In Production: Autumn 2015. All Things New.

"These eggs are still warm, it doesn't get much fresher than that!" exclaimed D passionately as he cracked three freshly collected eggs into a mixing bowl ready to scramble for his brekki.  My response, a very simple "eeewww" (I know where our eggs come from and all, but I still prefer to think of them as fresh from the fridge, rather than fresh from the chicken).  My underwhelmed response only served to spur D on in his 'fresh egg' appreciation.  "No, this is something unique, you can't buy warm eggs - if you want eggs this fresh you've gotta do it yourself... or get a chicken to do it for you."  I'm all for getting a chicken to do it for you just for the record, but as you can see, adding eggs to the list of things we pluck fresh daily from the garden has been a huge thing for D, and even though I might not quite match his level of egg-enthusiasm, I really do love it too. 
 
We're now quite a way past the midway hump of autumn, and it's time to capture the goings-on in the productive garden once again.  

It has been an interesting turn of season for many reasons: one, because autumn is the start of the gardening year, where almost everything existing gets ripped out and the beds become brand new again.  And two, because we were faced with the possibility of a relocation towards the start of autumn and we were in a bit of a 'to plant, or not to plant?' conundrum.  Thankfully we planted, and thankfully we're also staying to see the harvest - or at least that's the plan for now...

In the last few weeks our patch has gone from a pumping fresh-produce machine to a row of lifeless empty garden beds, and I started to wonder where our next 'greens' were coming from now that the zucchini and beans that served us all through summer have been ripped from the ground.  

The last few weeks have definitely made me appreciate the place preserving (in the way of blanching and freezing) has in the life cycle of our garden.  The glut of broad beans which we harvested in October, blanched and froze, has filled the current 'green gap' nicely - and I'm slowly getting my mind around the flow of eating from the garden: what will be available when, and when we will need to draw on preserved produce to fill gaps in production, like we are now.  Now eighteen months into this food growing venture it's nice to feel like we're slowly falling into the swing of things.

 

New to the Patch

Garlic is the star of our autumn plantings.  We planted it for the first time last autumn and had a pretty good harvest, so naturally this autumn we've gone crazy with it.  We love garlic and its many health benefits, and after reading more about it in Penny Woodward's book 'Garlic', growing it organically became quite important to us.

Though we've grown it before, this season we purchased some heirloom varieties from Diggers which we're pretty excited to taste.  This season we're also having our first attempt at onion, radish and turnips.

Currently In Harvest

VEG: Chilli, Leek, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Spring Onion, Silverbeet, Spinach, Tomato.  FRUIT: n/a.  HERBS: Chives, Lemon Balm, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme.   

Full List 'In the Ground and Growing' Autumn 2015

KEY

Y = Years till harvest.

W = Weeks till harvest.

H = In harvest.

Veggie Patches

Asparagus (Y) 
Beetroot (W) 
Broccoli (W)
Carrot (W)
Chilli (H)
Garlic 'Glamour' (W)
Garlic 'Melbourne Market' (W)
Garlic 'Early White' (W)
Garlic 'Early Purple' (W)
Leek (H)
Lettuce (H)
Loofah (W) 
Onion 'Red' (W)
Peas 'Greenfeast' (W)
Pumpkin 'Bohemian' (H)
Pumpkin 'Kent' (H)
Radish (W)
Rhubarb (W)
Shallots (H)
Silverbeet (H)
Spinach (H)
Spring Onion (H)
Swede (W)
Turnip (W)

Fruit 

Apple 'Gala'(W)

Apple 'Pink Lady' (Y)
Avocado 'Hass' (Y)
Avocado 'Pinkerton' (Y)

Lemon 'Eureka' (Y)

Lemon 'Meyer' (Y)

Lime 'Tahitian' (Y)

Lime 'West Indian' (Y)

Mandarin 'Imperial' (W)

Mulberry (W)
Orange 'Navel'(Y)

Orange 'Valencia' (W)

Herb Garden 

Chives (H) 
Lemon Balm (H)
Mint (H) 
Oregano (H)  
Parsley 'Flat Leaf' (W)

Rosemary (H) 
Thyme (H)