Getting ready for Summer

We're only 30 days into the Australian Spring and I'm pretty confident that this is the most prepared I've every been for a summer harvest!  The chooks have settled into their chicken pen, and one has started to lay eggs already.  I suspect it is one of the Leghorns or Isa Browns, but haven't yet caught them in the act.

Chooks lined up ready for the kids to feed them weeds.

Our chook egg on left, shop bought on right.

The kid's patch is coming along nicely.  A few radishes have been picked already, with a bonus that the kids actually like them!  The cherry tomato has had a few flowers blossom, but I doubt that they'll really turn into anything at this early stage.  While the beetroot and strawberries are progressing, the sunflowers have basically just been snail food, and they never get to actually shoot very far before the snails get to them.

Half of the main bed has been set aside for tomato and related plants in a semi-rotational system.  In the photo below are blueberry, blackberry and black currant plants in pots, with tomatoes immediately behind (on the right of photo), and eggplant and chilli behind on left.  The bare dirt between the eggplant and brickwork will be for some Roma tomatoes.  The tomatoes on the right are various heirloom varieties -I figure that we'll end up with cherry tomatoes (from kids and one of my heirlooms), salad tomatoes, saucing/sundried tomatoes (from the Romas) and some green tomatoes (green zebras).  My sister's favourite movie for a while was Fried Green Tomatoes, so I've always wanted to grow green tomatoes just so I can make her one!

The three plants at the back of the garden bed are three of my propogated grape vines.  While I'm not sure which variety they are, a friend works for a liquor wholesaler and he's pretty confident that he'll be able to pick the variety.  Around three quarters of the propogated vines have established themselves, and I've been able to transplant 6 in total to our new house here (another three in pots elsewhere in the garden).  This will be their second season, so hopefully with the warmer weather we will get some fruit this time around!