End of Summer / Last Week of February

The heat returned for a couple of days in the middle of the week. However the soil now seems to be maintaining higher moisture levels than it did earlier in the summer. The extra mulch I applied last week probably helped, as well as the fact that the days are getting shorter and the sun's angle is getting lower.

Nine tomatoes ripened last week. The recent heat will probably mean another decent harvest next week. The plants are now over five months old, and have been producing fruit for two months. So far those initial 21 plants have yielded over 80 tomatoes. The plants will hopefully be viable for a few more weeks.

Meanwhile all four "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plants that I transplanted have fruit. The two plants left growing in pots are actually larger in size, but they're still at the flowering stage.

The four capsicum plants with fruit continue to make good progress. Hopefully the fifth and final plant will also start producing fruit soon.

A second aubergine plant has finally started to bear fruit, five weeks after the first plant.

On Friday night I gave the plants their regular fortnightly feed of seaweed solution.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 23)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 17 after transplanting)
An aubergine plant with fruit
A capsicum plant with fruit
The basil seedlings (week 16 after transplanting)
The "Costoluto di Marmande" tomatoes (week 7 after transplanting)

Mulch Time, Again / Third Week of February

Another week of reasonable weather. A couple of very warm days early on, but milder days for the rest of the week. And we got some rain at the end of the week.

Most of the old tomato plants are still holding up okay. Understandably those with the most direct exposure to the sun have had more of their branches dry up. Only four tomatoes ripened during the week, including the smallest one yet: 25 grams! But next week looks like being more "fruitful". Meanwhile the "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plants continue to make good progress.

Four of the five capsicum plants now have fruit. One plant has three little capsicums, while the other plants have one each.

There is still only one aubergine plant developing fruit. Perhaps it got a head start?

On Friday I refreshed the mulch around the tomato, aubergine and capsicum plants. When I got to the old tomato plants I ran out of pea straw, so I used some lawn clippings to finish off the mulching.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 22)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 16 after transplanting)
An aubergine plant with fruit
A capsicum plant with fruit
The basil seedlings (week 15 after transplanting)
The "Costoluto di Marmande" tomatoes (week 6 after transplanting)
A potted "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plant and more basil, with a bit of oregano in the other pot

Second Week of February

Somewhat milder weather this week. We got some rain early in the week, and temperatures generally in the mid-twenties (celcius).

Some of the tomato plants have seen better days. I've been pruning away the branches as they dry up, and as the photos show the plants are losing "volume". There are still plenty of green tomatoes growing (about thirty) so hopefully there's still a few more weeks of produce to come. To supplement the first set of tomato plants I will have the younger "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plants, and couple of those are already starting to bear fruit.

The aubergine and capsicum plants are still going quite nicely.

On Saturday morning I gave the plants their fortnightly feed of seaweed solution.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 21)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 15 after transplanting)
An aubergine plant with fruit
A capsicum plant with fruit
The basil seedlings (week 14 after transplanting)
The "Costoluto di Marmande" tomatoes (week 5 after transplanting)

Strange Summer / First Week of February

It looks like this is going to be a summer of extremes. After the heatwave last week, this week was cold and wet (again). The rain is always welcome, but the cold weather doesn't help the plants. After a period where I was harvesting about two tomatoes a day, last week I only picked five, and most of those at the start of the week.

The three capsicum plants with fruit are growing nicely. I've noticed a couple more flowers have transformed into fruit.

The sole fruiting aubergine plant also continues to make good progress. There are now two other plants with flowers.

Apart from the four "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plants that I transplanted a few weeks ago, I have another couple growing in separate pots. By keeping them in pots I can move them around depending on the weather. It will be interesting to see how they go. I've included a photo of one of the potted tomatoes, next to another pot containing a few more basil plants.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 20)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 14 after transplanting)
An aubergine plant with fruit
A capsicum plant with fruit
The basil seedlings (week 13 after transplanting)
The "Costoluto di Marmande" tomatoes (week 4 after transplanting)
A potted "Costoluto di Marmande" tomato plant and more basil