The year started with so many projects on the “TO DO” list, that we saw January come and go. We have successfully completed our Solar Geyser project and even though it is not a real gardening project, I really want to share the experience with you!! So I will make my next post a project post!
But January still managed to delight me with lots of wonderful flavour and colour! See what my garden harvest was this January…….
Kale, Spinach, figs, lemons, grenadillas, and yellow sweet peppers!
Even though we are experiencing water restrictions, the fig tree managed to gives us super sweet and unusually creamy fruit!
Bursting with sweetness!
Grenadillas are falling off the vine every day!! I have to give them away!
The Kale is so crunchy and very edible. I was not a fan but if you sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice and rub it in…..very yummy and wonderfully nutritious salad addition!
Lemons are always used and welcome in my kitchen. If not for cooking then for cleaning. GREAT TIP: I take a used lemon slice and rub my cutting boards to clean it and remove stains and when rinsed they come out washed and fresh!
My Sweet Yellow Pepper – did you know that your green pepper will either turn red or yellow – depending on the type!
[one_half]My January Harvest[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Tons of figs[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Grenadilla or Passion Fruit[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Love all the flavours[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Lots of kale for juicing as well[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Need to make Fig Jam[/one_half_last]
Thanks for sharing and enjoy your garden this 2016!
This is the best day of the week! The day I go out with my basket and harvest all the ripe and ready vegetables!! Yum!! Happy Days! The photos tell the story…….
[one_half]My new yellow heirloom plum tomatoes[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Roma tomatoes always the best![/one_half_last]
[one_half]Amish Heirloom tomatoes[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Sweet basil in abundance![/one_half_last]
[one_half]Basil with tomatoes-great companion plants[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Swiss chard, Kale and lettuce[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Wild Rocket – great in salads[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Curly Kale[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Egg plant – Heirloom Black Beauty[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Swiss chard[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Baby cabbage and beetroot[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Baby cabbage[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Broccoli looking beautiful[/one_half]
[one_half_last]What an amazing head of Broccoli[/one_half_last]
Love all the veggies and such great variety!! Will cook some and juice the rest!
I love my early morning ritual with getting up – open up for the chickens – kisses and hugs, fresh seeds, greens and water – put the coffee on – empty the trash – pack the dishes from the night before – pour the coffee and my morning begins……
[one_half]My favourite morning spot on the back deck[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Everything is so green![/one_half_last]
I love sitting out on my deck in summer.The sun is way up there early in the morning and the birds and bees are busy gathering. Everything is so GREEN!! I love this! I take a walk between the veggies and fruit and see that all is good. The small damage from my little nasties are not punishable by death so they are allowed to stay. I see so many ladybirds that I won’t spray for aphids either. I will be gentle this season and share in my spoils!
[one_half]My Tea Tree Bush and Irises in the background[/one_half]
[one_half_last]My sunflowers are growing tall![/one_half_last]
I have set up the new veggie planter, purchased seedlings from the nursery, studied up on companion planting to see which of the seedlings will grow well together and then lovingly planted all the new herb and vegetable seedlings. With the new vegetable planter it has been incredibly easy to do and surprisingly, it was lots of fun! Now it’s time to sit back, give the plants a good daily watering and lots of TLC and then see what happens. As this is my first foray into vegetable gardening I’m excited but also just a little sceptical. Can I do actually do this? Time will tell …
I thought you might be interested in what I’ve planted. As I have negative experiences with planting from seed in the past, I decided my first attempt at vegetable gardening should be planting from seedlings (“Instant gratification” is what I was really going for here. We’ll leave the seed planting for a time when I am a little more experienced with this).
So here is what I’ve planted in the basins: (see photos below)
[one_half]Basin number One: In the first basin (Far left), I have a Strawberry plant which is a fair size and already flowering. I couldn’t resist, it was such a pretty plant and we love Strawberries. I’ve planted cauliflower (bonny hybrid) and one rocket lettuce plant in there as well. Cauliflower is supposed to work well with Strawberries. I bought the little Bumble Bee as a “scare crow”, so that the birds don’t come and eat the strawberries (wishful thinking!)[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Basin Number Two: In the second basin (Centre Left), I’ve planted two chili plants. The first is called “Long Red Cayenne Slim”. Its supposed to be very hot with green to red fruit. The second Chili plant is called Golden Habanero. Together with the two chillis we’ve planted parsley (type: Big Ben moss curled) and three little seedlings that lost their label. (I think they are lettuce but am not 100% sure. They look like lettuce).[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Basin Number Three: In the third basin (Centre Right), I’ve planted at the back, Oregano (Rosenkuppel), a Sweet Pepper star yellow, a few Cherry Tomatoes and Sweet Basil (because I already know Tomatos go well with Sweet Basil).[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Basin Number Four: In the fourth basin (Far Right), I’ve planted at the back: Lemon Grass (which Stefani uses a lot in her Thai cooking) and Coriander (which we use a lot). In the front: lettuce (green Cos) and spinach (bright lights).[/one_half_last]
As usual, I bought too many plants, so some extras still need to be planted out into the garden. These include Rosemary and Garlic Chives and a few cherry tomato plants I didn’t have space for. I planted them in the bed with the existing Sweet Basil and Tomato Plant (which are both thriving!) If I’d know vegetables grow so quickly … I might have started this a long time ago!
Costs involved:
I’ve worked out that the amount of money I spend buying Sweet Basil and Parsley alone from Woolies in a period of one year, pays for all the seedlings, potting soil and the vegetable planter I bought! So as long as the sweet basil and parsley reward me with usable leaves, we’ve broken even. Any additional crops I harvest from my new little Vegetable Garden will be a bonus! And how wonderful that I won’t be wasting left-overs anymore. I really hated throwing away what we didn’t use every week because it was no longer fresh. So that alone will make me happy and if it tastes better than store bought I’ll be ecstatic.
If this works we’ll progress on to growing cucumbers, onions, potatoes and who knows what else … but for that we will allocate a bed in the garden. I already have my eye on one!
I took a stroll around the garden and the veggie patch this evening and I was pleasantly surprised with all the healthy growth happening – my trees and my veggies. We had a heavy down pour after that really hot day last week, so my garden was so thankful. It got a good soaking and it shows! My little guava tree is all bushy and bright! Maybe this year we will have guavas. All my spinach and lettuce are looking delicious! AND my tomato plants are finally showing signs of producing tomatoes! My lemon tree is, at long last, looking healthy and producing lemons! I drenched it with my soapy water pesticide to get rid of the woolly aphids and ants last week and I pruned all the dead or diseased branches yesterday! So now this week I’ll give it a good mulch and feed and also plant my nasturtiums underneath it! How is your lemon tree doing? I hope that you are having the same success as I am. See you soon!
My January Harvest[/one_half]
Tons of figs[/one_half_last]
Grenadilla or Passion Fruit[/one_half]
Love all the flavours[/one_half_last]
Lots of kale for juicing as well[/one_half]
Need to make Fig Jam[/one_half_last]
