Hanging Snow Peas

 Yep that's a hanging pot, and yup that's some snow peas. HUH????!!!?? Downwards headed snow peas? Snow peas are meant to climb up a trellis, or pole, or whatever you put in the ground to help support their upward sprawl. But not downwards. I usually make a trellis out of poles and old stockings which works a treat to help them climb. However, this year I tried something new, and much to my surprise it really worked well.

You see a few months ago I realised one of the hanging baskets was empty, and I wasn't sure what to put in it. In summer it holbs tumbler tomatoes and in the past it has been ardorned with flowers or other such things in the winter months. Last year I  just took it down and left a blank space. This year I wanted to experiment, so I threw in some leftover dwarf snow pea seeds. I expected they'd not like the small space, may trellis themselves up the hanging bits, or might just self combust in an act of blatant mutiny. At least they sprouted, so phase one clearly worked.

However, I gave them a slim to none chance of forming a downward habit and draping over the side. Thus heading north, or carking it. But, after a slow start, they did plunge southwards, pulling themselves up and over the edge and heading downward.

I thought gravity might cause the stems to break but no, they were sturdy and bore a lot of snow peas!

 
I'll definitely try this again next Winter. I have quite a few hanging pots in the garden so I'd like to see if they work equally well. I guess sometimes experiments do pay off. Have you ever gone against the rules in your gardening and succeeded?

Harvest Monday of Champions

I guess I've been a bit busy sewing to remember to post Harvest Mondays. But it doesn't mean we've not  had harvests despite the chilly start to spring.

There has been a few small serves of snow peas, swiss chard, kale and broccoli (the last one isn't pictured, because my other half hates it so it is always seperate and mostly forgotten when the camera is about.) I'm using some more of the kale and chard tonight in a stir fry to use up some amazing pulled pork and to celebrate 10 months with my lovely other half.

I also harvested the last of the current crop of megapot carrots, though the bugs got more of these than me.

I am about to remove the broccoli and snow peas to make way for more tomatoes, so the harvests might be quite lena for a few weeks. That said there is some lettuce coming along and if the snails don't eat it all we will have basil soon. Here are the tomatoes just itching to get in the ground:

Want to see more substantial harvests? Head on over to Daphne's Dandelions.

Harvest Monday

There mightn't be many big harvest posts for a while here - I've taken out most of the winter greens and put in the new season's tomatoes! A few stray broccoli stems remain, but they're pretty worn and only hold a couple of edible shoots. Sad really to see the last of the winter crops, though on the other hand ... yay tomatoes.  Before it all goes a little quiet, here is what we have harvested lately:

Carrots, some eaten by me, some by bugs! Apparently only one was photographed, a little golden one. There was also a little purple one and a thumbalina one too. All delicious but I guess not worthy of remembering to capture in a  kodak moment.

Snow peas have been gracing our plates lately. Sadly usually only little harvests, but sometimes just enough to throw in a salad or a stir fry.

I should get one of two more hand fulls of these before they get pulled out. They're in spaces that will be occupied by corn and tomatoes and zucchini and cukes (no, not all the same pot, that would be uncompanion planting!!!)

A few herbs here and a silverbeet leaf there, but really that is it for the moment. Stay tuned for more balcony garden action, or head on over to Daphne's Dandelions and see everyone else's harvest deliciousness.

Harvest Monday

Wow, it has been ages since I last posted! That's the trouble with being in the end stages of a thesis, you miss the days as they fly on by while you are knee deep in words and ideas. The good news is that it is coming together and I should submit on time. The better news is that the Autumnal Harvest is already underway.

Shortly before my self-imposed thesis work-a-thon I planted some Winter crops. In went broccoli, wombok, snow peas (both dwarf and mammoth on a pretty little though slightly dangerous trellis) beetroot, beans, carrots and garlic. I've already sampled a tonne of baby spinach and I can tell you it is divine. I harvest it almost daily. So green, soooooo good for you, and so easy to grow, I don't know why I didn't plant this sooner. I plan on adding more to the garden asap.

Thanks for all the lovely comments while I was AWOL, they are so heartening. I promise to try and write more about the balcony garden and less about theoterical considerations of Third Reich memoir for historians so this blog gets going again! No current pics alas (I've lost the connecting cord for the umpteenth time) but here a pic from a Winter's garden past to get us in the mood for cool weather balcony gardening.

For other harvest posts from around the world visit Daphne's Dandelions.

Harvest Monday Extravaganza

I finally found my camera cord and uploaded the goodies so here is a parade of recent harvests and this week's harvest. It even has some golden globes! These harvests date back to just before Christmas, even so this little balcony garden has produced a lot.

Here was the pre-Christmas harvest and it saw the last of the snow peas. I actually picked a lot more tomatoes than that, several punnets worth, all from 2 little tumbler bushes. They died once I got back from Adelaide, as happens each year from some disease, but not before producing one large crop. I will certainly keep growing these.

And the New Years harvest which was massive (a.k.a. bye bye tomatoes) Most of this went into various salad dishes for a little new years eve shindig I had at my place. It was 42 degrees that day, so salads were all we needed. I was just glad that the garden survived my 10 days away, but with the wonderful garden sitter I have it was no wonder it was bursting with goodies when I returned.

And the most recent harvest which included 3 pumpkins, who were too infested with white fly to reach complete maturation. If only I could find more seedlings I could do a second crop :( I also thought I planted leeks, to my utter surprise turns out they were white onions!.

If you would like to see more harvests from around the world head on over to Daphne's Dandelions. A lot of these plants got ripped out of the garden yesterday in a big white fly control clean up, so harvests may be a little lean for the next few weeks, but we will see.

Harvest Monday

The harvests have been coming in thick and fast. They consist of quite a few things, zucchini, snowpeas, tomatoes, eggplants and more. Garlic is all out of the ground and drying on the window sill.

For fruits there are the last of the red currants and some strawberries, both wild strawberries and Kurawase strawberries.

and best of all the first tomatoes!

Zucchinis are a constant harvest and in two different colours. Eggplants are small but tasty and just as constant. Four different days, four different combos.

Snowpeas are at their end, as you can see these two got left on the bush a little too long.

For more harvests pop on over to Daphne's Dandelions for harvest Monday

Eating the Garden

The balcony garden is not just for good looks or green cred, it is first and foremost for eating (and not just for the snails!) At the moment with constant harvests I usually get to eat something from the garden each day, and sometimes at night too! Double harvest fun, yum. Mostly, with the warmer weather on the way, I indulge in salads which can easily be sourced from the balcony.

There is the salad as a main. For this nutritional whopper just grab some bits from the balcony garden, don't forget the left over zucchini flowers,

Add whatever cans or other goods you have lying around

and hey presto, mega salad of goodness that tastes amazing too!

Or if you are more of a side salad person you could go the whole garden green goodness with your main meal. Baby zukes that weren't pollinated? No problemo, they taste crunchy and yummy in a green side salad.

Or go half green and then mix and match with whatever is in season at the markets.

There's no limit to the tasty treats the balcony garden can contribute to. Tonight I am cooking a curry, which will likely feature some of the zukes from the garden and maybe some greens. The other night the silvebeet went into some creamed garlic quinoa. Suffice to say no one ever goes hungry around here.

Harvest Monday Hidden Gems

It is Harvest Monday and just look at these wonderful tomatoes.

The purple cherokee is almost as big as my very large coffee cup.

The green zebra was so tangy and creamy. The other two I am yet to try.

Ok, Ok, Ok you got me, so I didn't grow these is some sort of apartment balcony garden green house, Alas the tomato disease issues have not ceased here. All I wanted to do was to be part of the tomato growing gang. I found these beauties at the Vic Markets organic stall and I couldn't resist. Whilt it is Winter down here, it is tomato season up in the northern parts of Australia, and looks like they are doing well!

Harvests here were a little more mundane, some snow peas and some broccoli, which went nicely with some soba noodles.

I will be planting the spring crops soon, so in a few months I will be harvest monday ready! I'll try some disease resistant tomatoes this time round and see if I can get a crop! If you want real tomatoes head on over to Daphne's Dandelions and I am sure many of the blogs on her harvest Monday roundup will include real heom grown tomatoes and more.

Snow Pea Pleas

I'm not sure if my neighbour caught me, but I spent a great part of the early morning pleading with the snowpeas. The are an impressive height, growing on a much better trellis than last year (see this post for how not to trellis snow peas) and they are green with tendrils grasping in every direction. What they lack though, is kind of fundamental, they have not flowered and thus have not produced any edibles. While the dwarf snow peas are going great guns and have kept me in green stir fry bliss, these mammoth melting peas from last year are next to useless. While the snails have munched away at them they remain yet to produce human food (unless you count sprouts, which I don't unless I'm in the mood for making salad and being a hypocrite.)

What is the go here mr snow pea? Too much nitrogen? (your smaller bushier brothers seem to cope just fine) Dodgy seed? (but you germinated) Soil depth too low? (you survived harsher conditions last year) Is the balcony garden just playing silly tricks on me? Well it better start producing soon, or it's getting ripped out to make way for, well, not sure what I can plant at this time of the year, probably more snow peas!!!

Harvest Monday Happiness

A rainy Monday evening and I am just drying off after another snailageddon on the balcony garden. No matter how many I kill they just keep on coming! Still they can't get their hands on my harvest this week, well most of my harvest.

Snow peas are in at the moment, if this post at the 6 x 8 garden is to go by (and others that I have read recently but have slipped my mind.) They are in on the balcony garden too, crisp, sweet and ever so tasty. I only get three or four at a time, but once the rest of the peas grow through the harvest will increase. Yay for future stirfries!

Carrots get pulled out of the ground ever now and then. Good in salads and the vibrantly coloured ones are going to be a hit at my Casablanca 30th Birthday Party on the weekend.

Golden beetroot, pulled out, grated and placed in a beetroot and autumn veg risotto. Yum

I get a solid amount of lettuce and silverbeet eat week, probably a fistful every day. Enough for a plate of salad or an extra green sandwich.

Coriander is ready for the picking, and I had a leaf or two as a delicious garnish on my beetroot pearl couscous dish tonight (alas the beetroot was store-bought given the slowness of my purple beets in the balcony garden.)

Eggplant. Can't remember what I used it for, but whatever it was I bet it was tasty. There are even more eggplants on this hardy little plant! And it is almost winter here!!!

And these two delicious veggies, a butternut pumpkin and some cabbage, came from my cousin's garden. The pumpkin has been put in some pumpkin, pinenut and paprika filo parcels for the party this weekend (hiding in the freezer at present so they keep yummy and don't get eaten by myself before the party) and will also be cooked up to go in pumpkin coconut creme brulee. The cabbage has been added to many things including salads, a stir fry, and a corned beef.

The broccoli is budding so there might just be a new addition to the harvest post next week ... If you want to see more harvests pop on over to Daphne's Dandelions and join in the fun.