It's December in Austin, which means it's 80+ degrees outside and we're harvesting a bumper crop of tomatoes and eggplants. There are two kinds of eggplant below, Black Beauty (the big one) and some other kind, I think it might be called Nadia or Fairy Tale or something. The tomatoes are a mix of sungold, Sweet 100, yellow pear, early girl and a volunteer that seems like a cross between a roma and a cherry. it's pretty good, I don't know where the seed came from though! I've saved some as it is a good plant and relatively productive and tasty.
We have some broccoli coming in that should be ready in about 2 weeks, if it doesn't bolt from the warm weather.
The calendulas are starting to bloom! I love calendula, with their bright orange blooms.
Here is the Bright Lights chard with Imperator carrots. Imperator carrots are a risk in our area because the soil is pretty heavy, but I've had good luck with carrots and wanted to give it a shot. Imperators are the long kind, like you buy at the store, and they need a deep, loose, friable soil to grow well. They are in a bed with fairly sandy soil, and I added a lot of organic matter before planting them so I am hopeful.
Two butterflys going after the Mexican Sunflowers.
A bee on the Mexican Sunflowers.
I planted these native perennials because the nursery was giving them away for free (they were almost dead). I want to establish a more permanent, low maintenance flower bed along the fence. I planted them in the summer and now they are blooming! Natives are so tough!
I think the Anacacho Orchid is confused. Blooming????
Salad greens made up of old seed packets of kale, chard, bocchoy, beets, carrots, dill, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, turnips, radish, etc.... All varieties that I didn't find compelling as mature greens for one reason or another. They make fine salads though!
