Righto so we're in summer apparently. No one has told the rain that. It's completely f'ing the berry season up and down the country and at home my garden isn't faring much better.
I'm rather grumpy. My garlic has started dying back so I had an exploratory dig around the base of one. The bulb at the end is minuscule. Well not minuscule but certainly not decent sized. So disappointed. I'm not sure why they are so small. I want to blame the weather although that's probably not entirely it. I shall have another go next year and see how we go but honestly not cool.
My uncle used to grow awesome garlic here in Auckland so I know it's do-able. Unfortunately said uncle is now suffering from Alzheimers so I can't actually ask him for tips.
My brown onions look like onions but small pickling onions. I will leave them as long as I can but it is dependent on when the stalks start dying back which they look like they're going to. Red onions are only just starting to appear.
Beans are pretty pitiful. Mind you I didn't see many bees in our garden which I understand is a fairly common problem nowadays. I'm going to get some borage from Mum and plant that to see if I can bring more bees in next year. Borage is gorgeous when in flower though it does tend to take over gardens if you're not careful.
Tomato plant has gone nuts. 2 ripe cherry tomatoes so far but a plant that is taking over an entire bed. *sigh* I REALLY should have staked it.
Capsicums are starting to develop. We've had a few good courgettes too so far. But overall my garden has been fairly dismal. I really can't blame the weather too much. I was very slack at planting and tending over the summer.
The plum tree has just produced another great crop. I've just gone out with the broom and smacked down a whole basket. Stuff you blackbirds! These ones are mine.
We have some fat happy blackbirds here. The neighbour has plantain bananas which they love having for breakfast and they usually have a great lunch on my plums. I'm sure once the tomatoes ripen they'll be having a shot at adding those to their diet too.
Christmas overall was a great success. I'm getting very good at making food that looks tricky and tastes great (if I do say so myself) and are incredibly cheap to make. This year I provided the old reliable - cranberry and pistachio biscotti along with a new trial; Chilli chocolate florentines.
Now I'm busily preparing for a family wedding and looking out for clothes in the sales for the girls for next year. Luckily when it comes to winter stuff the rain is helping me get into the right mindset ;)
Oh and speaking of sales - the best bargains to be had at the moment are overseas. Especially in the UK. The exchange rate is reasonable and when the British do sales they REALLY do sales.
