Backyard Harvest. Agterplaas Oes

Yes, I'm still here. The computer might've given in and the winter garden might be coming along very slowly, but I'm still here. Still interested in getting my hands in the dirt, growing some useful fruit and veggies and some random ones, and subsequently blogging about it. The massive delay in this post wasn't intentional, but sometimes technology really gets in the way rather than assisting, don't you think?

Since I'm a bit out of practice I will let the photos do most of the talking. Let me get on with it...

Cape gooseberries/appelliefies, strawberry/aarbei, pepino/boomspanspek, Sugar Ann peas/ertjies

How does that cute chocolate advert go? "I've got joy in my life..." Yes, joy, joy and more joy... my Cape gooseberry bush is producing enough for a daily snack and then some. I've even made a summery fruit salad by adding it to chopped pineapple, paw paw (papaya) and pepino. Yes, the tropical pepino bush is unbelievably producing smack-bang in the middle of winter. What did I say? Joy!

Strawberries are only starting to flower now, so I've eaten the odd one straight from the plants. I've harvested quite a few cute Sugar Ann Snap peas though. We prefer them fresh in a mixed green salad. If you have any ideas what else to do with them, let me know.

Sugar Ann Snap peas/ertjies and Little Gem lettuce/blaarslaai

After last year's disastrous attempt at growing lettuce, this year couldn't make me prouder. Just look at the scrumptious lettuce leaves in the photo above. I grew them in the proper season and in a well-composted container this time though. That might be the reason for my success this year. Maybe not "might" - more a definite. The peas are so deliciously crunchy and sweet, I will definitely plant them again next autumn. I think I will dedicate much more of the backyard veg patch to them though. The harvest wasn't nearly enough for the family. Practice makes perfect, hey?

Cape gooseberries/Appelliefies

Oh boy, I harvested 300g of Cape gooseberries (also known as Inca berries) in one go. From one bush! It was a proud moment. Silly, but proud. Did I mention this was a volunteer bush that just shot up in my backyard veg patch? The same one I gushed about in my June post on the autumn garden.

Broad beans/Boerbone

Although my broad beans aren't really ready yet, there were about ten of them waiting to be harvested. No, the wee offering in my hands isn't the sum of it, but I just had to take a photo. I've never really done anything with broad beans, so I went out on a limb and sautéed them in butter with leeks. It went quite nicely with our "boerekos" chicken, potatoes, carrots and peas. What do you guys do with broad beans? I need some ideas here, but I'm not too keen on tossing them with mint leaves as I've read online. In my house mint is something that belongs in a refreshing cooldrink like lemonade.

I promise to pop in again soon. Why don't you tell me what you've been up to in your winter garden in the meantime?

Looking back on my Autumn Garden. Terugblik op my Herfstuin

It's now the fourth day of winter here in the southern hemisphere. The weather only changed dramatically today, unleashing cold and wet conditions over the Garden Route. Therefore, I thought it an opportune time to look back on the goings on of my backyard veg patch in the last month of autumn.

The Witkiem broad beans sowed middle April are going strong; reaching for the sky they are. The Carentan leeks look beautiful. I'm very chuffed with them. The Sugar Ann Snap Peas are also doing well, but a little bit less so than the broad beans. I'm worried that they're still so small and straggly, but the granny assures me this is normal. It's "bush" peas after all. Let me show you what I mean:

Carentan leeks left and Witkiem broadbeans to the right/Preie links en boerbone regs

Sugar Ann snap peas in the bottom left hand corner/Erte links onder

Something that's not doing as well is the kale. I sowed the Black Palm kale just a day later than the peas and broad beans, and yet they are barely 5cm tall. I don't know if it's due to the general scarcity of sun in their neck of the woods in the cooler season or something else. Maybe snails? I'm hoping against hope that the kale is just a slower grower than the broad beans or peas. Some of the latter are situated in parts of the veg patch just as plagued by shadows as the kale. Oh well, at this moment I can just hold thumbs I guess. Does anyone have any idea what I could do to aid the kale's growth? Or is this quite normal for cold-season kale growth?

A teeny tiny kale plant/Eina-klein boerkool plantjie

The tamarillo is doing splendidly, as per usual. The bergwind once again tried it's best to destroy the tree tomato, but it's still standing. Askew, but still alive. The angle with which the tree is growing is actually aiding fruit development, or so I read. This is because the tamarillo makes side branches when at an angle, and these side branches also produce fruit. My tree is full of big, beautiful tree tomatoes. I'm thinking a Foreign Friday entry would be appropriate once I actually harvest some of them. Just look how gorgeous they are:

Tamarillo fruit/Tree tomatoes/Boomtamaties

Another vegetable which didn't do particularly well this time around were radishes. This was a bit surprising as I've found radishes to be so easy before. Well, not anymore! This time almost all of them had long, leggy red roots instead of orbs of peppery goodness. I didn't sow them that long after I worked chicken manure into the garden, so I think the soil might have been too fertile, or the manure still too strong. That, or it was simply not sunny enough. I did manage to harvest one meagre hand full though. It went straight into my Sweet Potato Winter Soup. I will share the recipe at a later stage.

A handful of radishes/Handjievol radyse

Some inroads were made into solving the shade problem. Well, maybe solve is a bit of an exaggeration. I chopped down another cordyline in order for the morning sun to touch my garden a few minutes more. I tried to saw through the tree trunk, but it was not to be. In the end I had to chop it down. I felt like a veritable Huntsman as the wood chips went flying and the axe went deeper into the tree. It took ages, but I conquered! 

Halfway there with the cordyline

Doing it the green way... sweat and aching muscles followed

A while ago I also sowed coriander and Little Gem lettuce in my biggest container. The lettuces don't look as promising as I would want, but the coriander is going strength to strength. We don't really eat coriander leaves, or what the Americans call cilantro, in my home. The taste is way too "volksvreemd" for us, but I sowed it for the seeds. It gives such a great taste to meat and our national favourites; droëwors and biltong (pickled dried meat similar to beef jerky).

Coriander popping its head out/Koljander plantjies pop orals uit

My Cape gooseberry bushes fill me with joy at the moment. I haven't had any success in the year I've had it. Admittedly the wind destroyed my first bush. Just as it recovered, the sun scorched it almost to nothingness. I subsequently moved the container, and it looks happier now. Happier and producing a husked berry here and there. The real success is the volunteer Cape gooseberry which turned into a giant, almost untameable, bush in the backyard veg patch. I've tried to minimise its encroachment into my vegetable area without removing the bush. So glad I didn't take it out; it is Covered in berries! I have dreams of making Appelliefie Konfyt (Cape gooseberry jam), or just munching on the little golden beauties. Can't wait! 

Little Cape gooseberries galore/Appelliefies in oorvloed

Cold Season Planting in South Africa. Koue Seisoen Tuinwerk in die Tuinroete

Okay, so I was a bit late with my cold season planting... I blame Murphy's Law. You see; not only was April my annual leave month, but I also visited Prince Albert and a few good friends in the Mother City. Time flew, and I got distracted, delayed... and dismayed! It was already middle-April and I didn't have any cold season crops in the soil. Neither seed nor plants. Oops! As my dreams of leek, kale, broad bean, radish and pea harvests started to go up in smoke, I decided to somehow make time and jump into the garden. Here is how that went:

The one good thing the delay in autumn planting caused is that the chicken manure I worked into my whole backyard veg patch and fruit bed had rested for more than a month. Ample time for it to reduce in strength so it wouldn't burn my little plants or seedlings. So with the composting and garden planning done (what felt like) ages ago I could get down to the fun part. I don't mean fun as in no sweat or hard work, but I always enjoy planting the most. It just feels the most productive for some reason.

The veg patch ready for sowing/Agterplaas gereed vir beplanting

On 17 April I planted young leeks I bought from the kind people at George Nursery and sowed Witkiem broad beans and Sugar Ann Snap peas sourced at the wonderful Organic Seeds, and also some radish seeds. The Black Palm/Nero di Toscana kale I sowed a day later, as I ran out of hours on the Thursday. I sourced the kale from the equally great site Livingseeds. I watered the seeds well and left the rest to wishful thinking and lots of prayers. You see, I was leaving for Cape Town a day later and the kind folks at the South African Weather Bureau were predicting torrential downpours. I had visions of rotten seeds and drowned seedlings instantly!

After the dismal summer harvests, I decided to plant a small selection of vegetables. Only the varieties that would work best. Or so I hoped. Therefore I decided to go with the Witkiem variety of broad bean; with the added bonus of rejuvenating my soil after the horrible blight-infested tomatoes. Sugar Ann peas looked like the best bet to me too and they have such a cute name, I just had to try them!

Kale was a different ball game altogether. I didn't know anything about kale until I read an article (or two) about it online. I don't even know the Afrikaans name, but I'm going for "Boerkool". Apparently it is the healthiest green vegetable you can possibly eat. It packs a punch in especially vitamin A and C (200% of the Recommended Daily Value) and also a ridiculous amount of vitamin K (over 700%), calcium and manganese. Not only will I therefore be able to enjoy a vegetable from my own garden, but I will be eating something with "potent anti-cancer properties", the ability to boost DNA repair and lower cholesterol. Bring it on, I say!

When I returned from Cape Town it was with trepidation. I already knew it rained more than 100mm in the space of three days. That's four inches of rain - more than some places get in a year! Oh no! I wasn't only pleasantly surprised with my little veg patch; I was delighted! Let me show you why:

Witkiem broad beans popping out/Witkiem boerbone wys hul gesig

Carentan leeks/Carentan prei plante

Black Palm kale making an appearance/Boerkool?

Cherry Belle radish/radyse

Sugar Ann Snap peas/Die erte maak hul verskyning

 Can anyone say; HUNDRED PERCENT GERMINATION RATE? I'm so chuffed with my little garden, and blessed of course! Now I'll just have to wait and see what bounty I get from it...

Which cold season crops did you plant this autumn?

Cold Season Garden Planning. Koue Weer Tuin Beplanning

I started avidly growing veggies in my backyard about 9 months ago, in the depths of 2013's winter. I was so eager to start, that I totally ignored the time of year and therefore got miserable results. Results which should have been expected, but nevertheless disappointing beyond belief. Yes, most new gardens are over-eager and make the fatal mistake of focusing on the vegetables/fruit trees/plants, instead of the soil. All the research I did beforehand warned me of this fact, so I had no excuse.

I won't make the same mistakes again, or I will at least try to improve on what I did wrong last year. Planning is one thing I'm very good at; sometimes so good that I plan and plan and plan, but never really implement. A character flaw I know. This is how the planning for my autumn and winter garden is coming along so far:

Calculating how much space you have

This was the logical first step for me, since the available space (and the type of space) will tell you the type and quantity of vegetables to plant. No simple task for me, as most of my space isn't square or rectangular beds, but have weirdly winding or circular edges. Blame my parents for their creative garden planning! For any other person this wouldn't be such a hassle, but I'm a sucker for precise calculations and mathematical formulae. Yes, I'm not only a garden geek, but a geek geek as well haha. After countless tries with a broken tape measure, pen and paper, and even calling in the help of a genial best friend (those damn formulae!) I had calculated my veg garden size to near precise dimensions. And so the real fun began...
 

Backyard Veg Patch - cold season crops to follow/Lappie vir herfs en winter groente

Deciding on which veggies or varieties to grow

The four factors which influence me on what to grow and where to plant it, are;

• What do I like to eat? More specifically, what does my family like to eat?
• What worked in my (or the granny's) garden before?
• Which plants or vegetables benefit most from each other? (Companion Planting)
• Which plants or vegetables are most suited to my soil type and amount of shade?

Drawing up a Garden Plan

This is one step that small-scale backyard gardeners don't have to spend too much time on. Being the kind of person that I am, I've spent hours and hours planning, calculating, drawing and re-drawing my very first Garden Plan(s).

I only have three spaces suitable to vegetables and the occasional fruit tree; they measure:

• 6.1 sq meter (of which 4.8 sq meter can be used due to perennials)
• 7.8 sq meter (of which 1.4 sq meter can be used due to shade and trees), and
• 1.52 sq meter (all suitable for planting)

This leaves me with only about 15.5 sq meter. Not much by any stretch of the imagination, so therefore pre-planning is vital to optimise my space.

The most wonderful tool I've discovered online is the GrowVeg Garden Planner. Not only is it free for a 30-day period, but all features are available to users of the free trial programme! The first step in the design is to tell the programme the length and width of your bed. Then you simply choose a veg/fruit/flower type and plan out the rows or blocks desired. The nifty little programme will tell you automatically how many of said plant you can chuck into said space. Marvelous!

Here is an example of my backyard vegetable patch:

Backyard Veg Patch Plan/Agterplaas Tuinplan [copyright www.growveg.com]

See the full plan, all suggestions, and how wonderful this site really is at GrowVeg.com

Preparing the soil

As soon as the summer veggies and flowers start looking a bit straggly and production comes to a grinding halt, it is time to pull them out and either compost or destroy them, depending on whether they are still healthy specimens. This normally happens the last month of summer or in early autumn. In areas where chilly weather comes sooner (like the Free State or Gauteng) it would most probably be end Feb, and the Garden Route area where I live it's more likely to be March. There is no hard and fast rule to the month of the year though. 

From Pumpkin Patch to Onion Bed/Toekomstige wit-ui tuiste?

Now comes THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK IN GARDEN PLANNING... Soil preparation. It is very important to spend most of your available finances on preparing the soil well and the smallest amount on buying plants or seed. The type of soil you have is also very important. This is because you will need to add coarse sand to hard, clay soil or huge amounts of compost to loose, sandy soil. I have a mix of good garden soil and heavy, clay soil in my own garden.  

A rule of thumb is to add two bags of good, organic compost to a square meter of your garden. That is roughly equivalent to 2'' of compost (5cm) on top of your bed. It is also a good idea to add a complete fertiliser to your garden. 10-10-10 fertiliser is the best one to go with (equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium). Manure is an alternative to compost, but must be well-rotted. A good indication on whether it is suitable for your veg patch is to smell it. If it doesn't reek to high heaven, it apparently is black gold!

A scattering of red onions to follow/'n Paar rooi uie midde-in die vrugte bedding?

All the preparation stuff must be done at least two weeks before any planting. I've just realised it's already March, and I haven't done even a square foot of soil preparation. I will definitely have to order a bakkie-load of compost from Norgarivier Nursery, some fertiliser... and get in my garden, sweating away!