November Garden Update

Planting

The weather still can’t decide what season we’re in, but I’ve decided not to wait around—I’ve dived straight into this year’s vegetable planting. I’m especially excited because I’ve added two new crops to my garden for the very first time. I’ll be taking you along on the journey as I learn to grow kidney beans for winter preserving and paprika chillies to make my own paprika powder. It’s a spice I use constantly in the kitchen, so growing my own feels good and makes sense.

In mid-November I sowed the kidney beans directly into the garden and tucked the paprika seeds into the warmth of my little hot house. After some impatient daily checking, I’m thrilled to report that all but two kidney beans have now popped up, along with six paprika seedlings so far. I also planted green bush beans and butter beans earlier in November, and they’re loving the cooler weather—growing quickly and already starting to flower.

The zucchini plants previously transplanted have begun producing their first fruit, which means it won’t be long before I’m preserving again. (I’ve only got one lonely bag left in the freezer!)

My jalapeño, long red and capsicum chillies are now in the garden too. They’re still adjusting to the cool weather, but they’ve settled in and are beginning to push out new leaves. I kept one of each variety back in the hot house to grow them year-round, and these are already flowering happily.

I had been waiting for warmer days before planting out my tomatoes, but when they started flowering in the hot house I took the hint and moved them to the garden. After a week of settling in, they’re thriving—and I might even reach my goal of picking the first tomato before Christmas. (A friendly competition I have with my neighbour!)

Harvesting

The 45 cabbages I succession-planted—yes, slightly overenthusiastic—are all doing beautifully. Each week I harvest one or two to cook with, and I’ve been sharing plenty with family and friends. They’re growing to the size of basketballs and taste incredible.

3 wagons in total

Following Amanda from Balmattum Garlic, I harvested my garlic this week and have it drying on racks. This marks the official start of my preserving season, which is always a highlight of the gardening year. If you didn’t grow garlic this season, keep an eye on Amanda’s chemical-free products—they make wonderful gifts or pantry staples.

I’ll be preserving my own garlic in a few different ways, while keeping enough aside to replant in April.

Strawberry season has also begun! I started picking in early November, and the berries are now washed, frozen, and ready for jam-making when I have a large batch or adding to smoothies.

My lemon tree has burst into bloom again, so it was time to strip the remaining fruit and preserve the juice and rind for future cooking and preserving projects. The juice I have frozen in ice cube trays and then place in Ziplock bags in the freezer. Each cube is one tablespoon of fresh juice. I have frozen the grated rind and will dehydrate this when I am finished to make lemon pepper for may kitchen staples.

All Is Not Well

Not everything has gone to plan. After rabbits demolished my peas and carrots over winter, both crops bravely regrew. The peas are stunted and won’t produce enough to preserve, but they’re still giving us enough fresh peas for meals each week—which is a small victory.

The carrots looked promising from above, but when I pulled a few I discovered they had barely developed below the soil and were tough and woody. I ended up harvesting the lot and feeding them to my very appreciative chickens. I’ve left one big plant in the garden to go to seed, and hopefully it will reward me with fresh seed for a future planting.