Winter tomatoes

I was able to source some seeds for winter-growing tomatoes.  I planted them back in January and have now planted the seedlings out.  Some are in this bed in the greenhouse, which I part-filled using the no-dig layering method.  Others I have planted in the vegetable garden.  I am skeptical about the future of the outside ones, given the frosts we have here in the valley.  

No-dig garden.

Layer one:  several layers of overlapped newspaper.

Wet each layer well as it is added.

Layer Two:  straw

Layer Three: animal manure.

Layers Four, Five, Six (as many as you want): repeat of previous layers.

Each seedling is planted in compost, nestled in the top straw layer and watered in well with seaweed extract.

Fat Fruit - biggest and best!

I am pleased to announce the arrival

of the first tomato of the season

- Grosse Lisse

delivered safely by the Fat Fruit Greenhouse.

Sister for Capsicum and Chilli.

The facts are:

• Two tomatoes were picked.
• The larger one on the left was from the Fat Fruit Greenhouse the other out of the garden.
• Both plants were grafted Grosse Lisse planted at the same time.
• The Greenhouse delivered the larger fruit and the plant has lots more good sized fruit on it already.
• The plant in the garden, although coming a dead heat in the race for first fruit, provided a smaller specimen AND has no other fruit set.

So the Green house wins...

AGAIN!

Delicious, sweet little Broad Ripple Tomatoes.

More capsicums on the way.

These seeds germinated in two days!

Fat fruit in the Fat Fruit!

 I went away for three weeks and left the greenhouse and garden in the hands of someone who is definitely not a gardener.  She managed to keep everything alive.  Some of the plants in the greenhouse were not so green or so lush on my return.  However, check these babies out!

One capsicum is blushing...

and there are more on the way...

...and the tomatoes growing and beginning to ripen.

To have tomatoes this mature at this time of the year 

in my climate is very unusual.

As for the capsicums...they usually take until 

well into January to even set fruit. 

So to have them ripening already 

is nothing short of amazing.

I love my

Fat Fruit Greenhouse!

Tomatoes and our first food from the greenhouse!

I am so disappointed with these photos.

They do not do justice to the tomato. 

You can sort of tell how tall it is

by the size of the chair.

Not only is it tall...it is strong!

Look at the girth of those stems.

Here is the one in the garden (they are both grafted Grosse Lisse).

This one is doing very well for a tomato

at this time of the year in Melbourne.

However, it is only half the size of the one in the greenhouse.

This one is climbing

up the racks.

There are three

BroadRipple tomatoes

in this basket.

I had planned to take two out

and plant them outside...

but I ran out of time.

We ate some of the salad greens 

from the polystyrene box last night.  

The first food 

from the 

Fat Fruit greenhouse.  

Yay!  

It is so lush!

Yes, I do know it is Sunday,

but if it is any consolation, these photos

were taken on Friday.

The greenhouse is a wonder!

One capsicum...

...and more on the way.

Salad leaves and...

...huge leaves on the eggplants.

A little tomato and...

...ripening chillis.

Everything is so lush.

Oh, I know I promised pictures of the tomatoes.

But for some reason the computer keeps turning the

photos on the side and they just don't look as 

exciting that way...so next week.