#&*%^*! possums

Over the past couple of weeks, some industrious possums (I am assuming it's more than one) have eaten their way through our little orchard. All the leaves off the trees and all the fruit gone. Including two trees full of almost-ripe plums and two heavy with unripe pears. But then I spotted this in the middle of our yard and felt truly devastated.

My one-and-only apricot tree, which bore only one apricot this year. Luckily I ate it before the possum got there. However, Mr. Possum has eaten almost all of its leaves and broken almost all of the

small branches, leaving what was a nicely shaped small tree completely lopsided and bare. I felt so sad when I saw it I was ready throw in the towel and give up gardening for good. Chatting to a neighbour today, we were wondering if the possums have been pushed out of the forest behind us by the bushfires. Certainly we have noticed a lot more pademelons and some large Bennetts wallabies since we returned home.

In happier garden news, we've had a few kilos of blueberries from our two small bushes. And there is silverbeet. Beetroot. And carrots. These are all growing inside a fully enclosed chicken wire veggie patch so safe from naughty possums, even if the odd bunny or bandicoot breaks in.

From the garden

Compared to the past few years, we have eaten little from the garden. What with rabbits eating many of the seedlings (no peas, snow peas, arugula, silverbeet, beans or broad beans), work travel at planting time in spring and me leaving the greenhouse shut one hot day, killing everything in it except the oregano and sage... it hasn't been the most successful gardening year. Still, there have been some delicious things to eat. I've dug up half a bed of beautiful baby pink eye potatoes, some lovely carrots, a few cherries and the two little blueberry bushes are so laden with fruit I've had to prop up the branches with stakes. I put half a kilo in the freezer yesterday! One the way are apples, pears and (hopefully) some tomatoes. I killed the two tomato plants in the greenhouse that were already fruiting, and the four plants outside are only just starting to fruit. Green plums can also be seen on one of the two trees planted a few years back. Fingers crossed!

Tomatoes are in

October is the busiest time of the year for me at work, so the poor old garden doesn't get the attention it needs in spring. Despite that, on the weekend (between work trips) I bought some tomato seedlings from Cygnet Market and planted them. I chose some 'cold resistant' varieties and planted a couple in the greenhouse and some outside in the raised garden beds. Last year I found buying seedlings a much better approach for me than starting them from seed in the house in August. Maybe one day I'll get to do that again. The local wisdom says that tomato plants can go in 'after show day' (meaning the Hobart Show), but based on how cool it is at our place this evening, I'm wondering if where I live, the rule should be after the Huon Show day.

Winter gardening

The rabbits have eaten the tops off all my snow peas, broad beans and garlic. Broccoli, leek and cabbage seedlings have been crushed under the weight of the snow. Now the earth is hard and regularly covered in frost or snow. So I give up for now. I am planning to start again next month, with peas, radishes and replanting the snow peas and broad beans, with bunny protection this time. The exception is my snow-covered greenhouse, where broccoli, lettuce and herb seedlings are protected from the ice and the rabbits and only have the slugs to contend with.

To blanch or not to blanch

Spent half the new year's day public holiday picking, trimming and blanching a small mountain of snow peas and a bucket of broad beans. The next day, someone told me she just pods the broad beans and freezes them. So I'll give that a go next time and report back on the difference. I'm not actually confident that the blanched and frozen snow peas will still be nice to eat when defrosted. It's the first time I've tried it. Do you have a winning way of storing your oversupply of snow peas and broad beans? I'd love to hear what worked best for you.