December is always a busy time for us in the office. All of the social events that happen at this time of the year contributes to the chaos. What this means is that my veggie patch doesn’t get as much attention as it would at any other time of the year.

It is what it is and I’m happy for the time I do get to spend in the garden – which is really early in the morning – it’s both a magical and practical time because by eight o’clock it is usually hot and humid.

Early morning watering is so important in this part of the world. My pots get watered daily but the rest of the patch gets a deep soaking weekly. Having some rain in December helped out as well.

Herbs have been mainly what we have been using this month. Whether some basil for pasta sauce, oregano to sprinkle on eggs, rosemary for roast lamb, Thai Basil for chicken stir-fries,  parsley for salads (and also to feed the guinea pigs) – the herbs have been the stars of the veggie patch in December.

I have finally given up on the rockmelons and watermelons that I planted at the back of my garden. It wasn’t such a brilliant idea to put them there in the first place. This was apparent quite quickly – the melon seedlings that I put in another part of the patch took off – while the seedlings up the back, struggled – three rockmelon seedlings died almost straight away even with water and liquid fertiliser.

My climbing beans are doing what they are supposed to be doing….they are climbing! I picked my first bean in December – which was exciting. I love the tripod idea but as always the bean plants have reached the top of the tripod and want to extend even further. I initially thought maybe the poles should have been higher…but then I think of the Jack and the Beanstalk story and I feel that bean plants may keep climbing if you let them!

There are seven mangoes on one of our trees. Because I adore mangoes and home grown mangoes are the best, I have been keeping a watchful eye on these seven mangoes. My friends tree is full of mangoes so she can afford to lose some of these to the birds but I do not want to lose any of these wonderful fruit. Last year I picked some mangoes while they were still green and wrapped them in newspaper and stored them a cool place till they turned orange.

My tomato plants are also growing strong as well. They are two varieties – Thai Pink Egg and Yellow Pear. I’m looking forward to the day they produce fruit – although it will be a surprise as to which variety each plant will be because I can’t remember which plants I put where!

Another year is done and dusted in the garden! I’m looking forward to watching my veggie patch grow next year. May your veggie patch also thrive and delight in 2014. For more regular updates, don’t forget to Like our Facebook page.

What has been your December happenings in your veggie patch? We would love to know! Please let us know in the comments below.