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Archive for the ‘Frugal Living’ Category

Garden Update, April 2012

Posted in Frugal Living on April 22, 2012| 62 Comments »

It’s not just the asparagus – this mad Sydney weather has confused quite a few of our garden plants!

This kohlrabi refuses to swell at the root and is desperately trying to form a head – it thinks it’s a cabbage…

It was so mild last winter that the nasturtiums didn’t die back at all…

…and because of the ridiculously warm autumn weather, this self-sown cherry tomato has grown into a tree and is now madly setting fruit…

Robbie’s chilli plant produces multi-coloured fruit without a hint of heat. They make a very reasonable capsicum substitute…

And Joanna’s broccoli, which has grown into a giant plant in a crack in the bricks, can’t make up its mind whether it’s a broccoli or a cauliflower. It’s quite green – the overcast sky washed the colour in the photos out. It has cauli-like florets…

…with broccoli flowers growing in amongst them…

Thankfully, our young lemon tree isn’t confused – we’re close to picking our very first lemon ever…

The cos lettuce continue to be a big success, with very few pests.  This may well be the most perfect one we’ll ever grow…

Here is today’s harvest, much of which went into tonight’s stirfry…

…and a close up of Joanna’s broccoflower (as Big Boy named it – I wanted to call it a caulicoli), alongside a head of broccoli and a tiny self-sown cauliflower.  As you can see, it really is halfway between the two!

What’s growing in your garden this month?

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The Asparagus Diaries

Posted in Frugal Living, tagged on April 20, 2012| 84 Comments »

Remember our asparagus patch?

Actually, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a “patch”, as it’s only a tiny rectangle of dirt the size of a large planter box.

When we first started the garden, our friend the Spice Girl gave us a small asparagus plant. Pete somehow managed to divide it into seven pots, which we planted out the following year in the little garden bed next to the driveway.  Last year, they grew into the mass of ferny leaves that you see in the photo above.

We were supposed to let them die back before cutting them down, but they never did. We’ve had the weirdest weather in Sydney – a mild winter, followed by a wet, cool summer, followed by a very warm autumn.  All the plants are completely confused.  So on Easter Sunday, after looking at the foliage for over a year, we cut it down to the ground.

Exactly one week later, I took these photos:

I couldn’t believe asparagus could grow that fast!  The shoot at the bottom of the photo below was as thick as my pinky finger…

It gets better…this is what the bed looked like the next day…

More thick spears were starting to emerge at the other end of the bed…

Asparagus is supposed to grow in spring, so I have no idea why it’s shooting now in the middle of autumn.  Pete wants to give the plants a chance to get really well established, so we’re only harvesting the thicker stalks this year.

Day three…I cut the spear in the middle just after this photo was taken…

The ones at the top of the bed had grown a couple of inches overnight…

And here it is – our very first, homegrown asparagus! We washed it, took a photo, and then ate it raw – all within minutes of cutting it…

I have to admit, as asparagus growers, we’ve been flying by the seat of our pants.  We really have no idea of what we’re supposed to be doing, or when, but almost magically, the plants seem to be growing brilliantly. Given all the things that won’t grow in our garden (tomatoes, apples, strawberries, just to name a few), we’re overjoyed that these are doing so well!

Edit: Just raced out to take a photo to show you – here’s the patch this morning, three days after the last photo was taken. We’ve eaten half a dozen spears in the interim!

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Garden Update, March 2012

Posted in Frugal Living on March 26, 2012| 78 Comments »

Autumn in Sydney has brought a little sunshine and yet more rain…

Our five remaining chooks are all doing well, although laying less than they have been in the past.  They’re now over two years old, and their egg production is slowing up a bit.

The Tuscan kale (above) is doing well in the cooler weather, and the patty pan squash seeds that we threw into an empty bed a couple of months ago are thriving. They seem to be much easier to grow in our garden than zucchinis…

In amongst Pete’s beloved chickweed, the cos lettuce is growing well…

Lebanese cucumbers are having a late run…

Kohlrabi is probably the second easiest vegetable to grow in our garden (radishes being the easiest,  but no-one will eat them). We broadcast seeds, and up they come…

There are always perennial leeks growing and they provide us with fresh greens when there is nothing else to harvest. We use them in place of onions, stir fry them, use them in tabbouleh salad, and add them to soups…

Basil seems to like our backyard, and we have a few healthy plants, despite the lack of sunshine this summer…

And a photo for my lovely friend Joanna…this broccoli plant is growing very determinedly in a crack in the bricks.  Can’t wait to see if it forms any flower heads…

Today’s pickings included a cos lettuce, two large squash, a couple of Lebanese cucumbers, parsley, eggplant and an assortment of chillies, including cayennes and bishop’s crowns.

What’s growing in your garden this month?

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Zucchini Salad

Posted in Frugal Living, tagged on February 11, 2012| 47 Comments »

We’re finally growing zucchinis!  One of our favourite ways to eat them is in this salad.

With a potato peeler, slice the raw zucchinis into strips (be careful not to peel your skin in the process)…

Make a simple dressing by measuring the following ingredients into a jar and giving them a good shake to combine (we didn’t need all the dressing for the salad above)…

  • 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons light olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • salt and pepper to taste

Last night’s salad included sliced cucumber and a baby red onion, both from the backyard.  Other nights it might include purslane, lettuce leaves, tomatoes, or anything else we can find in the garden or fridge.

This salad seems to work best when the zucchini are really fresh, so we’re making the most of it while they’re in season!

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Garden Update, February 2012

Posted in Frugal Living, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2012| 66 Comments »

We’ve had a very wet summer in Sydney!

As a result of the regular soakings, the garden is gorgeously green, but not nearly as productive as it might have been with a few more sunny days.  Having said that, the dwarf beans (photo above) are still going strong and providing us with a colander full every couple of days.

Below is my pride and joy – after several attempts, I’m finally growing bishop’s crown chillies.  The seeds for this variety are notoriously fickle –  it took me four attempts to get one to germinate, and then even longer for it to get to fruiting stage.  But it will be worth the effort, as these are my favourite fresh chillies in the whole world, and I’ll harvest them soon…

We have a few beetroot growing…

…and our latest cucumbers – apple variety this time – started out promising, but are now struggling with the lack of sun…

We’ve planted pumpkins for the first time – baby golden nugget ones – and are thrilled with how quickly they seem to be growing…

All three plants are laden with fruit, but the wet weather is causing powdery mildew problems in all the curcubits…

A brand new variety of basil which I found at Enfield Produce – this limelight basil has attractive crinkly leaves…

The eggplants have just started to fruit…

We originally purchased three Davidson’s plums with the intention of planting them on a shady side of the house.  That hasn’t happened yet, but the potted plants are  busily fruiting nonetheless.  Pete thinks they’ll make an interesting jam if we’re able to pick enough…

Our spearmint was recently pruned to the ground by Big Boy, and is now growing back vigorously…

Our perennial leeks continue to thrive and reproduce in almost all conditions. They ensure there’s always something green to put on the dinner table…

Mini cauliflower seeds were very expensive – 15 seeds for $3.50 – and of those, only two grew. This is the only one in the garden, and it’s about 10cm (4″) in diameter at the moment.  Charming, but I doubt we’ll grow them again given the cost and poor germination rate…

The rain let up for long enough today for us to plant out another bed – this one has a serrano chilli, another mini cauli, broccoli, kale, onions, carrots, kohlrabi, rocket and loose leaf lettuce…

And finally, a photo of the one and only lemon on our young tree. I was very chuffed with the soft greens of this photo, particularly with the fern-like asparagus in the background…

Anything exciting happening in your garden at the moment?

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