Fourth Week of November

Several tomato plants are starting to produce fruit. Most of the beanstalks now have pods growing. The basil and aubergine seedlings are making some progress.

The weather turned a bit nasty this week, ending with a mini-heatwave. Today is the fourth consecutive day of temperatures in the mid-30s (centigrade), and it's not even officially summer yet! Hopefully the cool change predicted for tomorrow evening comes in. I've had to give the plants a thorough watering every evening. Luckily I have a large rainwater tank to reduce the need for mains water. I hooked up a standard hose fitting to the tank's tap and the water pressure is good enough to water the plants.

To protect the tomato plants from the sun's harsh rays I've put up some shadecloth. Coincidentally, I was watching The Godfather on DVD on Wednesday, and late in the movie there's a scene where the Don is playing with his grandson among tomato plants in the garden. What looked like old bed sheets were nailed to the stakes to protect the Don's tomato plants from the sun. In my case I draped some old lace curtains over the tomatoes and fixed to the tops of stakes. Shade from nearby fruit trees provides some respite for the other plants.

This week I will probably get some straw to use as mulch. Admittedly I don't remember my father ever using mulch, and my uncle hasn't mentioned it either. But I'll start using some to help maintain the moisture level during what could be a very hot summer. Mulch should also help prevent weeds growing around the plants.

Friday night I gave all the plants another feed of seaweed solution.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 10)
The beans (week 8)
Bean pods growing (week 8)
The aubergines/eggplants/melanzane (week 4 after transplanting)
The basil seedlings (week 3 after transplanting)

Third Week of November

I didn't do much to the garden this week. The biggest task was setting up a removable shade cloth to help protect the tomato plants for a very hot day last Wednesday. Other than that, I had to water the plants a little more than usual as there wan't much rain. I took the opportunity to check the stakes were firmly in the ground and that the beanstalk trellis was stable.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 9)
A tomato plant with some fruit (week 9)
The beans (week 7)
The aubergines/eggplants/melanzane (week 3 after transplanting)
The basil seedlings (week 2 after transplanting)

Second Week of November

In the second week of November I noticed that some of the beanstalks are flowering. I forgot to mention that the previous week a couple of the larger tomato plants were also flowering. And this week some tiny fruits started appearing.

The weather has been changeable again, with above average rainfall (which is good, I guess), but occasional gusty winds (not so good). The extra rain has meant I haven't had to water the plants as often.

This week I transplanted some of the basil seedlings I had been raising in containers in the garage. Hopefully they will cope with the move to the main garden area. I will keep the rest of the seedlings indoors for a while just in case. I've got some lettuce and oregano seedlings started in the garage, and may transplant them when they're big enough.

Last night I gave all the plants another spray with seaweed solution.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 8)
A flowering tomato plant (week 8)
The beans (week 6)
A flowering beanstalk (week 6)
The aubergines/eggplants/melanzane (week 2 after transplanting)
The basil seedlings (after transplanting)

First Week of November

In the first week of November the tomato plants had grown large enough to need tying to the stakes. A good thing too, because that week the weather was very windy and threatened to blow my plants away. I had to do some minor repairs to the trellises for the beans.

At the end of the week I took some more photos. To view them, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 7)
The beans (week 5)
The aubergines/eggplants/melanzane