WHAT’S GROWING | MIDSUMMER Early Morning Tomato HARVEST | SMALL BACKYARD GARDEN VICTORIA AUSTRALIA
Hi and Welcome to Utility Jane.
My name is Tanya, Thanks for stopping by!
It’s the 27TH OF JANUARY after a large harvest of tomatoes 4 days ago and a forecast temperature of 38 degrees I’m out early to get everything ripe or semi ripe before its damaged from the heat, I’m leaving the Chocolate cherry tomatoes, the provide their own shade so are far less susceptible to the heat,
We have had a many weeks of changeable weather here in Central Victoria, days of high 30 degrees then followed with humidity and hot nights and just last night a very cold change, with pouring rain. It seems to be a pattern that just keeps repeating.
At the start of October I invested in 4 large raised steel garden beds for my 55th birthday, to replace an area of lawn that the previous year I had laid cardboard, mulched and started growing in a couple months later, I had mixed feelings about how the extended vegetable garden had gone but thought I would continue with it again this season until I started thinking about raised beds.
There is never a good time to change over to raised beds when they need to go where your cropping winter garden is so I just went for it, ordered my raised beds which were custom made so I had some time to either eat the veg I had been growing or move it.
After a few doubts along the way I am so glad I didn’t wait any longer, the first vegetables I’ve planted in them are thriving, the down side of it was that it has taken a lot of dirt, compost, straw and mushroom compost to fill them, they are just over 3m long and 1.2m wide and .60m high and extremely heavy to move around and position.
But apart from topping up the beds with compost before planting each season until all the organic matter inside them has broken down and compacted I think they will be low maintenance.
In total the 4 beds I purchased will equal the same amount of space I had been planting into and with the addition of a secondhand glasshouse I found on Facebook market place 2 years ago I will be able to extend our growing season for tomatoes, cucumbers and raise lots of seeds.
In addition I have changed what used to be my whole veg garden into a perennial vegetable garden bed that has a new asparagus patch, dwarf apple trees, rhubarb, dwarf lemon tree and an area for herbs.
It isn’t a big area but looking to the future I hope to challenge my growing area and just see ow much food I can grow in the small footprint and hopefully I will grow enough for us and some of our neighbours.
With the cost of living crisis everywhere pairing back pantry items so multiple recipes can be cooked with the same basic items is a necessity, along with growing a garden that is any size, big or just a pot with your favourite herbs or leafy greens, after all they can be the most expensive items in the fruit and veg section at the supermarket and usually the things that never get used up and are thrown out.
Cooking from scratch can feel overwhelming but with a few prepped ingredients from my freezer, a pantry and our fridge stocked with simple staples, scratch made meals flow from our kitchen.
I cook with gluten free ingredients and a budget friendly mind set always.
I would really love you to join me cooking budget friendly gluten free meals in my tiny kitchen and appreciate you spending your time with me, please consider subscribing so you don’t miss my next upload.
Have a great day and I hope to see you in my next video.
Bye for now…
PS….I post on my community tab in real time, things I am cooking in my kitchen, vegetable garden updates and thrifting finds, often after filming it can take me a couple weeks to edit and voice over my videos so it gives you a sneak peak at what’s coming up.
#vegetablegarden #nodiggardening #UtilityJane #gardentour #thediggersclub #tomato #harvest
11 Comments
Love those pink tomatoes, will have to try them!
Amazing video 👍⚘️
new subscriber this so lively wholesome entertaining video is fabulous worth watching … stay connected
wow the top of my tomato’s burnt and wilted and no sign of them recovering
I live on the other side of the world so it's winter for me. Thank you for providing my "garden fix" – your garden looks amazing. I also have a small space (150 sqm) but I can grow enough to feed about 6 people during the season (because I hate preserving, I only have patience for freezing stuff). I can't wait for spring!
Morning Tanya from a very cold Canada 🍁. Ahh summer tomatoes 🍅 I can’t wait, I’ve been sorting the seed box but sorting tomatoes is a lot more difficult. I want to grow them all. Have a simply awesome and hopefully cooler week, Ali 🥶🇨🇦
What a gorgeous rainbow of tomatoes. Every year I try some new varieties and this year my hubby found his all time favourite amongst them. Azochka , I think that's the spelling, it was a free seed packet from diggers , a last minute addition. They were plentiful too. Beautiful yellow , medium tomato. I liked the big beryl this year . The black Russian seedlings were attacked repeatedly and so far one is still out there but it's still only about 25cm high. I doubt it'll do much. Your garden is stunning and bountiful. What sort of cages for the tom's are you thinking of using next? Great videos , thank you for sharing lovely ❤
Hi Tanya, I’m newish too and loving your videos. The music while you harvest is quite mesmerising and I appreciate the artistry in your basket. Wondering if you might share a bit about how you manage the soil and plan your planting, especially in your raised beds when it’s time for that? Your abundance is amazing. I’d love to know more about how you achieve it. I’m a newbie gardener 😊
This is lovely, thank you for putting out the gardening related videos. They're my favourite! 🇦🇺
I love your custom raised beds! They look so good. Glad to hear they are working out for you.😊
I really enjoyed your video ❤ your tomatoes are amazing!