64kg of Pumpkins!

Scarecrow's Log: 10:05:2009:

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 4.1C
Lowest Max 14C
Highest Max 18.5C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?

The Black Ninja helped with the Pumpkin harvest!

With the threat of frosts looming fast we have harvested the rest of the pumpkin (etc.) crop. Of course the Black Ninja had to help...we weighed the pumpkins...they totalled 64kgs all grown in Wicking Beds.
That should keep us in pumpkin soup, scones, fruit cake/muffins/rock cakes for a while not to mention roast pumpkin...Doc's talking about drying some too.

In the Main Veg Garden

Peas and Swedes

Salad Greens

The brassica bed had a quick tidy up

and some greens went to the chookies!

Propagation:
Seeds:
Cleared and roughly hoed some patches around the garden for a few small grain beds.

• Kamut Wheat Triticum persicum went into a fenced area in the chook run. This wheat is described as "Very large kernel, 2 to 3 times the size of modern wheat. Ancient grain thought to have originated in the fertile crescent." by Eden Seeds

• Spelt Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta was planted in the unused chook run on the Northern side of the block.

• Some Barley Hordeum vulgare was planted at the back of the old chicken house in the same run, this will get water runoff from a neighbour's shed roof (that has no gutters) and also from the chook house roof.

• Over in the Almond area chook run (but out of any chookies reach!) I've planted some Oats Avena sativa.

While I was in the Almond area the pumpkin Wicking Worm Bed was cleared and topped up with soaked coir, old sheep manure, bagged compost and mineral mix. I also popped in some new worms from the worm farm as I didn't notice many when I cleared the bed. The bed still worked well producing over 40kgs of pumpkins over the summer. This bed was not protected from birds during summer...maybe they stole some of my wormies.

I have planted Broad Beans in this bed Early Long Pods and Coles Early Dwarf. As they grow the bed will be mulched.

Potting up and Planting out:

Planted out some Red Onion seedlings (sown at the end of February). These went into the Wicking Worm Bed by the chicken house where the Jumbo Pink Banana pumpkins grew. The area where they were planted in did not have anything added to the soil as the soil is rich enough for onions. As this bed isn't in full sun during winter we removed the shadecloth cover and I've planted some Celery and Silverbeet seedlings along the shady side with some added compost there.

I planted the onions as Peter Cundall (ABC's Gardening Australia past presenter) recommends by laying them flat on the surface of a trench and just covered their roots with soil.
"Just bury the roots with a little soil and, believe it or not, within a week the whole lot are standing up. That's how simple it is." so Pete says.

Last week's seeds have germinated
and will soon be potted up.

New or Found in the Garden This week:

One Perpetual Spinach plant
left to go to seed last year
has re-sprouted with some lovely baby spinach
leaves for eating!

The Water Chestnuts in the shadehouse
are starting to yellow off,
nearly ready to harvest.

Weekly Harvest Tally:
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.
Carrots Atomic Red***120g
Pumpkin Queensland Blue***13115g
Pumpkin Sampson***38671g
Pumpkin Jumbo Pink Banana***11339g
Zucchini Tromboncino***1495g
Tomato Ida Gold***100g
Apples Golden Delicious***2906g

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Kale, Lettuce, Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Soup Celery, Beetroot, Turnip and Swede Greens.

Plus 2 Eggs from the girls. I think we need some new girls!!

Thank you Doc for the yummy Mother's Day Roast and Cheesecake and for making the porridge this morning...