Sign into an existing account

https://i.ibb.co/MpR9n4h/IMG-9266.jpg
Never been able to crack the berry growing so don't bother any more.

https://i.ibb.co/vDgYkXm/lettuce-in-a-pot.jpg
For those of you who follow me, which, um, is no-one, you'll know I ditched the traditional veggie patch for growing stuff in pots and it's paying dividends.

The advantages of a pot or tub garden for me are:

.easier to keep tree roots at bay.
.snails/slugs need to climb which might make the plants less vulnerable? Doubt it.Snails etc are great climbers.
.more efficient watering.
.easier to change the garden about if need be i.e. just move a pot.

These lettuces are so fresh, pure and perfect.

https://i.ibb.co/mHbB9Qn/IMG-8083.jpg
On the taste level - at the bottom of the scale - but a lovely looking fruit and it has dense vegetable matter like a potato so probably lots of nutrients. When harvested small they are tender and taste like mild peas. The ones in the pic are too big because I didn't discover them until late. Seems to be an easy-to-grow plant and if your garden doesn't produce much it's a plant for you as it produces a lot of fruit.

"Chokos in Australia were known as a 'filler' for low-income families during the Great Depression. Given the choko's ability to grow wild and yield plenty of crops, it was seen as a free backyard source of fibre and nutrition."

Just planted 4 peach trees, 6 highbush blueberries and 6 raspberries.
Feels good.

https://i.ibb.co/7gtsWvD/IMG-8073.jpg
Just about harvested the lot, thank god, with only a few small ones not being eaten. Probably got 10-15. Now I know I can grow them I'll plant fewer next season. We could have given some to our neighbours but we don't like them.

The monster in the pic was missed due to my messy garden. I expected it to be bitter but it verged on sweet! I skinned the cucumber; shaved most of it with a peeler and tipped the shavings on top of some slices of bread on a plate, added pepper, olive oil and parmesan cheese and ate with a knife and fork. Not bad. Would have been nicer with buttered bread but I was lazy.

https://i.ibb.co/HChR47X/IMG-7904.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/pym0bwk/IMG-7905.jpg

And it's due to the growing-medium and a sunny spot. In the past I didn't pay enough attention to the growing-medium and used soil/compost which, when baked in the sun, became as hard as rock and didn't drain well either.

I cut a lot of grass but can't put it on the garden generally as mulch (hay) because of the fire-risk. So I mix the decomposed grass with decomposed leaf litter, put it in my tubs and the plants love it. No soil because there is none unless I buy it. My mix probably contains too much nitrogen which promotes excessive leaf/stem growth but so far I've had a modest potato harvest and the cucumber crop is looking to be a great success. I've planted capsicums in the mixture and they are yet to strut their stuff but...fingers crossed. So I'm rather chuffed that my "soil" works!

https://i.ibb.co/Q6p9Ntf/potatoes-2023.jpg
Might have to ditch spud growing in favour of beans where I seem to have more success. I refuse to use souped-up soil. The problem seems to be too much nitrogen due to grass mulch. Lots of lovely leaf growth but few tubers! And f..k you too!

https://i.ibb.co/qFw7LMh/compost-heap.jpg
It's too big and I can't turn it so I need to "bandicoot" the partly broken-down leaf litter and bag it i.e. mine the heap like a gold miner. It got too big because the fire season hit very early and so there's been a mad effort to rake up leaves etc.