Cucumber

Tomatoes again

Tonight's dinner - currently cooking - is home-made chicken pizza with basil, capsicum and tomatoes from the garden. Smells delicious. My basil plant is doing wonderfully - must be loving all the sunshine. Sadly the dill didn't make it.

I've got several 'sugar snack' cherry tomatoes in two different beds that are producing regularly. At least, I think they're sugar snack - I've been a bit lapse with my labelling. In the original bed is a Grosse Lisse which is the one I've had insect issues with. There's also another that's just begun producing delicious, golf-ball sized tomatoes that don't need bagging. Unfortunately I've misplaced the tag for it because I'd defintely plant them again. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of tomatoes but these ones I'll eat straight off the plant. I think they were 'Tiny Tom' but the plant has easily grown a metre and a half so perhaps not. Maybe I should have a go at harvesting some seeds from the fruit and propogating my own. There's also a self-seeded seedling from one of the tomato plants that I'll leave for now and see what eventuates.

Am having a bit of trouble working out what to do with all these tomatoes. I suppose I could make chutney but I'm not a big fan of chutney either. I might have a go at making some homemade tomato sauce.

Sizzling

It was sizzling hot yesterday so we had chicken stir-fry with sweet and sour sauce to which I added some squash.

It's much cooler today. I finally got to have my Greek salad tonight with plentiful cherry tomatoes from the garden, along with lamb chops.

We had a minor flood in the garden this afternoon (pool collapsed) which took out a couple of beans plant, wiped out the squash which was trying to recover from being trampled by the dog and we're yet to see how / if the other plants survive. Once the pool is taken down I think I'll have to take much of it out and start again. It's a good opportunity to plan better rather than throw things in available spaces which is what I've been doing to date.

Squash squashed!

While North Queensland is waking up to check out the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Yasi, we woke up to discover some destruction in our back yard. The dog had got out of his yard and into the pool area where it appears he slept on one of the squash plants after first knocking most of the cherry tomatoes off the vine and trampling the carrots and capsicums. The squash is squashed but I've restaked the capsicums and think the carrots will bounce back. We've got cherry tomatoes growing in another part of the garden but they are not ripe yet. It seems I may have to wait a bit longer for my Greek salad...

The original tomato plant is yielding nicely so today's garden fare is avocado, ham, cheese and tomato melts for lunch. I'm planning a hot pot for dinner (yes, despite the heat - I accidentally got the wrong meat out of the freezer yesterday) to which I will add some squash and beans (harvested yesterday before Canine Jack hit).

Pizza topping

We're having a heatwave in Sydney with 40+ temperatures predicted all this week. I finally braved the heat at 6pm this evening to find something to put on our homemade tuna pizza. I ended up with a leek and a banana capsicum. There's a few carrots and squash ready for picking and I also harvested a few cherry tomatoes to have with a Greek salad once there's enough of them.

Tomorrow's dinner will be lasagne made with carrots, onions and tomatoes from the garden.

Today a friend sent me a book she thought I might find helpful for my ventures into veggie growing: Seasonal Tasks for The Practical Australian Gardener, by Peter Cundall. I'm hoping it will help me understand rotation planting better and why I'm not having any luck with growing cruciferous plants (broccoli, cauliflower).