In the northern hemisphere, it’s THIS time of year:
Favorite green tomato recipes? I like to do a lactofermented green tomato salsa.
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Depends where you are in the northern hemisphere. Mine are still setting fruit, although the new ones probably won’t ripen.
I use green tomatoes in stir fry.
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It’s just about this time of year for my winter tomatoes too in the Southern Hemisphere, except that we didn’t bag them all so any green ones left on the vines are riddled with caterpillars 
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Last year I put them all in bins in the basement and most gradually ripened and I still had ripe tomatoes at the end of December! (End of season was end of October last year.) You gotta check them every few days though. 
I don’t like unripe tomatoes so much (except maybe coated in breadcrumbs and fried and then eaten with some sort of dipping sauce) so this was a good plan for me. Plus, tomatoes in Dec! (They aren’t as good as vine ripened but better than no tomatoes in Dec! (and better than store bought!))
(It works best with the smaller varieties, and it works basically perfectly with cherry and grape tomatoes.)
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We have harvested 9.5kg of tomatoes off this little strip down the side of our driveway. I’m super happy with that. We have also tossed a few kg, mostly due to grubs, some to blossom end rot, and some to splitting.
We still have a few trusses in bags that we will get to eat. The plants are pretty sick and the tomatoes not as nice as they were earlier in the season but they are still great.
When we take the plants out we will be left with flowers. I’m trying to decide what to plant in the gaps.
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Do you mind if I use your flower photos as a reference for painting?
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Of course. I’d love to see pictures too if you want to share them.
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Amazing harvest!
I’m picking small bowls of cherry tomatoes most days but barely enough to keep a toddler happy.
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Those colors in the last photo!
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I pruned the hibiscus bush in front of the house. It was getting overgrown and shading the thyme and rosemary herbs just planted. Unfortunately I didn’t wear a long sleeve shirt so I have mild rashes along my forearms. Eh well, they don’t itch too much. Live and learn! 
Ooooo it’s so pretty!
I loooove my new toys so much.
This sprinkler can cover our backyard in water but I have 2 so I can use a lower pressure and just water the lawn with good coverage. https://www.wobble-tee.com.au/
Australian designed and owned and made! Pretty happy with it. Is it weird to buy these for other people as Christmas presents?
Also now I don’t have to keep swapping hoses over or worry about old plastic breaking. I bought 2, one for each outdoor tap.
Next main tasks are attaching hose holders to the wall and running a hose to the front yard so I can use that as a “tap” there and watering my garden will be much easier. Then I attempt to understand how to choose and install irrigation…
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Not cheap, and my distrust for the company runs deep, but there’s flowers so at least I don’t have to wait two years to find out for sure.
I know of only a couple of berry orchards with these in the ground.
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Purple raspberries or raspberries in general?
One reason they’re not common here in US is because they’re much more susceptible to mosaic complex than red varieties (and some red varieties are completely resistant). I think I occasionally see them cultivated but mostly they’re a wild plant rather than grown intentionally.
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Purple raspberries aren’t common here as our strict quarantine system to protect our country from pests and diseases makes it hard to import new varieties.
It’s not just plants, animals too. It’s why we don’t have Kunikuni pigs and the heritage breeds (limited number of varieties) we do have aren’t genetically diverse.
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I have finally read through this whole thread. We are finishing up building a house and I get to plan an entire yard from scratch next spring. Does anyone have apps or programs that help to plot out things?
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I do not, but I need more planning, preferably done for me so I just follow someone else’s checklist each day, week and month. That would be nice.
I watched all my tomatoes keel over and decided I’d like to actually have something survive summer, so I’m setting up irrigation after all. Pretty sure existing and somewhat useless irrigation is 19mm pipe…
Ok, so far on my list of things to get:
- 13mm drip irrigation pipe
- 13mm connectors (some L, some T)
- 13mm Locking clamps
- 19-13mm reducer
- 19mm locking clamps
- HELP: What do I do about the end of the 13mm drip pipe?
Anything obvious I’ve missed? I’m sending Ponder, not going in person myself, so I may have to lay out whatever he gets for me and then send him out for forgotten items later.
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You can either fold it over on itself and zip tie. Or they sell 13mm end pieces. Like a dead end for the water.
Maybe some pegs or such to hold the pipe down?
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Oh and there was a good tip on gardening Australia about soaking irrigation pipe in a cup of boiling water before connecting it. I wish I knew that before hulking it together.
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