Seasonal Gardening Tips for the Pickling Enthusiast
As the seasons change, many gardeners are left wondering what to do with their unripe tomatoes. Fear not, dear picklers! With a few simple tricks, you can coax those green tomatoes into ripeness and enjoy them in a variety of delicious ways.
Ripening Green Tomatoes
If you have lots of unripe tomatoes on your plants when they’re dying off and need to be pulled out, don’t waste them. Fruit showing the slightest bit of color can be left on a sunny windowsill, where they will continue to ripen naturally. Alternatively, you can pull out the whole plant and hang it in a shed or other sheltered spot, where even the green fruit will continue to ripen.
Green tomatoes can be ripened on a sunny windowsill or in a sheltered spot.
But what if you have a bounty of green tomatoes and don’t want to wait for them to ripen? Fear not, dear pickler! Green tomatoes can be fried, used to make chutney or pickles, or even used in a delicious green tomato cake recipe.
Native Plants: Friend or Foe?
Many gardeners assume that native plants are always a good choice, but did you know that they can sometimes become weeds? Take the example of the Pincushion hakea (Hakea laurina), a lovely bird-attracting large shrub from the south-west of WA. However, it has become an environmental weed in bushland around Adelaide and parts of Victoria, where the plant does too well, outcompeting local flora and threatening native ecosystems.
Native plants can sometimes become weeds, outcompeting local flora and threatening native ecosystems.
It’s best to plant local plants wherever possible, to avoid inadvertently introducing invasive species into your garden.
The Secret to Indoor Plant Success
Have you ever wondered why indoor plants often have wide, flat leaves? It’s an adaptation for many shade-tolerant plants, enabling them to soak up the diffused light from under a rainforest canopy. The wider leaves soak up as much light as possible, which also helps them cope with limited light indoors.
Wide, flat leaves help indoor plants soak up limited light.
By understanding the secrets of indoor plant success, you can create a thriving indoor oasis, even in the darkest of rooms.
Conclusion
With these seasonal gardening tips, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying a bountiful harvest, even in the off-season. From ripening green tomatoes to avoiding invasive native plants, we’ve got you covered. Happy gardening, and don’t forget to share your pickling creations with us on social media!
Happy gardening, and don’t forget to share your pickling creations with us on social media!
