Trial & Error

I decided to try and grow Coriander again this season, this time from seed. My expectations were pretty low, so imagine my surprise when they started shooting!

SWEET CORIANDER (from seed)

These plants are now triple in size and quantity, I just haven't updated the pic... hehe!

A few tomato plants unexpectedly self-seeded in a garden bed of horse manure and home-made compost. Again, I had low expectations, remembering all my tomatoes dying last season from bacterial wilt.

CONTAINER TOMATO

My neighbour also donated a couple of cherry tomatoes, which I am strictly keeping in pots only! Hopefully they will survive longer than the one in the garden bed.

CARROT LEAVES

The carrots I had sown in March are also doing well, although I'm not sure when I should pick them. One had started poking its head out, so I plucked it this morning:

MY FIRST CARROT

A bit small I know. But at least now I know! I was told not to water carrots, as they need to grow bigger roots downwards, and watering them regularly will only lead to the roots keeping to the surface. I am not sure whether this is true, considering it's been four months now and they are still quite small.

Back from Holidays

Taking a break from the homelife, my partner and I went camping and four-wheel driving around the central Australian outback. It proved a good break from work and civilisation in general. We saw plenty of wildlife, and even desert in bloom after unexpected rain. While away, we had asked our nice neighbour to look after our garden. She did her best, however...

DRIED UP GUAVA

A few plants have suffered, such as our guava tree, mangosteen and the cucumbers.

However, some of our hardier plants were still doing great.

RIPENING BANANAS

We replanted some plants again and did what we could to revive the rest.

Below is the passionfruit vine, covered in netting. A mystery bird had taken to eating fruit every day, stripping the vines of ripe AND unripened fruit. When it destroyed FIVE unformed fruit in one day, that's when I decided it would no longer get ANY. I don't mind sharing fruit with local wildlife, but when they destroyed unripened fruit in search of edible ones, that's when it got personal!

PASSIONFRUIT PROTECTION

Take only what you need guys! I now learn that even nature can be wasteful, and animals aren't necessarily good at keeping the balance.