Water Chestnuts

I finally got around to harvesting my Water Chestnuts today.

As this is the first time I have grown these crunchy little treats I wasn’t too sure of what I would find when I emptied the pots they had been growing in.

As it turns out they were a little on the unimpressive side, but hopefully I’ll still be able to prepare them to add to a stir-fry or some other yummy meal.

After I had removed the waterlogged, and slightly stinky, soil I went through the root systems to find them and put the remaining stalks, roots and soil into my compost pile.

I picked out six of the best looking and put them back into the pots to grow again for next year’s harvest.

If I remember correctly, the pots don’t have to be waterlogged until there are shoots appearing above the soil in the pots, so I have put the pots aside and am waiting eagerly for them to get on their way.

New Beginnings

Spring is a few months away, but as you can see from this photo the spring flowering bulbs are starting to shoot up out of the ground.

These Ranunculus were planted earlier in the year, about eight weeks ago and they are looking forward to bursting into flower.

The beautiful fungus growing up the side of the Eucalyptus stump are evidence that the  tree has died, however, a stump as large as this one is will take some time to completely disappear

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Rain

It has been raining non-stop since late last night and it seems as if it will be continuing well into tomorrow.

When the rain does eventually stop I will have to go outside and check to see if it has caused any damage.

Heavy rain can wash soil away from the base of plants so it can pay to get out there and check to see if any soil needs to be replaced.This is especially a problem on sloping sites.

Seedlings can be driven down into the dirt by heavy rain or be uprooted, so I’ll also get out there to check on them and put them back into their beds.

Chinese Artichokes

After waiting months for the Artichokes to grow in their vegetative state and die back so I could harvest the tubers, I finally got my chance only to discover a pitiful amount of tiny tubers. One of the pitfalls of trying out new things is that sometimes you are disappointed.

However, I’m not one to give up easily so I will put the poor little things back in the soil and try again.

Rose Pruning

It's late winter now so its a good time to prune roses. There is usually no danger of frost here on the coast of the Mornington Peninsula, which makes it easier to decide when to prune. If you prune roses too early and they are hit by frost, new growth can be damaged.

First step in pruning roses is to take out all the dead wood. Next, any stems crossing over another one. After that, cut out stems heading into the centre of the bush, and any stems smaller than the thickness of a pencil.

By now you should have most of the bush cut away, leaving you with a few thick stems. Find a bud which faces outward, about one third of the way from the base of it and make your cut.

Don't worry too much if you're not left with much of a bush, roses are very hardy and can take most things in their stride.

Try and leave a nice frame of four or five stems with a nice, open centre.

I usually take this opportunity to refresh the mulch and spray the remaining stems with a fungicide for Black Spot.

Online Shopping

There are a plethora of online sites to buy your gardening supplies. Nothing is easier than sitting down at your computer and perusing the incredible amount of plants, seeds, books, and tools available. I've ordered an interesting mix of seeds from Green Harvest in Queensland to start off a spring frenzy of seed sowing and Water Chestnut experimentation. I'm feeling inspired... can't wait for my parcel to arrive in my letterbox!

Asparagus

The Asparagus crowns I planted last year have started to produce their first spears. All advice seems to be to leave them alone to produce their long, feathery growth for the first two years....in other words, don't harvest the spears. It will be very hard to leave such a delicious food source in the ground, but the expectation of being able to harvest thick, juicy, healthy spears for the next 15 to 20 years is enough for me to listen to this advice.