Since Thursday this week was a gazetted public holiday and that therefore our Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG) Food Garden Coordinator would be absent, we decided to volunteer on Wednesday.  Six of us arrived ready for action.

I enjoyed my introductory stroll from the gate to the Food Garden with the omnipresent mountain in the background.

First we tackled weeding; healthy tall milk thistles, potato weeds, grasses and stinging nettles had worked hard to hide themselves amongst flowering nasturtiums. But their efforts were in vain and they now rest, perhaps forlornly, in a deep compost pile. The sun grew hotter and our water bottles were in constant use. It was, after all, a glorious day.

The big job and quite an easy job (for some) was to drag out the remains of brassica plants.

These, with their golden flowering spikes were alive with the buzz of bees.  It seemed a shame to remove their food source.

Eventually large piles littered the ground and buggy loads were driven off to the main compost pile.

This long garden bed will be turned over with a rotary hoe in preparation for planting tomato crops.

I finished my day by taking a casual wander through the Food Garden looking at the plants and their recent growth and changes. Sprouting vines wound around sticks.

Broccolini made a last hurrah.

Cumquats at the top of the tree waited for some brave person to clamber up a ladder and pick them.

Figs were plumping out.

Healthy almonds wore their furry coats.

The glorious apple arbor created a shady walkway for lazy walking in the heat of summer.

A mix of normal white plus pink flowering broad beans.

Red leafed mustard was going to seed, edged with a healthy crop of coriander.

As usual, the garden changes, always offering promise of superb produce over time. And, as usual, Tony picked a selection of produce for distribution by charities.