Passionfruit

There is nothing like the sharp, sweet taste of passionfruit on a warm day! Summer is fast approaching and the passionfruit vine is bursting with fruit, ripe for the picking. This is the first year that my passionfruit vine has so much fruit on it. 

The passionfruit vine is strong and rampant and not particularly hard to grow, the chickens take care of fertilising it and my particular variety is quite drought tolerant, I have a "Nellie Kelly" Panama Red, they are great for colder areas of Australia and don't seem to be to troubled by frosts. Their fruit is edible now but will be better over the next few months of Spring and into early Summer. 

I am a fan of a good pavlova and a large helping of cream with a generous drizzle of passionfruit...bring on Summer and let the Summer feasting begin! Happy gardening!

Waste Not!

Nothing gets wasted from the vegie patch! The girls are feasting on some cauliflowers that were ready for the compost! I love the way they were looking for any slugs among the leaves, alas this time there were no tasty treats to be had. Happy Gardening!

Camelias

The Camelia flowers at this time of the year are so beautiful, I just had to share then with everyone! Happy Gardening!

Cauliflower

This is my second year growing cauliflowers, the first year I was clueless when it came to looking after the flower of the plant once it appeared.  I have since done some research and have found that the flower itself is easily damaged.  So this season I am going to try and ensure I have big white cauliflowers.  Now that I have cauliflowers about the size of baseballs I have pulled the leaves surrounding the head all together and tied them with twine (not too tight, but not too loose either). By doing this I am protecting the flower, keeping it nice and white and stopping any bruising that may occur.  My only problem at the moment is a lot of fat caterpillars that has taken a liking to munching their way through the leaves, it may be time for a spraying of Dipel!  Fingers crossed I have some lovely cauliflowers in a few weeks time.  Happy Gardening!

Our New Chickens

A few weeks ago five Barnevelder chickens arrived and they have settled in quite happily. The whole idea of getting chickens has been a very slow process, a lot of deliberating and convincing respective family members! Now that the five girls are here everyone is more than happy except for our cat Milo, he is most upset and quite frightened of the feathered fowl! At this stage they are confined to the large coop and will be some time before they venture outside, so I am hoping this gives a Milo a chance to get used to them! Our Black Lab Mariah is most impressed with them and almost treats them like they are her babies, I am sure the chickens don't think the same way! 

Now I have a little more time on my hands my blog is getting some much needed attention, so stay tuned for future posts! Happy Gardening!

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Broccoli

My first time growing broccoli has proved quite successful! This humble vegetable is actually related to the cauliflower and also comes in a purple variety!  It has been very easy to grow and so far has not been attacked by any bugs or caterpillars! The warm weather is fast approaching so I won't wait too much longer as they will no doubt bolt to seed! Next year I will definitely expand in my planting and try broccolini and the purple variety.  Happy Gardening!

Its about time...

Well what can I say...I have been a little busy of late and have had no time for blogging, the boys have been keeping me on my toes and I have had very little time to stop and smell the roses. Winter is fast approaching and I have been exceptionally slow to get the veggie garden prepped and ready for planting, but this week I have managed to get one bed organised and this is my root vegetables. I have sowed  carrots, beets, radishes and parsnips.  A month ago I made a small start on my Winter Brassicas as we had some unseasonably warm weather, all was looking good, little cabbage seedlings were standing tall and proud for a few days and then overnight they all disappeared! After some careful investigative work I found out that it is the local resident bush turkey who has been helping himself to my seedlings! So my latest bed of root veggies now has a fence around it, I will not be sharing my bounty with the local fauna. Saying that the boys just love spotting the bush turkey when he is visiting our garden, and my gorgeous Leo thought that the fence was a trap to catch the bush turkey and then he was going to take him to preschool for "Show and Tell". If only that bush turkey new what was in store for him!
Happy Gardening!

Tomatoes

This has been my first year of tomato success! Last year was dismal, I can't say I had any decent tomatoes to eat.  So what did I do different?  Firstly I Googled "growing tomatoes" and took lots of notes, I think it is great that everyone can share tips via the net. After raising healthy seedlings I planted out eight plants in two rows with a good sprinkle of tomato dynamic lifter, I then staked each plant with a bamboo stake, after that I hammered in very tall tomato stakes on each side of the plant in rows I drilled holes and then threaded wire in lines from end to end, this allowed the tomatoes to branch out without breaking and it gave extra support to the main trunk. This year I paid special attention to pinching out new growth between the stem and new branch. The biggest decision was to use a herbicide, I used Yates Success and it kept away the caterpillars. So this year I had so many tomatoes I was able to make tomato stock, tomato chutney and semi sun dried tomatoes. My deep freezer is filled to the brim with tomato stock this is great for soups or making a good old spaghetti bolognaise. This year I grew Mini Romas, Green zebras, Cherry and Tommy Toe tomatoes, they were all a success! Happy Gardening!

Cucumber Glut!

Cucumbers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, they grow just about anywhere, & as long as you have a fence or something for them to climb on you can be assured of a bumper crop! This year I decided to grow Mini Munchers and Parisian Pickling Cucumbers, and I have not been disappointed (oh and there is a rogue Lebanese Cucumber growing amongst the mint and parsley). Last year I had 6 cucumber vines and I had too many, so this year I have again 6 cucumber vines and still have far too many. So this year I have decided to pickle my excess cucumbers as well as give them away to neighbours and friends. Here is a simple pickling recipe.

Ingredients

750 g of small cucumbers sliced finely

2/3 cup of fresh dill leaves chopped finely

2 tsp black peppercorns

750 ml water

125 ml white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tbs coarse salt

• Wash cucumbers, dry well and thinly slice, then layer evenly in a clean jar with the dill and peppercorns.
• Combine water, vinegar and salt in a saucepan, bring to the boil over a medium heat, carefully pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers and seal jar and set aside in the fridge for one week to pickle before serving.

There is nothing quite like a freshly picked cucumber, the difference between the ones in the store and the ones picked fresh of the vine is in the proof of the tasting and they are so good I often pick one and eat it like an apple it is so crisp and juicy on a hot Summer's day. So if you have a fence and a patch of dirt I recommend popping in some cucumber seeds and you won't be disappointed. Happy Gardening!

Pumpkins!

This year I decided to grow pumpkins, I popped in 2 Musquee de Provence and 2 Jarrahdale seeds. I had no idea how invasive they are, they have literally taken over half of the garden, but saying that they have been fairly productive. The Jarrahdales have produced 4 large pumpkins in total with a couple more on the way and the Musquee de Provence sadly only produced one, but it is the biggest pumpkin I have ever seen, so I can't complain too much, we will be eating pumpkin soup all Winter.

When planting pumpkins I followed the general rule of planting good quality seeds in a heaped mound of well composted soil, I planted 2 seeds for every mound and once they were a decent size I would remove the weakest plant and leave the strongest to grow. A lot of gardeners "play bee" by taking a soft brush and hand pollinating flowers, I didn't have too many problems with pollination as we had an abundance of bees. The only problem I encountered was fruit yellowing and then dropping off the vine, this also seemed to happen with my zucchini's. I only watered them a few times a week and and a little extra on the days that were extremely hot, I have found pumpkins to be quite drought tolerant. Next year I will try Butternuts (they are considered a squash, but in Australia they are often referred to as pumpkins) and maybe something more exotic like Turks Turban. Happy Gardening!

Sunflowers

I have my first ever sunflower growing tall and proud in my little veggie garden. It is so cheery and bright you just cannot miss it. I planted quite a number of them, but sadly I grew quite impatient and pulled them all out except for 2, now I am kicking myself for not having some self control and patience. As the saying goes "all good things come to those who wait" next year I am definitely going to be patient and watch these beautiful flowers grow into tall majestic golden suns. Happy gardening.

Happy Christmas and New Year!

Wishing everybody a very happy Christmas and New Year! See you all in 2011 for more gardening stories!

My Veggie Garden!

Hot Summer Days!

The weather has been a little warm over the last few weeks and I must confess to becoming a little lazy due to the heat, it has made me quite lethargic and not terribly interested in doing much at all.  The veggies are growing in front of my eyes and the bugs are eating them just as quickly, I have succumbed to spraying Dipel (a bio insecticide) that only kills caterpillars, and is safe for bees, lady bugs and other flying insects, sadly it doesn't kill slugs or snails that seem to be everywhere and are eating their way through all forms of plant matter (they are even happy to munch on rhubarb leaves which I thought were poisonous!)
On the other hand the tomatoes I planted are laden with fruit and now I am waiting for them all to turn a glorious cherry red, fingers crossed this might be my best year at growing tomatoes. I have mainly all heirloom varieties and some "tommy toes".  I am a little perplexed with the green zebra tomatoes, how will I know when to pick them? If anyone has grown them before I would love some tips!

Mini Roma Tomatoes

The hot weather is even affecting the animals I spotted Milo flat out and sound asleep enjoying the cool afternoon breeze wafting by on the veranda!  Happy gardening and happy holidays!

Christmas Gift Ideas!

I have been keeping a mental note of all the lovely little gift ideas that I spot as I turn the pages of glossy magazines and treasures that I covet from afar as I read new and exciting blogs, there are just so many that spring to mind so I have narrowed it down to 10 and here they are!

1. Orla Kiely handbag from Small Acorns

2. Star fish pendant and chain from Tiffany & Co

3. Seed saving envelopes from Lark

4. Environmentally friendly re useable takeaway cup from Keep Cup

5. Resin salad servers from Dinosaur Designs

6. Bird Bath from Eva Solo

7. Organic pamper kit from Bloom

8. Hand crafted Tea lights from Wapa

9. Newspaper seedling pot maker from Heaven in Earth

10. Vintage Children's Nursery lamp from Vintage Nursery Lamps

Radishes

I love radishes! For a start their colour is so brash, the wonderful colour combination of deep pink and leaf green is so vibrant and almost "showy" for this humble overlooked vegetable and one of my favorite characters little Peter Rabbit found himself in trouble over a few radishes in Mr McGregor's garden. One of the other reasons I love radishes is that they taste great in a salad and are amazingly easy to grow. It really is as easy as scattering a handful of seeds in rows in a sunny position and daily watering to keep the soil moist and before you know it in approximately six weeks you will be pulling up baby radishes. There are quite a few varieties of radishes, I grow French Breakfast and Round Red, but the list is endless so be adventurous and try an heirloom mix of all different colours. Happy gardening!

A Little Holiday!

Leo,Jack and I have taken ourselves North on a little break from the cold weather in Sydney. We are having a great time. The weather is spectacular, it is Summer everyday. Soon I will be back and tending to my veggies that have beenin the care of my vigilant husband. So happy gardening and I will have a new update later this week.

Veggie Garden Overhaul!

Well where do I start? A lot has been happening in the veggie garden of late, in fact Dan and I decided to redesign and add three more raised beds. In doing this there were a lot of things to consider, first decision was the design and this is what we came up with.

The second decision was the type of wood to use for the raised beds. That was easy we needed ACQ treated timber and this was readily available at our local Bunnings hardware store. So we set about remodelling the first bed, off came the existing wood and a little bit of digging here and there and voila there was the first bed complete, now to the rest. It took quite a few weekends and finally we had the look I wanted a "stylish" looking veggie garden.

They are now filled with soil and I am slowly filling them all with seeds and lots of seedlings, so stay tuned over the next few days as I update you all with lots of photos of my veggie garden.  Happy gardening.

What is Communication Shutdown?

On the 1st of November 2010 I have taken the pledge to turn off Facebook and Twitter! A large number of people and children who suffer from Autism struggle with social communication and for one whole day I am going to experience what it is like not to be able to communicate through social networking channels! So for me it is NO TWITTER and NO FACEBOOK! If you know anyone with Autism take the pledge by donating to communicationshutdown.org and for one day SHUTDOWN for people with Autism.  We are a family living and learning first hand a life of Autism, everyday is a journey with a new set of challenges and sadly there is no cure, so please donate to this global fundraising challenge, be a hero and shutdown for one day!

October is Pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and as I love the colour pink I thought I would put together a list of my favourite pink things. What is your favourite pink item? Is it something you already have or is it on your wish list? Remember to buy a pink ribbon every dollar counts in helping to find a cure.