Tag: garden bloggers harvest day

Food Garden

Post author By Barbara
Post date November 1, 2015

If I had to add up all the time spent in my garden, the vegetable patch would win, hands down!! It takes so much time and love – in all kinds of weather! But the rewards are, for me, so worth it! The incredible bounty I collect makes my heart glow! It brings the best knowledge and experience every new season and the veggies are getting better and sweeter!! Even my family are feeling the love! They too have veggie gardens of their own now! Getting their hands in the soil and gathering their own harvests!! Makes me smile!!

The Peas were a great crop this season – they were all so sweet and they were all from heirloom seeds bought from Livingseeds.co.za!

Strawberries in hanging baskets – they seem to be doing really well. Last time I tried growing them, they were eaten up before we saw one!! Maybe the position off the grown could be the reason!

[one_half]Lush and full of greens!![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Herbs and vegetables grow side-by-side[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Peas, lettuces, Brussel Sprouts & Calendulas[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Glorious peas this year – super sweet![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Pyrethrum flowers growing as a natural repellent![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Swiss chard abundant with broad beans[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Celery[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cilantro – Coriander was a great harvest[/one_half_last]

Brassicas (sprouting broccoli) with Spring Onions, Chamomile in the foreground and Pyrethrum in the background. Everything carefully positioned so each one helping the other. Did you know that Chamomile is a helper plant so you can plant them next to a weak plant that needs support. Pyrethrum is a natural pesticide, so no bug sprays were ever needed here!

I always love to have lots of variety with herbs and flowers growing next to all my vegetables. There seems to be a symbiosis and each plant seems that much stronger.

My next post will showcase all the beautiful blooms!!

Happy gardening xxxx

Tags garden, garden bloggers harvest day, organic vegetables, vegetables, veggie garden, veggies

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Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in May

Post author By Barbara
Post date May 17, 2013
8 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in May

This post is late in coming, but I wanted to save face and let you know that there is something I can harvest from my modest veggie patch. I have not put any effort into the garden this month and yet it still produces happily. I know I promised last month that I would toil and sow seeds, but alas! I might as well have gone fishing!! That’s how much I did in the garden, but I am quite surprised what I can collect. Let me share with you my May Harvest!

My lemon tree is a wonder and the priceless fruit is always welcome in my kitchen. I have made tons of lemon cordial and the salad dressings are never with out freshly squeezed lemons.

Fresh Lemons – love them!

My broad beans are starting – I use the tips in my salads. Super delicious!

My main veggie crop is lettuce. It seems to do really well in my patch!

I have sweet basil all over – in purple too! Makes for a very pretty garden fill!

My tomatoes are not ripe yet. They are now going out of season, but we still have a few warm days left. Lets hope we can harvest them soon!

Something different in my garden. We don’t really eat Eggplant, but I am loving them in my garden!

I am just loving wild rocket in my dishes! It brings any meal to life! AND they are easy to grow.

Hey!! I found a cucumber !! I did not know it was sill alive! Guess what I had for lunch today!

And last but not least…. my multitude of herbs. I have lemon balm, mint and thyme I use regularly.

I hope all my harvesting friends have a bigger basket of goodies than I have!!

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Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in March

Post author By Barbara
Post date March 6, 2013
16 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in March

The summer has past and we are going into autumn this Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in March and the veggie patches of Two Gardens will be in the middle of refurbishment. We will be seeing the last of the lettuce and the summer veggies. Now is the time for clearing out the old and anticipating new growth!!!! The weatherman is still slinging heatwaves at us, so let’s see what we have been busy with this month!

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbie’s Garden this month

The baskets full of veggies have come to an end – pity! But we are still able to harvest some delicious tomatoes and sweet basil. The Lemon tree is bursting with fruit – this is a treat for me because there is so much we do with lemons!! I grew my first cucumber – and it was delicious!! I see a few more on the vine so we look forward to lots more. The veggie patch is bare and this month I will be clearing and feeding the soil. Not much to show but at least it is an assortment of goodies.

[one_half]Cucumber starts off like this![/one_half]

[one_half_last]And ends up like this-in a plate![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Oh look! An eggplant too[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Need to get a few recipes for this![/one_half_last]

Sweet basil is still growing strong!

[one_half]Tomatoes are small but delicious![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Small Blondekopf Tomatoes[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Onions – I usually grow red ones[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Peppadew chillies galore[/one_half_last]

Lemons for Africa!

[one_half]The tree is full of lemons![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lots of lemon juice in there![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Butternut squash still growing[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Hubbard and Butternut squash harvested[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Figs are coming to an end[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lemon Balm, Oreganum and Thyme [/one_half_last]

Oh look – I can also harvest something else ……..

[one_half]Hi girls – you busy?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Who laid the extra egg?[/one_half_last]

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

Please join us on the 5th of every month and show us what you’ve harvested. Whether you have a massive vegetable garden or grow a few herbs in pots or just pick a few peaches from a tree … we’d love to see! It’s all about sharing our experiences, photographs, successes and failures as we “learn to grow”.

So prepare a post on your blog about what you harvested this past month, link up to us at The Gardening Blog and then, add your link to the Mr. Linky below so we can all visit your blog and “share in your harvest”. And leave us a comment! We LOVE hearing from you!

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Tags garden bloggers harvest day, organic garden

Annuals Barbie's garden Bloggers Harvest Day Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in February

Post author By Barbara
Post date February 5, 2013
16 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in February

What a delight to have news for The Garden Bloggers Harvest Day this February and the veggie patches of Two Gardens will thrill any gardener. The summer’s warm temperatures and the busy helpers have kept their side of the deal. All we have to do is pick the fruit and eat it!!!!

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbie’s Garden this month

I am so excited to bring in my basket of goodies from the veggie patch. The photos will be the proof of all the love that has gone into this years harvest. So much on my plate – we have to have a huge dinner party to go through all the fresh vegetables!

Love my tomatoes!! My favourite is the Roma! I also have the small yellow Blondekopf! Very sweet and delicious!

[one_half]Roma tomatoes are plentiful[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tomatoes in various stages of ripeness[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Salad Days!! With green and red basil[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I have all sorts of lettuces![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Sweet Basil is a favourite in the house[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I love the colour of red cabbage[/one_half_last]

I have all kinds of squashes – butternut, hubbard and gem squash

[one_half]This hubbard squash is an heirloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]And the butternut squash is delicious![/one_half_last]

I kept my fennel plant to harvest the seeds! I just love them!

[one_half]Here they are drying out! So pretty[/one_half]

[one_half_last]These are Peppadew chillies-lovely and sweet[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The Peppadew plant is just lush this year[/one_half]

[one_half_last]A new addition – Eggplant! Almost ready![/one_half_last]

[one_half]And the Figs! So amazing![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Can’t get enough of them![/one_half_last]

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

Tags garden bloggers harvest day

Annuals Barbie's garden Bloggers Harvest Day Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in January

Post author By Barbara
Post date January 5, 2013
10 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in January

The Garden Bloggers Harvest Day that Two Gardens have initiated is showing a generous following and we appreciate all those who enjoy getting their hands dirty and digging up delicious wholesome vegetables and picking scrumptious fruit. The new year has brought hot and windy weather to our southern shores, so summer hats and blockout is part of the gardening arsenal this month.

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbie’s Garden this month

The year has started and I have very little to show in my harvest basket! Oh dear! Nothing seems ready for the picking quite yet – come on you lazy tomatoes!! I have lots of herbs ready and I am pleased that I can finally pick my own sweet basil. I look back on last years’ harvest, and I have to say that I have refined my vegetable choices quite a bit to what works and what I enjoy eating and growing. A good deal less to harvest, but eaten all the same! The lazy holiday feeling has not helped either! Let me show you what I can harvest now and probably harvest soon, but not quite yet ….

[one_half]Sweet Basil galore![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Chillies too![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Fried Green Tomatoes anyone?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Still harvesting Broccoli[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lemon balm, Thyme, Oreganum,Mint[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Baby butternut squash[/one_half_last]

What’s in store …

[one_half]A variety of squashes[/one_half]

[one_half_last]New quince[/one_half_last]

I have lots of potential lemons and figs, but these I will keep for next months Harvest Day when I can eat them!

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

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Bloggers Harvest Day Christine's garden Home page features

A Summer Harvest

My limited edible gardening produces just enough to keep me interested. I like to try new things to see how they grow here and this month I’m having great fun with the Brinjal “Black Beauty” I planted recently. It’s obviously in an ideal spot because it produced flowers almost immediately and the first Brinjal is almost ready for picking. I think I could pick it now but I’d like it to get a bit bigger – apparently the right time to pick is when it’s almost the size of my hand (it’s the size of my closed fist now, so not long to go). This week I read somewhere that Brinjals (Aubergine or Eggplant) like to be positioned where they have lots of space and against a warm wall. No wonder mine is doing so well. That’s exactly where I planted mine – in a very deep, large pot that stands against a warm wall.

In other January Garden Bloggers harvest day news, I have so much Basil again that I’ve made my own Basil Pesto. The lovely small leafed Basil (called Basil Minuet) is wonderful freshly picked in salads. It has a less pungent flavor than the ordinary Basil which makes it perfect for eating freshly picked. I prefer the ordinary Basil for making Pesto. So I grow both and hope I can keep getting seedlings of the Minuet.After picking all the lovely leaves it takes about 7 to ten days and they are ready for picking again (depending of course on how much I need). And so far its been bug-free! I love this variety.

[one_half]Look whats growing in my Herb Garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Six cups of Basil, ready for turning into Pesto[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Difference in size of the two varieties[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Insert your text here[/one_half_last]

I’m still picking Rosemary, lots of Thyme and am loving the Wild Rocket (Arugula). I need to get more of them, two plants are not enough for us.

A quick update – I prepared this post two days ago, and today was able to harvest the now larger-than-my-hand sized Brinjal!

What are you harvesting or growing this month? Please join us for Garden Bloggers Harvest Day, we’d love to see what you are growing or harvesting!

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags garden bloggers harvest day

Annuals Barbie's garden Bloggers Harvest Day Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in December

Post author By Barbara
Post date December 5, 2012
14 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in December

Can’t believe that this is the twelfth Garden Bloggers Harvest Day that Two Gardens have posted. Summer has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere and the gum boots, wheel barrows and garden spades are toiling along side these two happy gardeners. The year has flown with lessons learned – both good and imperfect – always with sincerity and good intentions. This month will show what we have lovingly added to the edible part of the garden.

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbie’s Garden this month

The summer is finally here and the holidays will see me living in my garden. I can go with my basket and return with a variety of veggies. The berries are a disappointment, but this is because something beat me to it! I have tons of lovely herbs and the summer fruits are showing signs of life. Let me show you what I can harvest this month ….

A basket full of goodies – carrots, broccoli, beetroot and baby potatoes

[one_half]Lettuces main growing crop[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cabbage[/one_half_last]

Lots of Swiss Chard

My first successful chive harvest. I am collecting seeds now and through experience, now I know where to plant them.

I prefer growing red cabbage – looks great in the garden and on the table

Red onions – sweeter and not so sharp as white onions – great in salads

The same plant is now producing more chillies!

[one_third]Coriander[/one_third]

[one_third]Butter lettuce[/one_third]

[one_third_last]New tomatoes[/one_third_last]

New additions ……

Here are my new additions – new lettuces (mine have bolted already!) coriander, parsley and cucumber (let’s try this again!)

A new brinjal plant – I have never tried this before – so I am excited to get this in the ground!

Herbs galore …..

[one_half]My favourite – sweet Basil[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Chamomile – love the tea it makes[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Origanum[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Thyme[/one_half_last]

What’s coming….

[one_half]A variety of squashes[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tomatoes galore!!![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Figs looking good![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Potato harvesting soon[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Fennel seeds to harvest soon[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lemons ripening![/one_half_last]

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

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A Short but Sweet December Harvest

Post author By Christine
Post date December 5, 2012
14 Comments on A Short but Sweet December Harvest

Rosemary and edible Viola thriving in shade

It’s a small harvest. Lots of herbs we use daily and I pick as I need, no big baskets full of produce here this month, just regular picking of the most delightful Basil I’ve grown yet. We’re eating it raw in salads and putting in everything it seems. This one is Basil “minuette”. It is much smaller (smaller leaves, smaller plant) than the other Basil I grow which has a much stronger flavour and a very distinct, sharp taste. The minuette is lovely raw. Sweet, slightly tangy, not strong at all. Lovely. Add some cherry tomatoes, parsely, mozzarella or feta, balsamic and olive oil and Yum!

I now have a regular supply of Rosemary. With two plants flourishing I’m never short of this wonderful herb. The Oregano is great and the Lemon Thyme is marvellous to cook with. We are all on diet here and these lovely herbs add wonderful guilt-free taste and variety to the limited portions I have to serve at meal times. The Herb garden really makes dieting a bit more interesting.

My potato plant burst out of its bag and has been re-potted into a container where it is happily growing up. I’ve planted an additional Lemon Grass (because I love the plants and we use it in cooking a lot), and I’ve planted my first Brinjal ‘Black Beauty’. The curry plant adds an interesting texture and fragrance to the herb growers and I’ve popped a few Marigolds in between things to help keep the bugs at bay. I never spray my herbs or veg with anything – they encourage the creepy crawlies to wonder on elsewhere (to my perennials, sigh).

Also picking lots of chives and fennel is in abundance here, but Coriander keeps bolting and the lettuce are struggling – so instead I’m giving Rocket a try to see how that does.

What are you harvesting this month? Please join us for Garden Bloggers Harvest day in December and let us know how your Veggie Garden is doing!

Happy Harvesting
xxx

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Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in November

Post author By Barbara
Post date November 6, 2012
11 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in November

Sorry to have missed posting yesterday, but I got carried away in my garden … Warm and sunny days are becoming the norm on our eleventh Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Two Gardens are going to make it a habit of spending time in the garden! With last month’s rain and the sun’s happy rays washing over the plants, all our plants are stretching heavenward.

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbie’s Garden this month

Wow! So much growth is evident in my garden since my last post – it almost looks like it is not the same plants. The harvesting of delicious vegetables and herbs and salad greens is now a daily task. The potatoes are not quite ready for harvest, but you have to see the growth! Everything else has tripled in size! Let me show you what I can harvest so far ….

[one_half]Celery is now in all my dishes[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Swiss Chard – beautiful on the plate[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Oak leaf lettuce[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Curly Lettuce[/one_half_last]

[one_half]New assorted lettuce on the go[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Yeay! Strawberries![/one_half_last]

So much happening in this raised bed – Carrots, beetroot, Broccoli, baby lettuces, a strawberry plant and my new Apple tree in the middle. I can also see a stray Spearmint popping out – hmmmm. You can see Sweet Rocket in the background going to seed.

[one_half]Broccoli Sprouts[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Celery and Swiss Chard-great companions I see[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Broccoli[/one_third]

[one_third]Chives in flower[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Red Onions[/one_third_last]

[one_half]Loquats are ripe now[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Look at the potatoes![/one_half_last]

So much variety and so delicious. I can’t help nibble my way through the veggie patch. AND I still have not Tomatoes or Sweet Basil – this will be a treat in time to come!

Happy Harvesting xxxx

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

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Tags garden, garden bloggers harvest day, organic vegetables, plants, vegetables, veggie garden, veggies

Bloggers Harvest Day Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Small Spring harvest

I was not very diligent with my Spring veggie and herb planting so my harvest this month has been small. The endless rainy and cool weather took the “feel-like-it” right out of me and now I’m regretting not planting a few more things a bit earlier in the season. But I do have a few things to show. Notably, the Lemon grass is looking fabulous and I’ve harvested plenty, so much so that I’ve frozen quite a few stalks. I love the actual plant so much that I’m going to plant some into the flower beds so we have a more continuous supply.

[one_half]Rosemary and Violas in the strawberry pot[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lettuce and chives in the planter[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Fabulous Fennel looking good[/one_third]

[one_third]A welcome volunteer[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Baby lettuce coming on[/one_third_last]

[one_half]New Chamomile plant – thank you Barbie 🙂[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I have lots of Rosemary[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Red leafed lettuce[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The pretty curry plant[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lemon Thyme is wonderful[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Baby cos lettuce almost ready[/one_half_last]

My veggie planter is rather disorganised. I have no real plan when I plant, I just plant what I like and know I can manage. My garden includes lots of herbs and I tend to only plant vegetables that are easy to grow or not readily available in the shops. Freshly picked herbs are always in a winner in my kitchen but vegetables that require constant monitoring – I’m not so good at growing those. 🙂

So what’s growing in your veggie patch?
xxx

Tags garden bloggers harvest day, spring harvest