summer gardening 2013

Summer gardening is not easy, the summer here in Perth is so harsh and dry. but so far the long purple beans are the winner for sumer, it seems like they are immune to the summer heat and grow very well, the only bad thing is they are always little ants on them especially the flowering, according to my brother in law the ants are to pollinate the plants, so I left them alone and I got much more beans, but not going to pick them, a few of my friends and family was wanting some seeds.

left: passionfruit ............     right: purple long beans

The passion fruit plants doesn't seems to be growing, to me it is still the same height as i bought it, any tips to make it grow?

squash seedlings

The squash is slowly growing. this snapshot was taken about a week ago, they now have 3 leaves. ;)

green amaranth - Amaranthus viridis

I always thought this was a weed, so many years I have been pulling it out and tossing them in the bin, until one day my brother told me it was actually edible and asked me to keep growing it so he can come and harvest it. 

For people who don't know what it is. check out the following links on what it is and recipe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_viridis

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/07/seriously-asian-amaranth-greens-stir-fried-with-garlic-recipe.html

sugar snap peas

I was excited to see the sprout, but then soon found out they were short lived as peas are not meant to be planted in summer time, so today I have pulled the all out and have planted radish in placement, apparently radishes love the heat and is ready to harvest in only 4-6 weeks, so cant wait and I'll definitely update.