I was looking forward to getting back into the veggie patch this October. The warmer weather had seen many of the cooler weather crops start to flower and go to seed. Weeds had also loved this weather and were scattered in amongst the nature strip veggie patch.

My first task this October was to remove the weeds. While doing this, I was able to check out what was happening in this veggie patch at the ground level. I discovered that my eggplants had started producing little eggplants and some were ready to pick! These eggplants were hidden amongst the weeds and Thai Basil, which  had taken off due to the milder weather. After removing the tunnel of weeds that was covering them, I also discovered (to my delight) that I had some purple Sicily Cauliflower in the patch. This was this first time I had tried to grow cauliflower from seed – I did think that I had left it too late as the weather was warming up when I put them in as seedlings.

 

 

Random Cherry tomatoes were also abundant in this patch – and I picked a lot that day. That burst of sweetness from a cherry tomato when it’s picked straight from the garden is so morish. Not only do I enjoy eating them this way but I also love roasting them which makes a super simple ready to go pasta sauce. Yum!

 

Another delight for me is watching my Thai Pink Egg Tomatoes develop. I haven’t had much luck growing these before, but I have three plants now producing some tomatoes that are living up to their name – the shade of pink is subtle and they do look like an egg. I have only picked one at this stage and am letting it ripen a bit off the vine before I try it.  I will let you know how they taste and what they look like on the inside next month. The other tomatoes that I’m growing are Yellow Pear. These are also true to their name and add a nice colour contrast to the small red cherry tomatoes.

What type of tomatoes are you growing? Let me know in the comments below – I would love to hear all about them!

 

This month, I also spent some time collecting seed. The veggie patch was looking a bit messy with bok choy, mizuna, radishes, calendula and radishes all gone to seed. This was providing an interesting ecosystem for all the bugs in my garden and I loved watching the bug interactions that were occurring.

 

I was ready to take out some of my Walking Stick Kale, as I feel I have planted them too close together. One looked stunted but was still producing leaves even though these leaves were getting munched by something! However, I had a change of heart and will keep all the Walking Stick Kale. I will even keep the ones in the front yard that I put there more for ornamental purposes. These were getting eaten by snails, but I have noticed that as they grow taller, the leaves are less eaten – maybe snails are afraid of heights!

Peaches on my tree were my other delight in October. I was a bit worried about the peach tree, as I feel like I neglected it a bit, but it seems to be doing OK. I haven’t had a peach tree in the garden before and it was awesome to be able to taste a peach directly from the tree. They were so luscious. I had to negotiate with my 6 year old over who gets the ripe peaches!

Lastly, there is a mulberry tree next door and its branches overhang our fence. This October, I managed to nibble on a few mulberries –  (the ones that the birds didn’t eat) Bonus!

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR OCTOBER HAPPENINGS IN YOUR VEGGIE PATCH? WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW! PLEASE LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.