Last two rows of Carisma potatoes are starting to come through.

Packed up the cover over the bell peppers during the day. Lots of new growth coming on most if not all of them, with buds obvious also. Really should have left until after this weekend due to weather forecast but part of it had collapsed under the effects of our seemingly constant winds and riped the plastic slightly in a couple of spots. Very warm under the plastic when I opened it up. Also found a single "Orange Miracle" bell that was ripe and in perfect condition.

Most of the potatoes in the pea mulch are coming up with the New Zealand Kidney, Burgundy Blush, Purple Congo, Next in Line and Bloodshot showing to some extent. Only the Pontiacs, some unknowns and Pink Fir Apple to come up.

Planted out 3 Japanese Climbing Cucumbers and one Gold Rush x Jade Numbat Zucchini today.

Popping /Baby corn ready to plant out.

I also took your advice to heart, and pulled all my pea straw for garlic mulching today. It was not enough, but I had some leaves to add on top. I hope it does turn out to be a benefit! More reasons to grow peas.

@Bower, you may find that if you missed a pod or two come come spring you will have peas sprouting up in your mulch

Planted out the popping corn this morning, plants around 6 inches high and roots just getting to the bottom of the tubes

After a wet and wild few days, we wound up with around 0.70 of an inch of rain with everything blown all over the place. We lost power for somewhere about 30 hours in total, but folks on highway in front of us are still out and probably will until late tomorrow at best.

Must dig the Italian Red garlic tomorrow, one of the subtropical soft necks, most plants blown over about 6 inches above ground. Lots of scapes coming on turbans so will need to lift them in a couple of weeks.

Sorry to hear of the damage Whwoz. I have seen the same thing with softnecks, they can be damaged in the kind of weather that blows around anything that wasn't nailed down. 30 hours is a long time without power!

Yes @Bower , 30 fortunately the freezers survived OK. Not that worried about the garlic, will lift it today

Planted the first of the tomatoes today, about 30, 4 from a local grower, gave her 7 OP'S that she would not have come across a before and got those in return. Black Krimm, Amish Paste, Kumato and the last of her Apollo's. 3 from friends Mcsee and Petal, the rest from my stock, some of which travelled a long way to grow here.

Finally got a decent break in the rain here over the last 10 or so days. Allowed me to finally work up the tomato beds without them going to concrete afterwards and managed to get capsicums in yesterday and tomatoes and 16 Kang Kong plants in today. Tomatoes still need to be tied to stakes, but everything in place. Some more capsicums still to plant, mainly some chocolate ones, Purple Beauty and some paprika plants

Full list to follow.

Lifted the last of the true garlic today, between a weedy corner and all the talk about La Nina, I didn't realise exactly how little rain we have had in the last 30 days - barely 20 mm/0.8". This meant that the last varieties didn't fill out like they should have, but will get more than enough for our needs.

Have left two plants of each of the Russian garlic varieties, which are flowering nicely and attracting bees to see if I can get some seed. Plants are showing the dry and ground has locked up more than I would like, need to chop it up then see if I can find enough compost to work in.

Finally got around to typing up the list of tomatoes in the garden


42 Days
Absinthe
Amish Paste
Apollo
Banana Legs 3
Banksia Queen
Barnstein
Barry's Crazy Cherry
Black Krim
Blueberries 2
Bogatyr Masalov 2
Bowerbirds Orange 5
Bowerbirds Yellow 2
Cherokee Chocolate
Copia
Costuloto Fiorentino 2
Costuloto Genovese 'Brokenbar' 5
Dana's Dusky Rose
Dragon's eye
Duncan's Egg 2
Elbonian Mudball 2
Elbonian Mudslinger
Garrote Bicolor Aracenes 2
Cherry Brownies
Grubs Mystery Green
Giant Syrian
Gurnesy Island Pink Blush
Italian Flat 2
Japanese Onion 2
Japanese Pink Cherry
Jupp
KBX
King Humbert 2
Kumato
La Case de Apuila
Lime Green Salad 2
Lithium Sunset
Little Flame 2
Midnight Sun 2
Momotoro
Mr Mercury F4 5
Malakhitovaya Shkatulka 2
Orange Cherry
Orange strawberry 2
Pertsevidnyy 2
Pervaya Lyubov 2
Pink Cherry Cluster
Potatomatti
Rinaldo 2
Ropreco Paste 2
Rosella Crimson
Russo Sicillian Togeta 2
Sugary Pounder 2
Summertime Green 2
Sweet Ozark Orange
Tangella 3
Teschckin Yazyk 2
Volvo's Daughter's Black Beauty Cross 3
Wes
Worlds Largest
Zapotec Pleated
Zena's Gift 2

A mix of those that I have grown before, some I haven't grown and a few that I am doing for grow outs (three lines) to see how they shape up. An interesting year coming up. Those plants that went in early are certainly looking good and the wire mesh is shaping up like a winner, will need to see how they go on it over summer, but thinking that I could wind up with quite a number of trellises in the garden for beans, peas, cucumber (already picked one of the Japanese Climbing cucumbers, with more coming on what are still only small plants) and tomatoes. Wont be long and I will be digging potatoes as well, definitely new one for Christmas.

Looking forward to hear your reviews of all these!

Walking around the garden while talking to Mum on the phone and I spied something red, a nearly ripe small Amish Paste. First one and before Christmas. Yippee! Also picked second cucumber

Very good news to hear. It will be the beginning of summer tomorrow! Let the season begin!

Long Sweet peppers: A local glasshouse setup has been selling these for a while, they come in four different colours, red, brown, yellow and orange (not pictured). These look like those mentioned/shown in the Long brown sweet pepper thread to which I have cross posted this photo. Definitely a different, sweeter taste than the bells sold locally. Shall be growing out 4 or 5 of each next year. Intending to overwinter all peppers/chillies again this year so the possibility is of 100 plants in ground of three different age groups.

Native Lilies: We have a number of these in Australia, with two in particular named after the foods they smell like, Chocolate and Vanilla. Chocolate lilies sit up and look at you and are quite a deep purple, whereas the Pale Vanilla lily is a pale pink and hangs its head, it also tends to be a smaller flower but plants can get large and flower well. Both are not common these days, but can grow profusely where they occur if left undisturbed.

Potato patch peas: I have some potatoes in a raised bed to the North of the house that are planted in pea mulch. Peas have come up through a lot of the mulch and are nearly ready to pick. They are from two different shelling varieties, one of which reminds me of one I grew last season called Ruthless, which is moderately tenderalised, more so than most garden peas available here, but nowhere near Novella Leafless. This one has pale peachy coloured flowers. The other has the darker purple flowers, is what I would call normal for tendrils and is a taller plant overall. I intend to keep seed of both varieties.

Corn:

Baby Corn patch: Or what I hope I can use as baby corn anyway. This is about 110 plants growing in the other half of the raised bed mentioned above, planted in four rows, three close spaced, the fourth a couple of feet away shielding some strawberries from the North sun to see how they go. Corn plants are really doing well and pushing the meter mark with no sign of tasseling yet. Strawberries also doing well, but I suspect were divided to late and summer not bright enough to see any effect.
Corn Circles:

The first lot of three circles I planted are doing really well, just about see the plants growing as you look at them. 9 plants per circle, 7 in ring out side and two inside if memory serves me correctly otherwise three inside the ring. Plants would have been about 60 cm/2 feet tall when photo taken 12 days ago, now around 90cm/1 yard high and growing well. The corn that I planted late after it had been in pots too long is improving in colour and size. Time will tell if they make anything.

Annoying Pest: Not sure what this little beetle is or where it came from, but it seems to have got itself established. So far only seems to be on one type of weed, although one lot of potatoes seems to have been attacked and had their leaves well chewed, not sure if this critter is responsible. Moves quickly into cover once aware something else is close by, making getting a good photo difficult. Might have to catch one me thinks....
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