What's happening in my vegie garden

Not a lot happening in the vegie garden as I've been too busy.
Oranges and mandarins are starting to ripen... sorry not very good pics but it started raining so was trying to hurry.




Passionfruit are ripening up though only one ready every few days.




Still waiting for the pumpkins to ripen... about half a dozen on like this... all at least 4 or 5kgs each


Picking a few tomatoes every few days


Best news of all (though didn't get a picture yet)... noticed a flower just starting on my bananas... first lot for about 3 years

Thats good that you are getting a bit of rain Gail, its so dry here..

Plenty of food there in your garden..

I have picked all the pumpkins and pulled out the vines they are too old now and I am sick of pumpkins.

We've only had 4mm this morning but weather warnings out for both of us for the next few days

I'm hoping the pumpkins will ripen ok now that the weather is cooling off a bit.

I haven't managed to try one of the passionfruit yet... the kids beat me to them... obviously taste nice anyway

Cant say the same for the neighbours Passionfruit on the boundary fence Gail so sour and they look rotten on one side too I will search to see if I can find an answer to his problem.

The few pumpkins I picked well so far the Kent we have nearly finished eating is very nice, I threw the grey in the bin I did not like the inside it looked grainy or streaky.

This afternoon I planted the Panama Red Passionfruit I bought yesterday, whats your secret to a sweet passionfruit, how often do you feed it and what about water I know they have to be watered more into the fruiting season but what about other times of the year, and do you prune yours at all, sorry for all the questions but I have not grown one since I lived in Melbourne and I forget..

P.S. Its heaving down here at present..

I don't do anything at all to the passionfruit. I've never fed it or watered it. It's roots would be in the cool soil under the tank so don't know if that makes any difference. It is planted on the northern side of the tank but most of the fruit... and plant... is on the southern side but that could be because we also have other plants growing on the tank too which all grow through each other... it's a bit wild looking

According to the radar and elders, looks like you are getting more rain than us so far I hope we get enough to fill the tank again... getting down a bit now.

You never water your passionfruit that's interesting as that's one plant that need it.
It must be very damp under your tank

I never used to water the passionfruit vine that we used to have on the chook pen fence years ago and it did well... too well as it went out of control up one of the big trees and gave us heaps of fruit over a few years until we eventually pulled it down.

All that talk of passionfruit has me envious. I checked out my vines up the back last Sunday...possums (or other critters) are chewing every time the vine tries to get above the frame upon which I have it growing. Likewise my pumpkins...have eaten them on the vine...now have a wire mesh around the only remaining pumpkin. I love pumpkin but cannot get it to grow. I wish the vege cage was even bigger but appreciate what I have!

I dont know what I do wrong Gail, I have killed 2 now and they never get higher than a few feet

Which one are you growing Cheryl, Nelly Kelly grafted is the best for Melbourne I grew it in a raised bed and had no trouble with it..

I only grow seedling ones and like most of my garden survives on neglect I was trying to work it out before and this vine would be in its 3rd or 4th year... and the most fruit so far.

The growing conditions to this one and the last one we had were both very different... the last one was planted in a stony dry area with chooks eating what leaves they could reach through the wire... the plant never looked great but had lots of sweet fruit. This one does have its roots under the tank which is sitting on a sand base, under that is a mixture of heavy clay type soil and rocks. It would stay damp for a while under it but does drain ok. I keep an area about a foot wide cleared of grass around the tank where the passionfruit and other vines are growing. No mulch, or dug up garden bed - just a quick spray with glypho every few months to keep the grass out of it.

Mary-Anne wrote:

Which one are you growing Cheryl, Nelly Kelly grafted is the best for Melbourne I grew it in a raised bed and had no trouble with it..

the same one MA Maybe need to find a diff spot and try again

Might be a good idea Cheryl they do need a raised bed with soil that will drain I remember that much as in those days it used to rain a fair bit all year round in Melbourne. I had mine in the veggie garden where I could get to it both sides so it was not up against a 180cm high timber fence it grew on wires strung across the bed..

Gail, do you find critters...possums, sulphur crested cockatoos etc are a problem at all?

The only animals we've had problems with are bandicoots uprooting seedlings when looking for worms. We get a few galahs eating seeds in some of the trees but they don't do any damage... only bird was the bush turkey who ate our bananas. The only possum I've seen was a little dead sugar glider in the paddock a couple of years ago. Probably the dogs being around keep them away even though they are locked up at night.

Our neighbours have two labs. The only problem they have with possums is putting them in the bin.

This being a more rural area (though getting more houses all the time ) the possums don't seem to come round as much... maybe more bush for them. There are also dingos and wedgetail eagles on the hills behind us so that probably keeps their numbers down too.

Our dogs know they are not allowed to chase or kill another animal or act aggressively to anyone or thing, they sometimes try but soon know that isn't allowed. Sara, the gsd, has a high prey drive but is learning though always needs to be watched.

What a waste Daniel.. It would have made good bone and bone for the garden..

I'm leaving that right alone...except to say and then hide...I wonder if I can let next doors dogs run around my yard without losing chooks. Probably not!

Sorry Daniel, don't take that the wrong way... if I had your problem I'd be tempted to do the same... had those thoughts when the bandicoots kept digging up the garden. I just have this thing about dogs acting aggressively - I'd hate to see a pet or child bitten as it doesn't take much for an excited dog to go from chasing pests to pets or kids, doesn't matter what the breed is. My mother had a kitten ripped apart by a neighbour's dog years ago. She wasn't a pet type person but this kitten had wandered in and my mother got quite attached to it even though she only had it for a few weeks. The neighbour was very apologetic about it and it didn't cause problems between them but was still very sad.

Hi Gail - safe with me...no offence taken or assumed whatsoever!!!! I think we travel pretty close to same track on most things, including this.

Yes well I can understand these things happening when you have
Our neighbour in Townsville lost three different

I planted two chokoes yesterday PM. Put wire cages around them - hopefully they will survive.

Best of luck there Daniel.. Any hole I dig now fills up with water..

Light rain was falling here a few moments ago...need to check rain gauge for past 24 hours.