This is on my mind...

Inspired by Rhonda from Down to Earths blog (link at right) here's my contribution to todays "This is on my mind..."


For all the long term gardeners out there, this may not look terribly impressive, but looking at this image brings tears of pride to my eyes.

Growing up we never really grew much in the way of crops, not even many flowers for that matter, even though my family had been involved in the fresh produce market. So when I started my first garden just over three years ago now, I really struggled with how to go about it and had to do lots of research and investigation to get it right. Three years later I'm still learning, having some failures, some successes.
The reason these vegies delight me so much is they've been grown by my neice and nephews who are under 10 years old.
When I discovered the joy of success from my first little garden, I was hooked for life. From small beginnings I've come a long way. Along the way I've tried to share that joy with my family and I'd like to believe it's rubbing off on them. My sister's family has spent many weekends being dragged around my garden as I show them seedlings taking shape and pick what is available. They were keen to start their own garden and put their first one in at Christmas. Above is some of the results from that small garden.
My mother and father encouraged me as I struggled at the start, praising every small bunch of herbs or cluster of tomatoes I managed to pick to share. My mother now has a fabulous small garden that's producing well. We share walks in it with my youngest niece and now my brother is thinking of putting in a small vegetable garden for her as she talks about "Nana's garden" all the time. It reminds me just how important it is that we share not just book learned knowledge, but our passion for the practical down the generations.

First lettuce. Before this he didn't even eat it. On this day he picked a leaf and gobbled it down!

Looking for strawberries at Nana's

Picking tomatoes from Nana's garden ( if you look closely you'll see that these are a "plant", bought in especially so she could find them as it's a little too early for ripe ones yet)

Showing me seedlings they've struck in their special little grow bed

The kids enjoying the pleasure of my garden, especially the chooks

Holidays

Well I've been on holidays for a week now and feel like I've not achieved half of the things I would have liked to have done. The time has been good though, I've had time with family which is something I always treasure, some time in the garden, and yesterday and today, some time in the kitchen.
We've had two new students arrive from China today. Amy and Rose (not their Chinese names, they take English names to make it easier for everyone while they are here) joined us yesterday and will stay for the next 6 weeks to get a taste of Australian life and learn english. At only 11 years old, it would have to be very scary for them coming all this way and living with strangers. We'll try to make their stay a memorable one.
With some time at home I've taken the opportunity to make some fruit bread today and a batch of yoghurt tonight ready to use in some new recipes I saw on the Food channel today. I was motivated by a recipe for spicy eggplant.


You can see the white eggplants here amongst other goodies harvested late last week.

I just happen to have about half a dozen little round egg shaped white eggplants I picked the other day just waiting for inspiration to strike. It necessitated a trip to the shops for all sort of spices I just don't (correction "didn't) have on hand. It was a joy to buy lots of new goodies, including All spice, Cayenne Pepper, Fenugreek, Black Mustard, Saffron and Cardamon pods. I can't wait to try them out tomorrow. They aren't all for the eggplant, some are for other dishes. I'm not sure if I'll get to try them all out before I return to work, but I'd really like it if I can.
The garden has had a bit of a clean up. Hubby insisted I chop down the choko vines that have not only run rampant through our garden, but also ventured into the neighbours trees. The chokos looked like Christmas baubles hanging off the branches of their palm trees! It was hard for me to do, especially as I was getting such a great crop off them this year, but Hubby is sick of them now, and groans with each new harvest I drag in. I can't complain, he has made heaps of pickles using them, and some Chutney as well. I've smuggled them into all sorts of meals, both savory and sweet, and we have more in buckets that we haven't gotten around to using yet, and they are starting to sprout! Definately a sign that the time had come.


Chokos hanging like Christmas decorations off the fence

Clearing all the vines has let more light into some of the garden beds. One I've planted out with some French bean seedlings and a few broccoli tucked into one end. The other had nothing much except a large old capsicum bush in it (after the chickens had excavated the snow peas for the third time and there was no saving them). The capsicum hasn't been producing well, so it was time for it to go. The beds are usually "made" over by the chickens (we place their pen over the garden, they dig it up and work in sugar cane mulch over a few weeks) but I've been too impatient to wait as they are still working what was the sweet potato bed and will probably be there for at least another week or so. I've mounded it up for the time being, placed some weathered sugar cane mulch into it and given it a top up with some composted cow manure and leaving it to sit ready to try some more peas, or perhaps some silverbeet or chinese cabbage.

You can see the French beans starting to come up around  a wire frame made from old fencing wire that is used as a trellis

There's still more clean upI'd like to do in the garden before my week is out, including pulling out the remaining pumpkin vines that aren't doing much now and tieing up my peppers that have fallen over with the support of the choko vines that had enveloped them. So little time, so much garden...