Watermelon Jam I recently pulled the plug on my melon garden. The melons were ready, and the plants were exhausted from their efforts. It didn’t help that this was one of the most windswept garden beds with sightlines to the ocean through the front gate. I have a stable door style gate with windbreak on the top half, although it isn’t often closed and the … Continue reading Watermelon Jam
Making the hard chop In the old garden I used to have an amazing orchard. There were about 30 now mature fruit trees. I had the space, so I just planted what I wanted without too much thought and consideration. Although I did have a ‘do or die’ philosophy, which is quite self-explanatory. A tree would be popped in a hole and left to fend … Continue reading Making the hard chop
Best Valentine’s Day ever! I’m honestly not sure how we are going to top this, and it all revolved around the garden. I have been on a mission to showcase the vegetables I grow in the meals I make. I’m a gardener well ahead of being a cook in terms of priorities, passion and ability. I revel in bringing forth life from bare soil and … Continue reading Best Valentine’s Day ever!
The giant list of things that need to be done. After yesterday’s declaration of good intentions >Yesterday’s post< I took a moment to write down everything I need to do. And now I see why I kept it in my head and just procrastinated as a coping mechanism… It is a tad daunting. But it is what it is, and is what I got myself … Continue reading The giant list of things that need to be done.
Good Habits start today. This is just a quick post and a public declaration, that I will be getting stuff done or be publicly shamed. The recent short weeks combined with a new ‘no back to school’ empty nest thing has really thrown the start of my February into disarray. I feel like I’ve been waiting for some kind of normal to kick in but … Continue reading Good Habits start today.
Heroes and Superstars. The garden has really been pumping out the harvest. Everyday there is something new to deal with, on top of the things already overwhelming my harvest basket. It can be so easy to just take yet another zucchini for granted or leave it languishing on the plant a little longer in an obstinate attempt to delay the inevitable, which ultimately results in … Continue reading Heroes and Superstars
It’s over, move on. January is the strangest month. It starts in holiday mode. There is absolutely no expectation to do anything remotely productive, unless it is for personal gain, like indulging in a hobby. And as the middle month of summer, it is – most of the time – too hot to want to do anything anyway. I can’t cope in the heat, especially … Continue reading It’s over, move on.
Too Hot If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the garden. We are in the midst of a heatwave. It might not be the burning inferno that some folk experience in summer in other places, but it is hot for me. In the last week the hottest the thermometer in the garden registered was 38°C yesterday at 6:27pm! Surely the evenings are supposed … Continue reading Too Hot
New Year is a state of mind. It is all very well to treat the new year as a fresh start when you are in between seasons like all the wonderful gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere. The previous season behind them, with lessons learnt from the successes and failures and all the hope and expectation of a new season just around the corner. While the … Continue reading New Year is a state of mind.
Tomatoes are the Star In my opinion, in a summer garden – of all the wide range of plants that can be grown, the tomato is the superstar. The one that just owns the season. Sweetcorn could come in a close second if it wasn’t for the fact that in spite of their sunny yellow disposition, which can be stored in the freezer to bring … Continue reading Tomatoes are the Star.
