounders? Any good might try those as well

Haven't eaten one yet @AKgardener

Whwoz wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 5:57 am Been busy filling the large new bed, most of it now done, forgot to take photos, sorry. North side of bed will have a double row of Hokowase strawberries almost the entire length of it, which will curl around the end and go part way down the south side. About 90 plants in total. These are a Japanese variety and taste superb. From the earlier planting, managed to find three small ones today, kids had a small one each, shared biggest with the Mrs.

IMG_20240202_184322_553.jpg

Not very large, 30g/1 Oz will pull up most, but the flavour is something special.

The "old farmers" will tell you that the smaller the strawberry, the better the flavor and I have found that to be true. And the difference in flavor between store bought strawberries and home grown is enormous. The flavor scale: wild strawberries >> alpines >>>heritage strawberries>>> select modern cultivars>>>>>>>>>>>>>grocery store baseball sized strawberries

Wildcat82 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 3:34 pm

Whwoz wrote: ↑Fri Feb 02, 2024 5:57 am Been busy filling the large new bed, most of it now done, forgot to take photos, sorry. North side of bed will have a double row of Hokowase strawberries almost the entire length of it, which will curl around the end and go part way down the south side. About 90 plants in total. These are a Japanese variety and taste superb. From the earlier planting, managed to find three small ones today, kids had a small one each, shared biggest with the Mrs.

IMG_20240202_184322_553.jpg

Not very large, 30g/1 Oz will pull up most, but the flavour is something special.

The "old farmers" will tell you that the smaller the strawberry, the better the flavor and I have found that to be true. And the difference in flavor between store bought strawberries and home grown is enormous. The flavor scale: wild strawberries >> alpines >>>heritage strawberries>>> select modern cultivars>>>>>>>>>>>>>grocery store baseball sized strawberries

Could not agree more with you @Wildcat82

Went out to pull some beetroot this morning and found one of the cylindra that had grown to something approximately the size one sees quoted in catalogues. 730g/25.9 Oz
Wound up deciding to replant that big beetroot for seed.

While not a big Beet fan, The Gotch can still appreciate a FINE specimen...and that one there's a BEAUT...Borscht...?

A Cousin-in-Law raises Beets commercially on fabulously productive land in Washington County (WI), where my Dear late FIL was born in 1922. https://www.washcowisco.gov/departments ... sification

While our...um...winter ain't been too awful bad, I anxiously awaits the results of yer fast approaching Southern Hemisphere harvest!

The Gotch

We normally just cook,and slice the beers @Cornelius_Gotchberg, nothing fancy. Beetroot and Blueberry muffins also get made at times.

Borscht is definitely OFF the menu, I am so not a soup person.

Absolutely wonderful day today, up around 30C/86F with humidity down around 25%. Got stuck into cleaning up part of the veggie garden that hadn't been weeded for too long. Found the rhubarb and it doing much better than I expected it to be. Still some cooch to get rid of.
Ground is dry so soaker hoses came out to play also, just set and (almost) forget with the pump running out of the dam, which has hardly dropped level all summer. Will do so now with dry cool changes only forecast, no rain in the forecast.

Clean up continues elsewhere in the garden as well now that it is dry enough to do so without problems. First up was to lift the porcelain garlic that I was trying to get seed from. No luck with the seeds, to get some I will have to remove bulbils as the flowers start to develop. Some interesting variations in globe sizes across the different varieties. Will post photos in the Southern Hemisphere garlic growers thread for greater visibility.

Basil harvest occurred today also, plants were at flowering stage and wanted to get them out before watering. 3 punnets turned into a crates worth
Tomatoes were also picked

bower wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 7:19 am Violet Jasper, if it's the same, was a real spitter in my climate here, although early and productive - and pretty, even in a cold year.
Curious to hear if they are better tasting in a warmer growing environment.

@bower , the Violet Jasper were quite nice, I am not going to try to describe it due difference in taste appreciation etc, but it may well join the 'Grow every year list' considering the daughter's reaction to eating her piece- Any more Dad?