As we settled into bed my husband's disappointed voice informed me that it looked like we were going to have rain all week and into the weekend. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, “thank heavens for that!” We'd had some warm dry days and I'd already been struggling to keep on top of watering. The soil was drying up rapidly and there were still lots of things pulling me out of the house and away from the garden. Watering isn't something that can be put off like the winter weeding. Without water, plants will die, but weeds are just a bit of competition for my other plants. Besides, they are also food for rabbits, so I don't mind a bit of growth. As long as we don't get another hailstorm like we had at the end of October.
Currently I can't get through to make an insurance claim because, as you can probably guess, they are a bit snowed (or should that be hailed? 🤔) under in the claims department since the event. Our pergola damage is mild compared to some, as well.
We had no injuries to the poultry due to the mesh covering their runs and most of our fruit trees are also protected in this way. Others across Adelaide have lost a lot of potential crops on trees caught in the hail, while only our loquat tree got some bruised fruit and a few knocked off.
The heat and stress didn't take long to show on the sugar snap peas in the form of powdery mildew. I feel I could have delayed this with better watering and had them cropping a bit longer. Still, I'll salvage what I can and any that have gone a bit beyond their best stage can be shelled as normal peas. Ironically the peas in them aren't particularly sweet, the sugars seem to be reserved for the pods. As annoyed as I am at myself for not getting the best from them, I've managed to prepare and freeze more than I did last year and still shared some with a friend.
I didn't do so well with those coriander plants I pledged to harvest sooner this year, though. I used very little before they started bolting...
And the coriander is flowering again...
The rabbits aren't complaining, though. They eat them however they come and don't mind the extra fibre.
Every year I tell myself I'll do better. I'll keep on top of the weeds in winter better, I'll make more effort to water with the rain water…it never happens, though. I have spurts, but am never consistent enough.
The courgette plants are taking off in a huge way!
Unfortunately the cucumbers haven't been so lucky at escaping nibbling from something. I've been going out most nights, but never actually find anything on them, just the occasional slug, millipede or earwig nearby, which I've removed. One plant is completely down for the count, but I'm hoping at least one of the others will survive.
Another plant that is finally starting to grow fast enough to beat the bugs is the snake bean. I have two so far that look like they'll make it to adulthood.
I probably need to get the chickens in that run again, once everything has been harvested, to try and break the bug cycles a bit. Either that, or I just grow parsley, which self seeds and doesn't seem to be particularly popular with bugs. I just don't eat that much of it, though, and the rabbits' wee smells really strong when they eat it, which isn't fun when they are indoor rabbits.
Parsley and lambs quarter seem to grow fast enough to defy the bugs. Looking at this photo, I also notice some leaf mining, so I should nip that in the bud before it gets worse.
The same two chilli plants survived what is now their second winter. They don't look great at the moment, but new foliage is growing and I see buds on the smaller one, which I think is a birdeye chilli or a cross between birdeye and Thai chilli. The other is the jalapeno and last summer the leaves were rather yellowed looking, so I didn't expect it to survive. Hopefully this season I can figure out what was causing this and remedy it.
I was gifted a couple of new chilli plants by a friend. I wasn't told what they are, but looking at the chillis developing I'd guess habanero. Either way, one should be red when ripe and the other yellow.
I'm not overly fond of habenaroes. They have a good heat level, but no not really any better than the birdeyes and that chilli flavour I know and love is absent. Nevermind, something growing is better than nothing and I can still research other chillis that might weather our winters to be permanent fixtures.
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