What Happened In My Garden This Week? – Week 42

The survival container garden has officially been closed for winter. The winter covers are in use and the perennials are covered in sawdust and straw.

At last! The garden is completely prepped for winter. That being said, the chillies, ginger, turmeric, herbs and spinach are still growing well inside the greenhouse. I am even considering planting more spinach in there, possibly some kale and black kale as well.

All of the containers that aren’t in use have been washed and placed in storage. The soil has been mixed with compost and placed in double waste bags. The compost-rich soil will be used for next year’s annuals.

Annuals

Alliums

They are doing so well. The bed of straw, mycelium and sawdust above them only seems to nourish the plants underneath. It looks like I’ll get a bountiful harvest from the garden come spring. I am looking forward to getting to braid garlic and onions in individual braids. Being able to harvest all the onions, green onions, leeks, and garlic that I need, from my own garden, will be amazing. Especially since I planted all of it from seed.

Brassica

The black kale and regular kale are doing well, but I still think I might plant more. I think the frost may have taken some of the baby plants in the garden. Either that, or they haven’t emerged yet. To be on the safe side, I may plant some more. I still have one Napa cabbage growing, though it is still quite small. I may harvest it next week unless I see signs of it growing larger.

Herbs

The herbs are still growing so well in the garden. It’s like they have no idea it’s almost winter here. I think I’ll either go on another harvest spree or simply keep harvesting throughout autumn and winter. What a luxury, eh? To be able to have fresh herbs all year long. I have dreamed of this day. Being able to go “grocery shopping” in my garden.

I am amazed by how far I’ve come these last few years. Especially this year. I have learned so much and I am so close to reaching my ultimate self-sufficiency goals. It is an amazing feeling, knowing you’re close to reaching your goals. I have been working hard and I am so thankful I am now able to reap the effects.

Root vegetables

The root vegetables are growing well in the garden, though some aren’t very visible underneath the layer of sawdust. I hope to see them emerge soon. However, there are a few that I think I will be able to harvest soon. I am looking forward to eating them and trying them one by one. There’s so much good food growing in my garden. I just have to be patient and let them grow. Gardening really is a great way of learning how to practice patience.

Peppers

The peppers that remain in the greenhouse seem to have no idea it is almost winter. I have one new chilli, a lot of flowers and several more chillies growing. They’re all gochu – a Korean variety that is used in kimchi. I will at least be able to save seeds for 2024.

Spinach

I have some spinach growing in the greenhouse and some growing in containers in the garden. Still, I think I may plant some more. I want to be able to harvest handfuls every day, but I am not quite there yet. Soon though. I just tried some New Zealand spinach today, and it was so good. It’s like the cold weather made it taste even better. It was so delicious. I am figuring out how many plants I need to be able to harvest daily throughout the years.

Perennials

Berries

The blackberry bush is blooming again outside in the garden and it has a lot of flowers blooming, more about to bloom, and many berries forming. All and all, I think it’s doing well.

Mushrooms

I am finally growing mushrooms as a perennial outside in the garden.

I have mixed sawdust with mycelium in the cleaned potato pots and though they haven’t been fully inoculated yet, they are not showing any sign of rot. So I think they’re doing well. It does take time for the mycelium to grow through them. I also spread mycelium over the alliums – one layer of straw, one layer of mycelium and one layer of sawdust. This week I placed a black cloth on top to make sure they don’t get too much sun while they’re inoculating. Over the alliums, I am growing yellow oyster mushrooms. In the potato pots, I am growing regular mushrooms and blue/grey oyster mushrooms.

I’d like to plant a few more perennial mushrooms around my perennial bushes – such as the blueberries. I want to be able to grow an annual amount of mushrooms. I’d like to be able to harvest them throughout the year. Any mushrooms I find in nature will be bonuses, but I still hope to find an abundance of mushrooms in nature.

The goal

I want to grow at least 15 kg of fresh mushrooms per year, of different varieties, and either dehydrate or can them throughout the year. That should be enough. I do love mushrooms, which is a bit ironic seeing how I hated them growing up. Fast-forward to my 30th year and I am outside in nature looking for fresh mushrooms and I grow my own in the garden, and sometimes indoor. Funny how things can change. Given how nutritious they are, they will be an excellent source of nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins for me throughout the year. As well as an excellent flavour enhancer for my food.

I am learning more about preserving them every year. This year I’ve been dehydrating as much food as possible, and that includes mushrooms.

Fertiliser

The bokashi tea was drained into the fermentation vessel in the garden, and the bokashi compost was mixed with soil and layered in double waste bags where it could turn into high compost soil. I re-filled the bokashi so that I get at least one more full bucket of compost for next year’s annuals.

Propagation

Berry bushes

The berry bushes in the garden seem to be doing well. They aren’t showing any signs of rot, but they’re not all rooted yet. But there’s still time. And plenty of it. It usually takes a few months for them to form roots. It will be lovely to see them turn into real, big bushes over the next few years. Hello, food security!

Fruit trees

There are still some planted cuttings, from fruit trees in my garden, that are doing well. I hope they make it till spring. Either way, I will keep checking on them and make sure they stay hydrated throughout winter. I lost a few the other week, but most of them are still standing and several have both buds and leaves.

Fruit trees from seed

The apricot tree and pear tree, though small, are doing well. They are sitting under a grow light in my window. I’d like to be able to plant them outside in the garden next year. I need to look into fertilisers and research some. Do they like to go without and go somewhat dormant during winter, even though they’re inside? Or do they need fertiliser? I’ll look into it.

Conclusion:

I am feeling really good about how the garden turned out this year. I grew a very good amount of food, and there’s still a lot left to harvest. Most of it will be harvested in the spring, though some will be ready now during autumn and winter.

I am very excited to see how the mushrooms will grow. One mushroom company told me this was the perfect time of year to fill the pots, and another told me it was way too late in the year to grow mushrooms outside. We’ll see how it goes.

To-do’s for week 44:

• Look into more mushroom perennials.

• Keep the mushroom pots from drying out.

• Harvest blackberries.

See you next week!