Summer solstice is about abundance - the trees and plants are fruiting and taking advantage of the daily hours and there is so much activity in the sky as the birds rejoice in the sunlight. I almost need a machete to get out in my garden - it's crazy overgrown, and I can't seem to keep up with it. In every nook there's something fruiting or growing and I'm struggling to put bird netting on the trees so the cockies don't eat the fruit. Maybe I'll just have to let that go this year. Doing it on my own is quite tough. As was spending four days trying to get this video uploaded to Dtube - never mind, it's up now! Enjoy.

The fennel have all gone to seed now but I love to grow them for these seeds, almost even more than the bulb itself. The chickens are loving the maze of plants gone to seed and the broccoli and silverbeet and kale. Plenty for them and for me.

The wicking beds are working really well - I have cucumbers, peppers, corn, tomatoes and basil and lettuce doing just fine without any watering at all save what's in the reservoir. I picked my first tomato last night and I've NEVER had tomatoes before Christmas. I also struggle to grow big tomatoes - the cherries do fine - I think due to intermittent watering, but being planted in the wicking beds, they are growing great! I also have one planted in a bucket, so that worked well too, as are the capsicums growing in a big tub (another experiment - it sits in another tub of water so the water 'wicks' up).

Just harvested some small potatoes - not as many as I thought but still have half a bed that is finishing off. Must look into growing potatoes more effectively. Lots of apples this year - this one is a dwarf apple variety but it's overhanging the path and heavy with fruit so doesn't seem very dwarf. Lots of plums and quinces this year too. Raspberries haven't done as well - haven't keep up with them in the way I would have liked. Pomegranate is fruiting this year, and lots of red currants and blueberries too. Should also have feijoa this year.

Last Spring I transplanted some hops to the other garden poles that surround the main vegie patch - as you can see in the photo above it's quite a climber... look at those tendrils reaching for the sky!! Amazing. I did get a big welt on my neck the other day from walking into one so I have to prune them back somewhat.

'The hum of bees is the voice of the garden' - Elizabeth Lawrence

The ollas pots are simply the best thing I've put in the garden. Everything around them is growing like crazy. The extra little bit of water makes a helluva difference. This climbing pumpkin has gone crazy. Love it. You can see it tangled up with the hops. The garden clean up is going to be crazy this year - might have to call in a few favours as we're doing a road trip to Tassie come Easter and that's usually when we tidy the garden up.

Hope you enjoyed my final garden update for this year. I could easily add three hundred more photos and a lot more detail, but seriously, I need to get out in that garden and stop steeming about it! Enjoy the Dtube.You can hear the birds going crazy!