Garden – Page 14 – Head in the Clouds

Busy

Its a good start to the week when you get a parcel in the mail! My best mate sent us a Christmas box of bits and pieces. Looking forward to reading this gardening book. She also sent me a house cleaning book with a post it note on it saying she never used her copy. Made me laugh!

First things first, I got into the plums and fished out all the pips then mooleyed what was left. I now have a nice lot of pulp to do with what I will.
I put three trays in the dehydrator for leather and froze the rest.
Jeff picked 2 more buckets of plums when he got home from work. Suppose I will have to work on those tomorrow!

I just went and checked… they look done. A bit tart because I added no sugar but I like the flavour and don’t mind if its a bit bitey.

This, however was my super success of the day. I had dried some raspberry pulp (mostly deseeded) – it was partly chewy and partly crispy.
I broke it up and added it to some chocolate

Apart from in the future me having to learn how to melt chocolate properly, this turned out totally great! Again the raspberry was unsweetened so the leather is a bit tart, but I love that mixed in with the sweetness of the chocolate.
Tomorrow I will be making a LOT more raspberry leather and stocking up on cooking chocolate from the supermarket!

I picked up 3kg of cherries yesterday from a farm just down the road from us. Jeff especially loves cherries and I was aiming for a few extra wife-points for having them chilled in the fridge for when he woke up from sleeping off his nightshift.
I cooked a kilo and started the process for making ice cream… cherry flavoured ice cream is divine!

Anyway, out to the garden… moving sprinklers around all day. Parts of the ground are cracking!
Time to trim that basil back again!!

Its actually slow drying in the netting so I thought I would hang this lot. I am sure I will be making more pesto, but Jeff ate all my cashews!!

I picked up these nifty clip hanger things in Japan with no idea what I needed them for but couldn’t resist having them. Found a use for them today.

Now the waiting begins.

Picked my first capsicum today! I wanted to wait until they went red but this one is showing some heat distress so I thought I should pick it and use it before it went funny. Lots more lovely tomatoes too.

I spent a couple of hours on the back veranda cleaning the dirt off the garlic and trimming them up. Now I can take them and hang them inside somewhere to dry properly.

Why not a garlic selfie?
And might as well get the cat involved while I am at it.

Pip not really into it…

Anyway, hope your Monday started just as well as mine did!

Cheers!

Plums and Pots

Hello!
Looks like the plums ripened overnight! Now the trick is how to reach as many as possible. The big old cherry plum trees don’t have many options for leaning ladders against them safely… not while I am on my own anyway.

So I tottered about on the shorter free standing ladder, managed to pick a bucketful and not fall off.

A split second ago Pip was sitting up posing beautifully. Sigh.

First zucchinis! Yay! Been wanting to try out making zucchini chips in the dehydrator.

Went scratching about for potatoes and also dug up a few wonky carrots, more tomatoes and a lovely 2.5kgs of raspberries!

I’ve been wanting to try a few potted vegetables. I am not so good at container gardening. But I run a small gardening group for raw beginners and some people have limited space and were asking about it. I thought I could put together something and show people.
So I scavenged a few pots from around the yard (we have heaps!!) and mixed up my mushroom compost and some cheap potting mix. (I get the cheap stuff because I use half and half with the mushroom compost and when I have done that in the past things have been happy)

I used the bigger pots for the tomatoes. I just dug them up from the garden. I suspect they will be cherry tomatoes.

Not long after planting this one got depression – but pleased to report has totally perked up tonight!

I also relocated that celery that appeared in the hothouse

There was plenty of parsley to pot up and I am trying to rescue the basil and chilli plants that were in smaller pots and looking tragic.

Now I just have to remember to water daily!

I have a few hopeful butternut pumpkins. Lots keep dying off but happy to see one or two actually getting bigger

Well… I am going to find myself a movie and pick up the crochet. (Which is why I didn’t blog yesterday – found myself on youtube at midnight working out how to crochet a beret!)(As you do)

Cheers!

Dug My Garlic!

Hello! How is everyones first week of 2018 going?
I treated myself to a trailer load of mushroom compost today!!

Now I can move on to some more planting and feed up some areas.

But I really had a lovely day digging up all my garlic! (and the extra bonus is a whole spare plot!)
It was a mixed bag of sizes, but overall I am pretty happy.

Think I have enough?
I have put them all on the back veranda to dry off for a few days, then I will be able to brush the dirt/mud off more easily before hanging them inside upstairs to dry properly.

I weeded a plot at the back of the hothouse yesterday…

Just enough room for a few more tomatoes

Dumped in a barrow load of mushroom compost and mulched with the last of the seaweed grass (yup – next trip out with the trailer will be to restock on that!)

The self seeded ones I have just recently noticed are doing quite well here too… weeded them and fed them some compost.

Cherry plums slowly starting to ripen!

Of the four unenthusiastic apple cucumber plants… I have only one cucumber developing!

Looks like I can quit buying potatoes at the supermarket!! Yay! I love new potatoes (some of these were on the dinner plate tonight, steamed and served with butter!)

The cucumbers are slow… but mostly steady enough to keep up with what we are eating each night.

Enough tomatoes now to make our favourite side dish of stuffed tomatoes (centres just scooped out and mixed with breadcrumbs, garlic salt & fresh herbs – under the grill for 5 minutes!!)

Loving the fresh food!

Cheers!

Sunflowers Out

Hello!
My sunflowers are finally starting to unfold! Things look really cheerful when they are out!

We were outside off and on doing random yard work… weeding, mowing, chasing wayward chickens! The weather was also off and on, rain, sun, wind warm, cold. Sigh.

Spent an hour or two picking nearly 2kgs of raspberries…

Lots more self seeded tomatoes appearing in the hothouse

Only getting the odd handful of strawberries now

Tonight for dinner we had some new potatoes along with tomatoes, cucumber, basil & some home made rissoles. Rounded off afterwards by some home made strawberry ice cream!

Who does New Year Resolutions?? I can never make up my mind about them. But I have a heap of goals running through my head that I should write up and attempt to achieve!

Goal One: Make List of Goals.

Cheers!

Hey Pesto!

Well… its just ticked over to the last day of 2017!!
Wow… didn’t that just fly by!!??

Yesterday I crumbled up the oregano I dried and popped them in these jars. I am liking the look!
Was pleased with my first efforts, so went and picked a bunch more oregano and a basket full of basil.

They are now all in my little netted air dryer in the sunroom doing their thing.

Today the wind was howling and it was no fun being outside. Still… the raspberries needed picking. They were being flung about into jam before I could get them inside!
So happy to get a few more tomatoes too.

The capsicum are really getting lovely and big. Now I just want them to change colour – I like the green ones but I am quite partial to the red!

My replacement corn seedlings doing well. The need to catch up to the ones outside so they can be slotted in and hopefully grow at approximately the same rate. (wishful thinking huh?)

More cucumbers – and lots of flowers

The basil that I trimmed back last week to take cuttings kind of exploded out pretty quickly!

I was able to pick another basket but this lot was destined to make more pesto!

I had more time up my sleeve today, so I baked the garlic.
Apart from the baking, the whole process is very quick.
I plan to do a chicken, pesto pasta for tomorrow nights dinner and there is enough there to freeze as well!!

I hope the last day of your year finishes fantastically!

Cheers

Still Cooking, Still Planting

Hi there! Hot today! I worked up a bit of a sweat out there today!
Takes ages to pick the raspberries – can kiss a couple of hours goodbye doing that.
I pulled up the watermelon plants as they were doing nothing. I had two potted capsicums that needed a home as well as some thyme.

Everything got a good watering too. (Including me at times!)

Its nice to have fresh food on hand to put together a sandwich for lunch!
I moved a few more things through the dehydrator…

These cucumber slices were unsalted but I still don’t care for them as a chip, so into powder they go.

Then I really had to start making a dint in the raspberry population that is residing in the fridge, so made up 3lb’s worth into jam

I also finished off making the new batch of strawberry ice cream. While I was scraping out the mixture I was having a chuckle remembering on Christmas Day how I had to throw away Ruby’s spatula. I had bought her a new one when I was in Texas – and it was carefully put away while she continued to wear out the old one.
I swear she has probably had it from the 70’s!!
I asked Margie what she was waiting for?? Margie did the little eye roll and said she didn’t know. I translated that Ruby was being stubborn. Honestly… it was past worn out to the point it was shedding bits!!! So I marched into the lounge room and informed Ruby I was throwing it away and teased her a bit about how terrible it was. She laughed at me but went along with it so now the nice new one has been taken out of its packet and put into use. Margie wisely went and threw the old one in the outside bin so Ruby didn’t go and get it back again!!!

Oh – and here is an update photo of my behind the scenes crochet project that is steadily growing. By the time its done it will be like wearing a blanket!
Well… I am off to find some dessert, watch some telly and continue with the shawl.
Cheers!

Kitchen Stuff

Hello there! Everyone survive the festivities? Hope you are all relaxing and living on leftovers!
I played mostly in the kitchen today… but failed to take any photos.
Made up the rest of the plum pulp into more jars of jam so we are stocked up for a while.
Baked bread, put a few things into the dehydrator (lemon peel, strawberries, a few raspberries and some cucumber.)
Started stage one of more ice cream.
Covered some of the dried strawberries in chocolate!!! Oh my! Like they are going to last the evening!! (Not!)

The apples are looking quite good. This tree seems to have less codling moth than the other one. We are spraying them this year. (Nothing too chemically tho of course!) Hopefully it helps. Must give them another dose tomorrow if its not too windy!

My air dried oregano seemed ready so I stripped the leaves off the stems.

Most were crunchy but I felt another few days in the sunroom spread out on a tray wasn’t going to hurt

I got a parcel today!!! Only my best mate (who lives on a farm) would wrap something up in a feed bag and send it through the mail!! Cracked me up.

Anyway, she sent me a crazy paver!! I am pretty excited… I really want to make some cool pathways so can’t wait to get in and have a go.
Would love to also use some of those million beach stones we have collected to decorate the pavers too!

The hothouse is doing well… I have it more under control this season than in the past. Probably because I have been strict about digging up the self seeded tomatoes instead of letting them rule the roost!

Some of the replacement corn seedlings have popped up

Next round of lettuce seedlings also doing fine

Plums!! Cherry plums to be precise.
A few here and there have been ready, but wow… if we harvest even half of these we will be swimming in them!

Time to buy some new buckets perhaps…

Yesterday I got back into the main garden and mostly finished off the weeding in the bottom area
It did look like this:

Now we have gotten to this point:

I have started clearing out the raised bed as we use up the lettuce. Either the new lettuce can go in or maybe some more beetroot as it seems to be having a hard time getting properly going in the duck yard garden.
Also going to start trying to kill the pathway grass with black plastic laid over some spots for a week or two

(I plan to ask farmer friends for the silage plastic covers when they unwrap a bale – I guess they just throw them away.)

Yesterday I got another kilo and a half of raspberries, and also happily picked some more tomatoes!

Hope your holiday season is just wonderful!

Cheers

Pavlova

Here we are… Christmas Eve!
Jeff got called in to do an afternoon shift and I just pottered about working through a little list.
We plan to head down to Ruby’s for Christmas lunch.
Ruby is in charge of baking the turkey & pudding, Margie is doing the vegetables and I am on pavlova and custard duties.
So I did the pav this afternoon

6 eggwhites! (I love my egg separator!)

I will make the custard fresh from the yolks tomorrow morning

A lot of sugar and mixing later… and I have my pav ready for the oven.

Tomorrow morning I will whip some cream for the middle and top it off with lots of raspberries.

Figured I should go and pick said raspberries…

Half my patch is rocking along… the other half deadish. Think I might have to dig the bad ones up.

It took over an hour to pick today… got nearly 2kgs (4lb)

As always I have chook-lurkers when I pick raspberries. I wish you could hear them when I poke raspberries through to them (the dodgy ones) Its like a higher pitched ‘chook chook’ noise which is so funny. I think its their happy voice when they get something especially tasty.
I did have two naughty girls sneak into the netted area. Of course Screecher was one of them. She went out not fazed at all by me catching her (or unrepentant) but oh my! The other one, one of the ring necked girls?? What a fuss!! There was screeching and flapping and a general carrying on that got her tangled in the netting. Finally got her under control and out. And heavy!!! She is one solid bird!!

First bean makes an appearance!

The corn is patchy. I still have high hopes tho…

The outside tomatoes are growing in size quite quickly

Random celery popped up in the hothouse! Must relocate this one.

Capsicums are getting nice and big too

Then to top the day off I made the first half of the plum jam up from frozen pulp. I have been running low lately. Even though I love raspberry jam, I now confess my favourite to be the plum!
I need to make more room in the freezers so its time to get onto the cooking.

Hope you enjoyed your day with the last preparations for tomorrows get togethers or whatever you are up to!

Merry Christmas
xxx

Dehydrating (food, not me)

Hello! I have to have a little brag – my first tomato of the season. Sure its a bit small, but Jeff and I shared it in a salad tonight and it was beautiful!! I am quite fond of the Black Russian tomatoes… lots of flavour! I spotted a couple of others that have started to colour up so pretty excited about that!

I did a fair bit of catching up with people around town to say hi and Merry Christmas and all of that. So nothing amazing has changed in the garden.

I did put together a tray of strawberries and one of cucumber to put into the dehydrator. Together. I figure the flavours are unlikely to mix… will soon see!!
I sprinkled a bit of sea salt onto the cucumber chips… hmmmm. I might have overdone that. I tried one thats half ready and I bet my face was pretty funny! I’m ok though. I washed it down with a slice of chocolate cake (the one I decided to bake at 11pm last night) (as one does)

I hope once these are crispy dry the saltiness won’t be quite as eye-widening.
Anyway, I have a good number of cucumbers coming along that I can experiment with if this tray goes south. (Can always powder it for other things right??)

Hope everyone is in for a relaxing weekend before Christmas
Cheers!

PS – current resident possum who seems big enough to throw a saddle on!

Striking Basil

Hello!
Well, apparently propagating basil is dead easy and I am pretty much forehead-slapping myself for not catching on to this sooner.
The basil in the hothouse is really going beautifully, so thought I might do some googling to see what I do and give it a go.

Apparently you snip it off below a leaf node. Then cut the lower leaves off

Then you put them in water and wait a couple of weeks – changing the water every few days so it doesn’t get manky – and after that time you should see new roots growing! Seems pretty easy! Hope they work!

I am fairly excited to watch this happen.

I picked a lot of the leaves today and made garlic/basil pesto, then cooked up some pasta and chicken and mixed it all up – not bad at all! (and was too lazy to take photos of dinner)

I was able to freeze three packs of the pesto for future dinners. I am hoping to do more batches of it to freeze while the basil is doing so well.

I also made a small batch of raspberry jam. Again… I didn’t do photos!! With luck it will set ok.

Hope your day was great
Cheers