In the garden...

The potted roses have survived another, and hopefully their last summer cooped up in containers, and are looking surprisingly good. Unfortunately though, a mini plague of grasshoppers have decided to take up residence, and are feasting not only on the leaves but the tight little unopened, rose buds. 

Perhaps because its foliage has a rosy scent, this Reine de Violette has been the worst hit; there are always half a dozen or so, big and small, grasshoppers making a meal of it. 

When I’m quick enough I catch these seemingly insatiable pests, and release them in the far corner of the garden, hoping naively they won’t find their way back. They always do though. You see, it’s not all beer and roses  for grasshoppers in this yard; many are recognisable by their missing legs. This is thanks to Indi and Bertie catching them and releasing them, catching them, releasing them, catching, releasing.... If you know cats, you'll know what I mean.

These robust little plants, the results of the tomato seeds I planted a few of weeks ago, are in amongst the roses, but have been largely ignored by the grasshoppers thankfully. 

I don't remember how many seeds were in the pack, but the germination success rate was surprisingly high, so I thinned them out to the strongest looking ten plants, and re-potted them into the largest pots we had on hand.

Three or even two tomato plants per pot, is still too many I know, but I just couldn’t bring myself to thin them any further, and hopefully, with lots of TLC, they’ll do okay. 

This lanky shoot has grown from the green bump on the side of the ginger rhizome, I planted at the same time as the tomato seeds. According to the article on growing ginger published by Tropical Permaculture, it will eventually get to about a metre high, and the ginger root can be harvested 8 to l0 months after planting. 

Ginger is a tropical plant so dies back in colder climates during winter, but Perth winters are mild, so it should keep growing. So, fingers crossed, as long as I keep it moist, or in the case of heavy rain (is that a thing!), ensure the potting mix doesn’t become water logged, we'll be eating home-grown ginger sometime in spring.