IN THE POTAGER GARDEN – AUTUMN 2026

Report from the POTAGER garden, MAY 2026

A very big bunch of bananas

Sweet pea sprouts from seeds saved from last year’s bounty (cells on the left) compared to no action from the commercially purchased seeds (on the right labelled with paddle pop sticks)

Clever engineering by a case moth on one of the citrus trees

Successes

Bananas were a great success – 158 on one bunch! We’ve covered a second bunch and hope it will continue to develop even though we now have colder weather.

We started the brassicas earlier this year – different varieties of kale, and some broccolini – and have had much better success, as the seedlings had a chance to grow before the days began to shorten. They did suffer from some pest attack, but picking off the caterpillars by hand has kept numbers down so far, and the work of the ladybirds and their larvae sorted out the cabbage aphids.

Sweet peas were slow to germinate but burst forward within a few days in the end. We had more success with seeds saved from last year, than with purchased seed.

Netting the oranges and pomegranates seems to have slowed the number being prematurely picked.

The plants under the Tuckeroo tree out back are doing much better since watering more thoroughly with a sprinkler.

Activities

Winter planting has begun, with seeds saved from from plants we’ve grown being shaken over the beds, and seedlings being raised and planted progressively.