I'm so glad that we've now passed the shortest day. That means the countdown to summer can begin! I can't wait for daylight in the evenings and above all, warmer weather...I'm still working on the potager when I can. I've got one quarter of the round circle path laid. It's the quarter where I plan to plant the garlic, so at least I'll be able to get that in soon, weather permitting of course.
Harvest-wise, things are still looking good! Last week I picked carrots, spring onions, rhubarb, pak choi, peas, lettuce, sorrel, silver beet, lemons and parsley. I've been making regular sowings of spring onions and lettuces, not that they are growing fast but the important thing is that they are still growing! In the glasshouse I have little seedlings of broccoli and pak choi that are about ready to be transplanted. I might keep them in the glasshouse so they grow faster. Unfortunately my tomatoes didn't make it through the frost, even with frost cloth. The green fruits dropped off and the plants shrivelled up. Well, that answers the question: No, Arctic tomatoes can't survive mildly arctic conditions. They do set fruit early in a cold summer, though.
I also picked some lovely wintersweet. We have a bush of it out the front and the gorgeous spicy smell is just divine when you're walking to the gate. I put bunches of it all through the house and a special one right by my bed. Sweet dreams guaranteed....
The potager is looking wonderful. My tomatoes didn't survive either, but the ones I brought inside in a bowl, (meaning to make some green tomato jam)...slowly turned red and got used up anyway. I must plant some wintersweet.
ReplyDeleteYes I've noticed that with green tomatoes too. I ate the last bench-ripened ones a few weeks ago. Luckily I have plenty of tomato relish in the pantry, hopefully enough to see me through to fresh tomato time again :)
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely plant some wintersweet, it's one of the few good things about winter!