Pop Up Patch

On the weekend I decided to visit the Pop Up Patch I've heard so much about in the city. For those of you who don't know; Pop Up Patch is a little project started by a couple of guys for city folks who don't have anywhere to grow their own gardens.

Pop Up Patch is located at the car park of Federation Square. Basically you can rent a patch or two and start growing your own vegs or anything you like..as long as its legal. *wink wink* Judging by the numbers of patches they have there it looks like its quite popular especially among the restaurants in town who want to grow their own organic produce for their restaurants.

Overall I enjoyed the tour of the place but I doubt I'll be back anytime soon. Took some photos of some of the better patches for everyone to enjoy. I'm heading straight into my little patch of dirt now. Happy gardening.

Front yard raised bed

We had strawberry plants growing in this raised bed at the front yard but we had decided to grow something more permanent like asparagus. So yesterday I planted 21 asparagus crowns 20 cm deep in the soil. They won't grow till spring so the bed still looked bare. So I decided to plant some herbs and quick growing vegs over the winter.

I planted some coriander, italian parsley, white pak choy, spring onions and mini cos lettuce just to fill up the empty surface before the asparagus spears sprout through the ground in spring. The veggies are planted a little close than recommended so they will be over crowded when they mature. We might just harvest them before they get too big.

Japanese Windflowers

Well at least the Japanese Windflowers are doing well this autumn. Last year they were burned by the late hot summer sun. Sometimes its unpredictable when the weather will come and go and the plants suffer.

Autumnal roses

This year the roses suffer quite a bit; we had a long spell of hot summer so they decided to go to sleep but as soon as autumn arrives with cooler weather they bust back to life making up for lost time and started flowering their heads off. Unfortunately this gives the possums a welcoming feast too. I lost most of the roses along the fence to the possums but managed to save a few that are placed away from the fence.

I've tried all kinds of tricks to rid of the pesky possums but nothing works. The last resort is trapping them and releasing them elsewhere but that's illegal and the missus won't let me.

Home grown capsicums

Capsicums are not one of my favourite vegetables but I'll eat these because they come from my backyard where I grew them myself. Some nice home grown capsicums as side dish tonight!

More strawberries next year!

Now is the time to get your new strawberry seedlings propagated for next year. Just peg a runner from the parent plant onto a pot of soil with a bent paper clip and eventually it will set its own roots so you can sever the 'umbilical' cord when it establishes itself. More strawberries next year!

Home grown fresh tomatoes

There's nothing better than home grown fresh tomatoes and right now they are in abundance in my backyard garden. There's always more to pick everyday and we have to pick them before they fully ripen and let them ripen indoor so the bugs don't get to them first. We use them in most of our dishes be them just salad, stir fry or use them in sauce, salsa or chutney. Whatever way they are used they will be yummy.