How does your garden grow? March 2014

My last garden update was back in November 2013 and given that it's a whole new season (and year!) now, I thought it was high time for an update. In fact, I thought I might turn this into a monthly theme and document the changes in how my garden is growing.

So, in my garden is...

A virulent pumpkin vine. I honestly couldn't tell you what type as this little fellow grew out of some compost I'd spread into the raised garden bed. I've trained him to grow out and along the fence line, and Mr Fork is both simultaneously happy that he has to mow less grass, and disgusted that he'll have to re-cultivate that area when the pumpkin vine is gone. I was getting plenty of flowers but no fruit as the bees weren't doing their job well enough... so I went out there armed with a cotton bud one morning and manually pollinated all the female flowers I could find. I felt like a dirty pervert doing it, but I've got a pumpkin now, and I've never had that before. Can anyone advise when the correct time to pick them is?

Mystery compost pumpkin

In my garden is...

Some eggplants, which aren't producing quite as well as last season's plants did. The eggplants are also smaller, and I'm unsure as to whether that's because the plants are still small or they're a different variety. I also have a grasshopper infestation that just won't move on no matter what I do.

Eggplants

In my garden is...

Rangy looking, yet delicious cherry tomatoes, another compost present, although I do know they're an heirloom variety. These plants have been superstar producers, giving a bowl full of tomatoes a week. They're the sweetest little fruits ever, perfect in salads and and cooked into warm dishes too.

Heirloom cherry tomato

In my garden is...

A sweet potato and galangal section, which has really flourished since I put it in over four months ago. I'm also unsure when to harvest the sweet potato, but the leaves are very healthy on the top. Mr Fork's parents tell me I can cook the leaves and use them in stir fry dishes, so I may try that one of these days.

Sweet potato and galangal

In my garden is...

A flowering geranium which was given to me by a colleague and has managed to survive despite all odds. I'm quite chuffed it's decided to live and flower, as is Ellie who pats that little pink bloom every time she walks past it!

Geranium, pretty in pink

Also in my garden, and visible in many of the pictures, is an abundance of mulch. Mr Fork bought a mulcher/shredder machine and has great fun feeding all the branches and hedge trimmings into it. I think it's fabulous as I get mulch, and all of the garden waste is recycled into something that helps my garden grow instead of being carted off to the dump. Win!

What's growing in your garden? Share with me, and if you post on your blog, please link back to here and we can start an online garden share collection!