My Edible Garden

2012-05-16T12:36:00.002+10:00

Well it has been a long time since my last post!

Alot has been happening :) i have started my own veggie garden installation business called "The Edible Garden" www.facebook.com/TheEdibleGarden.Organic

Its been a slow start but starting a gardening business at the start of autumn wasnt that bright :) so i will be relaunching come spring!

In my home garden i have limes ripening, as well as little lime and lime flowers (entire lime tree has come bezerk!) My lemonade tree has also got 4 fruits/lemonades (what to call them?!?) that are growing well! I have been picking lettuce and bok/pak choy like its going out of fasion and my pea and snow peas have just started producing! yummy!

Aprils Numbers!

342g Fig
10g Raspberries
207g Beans
54g Capsicum
55g Eggplant
173g Pak Choy
6g Carrots (still cant seem to get it right)
34g Zuccini
30g Lettuce
10g Snow peas

Total: 921g

The Warm autumn weve had has messed up planting big time! Although the pak/bok choy has done quite well they have been riddled with holes from the cabbage white butterfly! Which has stayed around alot longer this year! Thankfully they have now disappeared and everything is making a recovery!

Snails and slugs are doing a little bit of damage but nothing too terrible at the moment.
My Pepino has reflowed and has set a dozen little pepinos....yum!

Bananas have stopped putting out leaves....im thinking that at some point they should be producing fruit! I must pick up some clear plastic to put around them to keep them warm!

Ok so for the gardeners out there here is what to plant this month (for temperate gardens!

Broad Beans
Cabbage
Carrots
Chives
Garlic
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mitzuna
Oregano
Pak/Bok Choy
Parsley
Peas/Snow peas
Radish
Rocket
Shallots
Silverbeet
Spinach
Swedes
Turnips

Happy Gardening, Remember if you have any questions feel free to ask either on this blog or the edible gardens facebook page!

Febs Harvest...What to Plant now....and snail/slugs and how to deal with them!

2012-03-03T11:49:00.000+11:00

Well not quite sure what happened to our lovely summer weather....looks like we've gone headfirst into autumn. Both good and bad, i love seeing the leaves change colour but the onset of cold weather means that its time to the summer crops to end...and in with the winter veggies!

But before i get ahead of myself here are February's numbers!

41g Blueberries
113g Strawberries
2586g Tomatoes
33g Capsicum
252g Corn
78g Silver beet
467g Watermelon
170g Beans
166g Rhubarb
8g Herbs
327g Pepino
86g Fig

=4.327kg!

What to plant now

Temperate Climate

Asian veggies (bok choy, pak cho etc)
Beetroot
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Kohl Rabi
Leek
Lettuce
Onions
Peas
Snow Peas
Rhubarb
Shallots
Silver beet
Spinach
Spring Onion
Swede
Turnip
Zucchini

Snails and Slugs

Horrible things, and with the onset of colder weather they will be out in great numbers! So you may as well get a head start on them! Here are my top tips for dealing with snails and slugs

1. Beer Traps

These ones are fancy and i own a few of them. How they work is that you did a hole in the ground so that the base is level with the ground, Fill with some beer (they don't have a preference so stale beer or light beer should be fine!) Put the lid on and leave it. Check it every couple of days and scoop out the dead slugs and snails.

Turns out they love the smell and go get drunk and drown! If you aren't so keen on wasting your hard earned beer there are a couple of options. I did and experiment in may last year with a few different liquids. To see the results click on the link below.

http://pottedveggiegarden.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/spring-is-here.html

The beer traps i have are from a brand called 'slugga' and can be bought at bunnings warehouse for $6-$7 each

Otherwise make you own! Cut the bottom off a soft drink bottle and use that, just be sure to give it a cover of some sort.

2. Get out the torch, i would have to say this is the most effective way to get rid of snails (not so much slugs) When the season hits i am out every night for 10 minutes with my torch, a bucket filled with boiling hot water. I don't particularly like touching slugs and snails so i generally use an old pair of tweezers and go around picking them off my plants and dropping them in the bucket. This also helps you to notice how big the snail population is! Where do they hide?!?!?! Anyway, if you do this religiously for a week or two you can generally take some time off...

3. Copper tape. You can buy this from bunnings, it is from the brand 'slugga'. Its not cheap (because its copper) but the theory goes that if you put the tape down around the rim of your pot plants it will stop slugs and snails....bbbeeeecccaaauuussseeee....apparently it gives them something akin to an electric shock. I have had some success with this, unfortunately it doesn't work on earwigs which i had a problem with this year.

4. Iron phosphate Bait. If you feel the need to poison your slugs and snails then try this option instead of the usual metaldehyde bait. It is supposed to be non toxic and breaks down into the soil (where is doesn't do any damage to the soil as it actually occurs naturally there. I'm still not a big fan but......its an option

5. Sand Paper, this one i only just found out about the other day (from my daughters 'dirt girl world' dvd! So i have yet to test it. But its sounds pretty good, so what you do is cut out you own 'anti slug' rings from sheets of sandpaper (make it quite rough...maybe an 80 or so...you can pick up single sheets for under $1 from....you guessed it....bunnings lol). Make sure they are flush with the ground, the slugs and snails hate crawling over rough surfaces like this. They would prefer to avoid it, however if they are very determined and have a go they have to produce a lot more slime to do it safely, which dehydrates them :) win win...i think so!

6. Eggs shells, ash, Saw dust. These range in effectiveness. The crushed eggs shells essentially do the same job as the sandpaper...but you need alot of them. and have to replentish them regularly. The ash and saw dust dehydrate them...but some rain and they are smooshy or have washed away.

Thats all for today!
Happy Gardening

Cabbage White Butterfly

2012-02-23T15:00:00.002+11:00

So...as it is time to sow your brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower etc) you need to be aware of several pests that they will undoubtably come across. The first will be cabbage white butterfly. Unfortunatly for you you they dont just eat cabbages...but every bassica! This is what they look like...

Then will come the eggs (the little yellow ones up the top), they are layed mostly on the underside of leaves but some will be on the top too.

Then the holes and caterpillers (they grow to be enormous!)

You can see the little caterpillers

End result=eaten, although only babies have been working on this one so far.

So your beautiful seedlings, that you just planted can end up like this really really quickly....so how to prevent it. You can go the unatural way and spray them with chemicals :-( but i garden organically so here are a few tips

1. Save your used egg shells! Placing half eggs shells around you plants will help deter cabbage white butterfly! The butterflies think that this spot is already taken (by other cabbage white butterflies and leave it alone)

2. Builds habits/areas for predators (birds, lacewings, ladybirds etc). I will be building a bug hotel soon. Otherwise for birds have fresh water and nesting boxes

Simple Bug Hotel

Elaborate Bug Hotel

3. Check that your seedlings dont have eggs or caterpillers on it and then have a physical barrier around the plant

4. Go out there and rub off the eggs and pick off the caterpillers. If you have chickens or birds they can be a great treat...otherwise i go out with a bucket of hot soapy water and they have a swim

5. If your really getting desperate 'Dipel' is an approved organic insecticide. It is supposed to only affect caterpillers and not people or pets.

6. This one i havnt tried but apparently 1tbs Mollases to 1L water and 1tsp dishwashing liqued. Sprayed on both sides of the leaves works. Will have to try that :)

Well hopefully now you will be prepared for these little nasties!

Next Post will be on slugs and snails...ewww

January's Harvest and potting bench

2012-02-06T12:54:00.000+11:00

Well January was an incredibly good month! Unearthed potatoes....finished the nectarines...got stuck in strawberries and blueberries! yummy! How good is it to have a proper summer...not like last year!

So here we are...the official numbers for jan

351g Strawberries
120g Nectarines
8g Raspberry
609g Blueberries!
852g Potatoes
139g Lettuce (more than that but adam doesnt weigh the lettuce he takes on his sandwiches)
107g Fig
36g Silverbeet
10g Kale
96g Eggplant (soo yummy fried!)
9g Spring Onion
187g Pepino (Small melon type fruit)
165g Corn
29g Beans
17g Capsicum
5.57KG Tomatoes!

With a grand total of

8.305KG!!!!

Things to Plant Now

So to help the gardeners out there i am going to start helping people know when is the right time to plant seeds! So for february in melbourne (and other temperate places) you should plant:

Beans
Beetroot
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Celery
Leek
Lettuce
Potatoes (get them in quick)
Radish
Shallots
Silverbeet
Spring onion
Swede
Corn
Zuccini

Autumn and Winter catch alot of gardners by surprise :) so they are under prepared and end up having not much of anything. Right now is when you need to be growing seedlings for all your winter crops like leek, carrots, cabbage and broccoli

Potting Bench

So for a while now ive been asking adam to build me a potting bench :) we got rid of our outdoor setting (was to big for the space) and so all my gardening stuff had been sitting on the ground! We got everything we needed from bunnings and started

Building

Staining

Stained

Ready for use

This was when adam lost the drill bit...lol...we ended up getting it out with a magnet attatched to a loooong stake!

And some pics from the garden:

Australian Lime in flower

Teepee...ready for beans and snowpeas

Raspberries

Watermelon

Rainbow Chard (silverbeet)

Oh and last but not least...if you want to get my posts by email you can sign up on the right of screen :)

Summer and water saving

2012-01-23T22:13:00.000+11:00

Well it certainly feels like summer...a big improvment on last year! The garden in going fantastic and we are picking many kilos of tomatoes each week :) i have even had a few rounds of drying tomatoes (have 2 plants that are a drying variety).

However as it is summer and i am having to water regularly (and now have a new fish tank to add to the water bill) we have implemented a few stratergies to try and reuse water.

1. we now have buckets in the bathroom which we put into the shower before we hop in while the water is heating up
2. I am forever washing my hands in the kitchen sink...from preparing food for my daughter and i. all this water was just flowing down the drain... so i now have a bucked in the sink to wash vegies in and my hands over

A while ago my neighbours came over to my house to see my garden (adams idea! i was so embarrased haha) and it inspired them to create gardens of their own! So for the last few weeks we have been trading produce! Beans for tomatoes, peaches for rhubarb. It been fantastic! As we can only grow a very small amount in our backyards we have managed to grow different things (completely by accident!)

November and December Harvest

2012-01-01T21:18:00.000+11:00

Sorry about the delay :) was in a friends wedding and then christmas! Such a busy time of year. Hope you are all well an stayed safe during the silly season :)

November
116g Salad Mix
154g Rhubarb
51g Strawberry
261g Royal Blue Potatoes
8g Blueberries
3g White currants
25g Spring onion

Total: Not very much................................................i mean 618g

It may come as a surprise but spring is actually the hungry season! Its when your winter vegies are finished but theres nothing new around yet!

The rain for november was: 316mm

December
94g Blueberry
151g Rhubarb
1170g Nectarines :):):)
22g Strawberry
2787g Potatoes :D:D:D
282g Tomato (first for the season)
14g Beans

Total: 4.52kg!!!

Scabiosa Midnight...so pretty

Using small drawstring mesh bags to stop the birds getting at the fruit of raspberries and strawberries! Works so well

Pepino-first time it has fruited since i got it...small melon like fruit

Pennsylvanian Crookneck Pumpkin (Long butternut)

The little dirt patch surrounded by logs is another attempt to grow carrots- and the netted section at the back if for a second round of potatoes

Chiminea (sp?) that we got for christmas from my parents :)

Second and third pumpkin plant growing up their trellis

October's Harvest :)

2011-11-02T19:08:00.000+11:00

Numbers are in for october :) with a total of:

1.023KG!!!!

4g chives
25g rhubarb
536g lettuce (mixed: cos, mignonette, baby spinach....)
7g snow pea sprouts
448g spring onions
3g radish

:)

And some spring garden pics

Beautiful strawberry flower :)

Seedlings

Hope you all have spring gardens going :)

Food Dehyrdating

2011-10-15T16:30:00.000+11:00

So it was my birthday on thursday :) and from my family i got a food dehyrdator! Yay....very exciting, i took it on a test run yesterday. I tried strawberry, kiwi, mango, pear and apple!

Was a fantastic success :) (ive got a big batch of apple in at the moment!)

Also have some orange flowers that have just opened...they smell amazing!

Dont mind the foliage behind....slugs and snails of all things were eating the leaves...have a band of copper tape around the pot now :) problem solved!

The blueberries are getting very big now :) We got our first blueberries in december last year but im betting this lot will be ready earlier than that. Has anyone noticed how our spring seems to be about 3 weeks ahead of normal?

The 2 mature bushes are literally dripping with unripe blueberrys! yummy

A few more pics from around the garden

Strawberry Flower

Potato Tyres

Tomatoes and baby spinach in the raised bed

White fleshed nectarine....growing...yay!

Have purchased 2 more fruit trees (waiting for them to arrive)
The first is called "Golden fruit of the andes" or "Naranjilla"

It is reputed to have the best juice in the world :) A cross between a pineapple and a lime...or something like that
The send is cornelian cherry

Apparently cornel jelly is divine :) yay new fruit.

The new fig (silvan beauty) and the boysenberry that i got at the garden expo a month ago have both finally sprouted! Looking forward to making boysenberry icream...mmm

On that note i made vanilla icecream for the second time the other day....omg yum...

Here is the recipe...thanks to Jody @ stayathomemum.net.au

600ml cup cream

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 can Condensed Milk

Beat the cream with an electric mixer until it begins to thicken. Add the vanilla and beat until a light whipped cream forms. Gradually add the condensed milk and keep beating until it thickens and becomes a nice cream. Pour into a container and freeze until hard.

The end result (half eaten :) )

Well that will do for today :)

Lemon Butter and lemon and poppyseed cake :) yummy

2011-09-20T14:11:00.000+10:00

Have a day at home alone today... and adam brought home some lemons one of his customers had given him so i thought i would whip up some lemon butter :) and a lemon and poppyseed cake to go with it!

Lemon Butter

4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
125g chopped butter

1. Put sugar and eggs into a heatproof bowl, put bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water and whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved
2. Add the lemon juice, rind and butter (i would get this ready before hand) Whisk for 20 minutes until smooth and thickend (it doesnt look like its going to work...but for me at about the 18 min mark it thickened)
DO NOT LET IT BOIL! IT WILL CURDLE-you have been warned :)
3. Put 2x 250ml clean jars into the oven for a couple of minutes (this sterilises them)
4. Pour mixture into hot jars and seal

Store in the fridge and use within a few weeks-makes 2 cups

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

50g poppy seeds
185ml warm milk
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
185g butter, chopped
1 lemon-zested

1. Turn oven onto 180'C. Grease a loaf tin (approx 20cmx10cm)
2.In one bowl put warm milk and poppy seeds-leave for 15 minutes
3. In another bowl put your sugar, eggs, flour, butter and lemon rind. Mix in the milk and poppys
4. Beat for 5 minutes or until the mixture is looking pale
5. Pour into loaf tin and cook for 40 minutes (mine took more like an hour. test it with a skewer from 40 mins on)

:)

Oven Baked Bread Recipe

2011-09-09T10:25:00.000+10:00

Update: Made this again yesterday and have a pic!

I made this way back in march! But though i should share it! it was the first bread i have ever made that was light and fluffy on the inside and had a crunchy crust!

2tsp dry yeast
300ml luke warm water
3tsp salt
3tsp sugar
500g plain or bread flour
2tbsp olive oil

Stir 2 tsp dry yeast into 300ml luke warm water. let it sit until bubbles have formed. Place 3 tsp salt 3 tsp sugar 500g flour(plain or bread flour) in a different bowl, stir together. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast/water mix and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix with wooden spoon until it comes together. Knead for about 10 minutes on a floured bench top. add flour as needed to keep it from sticking. put in an oiled bowl for 45-60 minutes (or until doubled in size). Shape the loaf (loaf tin, football shape etc. let it rise again. bake for 30-45 mins in a 190 C oven.

Spring is here!!!!!

2011-09-05T17:46:00.000+10:00

Finally spring has arrived and the garden is a flurry of activity! From weeding, planting seeds, planting out seedling, fertilising, mulching.....the list goes on!

But first things first over the past few days i have been conducting an experiment with my beer baits....as Adam likes beer i thought it would be good if i tried another liqued in them.

So out of 4 traps they had
1x orange juice
1x apple juice
1x diluted ribena
1x apple/blueberry/blackcurrant juice

note: all these juices were the fresh versions not the long life ones...not sure if it would make a difference

....and here were the results! quite interesting!

Orange juice-was difficult to see as i had gone mouldy but there was not alot of anything is there (FAIL)
Apple juice-EARWIGS! tons of them....none found in any other trap (WIN)
Ribena-Slugs, nothing else just big fat engorged dead slugs...who had turned purple (WIN)
Apple/blueberry/blackcurrant-Snails...again nothing else just snails (WIN)

So as i think my main pest problem this year will be earwigs....apple juice it is :)

Here is a look at parts of my garden is picture

1st tyre potato up

Raised bed...end of cool weather crops...ready for summer!

Mignonette lettuce (grown under empty soft drink bottles)

White Mulberry

Lettuce mix (see growth against last pic)

Red Kale seedling

Tomato seedlings (various)

Nectarine

I planted some marigolds around the edge of the raise bed (need to get some more) They are a great companion plant as they repel nematodes in the soil, bean beetle, thrips and they keep whitefly away! They also attract hoverflies (beneficial insect)
I thought that i might start talking about individual plants and my experience with them, difficulty etc to help people decide if it would be something they might want to grow :) I'm going to start today with my favourite:

BLUEBERRIES

These are an incredible easy plant to grow, and so rewarding...i have had bluberries for 3 years now and NOTHING eats them! They have never had a disease, they just grow and produce blueberries!
Height: Anywhere between 1-2m and just a tad smaller in width

Full Sun/part shade (mine get morning sun only and thrive)

Soil requirements: Blueberries are acid loving plants...just like azaleas...if you are planting them in pots you should plant them in an azalea potting mix. They like a ph of about 4-5.5. If you are planting in the ground or potting mix you already have it is a good idea to get some garden sulfur and apply it according to the instructions.

A great way to keep the soil acidic is you mulch it with spent coffee grounds or pine needles. :)

Here is melbourne mine fruit from about end November-Start of February

The other week i raided my mums lemon tree and made lemon cordial, it is very sweet but yummy!

Recipe (Thanks to Jackie French's book 'Backyard self-sufficiency')

Ingredients:
6 cups white sugar
3 cups water
3 cups lemon juice
3 tsp citric acid (in the baking aisle at safeway/woolworths and coles)
3 tsp tartaric acid (see above)

Boil for 10 minutes. Bottle in clean bottles while hot. Keep in a cool dark place for up to a month. Throw out if it ferments or looks cloudy. It also makes a good iceblock.

:) Wow long post...any questions? Queries? would be happy to help

Seeds are up and fruit trees blooming!

2011-08-11T20:02:00.000+10:00

The massive rectangular pot that i planted a whole range of flower seeds in are mostly up!

They are:
Nasturtium Milkmaid
Ladybird Poppy
A mist blue
Mulberry Rose
Nemophilia
Lilac poppy and
Native everlasting

I also bought some seedlings from bunnings (i couldnt resist!)
Mizuna lettuce mix

Tuscan salad mix (contains la roma red, la roma green, radicchio and spidery endive)

There has also been a burst of new growth in the more established plants

Macadamia-the light green bit is all new growth!

Pomegranate putting out new leaves

Buds on the nectarine (they burst this afternoon!)

Blueberry in bloom

I went into the garden the other day and heard a buzzing sound! I stood still and then saw a BEE!!! First one ive seen since the end of autumn! very exciting and do you know what it was doing, it was pollinating my blueberry bushes....good bee...mmm...blueberries!

Just about to pick this broccoli

Plans are underway for the spring garden...will be planting my tomatoes in a propagator this weekend! by the end of september they will be ready for transplanting! I have started preparing the raised bed for spring planting

This trellis is one of 3 that will grow cucumbers!...in a small garden it is important to use the vertical growing space! i will be growing pumpkins and watermelons one trellis's this year (not a bamboo one though! need something a bit stronger for those)

I can smell spring in the air :) the sun is finally putting out some warmth and its time to start getting into gear!

Back to my garden :)

2011-07-23T17:57:00.000+10:00

So my last post was about Heronswood and this one is about my garden :)

Yesterday i planted my new fig and staked it, and i topdressed all of my fruit trees with a mix of cow manure, chicken manure, mushroom compost and rock dust. The aim of this is to fertilize and get the plants ready for spring and new growth. I also sowed seeds

In the propogator (sp?)

Coneflower purple (echinacea)
Red Kale
Lettuce mignonette
Silverbeet (same colours as in previous post)
Broccoli sessantina grossa

And straight in the ground

Pink and blue mix of flowers
Nasturtium Milkmaid
Poppy ladybird (vibrant red with black centre)
Red onion

Today i tidied up the garden, did some weeding, replanted some flowers that were in the way and moved a whole lot of pots around :) I also started on a cage type contraption for all my berry plants so the birds dont find them....i didnt have very much trouble last year but there were not as many of them and they were spread out...and there were less birds!!! so here it is in its beginning stages

As i said very early stages....lol...i needs my husbands help hammering the stupid stakes into the ground and devising some sort of support :) and i need more bird netting for the front :) It was a beautiful sunny day today :) perfect for this sort of work.

I also manured where the watermelons, beans and corn is going to go.

He is a pic of half the garden

I am considering adding another tyre for potatoes :) that would take us up to 6 in the garden!

Believe it or not my garden is starting to flower...the blueberries have had closed flowers for ages now but they are starting to open up

Blueberries

Rosemary

Flowers

Orchid

Last week i repotted my rosemary into the pot that held my rhubarb. I chucked the rubard in the corner as i was sure it had gotten crown rot. Which meant i thought it was dead...anyway i pick it up today and turn it over and what to i find! its sprouted again...lol....so i replanted it in a permenant position in the garden so it could stretch its legs

Well see how it goes :) the pot was really to small for it so hopefully it will take off!

Thats all for today!

Heronswood-Dromana (Diggers Club)

2011-07-21T21:23:00.000+10:00

I have had a fantastic day :)
There is a manor and gardens in dromana called heronswood. It is the base for the diggers club company of which i am a member http://www.diggers.com.au/

I drove down today in the miserable rain...my sat nav took me a very scenic route but i made it :) thankfully i had my rain jacket that i wear to work (thanks mum-same one we took to europe! It still fits lol). So i put that on and went inside the shop. The ladies laughed at me and said i was very brave...lol...i grabbed an umbrella and braved the pouring rain. The garden was amazing....i had a brief look at the ornamental sections and then headed down to the veggie section

Bottom left of this photo is a purple/red kale...it was beautiful

Rue and rhubarb

There was a seat under a leafy arbour thing so i sat down and took in the view. It was a few minutes before i realised

IT WAS THE SEA!!!!

They had geese (i think they were geese...maybe ducks) walking around

I wanted to show you a couple of their vegies up close

This is the purple/red kale....it is beautiful...sorry about the picture quality...it was raining and i used my phone

This is the swiss chard/rainbow silverbeet. In pink and orange

and Yellow!

If you remember i grew some of this in summer and its delicious :)

They had so many different types of fruit trees! i was so tempted to eat some of the ripe fruit! Instead i headed inside to the cafe called "fork to for" they use only produce from their garden and locally sourced sustainable food :) I had a caramilzed onion and olive tart with a salad. And pumpkin and something bread with olive oil....I have never eated anything as yummy as my lunch today... :) Their menu changes seasonally based on what they are growing and is available.

I had a bite before the pic...i couldnt resist

Then i went back to the shop and picked up lots of seeds, rockdust, bottletop waterers (for watering seedlings!)

A new fig called St Dominque Violette

Reportedly grown at Burnley Horticultural College in Melbourne as early as 1875 and listed in old mail-order catalogues up until the 1930's, this violet-skinned French fig is back. Sourced from Phil Shepherd, whose family have been growing fruit trees in Victoria for 3 generations, this fig is one for the collector and connoisseur of fine fruits.

and Oca which is grown similar to potatoes and tastes similar but is only ready to dig up in autumn!

And last but no least! Yesterday i got all my frozen tomatoes out of the freezer and canned them! one jar of yellow and 2 of red!

Im very very proud :)

Pheww what a massive post....again if you have any questions about gardening, preserving or anything feel free to comment of email me at natalieback@optusnet.com.au

Hope everyone is well :)

Winter is boring

2011-06-18T12:47:00.000+10:00

I used to be of the opinion that winter was awesome....i do still love the cold but its so boring garden wise!!!. Everything takes such a loooong time to grow. Plus the sun seems like its so far away. We have been having some lovely sunny weather tho:) more sun than we got in summer!

So now is the time for planning your spring gardens! I am anticipating my new seed catalogue from the diggers club. Should be here any week now! I received my potatoes from them in the mail

I have:
Nicola
Kipfler
Desiree
Royal Blue
King Edward
Pink Eye

I dont get to plant them until august and will have some spare if anybody wants them?

At the moment growing in the garden we have
Snow peas
Leeks
Onions
Garlic
Beetroot
and Radishes. I have never eaten radishes and have no idea if i like them but they grow quickly and are a good step in crop rotation.

Snails and slugs are out in force and i am regularly seen out at night with my torch picking them off....one by one. However a couple of products i find useful (and organic) are from a brand called 'Slugga'. you can buy it at bunnings. I use the beer traps (which are awesome) but even better for a container garden is the copper tape. You put it around the pot/garden bed and when they try to cross it it gives them an electic shock :) proving to be amazing. I had to go out for 2 nights with the torch still to get the ones hiding in the mulch but now not so much as a nibble!

So as you should all be planning your spring gardens atm hit me with your questions :) i love questions :)

How to make butter :)

2011-05-23T13:52:00.000+10:00

Soo easy :)

I use thicked cream but you can use thin (non thickened cream too). I put 2 600ml jars into my food processor with the whipping attachment. And whip it and keep whipping it! Whip it past the whipped cream stage and keep going until it turns back into a liqued.

Then strain it through a strainer using your hands to squeeze the liqued out. Plonk it onto baking paper and knead like you would bread for a minute adding a few teaspoons of salt. I then press the butter into a tupperware container and chuck it in the fridge.

Here is one of mine

Sorry the picture is so crap, my camera is awful...lol

Also when and bought a white mulberry tree on saturday. It was $12! As its deciduous it jsut looks like sticks atm, and as i have never bought a stick before i got the lady there to help me pick a good stick :) The great thing about white mulberrys is that apparently they taste just as good as the red and black but you wont stain your clothes, and hands and face and anything else you come into contact with!

There used to be a mulberry tree near my grandparents house in perth and we loved to go and eat them :) food memories are so amazing! I will post a pic of the mulberry in spring, once it has some leaves haha

Yumm....silverbeet, tomato, feta and pine nut warm salad

2011-05-23T13:35:00.000+10:00

I though that i should share some of the recipes we love that use our fresh veggies!

This one is my husband adams favourites!

Swiss Chard (Silverbeet) with Tomatoes, Feta and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard or silverbeet, stems and leaves chopped separately, divided
Sea salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 tomato, cored and chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Method

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Uncover, add chard leaves, salt, pepper and broth and cook, covered, until chard leaves are bright green and tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and gently stir in tomatoes. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over the top and serve.

This is what ours looked like :)

We grew rainbow chard this year (yellow, red, pink, white and green stems) which adds great colour as well as the yellow and red cherry tomatos...

I will be adding more recipes and you will be able to find the full list on the recipes page!

Brrr...its cold

2011-05-20T17:04:00.000+10:00

Well it is really getting cold now :) the garden has slowed down alot but that means its time to to plant snow peas!!! yum

Here are mine about 2 weeks out from being planted

There are also a few new additions to my garden. a herb pot with

Curry plant
parsley
marjoram
oregano
thyme
garlic chives

mmm yum

I also have a new blueberry 'brigitta'. It fruit jan-feb and apparently the blueberries hang in bunches like grapes :) sounds delicious. And another raspberry, this one is a bit different though, you know raspberries as being red but this one is a goldy yellow

It should look like this

Extra yummy

They dont sell these at bunnings....lol...but if you want one go to http://www.diggers.com.au/

We are starting to get some beautiful colours in the garden, from the yellows of the pomegranate/nectarine/nashi pear to a gorgeous red of one of my blueberries

For those in the pakenham area my best friend and i will be having a stall at the market next month (not sure of the date but will check!) Where we will be selling homemade blackberry and homemade plum jam :) as well as an assortment of cookies/slices etc and seedlings (snowpeas, onion, rainbow silverbeet, sage and rosemary and maybe even some seed potatoes, if i can spare them :) I will post details when i have them.

Rosemary and sage seedlings ready for market

Other than that my onions and beetroots are thriving even without direct sunlight (bloody sun is to low in the sky and i have massive fences) i have been trying to reflect sunlight with a mirrow from inside with mixed success. The bananas took a bit of a battering with the hail the other week but are still looking great!

Lemonade Tree

2011-05-04T22:11:00.000+10:00

New addition to my garden :) a lemonade tree!! A cross between a lemon and a mandarin. Apparently tastes good with anything mixed with it.

My garden has had a major overhaul, all summer crops have been taken out and autumn/winter ones put in. Have also reorganise where all the plants are :)

New plants are:

Snow peas
kale
swiss chard
Brussel sprouts
Artichoke
Iceberg lettuce
Garlic

If you want to plant garlic then do so now :) buy an australian garlic from the shops or from bunnings :) plant. Wait 9 months and you will have more garlic :)

If you are interested in growing heirloom fruits and vegetable i would reccomend the diggers club.

http://www.diggers.com.au/

I have bought from them in the past and have just joined their club! Such a wide variety of well everything! i have potatoes, blueberries (one that hangs in bunches like grapes) and a white raspberry in the mail as we speak.

Banana trees going strong

Tyres all ready for potatoes and the trellis in the background is for the snow peas

Artichoke, brussel sprouts and another trellis for more snow peas! and on the far right garlic

Still a few white flys hanging around but have to get adam to mow soon as i think they are hiding in the weeds...lol. The pepino is putting out new flowers, hopefully these ones will set. I have cut the raspberrys down to the ground and pruned the apple trees.

Also added sulfur to the blueberries as their soil is no where acidic enough. The white current is looking pretty miserable so i have added some worm castings and wood ash to give it a boost.

Thats all to report for now besides one last thing

WARNING!!!
NEVER EVER CUT UP CHILLIES WITH YOUR BARE HANDS! IT WILL MAKE THEM BURN FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS!.

IMG00172-20110429-1602.jpg

2011-04-29T16:04:00.000+10:00

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Heirloom Beetroots and onions!

Gosh i have been so lazy

2011-04-28T18:16:00.000+10:00

Lol, so im back :) married now, honeymoon gone and back to the real world!

My garden survived it all thanks to the dutiful watering of my friend jess! Thanks jess...lol

Now that autumn is in full swing the garden has slowed down dramatically. The onions seeds all sprouted and are doing very well as are my heirloom beetroots. The carrots however all got eaten......by something. lol...one day they were there and healthy the next they were all gone...i think it may have been a cat. grrr anyway going to put leeks in their spot. Only 1 broccoli plant has survived thus far but will be sowing some more seeds tomorrow.

ok so what you have missed out on...Marchs numbers

Over 48.5ml (again not exact because of the wedding)

1.313kg!!

raspberry-124g
fig- 364g
beans-219g
swiss chard- 126g
strawberry- 48g
capsicum- 374g
pepino gold- 58g

The pumpkin and apple cucumber havnt worked as for the second year in a row i planted them way to late! grrr...and the sweet potato did not thrive as the second i put it in the ground it stopped being humid....lol...

My banana's are still going strong, producing new leaves but slowing down as it gets colder. The cherry has dropped all its leaves and the nectarine is on its way. I planted garlic a few weeks ago and it all sprouted and is continuing to do so!

I have a friend who has asked for some advice on growing fruit/vegies on a small balcony in canberra, that doesnt get alot of sun :) So stay tuned!

February's numbers :)

2011-03-07T10:19:00.000+11:00

Well despite all that rain (will get to that in a minute) february proved to be a decent month!

All up there was 5.741Kg of fruit and veg collected :D

Here it is broken down

Tomatoes- 2.08kg
Cherry tomatoes- 2.05kg
Strawberries- 52g
Swiss Chard (silverbeet)- 183g
Corn- 367g
Capsicum- 407g
Rhubarb- 72g
Fig- 134g
Beans- 18g
Swede- 352g
Onion- 23g
Raspberry- 3g

So far still no zuccini or cucumbers forming, however there is one female flower on the pumpkin yet to open. I made an error in the last post, in the raised bed i planted carrots not corn....lol.....however all the carrots, parsnips and beetroot have emerged. As well as half the onions and most of the broccoli. The weather is aweful! I have missed having a hot summer, it makes gardening that much harder!

As for the rainfall for February......drumroll please......

in excess of (my rain measurer thing was overflowing one day).....

339mm!!!!!!

The average for february is 48mm!!!!

Anyway, we have been eating lots of yummy raspberrys and the garden seems to be holding pretty well, all things considered.

Bits and Pieces

2011-02-20T23:34:00.000+11:00

Just a small update. February has been pretty interesting. We have had flooding as has half the country and the backyard was under 4 inches of water, thankfully that was all and the plants are all fine.

Due to all the rain (i think it will be a record! Adam seems to think we are having a wet season this year :) ) the corn didnt grow properly which was a shame. However all pumpkins, zuccini and cucumbers are growing very well and we havnt seen a case of powdery mildew on them yet!

The figs are just begining to ripen, and the raspberries will be ripe in the coming weeks. which is great because have you seen the price of fruit and veg?!?!?!?!?!?

The raised bed is in a transitions stage. All that is left is the silverbeet and swede. Both of which will be finishing up in the next couple of weeks. Being planted in the bed at the moment is corn (orange and purple), turnip, broccoli, beans and onion :). I also have a sweet potato plant in the tyres i use for growing potatoes! Its the first time i have planted sweet potato so we will see how it goes.

The numbers are in for January!

2011-02-01T21:58:00.000+11:00

Well january has come and gone and now the exciting part...how much did i pick!!!

So here it is broken down

Fig-75g
Blueberry-84g
Strawberry-52.5g
Baby spinach-215g
Beans-164g
Tomatoes (various)-575g
White currant-8g
Mixed Lettuce-45g
Rhubarb--63g
Potatoes-366g
Capsicum-49g
Cherry Tomatoes (Various)-3.969kg!!!!!

So a total of 5.665kg!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain for January was a total of a wopping 124mm!

Hope everyone is surviving the heat!

Jam and Frogs

2011-01-23T22:13:00.000+11:00

Picked some blackberrys today...enough to make a small amount of jam :)

Blackberries

Blackberry Jam...yes that is condensation...no its not supposed to be there...i didnt keep my jar hot enough...oh well into the fridge and learn for next time...say another couple of days :)

Also found a frog in my backyard!!! and not a tiny one at that! How it managed to get into my fully (massive) fenced yard is a mystery...its hard enough for the bees to find their way