It’s taken over six months, but we’re finally reaping the rewards of our garden on a daily basis. And reward really is the right word – I never knew it could be so satisfying to wander outside and fill a small basket with vegetables for dinner!
We’re by no means self-sufficient, but at the moment we’re able to source almost all our greens from the backyard. Hopefully we’ll be able to add tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes to the list soon.
The absolute winners in the garden so far have been the perennial leeks. Christine, bless you for putting us on to these! Since we bought our initial five plants from Cornucopia Seeds in July, these little treasures have multiplied like mad. When we pulled out the young leek you see above, we were able to replant nearly ten baby leeks that were budding off her.
The sprouting broccoli plants, which have provided us with weeks of constant greens, are now going to seed and the chickens absolutely adore them. Very soon the peas and broadbeans will be finishing up, and that bed will be emptied out, ready for planting with corn seedlings. As corn is wind pollinated, the seedlings need to be planted en masse, or they won’t produce cobs. We’ll have two whole beds of corn soon (110 plants!), and I’ll be watching for the arrival of Shoeless Joe Jackson. If you build it, he will come…
We probably haven’t thinned our carrots out enough, although we are getting some reasonably sized baby carrots, including this interesting mutant…
Cabbages haven’t been a huge success, although a couple did finally start to form small pointy heads. We’ve decided they take up too much space and take too long to grow for our garden – and no-one particularly likes them! Next year we’ll plant more cavolo nero (kale) and kohlrabi instead…
Pete had intended to leave the rhubarb uncut this year, to enable it to establish properly. As a result, the leaves on some of the more mature stems grew to nearly 60cm (two feet) in diameter! My husband, in his infinite wisdom, then decided they had been left too long, and harvested these old woody stems. It took a bit of experimenting, but in the end we were able to turn them into quite a nice rhubarb and tomato ketchup…
Pete made a simple but very delicious risotto for dinner tonight – carnaroli rice and chevapi sausages, with leeks, celery, carrots, peas and beans from the garden, all cooked in white wine and tomato water stock. It was a fabulous way to end the day!
Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘Grow, grow.’ … The Talmud
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Nothing like it! Eating your own vegetables and enjoying them coming in from the garden. What joy :)
Your garden is thriving!! Just look at all of that wonderful produce!!
I love the run away carrots & that Spits kohl, pointed cabbage looks just stunning! You have gorgeous rhubarb in your garden!
MMMMMMMMMM,…!!
parabéns!!é uma visão,digna de saude.
I’m very happy for you, Celia. Your garden produce is a feast to the eyes. So much hard work must have gone into it. God bless you and your family with many more fresh vegetables and fruit. :)
Jo, I never knew it would be so satisfying! We ended up making a coleslaw from the cabbage, dressed with homemade mayonnaise using one of our eggs – it was so delicious! Maybe we will plant them again! :)
Sophie, thank you – did we grow a pointy cabbage? I thought we just grew a failed round one! :) It was very sweet when eaten raw – quite different from the older round ones we used to buy.
Caroliny, muito obrigado!
Sandy, thanks for sharing in our excitement! We’re feeling blessed at every meal! :)
What a treat, wonderful fresh looking veggies! That risotto sounded delicious a real “Primavera” Spring risotto!
Yvette, I said that! I told the boys it was “risotto primavera”! :)
Celia these are gorgeous pics! I’m so jealous you have a garden. I’ve got an herb garden but would love to be able to pick all my veggies fresh from the back yard. I also dream of having my own apple orchard… maybe someday. :)
Tori, thanks for stopping by! I had a wonderful time with your braiding instructions – thank you!
Celia looking at your garden produce makes me smile with satisfaction and it’s not even my garden. Enjoy every mouthful.
…and cabbage, the ONLY way to make that vege palatable is to drown it in a coleslaw with mayo :-)
I love having fresh veg within picking distance!
Your garden looks healthy- is healthy for you- and makes me happy just looking at it!
I’m especially interested in the perennial leeks- I love self propagating plants!
How fantastic! I would love to be able to grow so much in my garden. My few pots on my patio can’t really compare.
I love the mutant carrot. He looks like a little carrot man.
Celia, your enthusiasm & appreciation for your bountiful garden is just so inspiring…, I know I’d forget to water & tend a big garden (other than my few little pots of herbs that is) but I do enjoy the family farm gardens…., think I’m a fair weather gardener. So much fun though watching you reap the rewards though.
Brydie, Anna, thank you both for being excited with us – it really has been such a buzz! This morning I was out talking to the corn seedlings, encouraging them to grow.
Heidi, the perennial leeks are just wonderful – I hope you all manage to find them overseas, I know Jo was looking for them as well in the UK!
Claire, he does look like a little carrot man, doesn’t he? :)
What is rhubarb tomato ketchup? It sounds like heaven on a french fry! I am in awe of your garden. I was proud a few years ago when I figured out that I could keep re-planting the root end of green onions. But your produce is fantastic!!
Kudos to you and Pete on such a successful garden!
:-) Mandy
Well done Celia and Pete! What a gorgeous bounty! And as the lucky recipient of some of your eggs, I have to say that your garden is definitely a delicious success :)
Hi Celia,
Beautiful looking produce. It is a great feeling to eat the fruits (or vegetables) of your labors, isn’t it? You must have a longer growing season compared to us here in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. (Only have approx. 90 frost-free days.) We’ve harvested everything, already have a bit of snow. Now I will just dream about next year’s garden and share in your excitment. I think freshly dug potatoes and carrots taste just wonderful! Enjoy!
What a thrill to be able to go outside and harvest a meal.
And I think that odd looking carrot deserves his own name!
I’m sooo jealous! Here in Canberra we’re about 6 weeks behind you! Where do you think I could get some perennial leeks from, they look great?
My ggod news is that although my lemon tree is looking a bit sad, my Australian Finger Lime tree has got some flowers!! I hope they fruit for me soon.
Celia, your garden is soo generous!! I am so pleased to hear the perennial leeks are doing well for you, they really do become almost weed-like after a time…almost! I’m excited to be growing kale in the garden for the first time too – it’s so handy to put in everything and just finishes off a minestrone! Love the look of your carrot there too (maybe too much fertiliser?), it looks like it’s dancing..doing a little calypso! Fab pictures :)
Preppy, we were making roasted tomato ketchup (recipe is coming!), and I was able to incorporate the stewed rhubarb stems into some of it. It turned out very nice in the end! Thank you – I didn’t know you could keep replanting the green roots on onions! :)
Mandy, Lorraine, thank you! :)
Manuela, thank you – we have a very temperate clime in Sydney, so a long growing season, and frost-free to boot. I can’t wait for potatoes, we haven’t had any yet!
Amanda, too funny – he didn’t “live” long enough to get named! We ate him in the risotto! :)
Chef, we bought our leeks at Cornucopia Seeds (link is in the post), and they mailed the live plants to us. They’ve been a treat, although I understand Chris’ comment that they could end up like weeds. Weeds you can eat! Yaaay!
Chris, thanks for the tip about the carrots and fertiliser, I’ll pass it on to Pete. We grew them all too close together as well. I am obsessed with kale – absolutely love it! :)
Lovely! Very jealous – a cold snap has slowed everything down here.
The vegetables from your garden are so fresh and beautiful. It must be nice to eat them and cook them. You really have a super garden!
Maybe one day we can get serious about gardening – we do have space, but…. our thumbs are black, killer thumbs they are
You are doing a wonderful job, and learning a lot too, isn’t it great?
Lee, your garden is gorgeous! Nothing to be jealous of here.. :)
Tes, thank you!
Sally, I think the learning bit is always the most wonderful thing. Love the adventure – though it’s nice to have a reward for it too! :)
I’m envious of your spring bounty given that our summer has ended. It is such a incredible experience to be able to walk out your back door and pick what you will serve for dinner. Cavolo Nero is so good. I should have planted more of it. There is a real pleasure in knowing exactly where your food comes from and what it takes to grow or raise what we put into our bodies. So many of us have become removed from the source and in fact the energy of what we use to survive. I love what you guys are doing and you certainly inspire me.
That’s lovely of you to say that, thanks Beth! :)
Tonight we’re going to turn the last of the peas, some cavolo nero and a big leftover broccoli stem into a pot of soup!
Celia it’s so nice to hear your enthusiasm and joy at your new veggie garden! Ours is languishing somewhat as we are doing major renovation work both inside and out this season (think dirt, mud and not much else all around the house) but reading about and looking at yours makes me itch to get back out there!
Thanks Sarah! I can’t wait to see how all your renovations go – looking forward to pics! :)
Your vege garden looks spectacular!
I have just stated my first attempt in a vege garden but I’m growing them in Styrofoam boxes with the intention if it all goes well to build some beds early next year. Just got chickens a couple of weeks ago too, it is so great going out in the morning collecting the freshly laid eggs then cooking them up for Breakfast :)
I can’t wait to start harvesting you like you – love the mutant carrot!
Thanks Susan! Good luck with your vege boxes – I’ve seen some amazing things grown in them! And aren’t chickens just the best thing? :)
Lucky you! It all looks great. I like that carrot.
Hi Deb, thank you! Funny little carrot man.. :)
We have a garden bed in our back yard, but I have never planted anything before, so not sure what to do.
Although my mum plants her own vegetables and the taste is so much better than what you buy from the shops.
Susan, pop over to Linda Woodrow’s website – she’s our gardening guru and we’re following her plan!
[…] by my friend Celia’s great postings on her blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, I decided to try expanding my herb garden into more of an edible garden by growing my own lettuce. […]