Raumati

Volatile spring slowly bringing the heat and sunshine. Celery - which the boys planted in their vege patches -have been afflicted by an infestation of thrippy looking things. This was quickly followed by a swarm of ladybirds but the damage has been done. Pulled them out and dumped them...

Koanga

Ae, Spring has sprung though I'm not rushing the planting as we're sure to have some frosts to come.

The winter crops have fared well - brussell sprouts, kale, leeks...

Bruno is working  small plot as a homework assignment. He's going to plant stawberries, lettuce and broccoli.

It's been such a long hot summer that I've delayed putting the vege garden to bed for winter.

Planted out some Kale a couple of months ago, and just put in some more (Russian Red's).

l-r, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, remnant lettuce...

l-r Kale seedlings, leeks, celery, silver beet, bantam corn (as frost protection)...

Kamokamo, saved for seed (my size 10 1/2  $10  converse imitations from warewhare)...

Kai on the Marae, by Aunty's Garden

Check this out...

Mushrooms on Lincoln's cricket field

A bonus a couple of weeks ago when the heavy rains brought out a number of fairy rings on Lincoln's cricket field...

I plucked a bag, gave some to mum and dad (who've moved in to a small house on our backyard), and had four good meals myself.

First kamo kamo, and other harvestings...

Last week I saw the first kamokamo appearing under the layer of leaves...

Production is in full swing now, cucumbers (a little bitter) and tomatoes, as well as ongoing rhubarb (which I freeze, raw and chopped up), silverbeet, bok choi, spring onions, lettuce and cauliflower. .

The cauli's all came on right at the same time, so I pickled a fair bit...

The boys have been working well lately (saving for the latest XBox!). Bruno's discovered a taste for axe work...

Mulching

I should've mulched before we went away for New Years (whanau hui at Waikaremoana). Found bales of hay going for $5 each in Rolleston so picked one up.

Took the boys fishing off Brighton Pier last weekend. Bruno is right into it, Whiti wandered into the library first!

It was cold, the nor-easter nobody's friend. Most of our confreres   are Pasifika or Asian, crabbing with small hooped nets weighed down with some cheap offal.

We caught six herring, Bruno taking five of them. Wee ones all, and two foul hooked! But I thought they'd be good for the cat, and Billy (who was Milly) did scoff one...

Purple beans, all through my brain...

Our purple beans are now cropping, perhaps not quite as heavy as the standard Scarlet Runners. When cooked, they turn a dark green.

I've trained ours up a small tree I whacked the guts out of last year...

Rhubarb now producing big heavy stalks. I take it on me weetbix( just 2 or 3), microwaved for 1 minute ten with soy milk, maybe some yoghurt. Oh I cook it with a local brew by Golden Eagle Brewery, South Island Pale Ale...

The garden really looking good at the moment but needing a lot of water.

Ragged tomatoes top left, Bruno's strawberries in front, then (l-r) cauliflower, tutaekuri...

...Swift potatoes, rhubarb in the back, new celery and capsicum, marigolds, silverbeet, bantam corn. Sunflowers in the background with grapes from the neighbours

The sunflowers - seeds sourced from a grower at Kaiwhaiki - have struggled but have big happy faces to the world.

Prostrate kowhai

... just a lovely combination of words...

At Prebbleton's Nature Park.