(no subject)

[freyakitten]

Today's haul:

Almost a kilo of peas, shelled and in freezer
A dishrack full of beetroot, dug up, washed, soaked and de-mini-rooted, ready to be peeled, sliced, cooked and pickled tomorrow
Two bags of manure picked up from the local garden centre (I walk there and back with my trolley)
Snap peas, now finished, dead and dying plants removed
Tigerella tomato plant and mini chocolate capsicum plant also picked up from local garden centre, planted in newly vacated bed; other planting to follow

Comments

[harliquinn.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm.... to have spring again! I only recently discovered the joy of fresh, hot beets.

I have yet to find this fabled chocolate capsicum out here - is it strictly an AUS plant?

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

No, it's a heritage or heirloom variety - this website says they're from Ohio originally, while 'Georgescu Chocolate' (a full-sized, bell pepper-like variety) is from Romania or Bulgaria, depending on which website you choose. There's a few modern varieties of them on that website, or there's this one, or google for chocolate, pepper, and heritage.

The plants I bought were grown by or for this company, usually I'll go for ones by or for or using seed from here - they do almost exclusively heritage varieties.

Of the beets I planted, the variety that did best (I planted four different varieties) was Chioggia, which I only planted to amuse myself. It's got red and white growth rings, which I thought would be amusing looking in a pickle jar, and I harvested twice as much of that as I did from the other varieties. I never thought it would do so well, but the red ones sucked this year, the golden produced a lot more than I expected, and the chioggia just grew and grew.

[harliquinn.livejournal.com]

Wow. Wonderful, thanks! I hear the calling of an Earth Box next year under the kitchen window...

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

*grin* I loves me my garden, I like to share the love, with people who are interested anyway.

[harliquinn.livejournal.com]

I have this dream of one day having a red and black garden... black peppers... yum!

Thank you for sharing, I was clueless that these things existed in these amazing heirloom varieties! Your knowledge is much appreciated and cherished. I miss proper gardening very much, despite my no-so-green thumb.

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

The main reasons I like heirloom varieties are that I find them hardier (one of these days I really must learn to water regularly), and tastier, and they come in funky colours and shapes. And they tend to produce more. I recently read a catalog entry which had two heirloom and one modern variety of tomato. The modern was touted as being one of the most productive tomatoes evar. The next paragraph had the kg of fruit per hectare values, and both the heirlooms were more productive. I giggled for hours (at intervals).

I'm not what I would call an expert... But my garden gives me many hours of quiet contentment. On warm days at the moment, I'll open the window next to my computer. Right outside the window is a huge rose, madly flowering with these gorgeous dark red scented things, and every tiny gust of wind brings another wave of scent, perfuming the whole house with something I both love and am not allergic to.

[harliquinn.livejournal.com]

Jazzmasterson's father grew some lovely organic and/or heirloom veggies for a number of years, this year less than most. They were always delicious, and the cucumbers had a flavor which was a new experience for me, as I've never been able to grow them properly. I love those catalogues - they amuse me as well. Now that we have some YARD I can place the EarthBoxes outside with heirloom tomatoes, and maybe another with beets and parsley (for the rabbits - they'd nibble me alive if didn't grow it for them again).

You're more an expert than I, which is what matters. And it's that contentment and joy you describe that I miss SO very much. ... there's a rose bush facing my new studio room, across the driveway. I can't wait to see it bloom.