With the winter growing season drawing to a close, it’s time to clear the garden beds to make space for spring planting. So out come the huge broccoli plants that have kept us so well feed over the last few months. With our two compost bins and one worm farm already full to the rim, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘spring’
Turning broccoli and weeds into compost
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged broccoli, compost, spring, weed tea, weeds, winter on September 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The art of cabbage
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged cabbage, spring on September 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s surprising how some of the simplest things can be some of the most beautiful … including the humble cabbage.
New potatoes
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged potatoes, spring on November 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As per our post on this year’s potato strategies, we’ve tried a few different things. The potatoes were “bandicooted” out of the potato bags, and were delicious steamed. An encouraging first sign that maybe we’ll have better potato luck this year…
The benefits of umbrelliferous plants
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged aphids, bugs, companion planting, dill, parsley, pest control, spring, umbrelliferous on November 25, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The garden used to be overrun with aphids, sometimes to the extent that it was hard to find some plants under the seething mass of bugs (eww!). One thing I learnt at my permaculture course was that umbrelliferous plants (plants with umbrella-shaped collections of tiny flowers) attract beneficial wasps into the garden. The wasps then [...]
Our herb garden in Spring
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged chives, herbs, lavender, lemon thyme, marjoram, parsley, spring on October 20, 2010 | 2 Comments »
In early Spring 2009, we established our herb garden. A year on, some herbs have really thrived, while others have been less productive. We’ve had most success with our marjoram, lemon thyme, chives and flat-leaf parsley. All have grown vigorously and remained disease-free. We’ve only had one plant that didn’t make it — the French [...]
French breakfast radishes
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged french breakfast radishes, pickling, radishes, spring on September 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The french breakfast radishes have been a hit in the garden this year. Miss P really likes them, and they grow from seed to harvest in a month. It did produce bit of a glut, however, so some pickling was in order… These are simple vinegar and sugar based pickles, with some mustard and celery [...]
Chinese cabbage gone to seed
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged broccolini, chinese cabbage, seed saving, seeds, spring on September 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We planted about eight chinese cabbages, grown from seed. Most of them we ate, even if we had to fight it out with the slugs for the meals. With the warming weather, however, a number of the cabbages bolted straight to seed. No matter, a good opportunity to seed save for next year. Like broccolini, [...]
This year’s approach to potatoes
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged potatoes, spring, winter on September 11, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Last year, I constructed a huge enclosure for our potatoes, built from salvaged fence palings. It didn’t really work, and I suspect it’s because it didn’t drain properly. The potatoes therefore rotted rather than grew. So, another year, another approach (or two). The main potato bed has been constructed out of chicken wire, bent around [...]
Snowpeas have bolted to seed
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged seed, seed saving, snow peas, spring on December 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Presumably due to the handful of scorching hot days, the snowpeas have decided to bolt to seed. We’ve had a reasonable number of edible pods, but once the they start to swell up (as in the photo above), the point of no return has been passed. All is not lost, and I’m going to save [...]
Sunflowers in bloom
Posted in Growing our own food, tagged spring, sunflowers on November 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Sunflowers are good fun! We’re yet to work out the “grand plan” for the gardens at the front of the house, but we did have a spare patch of soil. In went sunflowers, four of which germinated. A few weeks ago flowers unfurled, bringing joy to everyone who walks by. Seed saving tips from the [...]
