IN THE RAMBLING POTAGER GARDEN – WINTER 2026

Report from the RAMBLING POTAGER garden, AUGUST 2026

Slender eggplants kept coming all winter.

Now that is a carrot.

Little skink soaking up the sun.

Successes

The eggplants were very bountiful for a long period, even into August, and we were extremely happy with the plentiful Kang Kong (water spinach). Salad greens also continued to be reliable throughout winter.

A green sorrel has been successfully divided and it looks as if the new divisions will take successfully.

The bananas continued to fruit, with one bunch waiting for warmer weather.

The addition of lime to the compost bins and some beds has improved the compost and soil to create a more balanced pH.

We continue to enjoy watching the many insects and small critters that come to visit - except the rats, of course, although their numbers seemed to dwindle over winter and they haven’t been attacking the compost Geddye bins,

Activities

We tried growing some tomatoes through winter and they remain very healthy. Hopefully this method will set up these plants to be more robust in early spring through to summer.

We planted brassica seeds early thinking to get them to a mature enough stage to grow strong before winter, but this meant they were juicy when aphids and caterpillars were at their peak. They were decimated and we had to buy replacement seedlings.