Still Life #3

Day 329   November 27th I somewhat lost my painting mojo this year, so when in doubt do still life until some sort of inspiration comes back. Naturally the vegetable part of the composition had to come from my garden.

Last Fruits

Day 329   November 27th They look plumper than they really were.  The last tomato fruits before I pulled up the plants were quite wizened but perfectly ok to eat.

Tomato Blight

Day 327    November 25th All the seedlings from the last lot of seeds have started to wither once I repotted them.  I have no idea why.

Feral vegies.

Day 326   November 24th By the time I came to clear the tomatoes from bed #3, a pumpkin plant and some sweet potatoes were well established. I could just leave the garden to chance and eat whatever pops up. My diet would be heavy in sweet potatoes, pumpkin and tomatoes. Add some corn and I'd have a Puritan Thanksgiving feast. I'm not going to do that as I already have loads of sweet potato and I'm not ready for another pumpkin glut. I still have some left over from last year in the freezer.

Ladybird

Day 325   November 23rd
Tiny little  ladybird landed briefly on a cucumber.  There must be a second line to that.

Tomatoes

Day 323   November 22nd
Very robust tomatoes growing on a very sickly plant.

Coriander

Day 323   November 21st
Gone to seed! What else would you expect?

More Food Now!

Day 322    February 20th I hope this young bird soon learns to find his own food. He must be sending his parents crazy. The energy he spends sqawking to be fed would be better spent picking up tidbits himself.

Jade

Day 321  November 19th The jade sprout from the garden now has a sprout of its own.

Bouganvillia

Day 320   November 18th
It's pretty for a few days after the rain, so it keeps getting a reprieve.  Most of the year it is pale and prickly.

Baby Bird

Day 319    November 17th He's quite well hidden and he doesn't seem too worried, but this baby bird seems to have been temporarily left behind by his  mum. I don't blame her, he follows her around and squawks constantly.

More Aubergines

Day 318   November 16th
Why do they remind me of cows?

Aubergines

Day 317   November 15th

Still Coolum

Day 316   November 14th
 They have gone to great expense and effort to create very natural looking environments.  Except of course for the greens which look as if they were manicures with nail scissors every morning.

Coolum

Day 315  November
Skippie (female spelling)  obviously thought just outside our room was a good spot to spend happy our.  We did have a view of the final hole (18?) but actually saw more kangaroos than golfers

Coolum

Day 314   November 12th
Did  Monet visit Coolum?

Coolum

Day 313     November 11th At Coolum for Thanksgiving. This is a view from our room.

Plus ca change

Day 312   November 10th Again unplanned and uninvited a pumpkin plant has esconced itself in one of the garden beds. This time though it wil be removed. I'll just wait long enough to be sure it's not a butternut before I pull it out.  I'm pretty sure it won't be.  I can't remember the last time I bought a pumpkin and only a couple of last year's pumpkin crop were butternut. I'll show that pumpkin who's in charge!  Not really.  I'm know I'm not.  What grows is in the lap of the garden fairies.

More Seeds

Day 312   November 9th Seedlings have to share a room with my paints.

New Neighbours

Day 311  November 8th
The wall is not finished/started and already the weeds are in residence.

New Bed

Day 310  November 10th The trench for the back wall of the new garden bed outside the kitchen is ready.

Toadstool/Mushroom

Day 309  November 6th Lovely to Look at.  Not to eat.

Bullsblood Beetroot

Day 308   Guy Fawkes Day
This type of beetroot appears to be much hardier and develop bigger bulbs.  The leaves are sturdier and not quite as pleasant to eat. Of course it could all be due to growing later in the season, more/less water and food. However, I will plant this sort again.

Duck Pretending to be a Gnome

Day 307  November 4th

Two out of Three

Day 306  November 3rd
I Planted three cuttings.  Two are thriving, one not so much.

Potato Box

Day 305  November 2nd
I finally got around to emptying the second potato box. I couldn't get to it for a while because it was surrounded by marauding tomato vines that were so laden with tomatoes they had earned their space, even if it was officially potato space and succulent space. As with the first box, only the lowest layer had any potatoes.  So much for high rise potato harvesting.
When I started to dig for potatoes and disturbed the soil, hundreds of white ants (termites?) emerged. Almost immediately a gang of smaller black ants appeared and began to attack them and carry them off. Is this a new no poison way to protect our houses from termites?

Coriander

Day 304  November 1st
I have given up trying to grow coriander. It goes to seed so quickly, and I use it so rarely that that a healthy young plant and and a recipe that calls for it don't often coincide. This plant however is thriving under a palm tree in ground that only hardy weeds usually grow in. A bird must have eaten some seeds before I gave upon the last plant and pulled it out.
Perhaps there is a lesson here. Maybe I should stop trying hard and be less methodical.  I could just make sure that there is lots of composted and well fed soil around and leave the rest to chance.  I would certainly get sweet potatoes, tomatoes and pumpkins. Someone has probably tried it and there will already be a name.