kieranblakewriter

My eggplant is growing.

I hadn’t even realised. I only saw the progress of the fruit this morning when I was watering the plants.

The garden is at the back of a rental property on the south coast of New South Wales, about 2 hours south of Sydney, Australia. The soil is generally fertile in a region famous for dairy farming and viticulture, although the garden had been stripped of much of its nutrients when I moved in, courtesy of the previous tenant’s neglect and a dry winter. The garden attracts quite a lot of sun, during very warm summer months and even during colder winter months in what is typically a temperate climate. The area is also famous for beaches and surfing, which is great after a day of hard yakka in the garden.

I noticed one decent sized plant and a few more in various stages of growth.

I hadn’t been paying much attention to the eggplant, because the sporadic rain we’ve had lately meant that I haven’t needed to be in the garden very often – thank goodness, I get sick of having to water these plants every day. I have no hose, so I have to water all of them with a watering can, which is rather tedious.

This morning, however, the tedium was rewarded with the sighting of some substantial growth on the eggplant and signs that I may be able to eat some of my own eggplant soon

I’d actually assumed that the eggplants were not going to produce any fruit because I thought it might have been too late in the season. That said, our seasons have been unpredictable lately. It is now autumn in this part of the world, but one week ago we sweltered through 40 degree (Celsius) heat. That is not normal.

I don’t know whether the heat impacted upon the growth of the eggplant, or if they were destined to grow in a garden bed full of very nutrient-rich soil.

The eggplant may also have benefited from the recent removal of corn plants from the same garden bed. I think the corn plants were stealing some of the nutrients from the soil.

The eggplant lies in a no-dig garden bed consisting of layers of grass clippings, horse manure and potting mix. I also added some seaweed recently. I know it’s healthy because last time I tended to the bed, I became acquainted with some massive worms.

Healthy worms equals healthy soil.