Winter Vegetable Beauties

Curly Kale thriving in a quite a few plots

June and Queens Birthday weekend and the communal spaces and individual plots looked splendid with winter crops ready to harvest.  These photos were all taken on Monday 2nd of  June and show just how productive the gardens are at the start of winter.

John has a splendid crop of fennel bulbs. These
were planted in January and ready for harvest now.

A fine example of Savoy Cabbage

The cabbages in the communal patch were planted out as seedlings in early March and in just 3 months are ready to harvest.

Kohlrabi - a really strange looking vegetable 

At our shared lunch today at the gardens we enjoyed a pickled vegetable salad made with fine strips of Kohlrabi and carrot.  It has been described by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as a vegetable with a "radishy, water chestnutty crunch".

Cavolo nero - Italian Black Cabbage

They say the greener the vegetable the better it is for you - in that case Cavolo Nero's long wrinkled leaves are a healthy choice in this plot.  It grows like this in it's first year and then if left next year will grow quite tree like.

Most decorative standing about one metre high Cavolo Nero plant with a bit of age.

A kale you would normally find in a flower garden because of it's stunning colour patterning.

The cauliflowers growing in the communal area were also planted out as seedlings in March.

This year we grew orange and purple cauliflowers.

The red cabbages planted at the same time are taking a little longer to mature but are looking a picture all the same.

A Vegetable History of a Plot

In the garden shed there is a board where the dates of planting and harvesting are recorded for each of our communal garden plots.  In 2013 first broad beans were planted and harvested in spring, followed by a large area of pumpkins that I have recorded with my camera.

A Pumpkins Life over 6 months...

Pumpkins fascinate me and are a vegetable that seems to grow incredibly fast and big but at the same time takes a long time to get to harvest.  Last work day the stored pumpkins were shared out and you appreciate a pumpkin so much more when you follow its growth over 6 months.

The seeds were sown in spring 2013, starting life in the greenhouse.  The greenhouse environment kept them warm and watered and out of harms way of those playful pukekos.  It's great to discover a Pukeko in the gardens but each time you wonder just what damage they have done to our carefully planted seedlings.

Pumpkin seedlings before Christmas

The young pumpkin seedlings were planted out late November . The broad bean plants were strip harvested and the stalks cut down to about 20 cm above the earth.  They were left to rot down so that the soil would benefit from those nitrogen nodules you can easily see growing on the broad bean roots. By January when this photo was taken the stalks had broken down and the little seedlings had started to grow.

Pumpkins -  middle of January 2014

Once January and the summer heat was here the pumpkins took off...

Early February

 A second patch of pumpkins were grown in the fenced off area that will eventually house the plastic house.  In another area on and near a wire fence Trevor grew the official pumpkin variety Marina di Chioggia originating from the Adriatic coast of Italy for the Auckland Community Gardens Pumpkin Growing Competition.  On this day in February Trevor was showing me how well two of the pumpkins were growing.

The next day they were gone..stolen.   No stopping those pumpkins ...when they find a good fertile spot. The winning pumpkin of the competition was grown here hidden from the thieves by some protective weeds.

I particularly enjoyed watching the pumpkin's growing on the wire fence.

Meanwhile, more vegetables in the Cucurbit Family were being grown...

The plot holders grew an assortment of pumpkin, squash, courgette and scallopini and here are some that caught my eye over the growing season past.

What's Next for the communal plot?

 Well it's been given a well deserved rest.  This plot is going to be kept as a no dig garden area and has been well covered with leaves to keep weed growth down and to create a perfect growing medium for the next vegetable that will be planted here.

A winning pumpkin and harvesting Chillies

Two of our largest pumpkins were stolen before the Auckland Community Gardens Pumpkin Growing Competition but hiding in the grass...

...was the winning pumpkin! 

Trevor proudly showing the winning pumpkin

 It's not a beautiful specimen with its knobbly crocodile like skin but apparently this Italian heritage pumpkin variety Marina di Chioggia is really good eating.   

Trevor and Bev nurtured the pumpkins from seeds to harvest day. They did add manure and watered with a seaweed tea, but apart from that left them to grow in what was a waste area of the gardens.   Luckily this area wasn't weeded because if it had been,  the winning pumpkin might have been taken like the others growing up on the wire fence. 

This photo was taken just days before it was taken

It's always interesting to see what other members of the garden grow in their plots.  Long time plotholders Ramesh and Latika have their plot dominated with Thai chilli varieties and in February I happened to be visiting the gardens when they were doing their first harvest.

 

 Latika and Ramesh originally came from Fiji and Ramesh has a farming background so he is a great source of information especially on the subject of chillies.  Latika likes them to be as hot as possible but Ramesh prefers to grow Thai chilli varieties because they are hot but easier on the stomach.

Here's a selection of the chillis being harvested.

I have recently discovered that contrary to popular belief the seeds are not the hottest part of a chilli, its the white membrane called the placenta that holds the seeds that has the heat.

Latika let me know her method of preserving the chillies.  They freeze a lot of them but also preserve them in sterilised jars.  Nothing looks more inviting than those glorious coloured chillies in a glass jar.

First of all Latika heats a pan with some oil and fries some Fenugreek and mustard seeds - not for long - just until you can smell the aroma.  You could use other combinations of spices but these two she likes with chillis.  Next she adds the juice of lemons - enough to fill your jar.  Boil the lemon juice to sterilize.  Pack your sterilised jars with freshly harvested chillis and then fill to the rim with the lemon juice and spices.   Make sure there are no air bubbles left and seal your jar.  It can look pretty on your shelf and when winter arrives you can spice up your food with the heat of summer.

I will definitely be keen to grow a couple of chilli plants next summer in our plot.  I am very proud of the few peppers we have managed to grow from seed this year.  Only one has gone the full distance and become red but to grow peppers outside is a real treat for southerners like us.

I think Brian and Christine grew these wonderful peppers.  They certainly know the secret to growing them successfully so I'll be looking for some hints for my pepper efforts next summer.

I enjoy taking photos of the different flower combinations.

Here Richard has Dahlias growing with Red Amaranth - a striking duo as you enter the gardens.  Amaranth is eaten as a leaf vegetable when small in spring and come late summer and early autumn the seeds are harvested and used as cereal.  Amaranth is rich in protein and as it grows like a weed and produces up to half a million seeds in a head then its a good food source.  It's a plant you might also find in flower gardens.  Richard is letting the Amaranth grow like this not for decorative purposes but to ensure he will have plenty of seedlings to grow for next year.

If you are keen to try this in your plot I am sure Richard would only be too happy to give seedlings.

The herb garden we have begun to plant out with many other plants and seeds being propagated in the greenhouse.  And parsley, one of the most used of the culinary herbs we will have plenty of for all the plotholders to use with seedlings already planted out and covered over with sticks to keep the bunnies over Easter away from our young parsleys.

More on the herb garden next posting. 

Little Helpers

Our competition pumpkin is growly well in an aerial position.  Long may she hold

 I took my little helper Beau who is 3 to the gardens..  I asked him to first pose by the community pumpkin patch as a height guide to show how high the pumpkin foliage has grown.  

Next job was to harvest the Cobra runner beans that have restarted producing thanks I assume to the smattering rain over the past weeks.   Beau loves to eat the beans alfresco and au natural.  He also approves of the Pean flavour - a cross in taste between a bean and a pea.

Richard was today harvesting the last of his Peans to add to his seed stock.  He intends to distribute Peans around the country.  Richard is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to plants and the history of these gardens.

When I asked about the origin of the Pean I was quite surprised by the answer.  I thought it was an accidental recent cross but no its a heritage vegetable.  The Pean was first brought to Banks Peninsula in Canterbury by a Dalmatian family in the 1880's.

It was such a hot day that we decided to spend some time in the shaded end of the glasshouse planting some seeds.   Beau liked the job of filling the seed tray with a potting mix base that I topped up with  some seed raising mix.

As my little helper was having a well earnt lunch break I planted some parsley seed in the hope that it will germinate for our proposed communal herb garden.

A few weeks ago  Liz, Bev, Sarah and I all met  and came up with a plan for a herb garden in the perennial planting area that had been over run with fennel.   It's thanks to Liz that our previous hopeful talk about a herb garden has taken a leap forward.  Over her summer holidays she decided to take on the fennel and began to clear the site for what will become our perennial herb garden.

At the last community work day a team cleaned up the pathway so now we can clearly see the Rosemary plants that will create a hedge running the length of the perennial herb garden.

We  compiled lists of herbs that we felt would be useful either as a culinary, medicinal or scented herb.  The garden will be divided into three separate areas so that those in the community and those visiting the garden can clearly see what herbs are used for culinary, medicinal or for their scent.  All of them will provide an important habitat for beneficial insects and good for bees and this will positively affect all the plot holders.

Every posting I will  profile one the herbs we are hoping will flourish in our gardens.

First a culinary herb I am really keen to have in the garden, Lovage.

As you can see from the above photo it can grow into a giant.  I am a little worried that it may be too dry for Lovage as it is quite thirsty.  It's such a useful kitchen herb and it's size is perfect for the community area as it is just too large for individuals to have growing.  It looks a little like a giant Italian leafed parsley and quite a bit like the true Angelica.

It's nickname is the Maggi herb - because it adds a savoury flavour to soup and stews.  You can use it in moderation to replace celery in recipes and every part of the plant can be used.   Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall of River Cottage fame is a real fan of this herb and gives you lots of ideas of its uses.

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall on Lovage

Sarah is contacting the local herb society to see if we can access cuttings or seeds for our planned gardens.  But perhaps you can help too.  Do you know someone with a good herb garden?  Most herb gardeners are only too happy to share plants or seeds.  We are also open to any suggestions of herbs you would like to have included.  You can either send a message via the comments or email me on Jeanniehayden5@gmail.com.

I have been admiring the plots belonging  to VJ and Clement.  I love that their tomatoes are living a truly urban lifestyle with their  many companions including basil, parsley, petunias, marigolds, cosmos and geraniums... all so tightly packed that you can't even see the soil.  It's a garden equivalent of central Auckland.  The plants seem to love it, they thrive and its a plot that's a joy to look upon.

VJ told me  everything they are growing  has been grown from seed.  It's an outstanding effort.  They share the load of tending the garden and it's visited perhaps three to four times a week.  But they have other helpers in their plots.

At the gardens we are all encouraged to plant flowers and herbs amongst our vegetables to host our beneficial insect helpers.  You may alsosee flowers in amongst the vegetables for companion planting reasons.  VJ and Clement have produced a show plot for companion planting.  One of the more unusual companions are red geraniums that you usually find in window box.

VJ said he saw online they were a companion plant so he gave them a go.  I checked up on this and he's right.....

GERANIUM: -Repels cabbage worms and Japanese beetles, plant around grapes, roses, corn, tomatoes, peppers and cabbage. Geraniums help to distract beet leafhoppers, carrier of the curly top virus.

VJ has grown three varieties of tomatoes in amongst these herbs and flowers.

First row are a very large cherry tomato that is an old favourite in British gardens called Gardeners Delight.   

 The next row has a newer mid sized but hardy and prolific grower called Tommy Toe.   

The third row has the large Beefsteak tomatoes.

 While chatting to VJ he told me of a hint for growing tomatoes.  Plant them out  lying down on an angle close to the soil rather than upright.   The tomatoes will quickly set more roots and the more root structure there is the stronger the plant will be.   

VJ and Clement have been disappointed with their eggplant progress this summer - until they enlisted the help of some rocks.  Placing rocks around the plant increased the available heat for the eggplants and retained the soil moisture.year.  After placing the rocks the plants just took off.

My little helper Beau wisely said it was just too hot to be in the garden so found some shade. He was joined by Latika who had been helping Ramesh harvest their chillis.   I never realised that chillis are in the same family as eggplant, tomatoes, and petunia.

So next posting I will be exploring chillis with Latika and Ramesh.

Another community work day this Sunday the 2nd of March when the community helpers will be planting out more of the autumn and winter greens in the community patch.