In the increasing effort to ensure pollenation of all our plants, especially the fruits and vegetables, we have decided to plant some of the 50 Gladioli bulbs in spite of it not being the best time to plant in Australia. That said the Sydney summer so far has been mild to date, so with luck that will hold out for the next few months whilst the Glads develop and flower. We have planted them in some of the many accumulated seedling pots. Excuse me for the photo, but Dame Edna and Gladiolis go together.
I am quite interested in seeing what colours we get from the Gladis as the corms we got or mixed ones with 50 all up. We planted around the 20 mark in 16 pots. I am hoping they will put a burst of colour in the garden and attract many pollenators to the garden to keep the crops producing.
We are also waiting for several seeds to germinate in my planter tray. As I do not have a sheet of glass or a proper cover I have placed a sheet of thin plastic from a wrapping across the top of the tray to hold the moisture and warmth in. It is certainly doing the job. The seeds that we are waiting on are some carrots, corn, and another vegetable that at the moment escapes my memory. As I am not near my diary I can not even look it up. I will update that tomorrow.
We also planted the roly poly carrots that were bought as seedlings prior to Christmas. It is a tribute to the strength of the plants that they are still alive. I am relieved to have them in the soil. Also sharing the tub is some corn seedlings. These will produce first and will be harvested, hopefully in time for the freshly germinated seedlings to take over the corn producing role. The zucchini is also now in the Rich Gro Pro Mix and is developing another zucchini. As I love zucchini in dishes this is good news.
The tomatoes are also coming on strongly. There are 6 fruits developing nicely on the Beefsteak Tomato bush. Likewise there are 6 Grape Tomatoes on the way. One of the Grosse Lisse tomato bushes also has a fruit developing. More importantly both Grosse Lisse tomato bushes are growing strongly. Clearly the move of the tub has improved their lot and is allowing the soil to dry out, rather than remain waterlogged. The stunted Cherry Tomato is laced with fruit. I will be looking at this again in the morning as some were looking very close to harvestable today. The new plants are in a position out the back and are really in a growth phase.
The Ebony Fire chilli is also growing well with more fruit to be picked tomorrow. The mystery chilli is likewise throwing more fruits. They are not yet harvestable, but I certainly will be taking a close eye to them tomorrow. I will also be looking at the Jalapeno that as yet has not produced fruit. I suspect it may be in need of its own pot.
On the capsicum front things are looking grand indeed. Both Yolo Wonder plants are full of flowers, buds, and developing fruits. I am very much looking forward to these as they are a staple of any stir fry that I cook.
Finally, I should mention the perennial spinach. I will be harvesting some of this tomorrow. It is going gangbusters to the point of filling the bottom part of the wheeled planter.
Tomorrow I will make the effort and get some photos for you all to look at.
