Taking time to smell the roses

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~Emma Goldman

Planning a garden

After spending hours wondering just where to fit all our vegetables and herbs I have decided to dig up a part of our front garden. Now this area is just filled with agapanthus which are just horrible plants and nearly impossible to get rid of, unless you are as determined as I am. I know it will take weeks of digging but it will be worth it. I plan to grow all kinds of herbs, flowers and various types of lettuce. I think this really is going to be an ongoing project but one I am very excited about.

I ordered the seeds today for our winter garden and I am hoping that it will more successful than last year. The winter garden last year was not exactly fruitful! The broccoli died, the silver beet and cabbage bolted almost straight away and I at times almost wanted to give up. I know though over the last year I have greatly improved the soil condition so I'm hoping that will help considerably.

I cannot believe the prices people pay at the supermarket for produce, Last year when lettuces were five dollars I was shocked at how many people gladly paid that!. I worked out that from our garden alone we save about a minimum of $1,300 every year. Over a ten year span that's 13,000! I get very excited when I read about community gardening plots especially when they are developed in low socioeconomic communities, many preventable diseases like cellulitis occur because the body is lacking in vitamins and minerals and for these children who are prone to them just a few serves of fruit or vegetables per day can change that. I often think people are more likely to eat something if they have put the work to grow it themselves. Which also reminds me about a documentary a friend told me of the other day in which children in the UK didn't know that a chip came from a potato! I could do a whole other post on how much that shocks me.

It is another beautiful balmy day here. The washing blows gently on the line, Aviva lies under the Macracapa tree reading her bible and I plan to start sewing an apron for a very dear friend of mine. I love these summer days that roll slowly on.

Summer vegetables

The solitary cucumber, after the rest died.

The marigolds which really brighten the whole garden up!

The courgettes which I simply cannot keep up with because they grow so quickly.

I love summer!I love the floaty, feminine skirts I can wear, I love hot days at the beach having picnics, I love the break from normal homeschooling so I can teach Aviva more practical skills and this year I love it even more because my garden is full of vegetables. I planted about thirty tomato plants and now they are all bearing small green fruit. I have been able to make huge salads every night and in a few weeks I will begin preserving and drying msot of it. I think back to only a few months ago when lettuces were selling selling for five dollars each at the super market! I had run out of ideas for the courgettes though until I found this recipe which I have adapted, it makes a great Vegetarian dish as it is high in protein.

Baked Courgettes

4 Courgettes

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup grated cheese

2 eggs

Seasonings

Grate courgettes and chop onions and add to lightly beaten eggs.Spoon into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

Serves four

Note: The original recipe had only 2 courgettes so for a heavier dish you can omit the two I have added.

Sowing seeds

I am writing this post for my sister who wanted to know how to grow vegetables from seed, she got very frustrated when she put some seeds into the ground and they just wouldn't grow!

I guess first things first is that a lot of seeds wont grow at all if you put them in the ground, they need to be carefully protected indoors and then transplanted outside.


I start by getting a large empty egg carton and filling it with seed raising mix (you can save these up or ask for them at any cafe etc, they are very happy to get rid of them) I like to use egg cartons because you can just plant them right into the soil for seedlings that don't like their roots disturbed and they break right in the earth, plus they are free!

(An egg carton of seeds ready to go into the airing cupboard)

I then gently press my seeds into the centre of each hole, water them, wrap them in a plastic bag (which acts like a mini green house) and then I leave them in the hot water cupboard until then begin to get their first true leaves) when they are big enough I then transfer them to a tray outside which is filled with compost and leave them outside for a while to harden off and then transplant them into the garden.

( A marigold seedling ready to go into the garden)

If the seedlings are big enough to go straight into the garden then you can just skip the middle stage. Some seeds can be sown straight into the garden, such as carrots as they don't like to have their roots disturbed, but the majority need to be raised up first. If you use the egg carton it doesn't matter anyway as it will break right down in the soil without any of the roots being disturbed.

This is just my simple way of doing it, others may have better ideas or different ways they follow but this works great for me!

(Sorry about the poor picture quality, there is a long story behind that one!)

As I have been writing up this post Aviva has been reading to me ' The patchwork quilt by Valerie Flournoy' which is such a beautiful book. I recommend it for any Mother who wants to get her daughter more interested in sewing, or just to enjoy a lovely story!

Have a Wonderful weekend! It's date night for us so I need to get going and get things organised!

Lessons I have learnt

As I have said before I am reasonably new to gardening, only having taken it up about 10 months ago and only really getting serious about learning more about it in August. You don't need to have much to make a start, just a patch of earth,some seeds, a bag each of compost and manure and a shovel and fork (which I brought for $2 each at a thrift shop) Other things you may accumulate later but for starters that is all you truly need.

Yesterday I spent at least an hour and a half pulling out weeds,I thought about posting before and after photos but am too embarrassed about the state I let the garden get into the first place! When my husband got home he dug over the patch where all the silver beet had been and now it is all ready to put my 20 tomato plants in!

It has been an interesting journey and I feel I have some very simple lessons to share

1.) I had read many,many times about how you can grow potatoes in big plastic tubs, cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic, or even heavy duty plastic bags. This is a mistake, you end up with rotten potatoes and foul smelling soil as it cannot drain. Go for perforated containers if unable to grow them in the soil.

2.)Planting flowers in your vegetable patch is a very good idea, it draws bees to the plants which need to be cross pollinated. This year I planted marigolds (naughty Marietta) and they are gorgeous and draw lots of bees straight to my courgettes right where I want them.

3.)Do a little each day! It is so much easier to grab a few handfuls of weeds each day than just leaving it and being forced to spend hours slaving over the garden in the hot sun. Much, much easier!

4.)Have a patch set aside for your child/children. Let them select and grow what they want, choose vegetables which do not take a long time to grow. If started early hopefully the passion for growing will last them a lifetime.

5.) Cut those laterals off your tomatoes! They will fruit so much more.

6.) Don't grow things you will not eat! Sounds very obvious, except for the fact that I was left with around 10 bunches of silver beet at once and although I possibly could of steamed and frozen them, I came to the realization I didn't want to.

It is another beautiful day here today, I was looking forward to taking Aviva to various social homeschooling activities but she has come down with a fever and just wants to sleep. This though is a good chance to catch up all the housework and baking that needs to be done.

In the garden

I was working in the garden yesterday when I reminded myself that just one short year ago, I knew not one thing about gardening (apart from the fact that it ruined your nails). Because we are a vegetarian family we tend to go through fruit and vegetables fairly quickly, I even like to add half a bunch of spinach to my banana smoothies in the morning. And with the rising cost of vegetables and the introduction of more and more chemical spays I just knew there had to be a better (and more inexpensive way) to keep our vegetable intake up for a fraction of the cost.

I am again amazed that for a little work how much you can gain. At the supermarket spinach averages about $2.50 per bunch yet for the same price I brought a packet of 15o seeds. Even allowing for a ten percent non germination rate that is still a saving of about three hundred dollars per year for us. That is in one vegetable alone! I love the fact that I can (mostly) go and pick our dinner from our back garden and that I can dehydrate, freeze, can, puree and bottle most of the surplus for the winter months.

I still have a long way to go to be self sufficient, My in laws have a garden that would take your breath away! Full of nut and fruit trees, berries, olives and every vegetable you can think of, they even grow their own grain. I think the only things they do buy are coffee, sugar, toilet paper and the odd extra such as bleach or baking powder. It is my dream to be able to live like this, Anne (the Turkish word for mother) happily makes all her own olive oil, cheese and even soap. I could never explain how hard working this amazing woman is, I can only pray that one day I will be able to be a fraction as energetic and warm as she is.

In the midst of our economic recession it makes perfect sense to try and cut our grocery bills as much as we can and one of the easiest ways is to grow our own! In early march I planted out just four vegetables broccoli, silver beet, cabbages and broad beans. Now I couldn't jam more into my garden if I tried (and try I have). If you are interested in starting your own vegetable patch then I highly recommend this website as a very good place to start.

http://www.nzgardener.co.nz/page.asp?id=33