How Does The Garden Grow?

Today's pictures are mainly flowers around my vegie garden.

I planted 1 Grosse Lisse tomato and its a monster. The tendrils have spread out so far that I can hardly get the gate open and it has wound itself through the corn and I haven't seen my sweet potato for quite some time although they're still there. It has a mass of big green fruit at the moment. I planted it under the hot house roof in case it turned cold before the fruit ripened but the beast has well and truly out grown the hothouse.

My pumpkins have masses of these yellow flowers at the moment and some have set fruit. I think they are going to be late this year because looking back at my February blog from last year, I had good sized pumpkins but they are only small at the moment. The bees have been working overtime.

Potato flowers looking beautiful.

I expect to have a lot of leeks popping up through the garden after these flowers go to seed.

Unfurling potato leaves.

Zinna flowers which I planted in the vegie beds to attract bees.

And sunflowers for the seeds that the chooks are now enjoying. I ration them out through the year as a treat for them.

Corn flowers (the corn has been plentiful and very tasty, with still plenty more to harvest)

A few of my chooks: My silkie hen with the mohawk hairdo.

Golden Legbar looking very bossy.

These are the chickens I was given in August as 1 week olds along with their mum. They are nearly ready to lay although the one on the left could quite well be a rooster.

My pumpkins taking over the entire front wall. The bags on the ground contain mushroom compost. I bought 2 ute loads for $2.50 a bag.

Today I planted out garlic for next season's crop and looks like there will be oodles again. I have already secured a buyer for some of it. 

Lately I have had lots of tomatoes which I have been turning into passata. The cherry toms are eaten in salads. 

The cucumbers ( which were slow starters) are now providing more that we can deal with as I still have cucumber pickles left from last year. Everyone who visits gets to take home a cuke.

I planted a late crop of peas this week on the condition that there will not be frosty when they are in flower. Being at the beach here gives me hope but some of the locals have said it does happen sometimes. Here's hoping...

I've had a lot of huge, Braeburn apples fall from the tree during a windstorm so I have been cooking these up and freezing for pies and spiced apple cakes.