Late Summer garden wander

this bed down our side fence has sweetcorn, french beans, tomatoes and basil

Hello, how's your week going?

We have been having a burst of gorgeous summer weather, nice and warm and sunny, and the garden has been relishing the great growing conditions. 

 I thought I would take you on a little tour of how things are growing in my garden at the moment.

 For those new readers to my blog, I love my garden, and it is my other major hobby along with making things.  

It is basically a food garden with some flowers grown for cutting for the house, I love growing our own vegies and some fruit, the fruit mainly goes to the birds though, so it is less successful.

Since I began my first vegie patch many years ago, my garden has spread and grown as my knowledge and ambitions for the garden grew, until today where it takes up most of our backyard with a lawny area for the boys to hang out in.  I have also got chooks who have a large run connected to the fruit tree area, they have been a lovely addition to our garden, adding their soft clucking and funny antics to the mix.

So anyway, here's what's going on today......

.....carrots growing well, I couldn't resist pulling a few up to see what was going on under ground, they're a bit crooked, but bigger than I expected, so not far off eating size.......

...........this is my sprawling tomatoes, I have since tied all those flopping branches up and it looks much more orderly!!  No ripe tomatoes yet though heaps of green ones, patience is a virtue when you garden!

.......this year I had a go at growing cantaloupes (rock melons) for the first time, I am very happy how they are going, there are lots of melons growing and the vines look very healthy.  We have grown these at our community garden for the past few years and they do really well, so much sweeter than shop bought ones, they are a bit smaller, but make up for it in flavour.  They are not a common thing to grow   in Melbourne as you would think we are too far south, but they actually grow really well over summer here, so I am looking forward to some home grown melons.

....the capsicums are producing many fruits, I planted four different capsicums so we could have colourful salads and so far they have been great!  These were planted in a raised bed full of compost, so it is nice and rich and stays quite moist which I think has helped with the prolific cropping.

........the cucumbers are kicking into gear and starting to be very productive, I picked eight big ones this morning! Now I've got to find something to do with them.

........I have two patches of sweetcorn going this year, I planted them a bit late so they are still a few weeks off, but they are looking good!  

...sunflowers for the bees.......

.......the baby lettuce patch has been excellent value, with many repeat cutting had from a small area.....

 ....I am even harvesting eggs from the food garden!!  I came across a nest that my explorer chookie made under some silverbeet and sage that had gone to seed, now I know why there aren't many eggs being laid in the actual hen house!  It seems the girls like my untidy garden habits, lots of good hiding places to be found.

....more glorious dahlias, they don't add to my food tally, but are an essential part of my summer garden for their colour and the pleasure they give me!

.....here is my explorer chookie, she likes to roam far and wide during her day, I can find her at many different spots scratching around for interesting titbits.

.....the climbing rattlesnake beans have been delicious, but now that the french beans are producing heaps, I am going to save the rest of the rattlesnake beans for seed for next year.  It is hard to buy and very expensive when you do find it!

.....and a bit more colour  from these zinnias!

I have had some disappointments too, my potatoes have not been great and did not produce well this year, and I only got about a dozen onions that fattened up nicely, but never mind, there is always next year to have another go!

Ok that's probably enough for now, sorry about the long post!  

Summer time is the part of the year that it is especially nice to be a food gardener, there are issues with keeping up with the watering, but generally it is a very productive time that rewards the efforts of spring planting.  I know it is incredibly satisfying putting food on the table that has come from your own backyard,  it gives me a real thrill!!  ( I know, I am pretty pathetic!! :) )

Do you food garden?  

Are you a gardener like me? 

Do you get absurdly excited like me when things work well in the garden?

What's growing in your bit of the world ? (Probably not much if you are snowed in!!)