Hello everyone! Crazy that we are now already into February! I set a goal this year to start recording the amount of food I am growing from the garden and just keep a visual record for fun! I will do a monthly round-up and let you know how much I have grown and share some of the food I have made with those harvests. Keep reading to see just how much I harvested in January!
Front Garden
Another one of my goals is to grow a years supply of pumpkin which I estimate to be about 1 large or 2 small pumpkins a month. I created a new garden bed out the front in a car space beside the carport. Pumpkins need a lot of space and I just had so much unused space out the front so it was a great solution.
I started off strong with my Lakota pumpkins in the ground around October. I harvested these in January and the vines have pretty much died off now. I have trimmed them back and I’m hoping they will go another round. I also had some Butternut start growing from the compost I put in the bed so that was a welcomed bonus! In some of the empty spaces, I have now planted more pumpkin such as the Kent which I’m hoping to get some decent sized pumpkins in the coming months.
The Lakota Pumpkin is apparently kind of like squash and you can eat the skin.
Backyard Garden
Out the back, we built two new Pallet Planters bringing the total to x4 large and 1 small. The larger ones are roughly about 1.2m x 1.2m square and the smaller one 0.5m x 0.5m. I created a video of the process as i often get questions on how we make them.
Pallet 1 – I have Lebanese cucumbers growing and I have been picking them daily in January! This is my first successful attempt at cucumbers because they usually don’t last through a 40degree day. This time I think I had more success because they were in the pallet planter so had a decent amount of healthy soil and I could bring them undercover on hot days.
Pallet 2 – Tomatoes and Basil. Classic companion planting and the bees are loving the basil flowers. I also had a few compost volunteers (rockmelon, watermelon, pumpkin) which i am leaving now that the Tomatoes have pretty much finished.
Pallet 3 – Small pallet has a white apple cucumber growing. I haven’t got anything from it yet but hopefully, this will continue my cucumber harvests through Feb/March.
Pallet 4 – Newly planted with x4 chilli plants, Armenian Cucumbers and some rainbow radishes.
Pallet 5 – I planted some corn seeds in this new planter but our dog kept sleeping in it so I had very little strike rate. I ended up getting some corn seedling on sale at the farmers markets for 50c so I have now planted those and he has luckily stopped using it a bed haha.
Back fence garden – Things are chugging along in the back fence garden. The hot days and sandy soil mean the smaller plants slow down considerably. The fruit trees are all doing ok though and I have a few feijoas on the way!!!! These are my pride and joy and are in their 4th year. Last year I got two baby fruit so I’m hoping for some decent harvests in the coming years. Pretty much a currency over here among the Kiwis π
Totals for January harvest
Front garden
- Lakota Pumpkin 10,238g
- Butternut Pumpkin 1168g
- Tomato 221g
- Sweet Potato 160g
- Zucchini 745g
- Total: 12,532g (12.5kg)
Back
- Pallet 1 – Cucumbers 3089g
- Pallet 2 – Tomatoes 1144g – Basil 46g
- Pallet 4 – Chilli 15g
- Back fence – Tomato 518g – Garlic 99g – Strawberry 100g – Lemon 500g – Banana Capsicum 57g
- Total: 5568g
TOTAL – 18,100g (18.1kg)
My new carport garden has well outperformed the back but that was all the pumpkins. x8 Pumpkins so far. January I also launched my YouTube channel! I have experienced a lot of technical difficulties being a complete novice when it comes to video and editing but I will get the content rolling in shortly so make sure you subscribe!
Holly π±
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MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS //
Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t
Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo
More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
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