November, Melons, Sweet Potato

It's November and we've harvested a lot this month, particularly okra and beans, but now everything is slowing down. I've tried to reinvigorate the okra by supplying them some potash and also cutting them down to about 30cm. Will have to wait a couple of weeks to see if those actions have any effect.

Rockmelons have been a failure. In addition to the powdery mildew, they seem to be subject to sunburn, which causes smooth areas which eventually rot. I've harvested a Zatta melon and while edible, it lacked sweetness so I ended up blending it with mango and making ice-blocks. I think the solution to both of these problems is to grow rock melon on an arch (e.g. of Reo steel), which will improve airflow and hence reduce powder mildew, and also the fruit should hang down and be shaded by the leaves.

Watermelons have been no better. One (Cream of Saskatchewan) was sunburned so I've harvested it. It seemed ripe enough, but the flesh is watery and insipid, and it is chock-full of seeds that makes eating it very difficult.

Planted two kumara cuttings (from Daleys) in the new vege bed. They are in full sun, and wilt somewhat during the day but seem to recover at night. As insurance I've taken a new cutting (there were plenty of stems) and put in a pot in a more shaded position. I've planted okra in the same vege bed as apparently they can grow well together.

Recently moved two wine barrels from an area that, due to the movement of the sun as we move towards summer, have become shaded. They are now in sun for at least half the day. They have bitter melon, malabar/ceylon spinach, snake beans, and lagos spinach. We'll see how they cope.

I keep planting winged bean and they do germinate, but they seem to die suddenly. Not sure what is happening with them but will keep trying.

What's Happening in the Garden

The Thai Basil is going great in the half-wine barrel. They get quite a lot of sun. The cucumbers are producing, though they are bit misshapen, probably due to irregular watering and from being in part shade. The bitter melon have been growing for at least a month and have just started to produce (there is one fruit hanging and I'm waiting for it to enlarge a little more before harvesting). They seem to be very slow, though. Okra, as mentioned in another post, are doing quite well for being in pots. I've pulled the pumpkins out because they were practically killed by powdery mildew (I really need to work out a way to avoid this problem - spraying milk solution seems to have little effect), but at least I harvested four pumpkins (chestnut variety). The chilli plant is looking a little worse for wear with yellowing leaves and stunted chillis. I suspect overwatering, so have cut back, but I think it is too late and the plant probably has root-rot. I've planted a few more seeds to replace this plant. Bok-choy has been amazing. I tried growing these in Melbourne before but never had any success due to snails, slugs, and caterpillars. No snails or slugs in my garden, but there are a few caterpillars. The bok-choy are ready to harvest after approximately a month, and I plant them in the same area (wine-barrel) as some bigger plants (e.g. okra) and harvest them before the main plants need too much space. Shiso has finished and I've collected seeds. Basil has also finished so starting off a few more seedlings in a take-away coffee-cup which I will transfer once mature enough. Purple King beans have been going gangbusters, even in 70% shade (I'm growing them behind a hibiscus plant). However my dog has chased something and in the process killed most of the bean plants. So I've planted some more around the garden. There is tons of buckwheat flowering. I'm using these as beneficial insect attractants, but I'll also be able to harvest some seed.

I purchased a corrugated iron raised vege bed from Masters (closing down sale) and it took my wife an I about an hour to assemble. Not complex, just time-consuming. I've ordered some plants from Daleys which is my goto place for fruit trees, and kumara (a variety of sweet potato) happened to be on special so have bought two plants which will go into this vege bed. What triggered this purchase was a couple of plants becoming available that were hard to get (yuzu, and Acai palm).

In the non-edible world, the Frangipani has finally awakened from its slumber and is starting to flower. The frangipani is easy to grow from cutting, and I saved part of my prunings over winter (the tree was invading the neighbour's territory) and simply shoved them in some soil. Many of them are now starting to leaf up.

Creatures

Spring time and the garden is full of life. A variety of bees buzz around the guava flowers in the morning, dragon-flies have started to make an appearance, and grasshoppers are chomping away at okra and sunflowers.

One insect that took awhile to identify hung around my pumpkin plants for a week or so, but have since disappeared without appearing to have caused any damage.

After tossing up between an assassin bug and a brown bean bug, I asked the Discovery Centre at the Queensland Museum and their opinion was that it was a Clown Bug (Amorbus sp). which sucks the sap of eucalypts.

On the amphibious side, our garden is visited nightly by a cute but slightly pudgy tree frog. He does not seem to mind my presence, and lets me get within one mm of him (?her).

Cane toads also make a nightly appearance. I have been culling them for a couple of months but there are always more to replace them. Lately I've been rather reluctant to dispose of them and are leaving them be for the meantime and will assess the situation in the future. The main reason for being wary of these creatures is my curious Jack Russell who will play with anything (playing usually ends in the play-mate being eaten).

A blue-tongue lizard was on our lawn one day when we returned from a day out. It was motionless and covered in ants, and we assumed it was dead, but when we approached it started to move. It had been injured (face and belly), ad was extremely lethargic. We looked after it for a few hours until the RSPCA could come and collect it. Fingers crossed that it makes a full recovery. This experience has made me interested in looking after injured wild-life and I'm looking into how to become a volunteer. In the meantime I've taken to cleaning up our local beach - there is so much fishing line, beer cans, plastic cups and other junk that is being dumped into the sea. I'm embarrassed to be a human sometimes, the way we treat our environment and our fellow creatures.

A new bird has made its presence felt in the neighbour's mulberry tree. Those of you familiar with the common koel will know how annoying its call can be, repeated over and over again in a very demanding manner, usually from the wee hours of the morning. Other birds in the garden include rainbow lorikeets, crows, noisy miners, and the occasional ibis.

Queensland has such richness in wildlife, and I certainly hope we can protect it for future generations.

Okra

One plant I am growing that is flying along is the okra. There are two half wine barrels with six okra plants in each. I had planned to thin them to the strongest seedling(s) but they seem to be coping ok so I've left them. Out of those six plants I've harvested about 10 portions in about six weeks (5 meals for 2 people). The purple ones are doing much better than the green Clemson Spineless (which are the ones you normally buy from markets). It may be that it is still early Spring and purple okra is supposed to be more cold-tolerant. These okra are in full sun. I have some others that get mostly afternoon sun, but they are struggling and producing one or two short fat okra. Lesson: Plant okra in full sun.

Melon problems

It's the beginning of November and the garden at my new property is flying along. Plants grow like crazy in this sub-tropical climate. But it isn't just plants (and humans) who enjoy the warm days and mild nights. Fruit flies are proving to be a big problem. I planted some watermelons around the end of September, and there are around four good-sized ones that have escaped fruit-fly intact - they still have some growing to do but they appear to be at a stage where fruit flies can't get into their skin. Learning point: plant your watermelons as early as possible in late winter when fruit fly numbers are low (or plant in autumn and nurse them over winter - that will be next year's experiment). All the small developing watermelons, however, are being destroyed. They first get a little black track on them, and after a few days to a week the small fruit goes entirely black and needs to be disposed of. I have been applying Econatulature regularly to my garden (painting it onto wooden surfaces like the stakes, tree prunings, and wine barrels). There was a period of about a month where I neglected to do this, however, which might explain my current fruit fly problem. I've started applying it again to see how effective it will be in preventing any further issues with my water-melons.

Strangely, the rock-melons I'm growing appear not to be affected. They aren't as numerous as the watermelons (about three small ones), but they are in full view. Either they are lucky or the fruit flies simply prefer watermelon.


Another problem I have had with my watermelon is the tips and flowers turning a blackish grey and dying off. I consulted with a horticulturist at the recent garden show and their opinion was a fungal infection caused by growing the plant in insufficient sun. I was growing it in a half wine barrel, which apparently doesn't help as they really need to be in the ground. So, don't grow your watermelons in pots no matter how big and make sure they get full sun.

Finally, powdery mildew. The watermelons seem to be relatively immune to his, but the rock melons are badly affected. I've removed the worst affected leaves and tried spraying with a diluted milk mix and although all the gardening resources suggest this milk spray, I am not yet convinced that it has any affect. Apparently it makes the surface of the leaves more alkaline, which powdery mildew doesn't like, but milk is actually slightly acidic, which makes me doubly dubious. I may resort to a potassium bicarbonate spray if I can get my hands on some, as that is supposed to be the next weapon to deploy.