Autumn Front Garden Clean Up and Preparation for Winter Crops Planting

As the weather is cooling down here in Melbourne, I thought it was a great opportunity to do a bit of clean up and preparation for my various garden beds for winter planting.

My first priority is the small section right in front of my entrance door. This section was previously occupied by Geranium plants, but I decided to utilise this small patch for an additional garden bed for vegetables. So, this is now my Garden Bed 6. I cleaned up the middle part of the section to make way for Brassicas, such as Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage and Cauliflower.

For the border, on the right we have a few Lavender plants that are doing well and have been attracting lots of local solitary bees. They are doing a great job in pollinating my crops. The Geraniums that were planted in the middle of this section had been moved to the back row. The left border has been allocated for the annual Zinnias (the ones with pink flower) and I sprinkled Marigold seeds as well. The front row has a few Chrysanthemum plants that have been doing well after I propagated them from cuttings.

The next section that I cleaned up was the half circle garden bed at the front of the house. This section was originally planned for flowers, but the vegetable plants had ever so slowly crept in. I discovered that this section has the best morning sun exposure and thought it would be an awesome spot for a few veggies. So, this is now my Garden Bed 5. In Spring 2019, I planted Zucchini, Pumpkin, Broccoli and Tomatoes here. I didn't pull them out, I just cleared some of the dead leaves to open the space. Also, a few months ago, I transplanted some of the Strawberry runners here and they have been doing quite well after the transplant.

The plan for this bed is Strawberry plants to remain at the front most, followed by Marigold and Chives (apparently great companion plants for Strawberry). I sprinkled a few Cos Lettuce seeds behind them and followed by the Borage plants at the back.

I haven't pulled out the Zucchini plants yet, as they are still flowering and fruiting at the moment. So, I wanted to extend their growing time as much as I can. So, I sprinkled the Marigold and Lettuce seeds around them.

 

The same goes with the Tomatoes and Pumpkin. Both are still looking like they can still produce, so, I left them be for the time being:

Looking forward to harvesting these tomatoes.

The next section that I really wanted to clean up (because it's so messy) is the section  under the Olive tree. I planted Poppy plants around the tree in Spring 2019 and the seed pods had spread seeds everywhere. So, Poppy seedlings had grown all over the place. I've been waiting for them to get to a manageable size for transplant. The left side of this section now has a few Lavender plants that I propagated from cuttings. 

I haven't harvested the Red Cabbage and Cauliflower yet, but I will be soon. I have also cleared up the front part of this section for a few Japanese Buxus plants that I'm still propagating from cuttings. I'm hoping they will be ready for planting in a few weeks.

The Poppy seedlings transplanted to the right spot:

The left side of this section was previously occupied by row of Calendula plants. I pulled out the old plants, collected the seedlings and moved them to the back row:

And with that done, all the work I planned to do at the front garden was accomplished. I really hope I will see lots of new seedlings popping out soon, especially the Lettuce.

Weeknight Harvest, Beans, Parsley, Broccolini, and Tomato

Another weeknight harvest, we are definitely blessed this year as this garden provided us with ongoing supply of vegetables. This time we harvested green and purple beans, parsley, broccolini and tomatoes.

I can't remember what I cooked them with. I usually prepare and freeze a small amount of mince of meat for weeknight dinner. I would thaw them and reheat them on the stove with the vegetables from the garden.

One Month Growth of Raspberry Bush After Pruning

One month after the Raspberry bush was pruned and tidied up. The new shoots are now covering most of the trellis and looking lush.

It really does like being pruned after all and I hope it will produce lots more berries later this year.

Another Vegetarian dinner, Zucchini Pesto Spaghetti.

This is one of my favourite dish that is simple, low cost and delicious.

The zucchini is from the garden of course. We always have this dish when the zucchini is in season. 

I mixed in the homemade pesto that I froze in small little jars and added in chopped almond for a bit of texture.

Tidying and Picking Remaining Boysenberry

Tidied up my boysenberry bush and I found a few last berries to pick.

A week later, two of the berries at the top were ready. Here's one that I managed to commemorate before my little helper popped it in his mouth.

Cleaning Up Tomato Plants Garden Bed 3

My original intention was to pull out the tomato plants to make way for Autumn crops, but there are 2 plants that are still producing. So, I didn't remove them and let them grown for another few weeks. 

Before:

After:

Cleared up the dried leaves and stems at the bottom. There are still tomatoes and flowers:

Collecting Sunflower Seeds Autumn 2020

We had a few massive sunflowers this year and I was looking forward to collect their seeds. That time had finally arrrived and I'm so happy that we ended up with so many seeds.

The initial harvest:

I checked a few other spots and got more dried sunflower. So we ended up with this lot:

With this amount of sunflower heads, I have to get my little helper:

A dinner plate full of sunflower seeds.

Pomegranate Time!!

The time finally had come to open the pomegranate. One was ripe and ready. We had a few good size fruits this year, but unfortunately not enough to share with the neighbours.

From one pomegranate:

Lentil and Veggie Nuggets

Another vegetarian dinner that seem to be a hit with the family. A very simple combination of red lentil (soaked, boiled and mashed), potato, peas and carrot. These were baked instead of fried and it held the shape together nicely. 

We had them for leftover the next day and I boiled a tiny amount of Japanese curry block to make an accompanying sauce.

Purple Beans Harvest

My Purple Beans finally ready to harvest!

They're so chunky and pretty.

As I was picking them I saw the bean vine actually climbed up my neighbour's tree!! Eek!! 

What a rigorous climber. There were actually beans up that tree. I managed to pull down the vine gently and trailed them across the trellis.

The harvest for dinner that night. And some tomatoes too.

The Real Occupant of The Garden

I came across this funky looking spider when I was watering the front garden. I wouldn't have seen it if it didn't move. A really great camouflage indeed. What Spider is this?