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Wednesday 29 June 2016

Garden in north Austria, update June 2016 - daily harvests and plants thrive!

In our two gardens in north Austria, as of end of June. Photos and written update.

We have a small garden, 2 square meters, where we grow everything from salad, beets, carrots, bush beans, corn, amaranth, millets, kales, onions and broccoli.
In our larger (community) garden, we had to protect against slugs, with plastic fences. Here you see zucchini, and further behind broad beans and potatoes. A small wheat bed to the right.. 
Kale, with corn and amaranth further behind 

Peppers and okra, planted against a tile, to create a microclimate

Two pumpkins, also protected against slugs. And potatoes behind.

Some perennial vegetables: ocas and chufas, surrounded by spinach.

  • Corn is about 40cm tall and beginning to tassel. I grow 4 different varieties
  • Foxtail millet is about 30cm tall. Other millets (pearl, proso, japanese) are about 15cm tall.
  • Amaranths are about 20-40cm tall, and growing fast (three varieties). Quinoa, some seedlings, some 30-50cm tall begin to spike. Barley has been flowering for a month, while wheat (spelt, emmer, kamut) since two weeks.
  • Tomatoes have been flowering. They are about 50cm tall. 
  • Squash begins flowering, and it has a large size 30-100cm wide. Pumpkins are around 1 meter long and began to flower (giant atlantic and hokkaido). Cucumber produced 1 fruit last week, 1 meter tall, others setting buds have 30cm tall (three varieties)
  • Carrot in seedling stage, eaten often by slugs. Beets as large seedlings. Some heirlooms of both. In community garden, these have been harvested.
  • Peas have been producing pods for about 3 weeks (green and purple). Broad beans are just recently flowering, and around 1 meter high.
  • Bean seedlings are around 20cm high (several types: bush beans, french beans, black beans, runner beans). 
  • Spinach flowering, has been harvested for a month. Lettuce has been harvested for 3 weeks, full size begins to bolt, others are still growing. Valerian salad harvested for second week. Kales harvested since two months. Miner lettuce and minutina now of a fine size and start to be harvested.
  • We failed to grow most brassicas due to slugs and temperature extremes. I have sown some broccoli and cabbages, and in one of smaller gardens, we have some 10cm broccoli seedlings.
  • Eggplant and sweet pepper planted flowering at 35cm tall, peanuts at 15cm high. Okra planted while setting pods. Rocoto planted 30cm tall.
  • Lima beans setting pods indoors. Winged bean just growing. Malabar spinach setting seed indoors, while outdoors remains at 20cm high.
  • Potatoes have began flowering. Its a nice thick patch, combined with onions, which has been damaged by lilly scarlet beetle. Sweet potato vines are between 15cm to 1.5 meter, now under plastic cover. 
  • Mashua vine is just around 30cn tall but healthy. One growing indoors, of around 2m tall begin wiltering. Oca plants are bushy around 30cm wide. Yacon planted with 10cm. Groundnut vines 1meter long. One skirret plant of 15cm high. Chufas remain similar to last month, about 10-15cm high.
  • Other perennials: sea beets, scotish lovage, perennial kales,