Food gardening

Eating and growing food go together

2010-03-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

Growing great food is one thing, but it's also important to eat great food. When you have good, fresh, organically grown vegetables, I think it's best to just keep things simple so the tastes of the foods are not swamped by heavy flavours of sauces or gravies.

There's nothing to beat lightly steamed vegetables picked only minutes before the meal, or an unflavoured natural yoghurt with some fresh strawberries tossed in (without the sugar).

There's a good website here on eating right for optimal health. There's a lot to learn about food, and life's much too short to waste it on 'junk' food.

Today, the spinach is so good I ate it raw in the garden before I even got back to the house!

Aubergine/Eggplant

2010-03-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Aubergines or eggplants, whatever you want to call them, they're delicious, especially when picked straight off the plant.

This is an eggplant growing on my three-year-old plant. I've done little to it, except I pruned it last year after all the fruit was finished, and it's been mulched well with pea straw, with some chicken manure spread under the mulch. It hasn't been watered very much at all, just when it looked like it was on the point of death.

I didn't expect to get any eggplants at all this year, but it's loaded with fruit. I've already had at least eight, and there are dozens more coming.

I should learn how to preserve them I suppose. I know you can make pickles including eggplant, and apparently you can also freeze them, as I found out here. I'll try both, but at the moment, I'm really enjoying using eggplants in every way I can think of - which is a lot!

Lebanese cucumbers

2010-02-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

The cucumbers are coming along nicely, and I picked another one today. This time I remembered to take a photo. These cucumbers are absolutely delicious, and go well with the radishes and rocket salad. The cabbages are also coming along well, and getting nice hearts.

Even for a totally hopeless gardener like me, this has all been so easy, and the difference in taste between my Lebanese cucumber and those from the shop (even the greengrocers, which are far better than the supermarket) is amazing. Mine are so crisp and tasty.

Pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin pie

2010-02-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

I've had last year's Queensland Blue pumpkins in storage and I broke into one yesterday. I hate it when pumpkin goes off (which it does in these hot summers once it's broken open), so I decided to freeze it.

I chopped what I hadn't used in the meal into smallish (5cm) chunks with the peel and seeds removed, blanched them in boiling water for three minutes and then scooped them out into cold water to cool off. Then I froze them. They'll be ready for me whenever I need them.

Then there's the seeds. I found a simple recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds, so I'm trying it out. Most say to boil the seeds for an hour before roasting. If this doesn't work, I'll try that.

I had around a cup of pumpkin seeds, which I had roughly separated from the flesh (without too much fuss, and with no rinsing). I added about 1/2 tsp salt and about a tablespoon of butter.

I mixed the lot and put it into a warm oven (150 deg C, 300 deg F) for about 30 minutes, stirring and tossing them a couple of times during this period. I then put them on a dry cloth to drain.

That's all. Here they are half-way through the roasting:

Something that I'm curious about is why Americans think they need a can of pureed pumpkin to make their pumpkin pie with. I know some Americans here and they lament they can't buy the stuff, and so can't make their pie. Don't they know you just boil pumpkin and puree it?

You cannot buy radishes

2010-02-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

You cannot buy radishes. You can buy red, cardboard flavoured, dry imitations of a radish, but you cannot (at least in supermarkets and even greengrocers around here) buy a deliciously spicy, crisp radish.

My radishes are ready to pick now, and they are just delicious. Crispy, fresh, hot and pepper, with a real flavour. I'd forgotten what real radishes taste like. I must get some more seeds and sow them. I think you can grow radishes all year. I'll check.

They're also good for you. I just checked with http://health.learninginfo.org/nutrition-facts/radishes.htm, and they say radishes have as much potassium as bananas, and they're great sources of vitamin C, folate and magnesium. That's good enough for me.

Radishes are like asparagus, which goes rubbery five minutes after it's picked. You just cannot buy radishes. Really. And the best place to store them is in the ground.

Dolmades from my own vine leaves

2010-02-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

I never thought of the grape vine leaves as a food resource before, but then a light bulb turned on in my head (at last!) and I realised the vine leaves used for Dolmades are just that: grape vine leaves. So I had a busy afternoon selecting good leaves, making Dolmades with some fresh leaves, and putting others in brine for later in the year. Some of the leaves are just beginning to change colour, so they have to be got off now before it's too late.

To make the brine I used a 5:1 water:salt solution (200g salt per1 litre of water) and added some cloves and bay leaves. I blanched the leaves in boiling water for a minute before cooling and drying them and placing them in the brine.

To make the Dolmades, I just used a simple recipe I found in a Greek book, with sauteed spring onions and garlic and short-grain rice. I placed some of the mixture on each blanched and cooled leaf and then rolled it up and put it in the pan to make layers. I then just covered the layers with some stock and held the Dolmades down with a plate to stop them floating. Simmered for 45 minutes and served with a tomato based sauce. Result: beautiful.

And to think in the past all I did was wait for the leaves to change colour and drop off and then sweep them up and use as mulch.

First strawberry!

2010-01-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

The strawberry plant in the hanging pot is doing well, although its leaves got a bit burnt in the hot weather. I'll have to bring it into the shade when it's hot. I picked the first strawberry yesterday. It was small, ripe, and absolutely delicious, unlike the big glossy tasteless strawberries you get in supermarkets. This was eye-wateringly delicious.

We're having a hot spell again, so the chooks are out of the tractor, and it's too hot outside to do anything except just keep things alive and make sure they have shade and don't die from lack of water.

Chicken tractor arrives!

2010-01-19T02:41:00.000-08:00

I asked my Dad to make me a two-chook chicken tractor, and today it arrived! It's great - just the right size for my small borders and garden beds, and just the right size for two of my six chooks, which is what I wanted.

I could have made the tractor myself, but it would have had to wait until I had time to do it (maybe this year, maybe next), but my Dad loves a project, and he's good at it.

The tractor is a simple pen with no bottom. There's a box at one end they can sleep in and lay their eggs in (nicely lined with clean bedding straw), an earthenware water bottle, and that's about it. They will scratch the ground, eat the bugs and the weeds, and fertilise it, and then I'll move it on to the next place and plant the section they've just cleaned out.

They both seemed quite happy today, but got a bit stressed as it grew dark because they couldn't go 'home'. They've now settled in their box. I put a sack over the wire netting to make it darker for them, and to help if there is any rain (fat chance!) I plan to have them in there two days and two nights, and then rotate with two other chooks.

It's hard to imagine, but factory farms would fit more than a dozen chooks into this space. What an obscenity most chicken farms are.

Chicken tractor! Why didn't I think of this before?

Mulching, and lemon verbena tea and mint tea

2010-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

I've bought some pea straw (and bedding straw for the chook section), and started mulching before the weather gets hot again. I have a budget of about $0 for the garden, so just buy things when I can afford them.

I've mulched the cucumbers, and I've started on the cabbages.

I spread the mulch about 15 cm thick. I think that should be thick enough to keep the moisture in the soil and suppress the weeds a bit. In this climate the moisture is the main concern. The mulch ought to keep the soil cooler too. That's the theory anyway.

Tea

I love tea of all kinds, and there's nothing better than to go out into the garden and pick some mint or lemon verbena to make tea. I use the freshly picked leaves, especially nice baby ones (why do we love to eat babies so much?) I don't use the stalks, because they can be bitter.

I never dry the mint, but I do dry lemon verbena and have a jar on hand. To dry it, I just pick some young branches, tie a string around the ends, and then hang up the bunch in the kitchen until the leaves are completely dry. They make the whole house smell wonderful.

Lemon verbena tea and mint tea are both really refreshing, and I'm sure they must be good for you. I also make a tea with them mixed together, and that's beautiful too.

Making verjus (or verjuice)

2010-01-13T17:05:00.000-08:00

The starlings have arrived for the grapes, so it looks like my chances of getting any ripe ones are about zero. Last year I made verjus, so this year I'm doing the same. The grapes may be a little too big, but they are still unripe and acidic. Here's how I make verjus:

First I chop off the bunches of grapes and give them a wash to get rid of any bird droppings.

Then I crush the grapes with a pestle.

Next, I pile the crushed grapes in a clean pillowcase.

Finally I hang the pillowcase up with a jar underneath it to catch the juice. When the jar's full I usually fill ice cube trays with the juice and freeze it, but I keep some fresh to use now.

Verjus (or verjuice if you prefer) is great for marinating chicken or meat, and for poaching fish and gives it a great taste and makes it incredibly tender. It's also great in salad dressings, and virtually anywhere else you would use lemons.

Making verjus means at least I get some use from the grapes and the birds don't get them all.

Food in my garden so far

2010-01-12T17:15:00.001-08:00

This is establishing my starting point in learning how to grow my own food. Apart from the weeds, I did have a flurry of activity a while ago, and I do have some things growing. Here's what I have so far:

Capsicum (long yellow and purple), sugar bowl cabbage, rocket, green zebra tomato, and a few flowers in a messy bed with some left over pea straw.

Sweet long yellow capsicum (first fruit is there) Planted as an advanced (30 cm) plant on 21 Dec 2009.

Baby sugar bowl cabbage, planted as a small seedling on 26 Dec. (I made up a soap/garlic spray and have sprayed it regularly to reduce the munching.) I planted six, and six survive!

Habanero chilli (30+ hot!) on the left with feral potato on the right. I had potatoes growing here before, and I guess I must have missed a few, because they're springing up. I can't see any reason to dig them up.

Rocket. This was growing feral in a flower border, so I moved it to fill in gaps in the cabbage patch. I love rocket, and it obviously spreads, which is fine by me.

Radishes. I sowed the seeds on 3 January, and they're doing well. They probably need thinning out or something. I just scattered the seeds and spread compost over the top.

Globe artichoke (and what I think are feral marigolds springing up as there's a marigold nearby and there must be lots of seeds in the soil. Should I pull them out? Dunno. I planted four artichokes on 2 and 3 Jan, and they seem to have survived the heat ok.

A tamarillo (tree tomato). I planted this quite advanced last year, and it's going mad. My father planted one at his place and it's half the size. I think it's going so well because I planted it in the old pumpkin patch, which had lots of organic manure in it. Picture on right is the one big fruit on it. There are lots of small fruits and flowers. Dog (Libby) is grubbing around for grapes the thieves have dropped.

Straggly bay tree in a pot. I'm not sure if I should plant it, or where it should go if I do. Don't they grow tall and take over? Dunno. It probably needs repotting at least. Great in casseroles etc.

Grapefruit tree with fruit coming. The leaves look a bit curly, but I don't know why. Not enough water?

Mizuna. This sort of grows like a weed. It was rampant and I've cleaned a lot of it out and tidied it a bit. I love the taste of it and I'm happy to have it there. I also moved a few plants under the grapefruit tree as one was growing feral there and seemed to like the shade.

An eggplant left over from two years ago. It's got flowers again so should have fruit. I'm not a control freak in the garden, and I'm quite happy to have ferals or over-stayers. My Dad rips everything out as soon as it's finished, and there's rarely a weed to be seen. I like the idea of having a pensioner eggplant though.

A Jalopeno chilli left over from last year. Don't know if it will have chillis again. How old can they get to be?

This is the hideous mess that once was a herb garden. About all that's surviving is weeds and feverfew, which I've never found a use for. There's also garlic chives, but they're the ones with purple flowers, which I'm told you're not supposed to eat. I eat them though, and haven't died yet.

Grapes. I can't remember what sort they are, but I think they're sultana grapes. Could be wrong. The bunch on the right has been attacked by Blackbirds. They get most of the fruit. I've tried bird scarers, netting, CDs, even plastic bags around each bunch. Nothing works. Last year I picked the bunches early and made verjus. Might have to do that again, but I live in hopes of getting at least one bunch of ripe grapes to eat.

Monsterio Delicioso fruit growing in the shady section around the verandah. I tasted these for the first time last year, and I can see how they got the second part of their name!

Mint, in a big concrete pot by the honeysuckle. I think it might be peppermint, but really have no idea. It makes nice tea and goes well with lamb though.

Strawberry in a hanging pot. I've no idea if you can grow strawberries in a hanging pot, but I do know Libby loves strawberries and will eat them if I try to grow them in the ground. Planted 3 January. I'm not sure if the holes I put in the plastic are big enough. Is it draining properly?

This is the disaster area that's supposed to be part of a row of carrots. I used a seed tape, but so far all that's come up is weeds. I think they're slow to germinate, so will tackle the weeds and then see what happens. I have a similar row of silverbeet, but I suspect there may be some real seedlings amongst them. But maybe not - the use by date of the seeds was 2002! Waste not, want not.

One of four lebanese cucumbers I planted on 2 January. They more or less survived the heat wave and are all flowering. I just cleared a patch of weeds, put compost in the holes, and spread a bit of left-over pea straw over the top.

Okay, that's it for the main section. Chook section tomorrow.

I should say that my block is an old size block, which gives me a bit of scope to grow some stuff, but I could easily have all this in a small block.

Actually, I'm surprised how much food I have growing. I thought I had nothing, but I do have a few things. This is only the start though. Up to now I've just been dabbling, but now I'm really going to start learning how to grow my own food.

Growing food in a Mediterranean climate

2010-01-12T17:14:00.001-08:00

I don't know much about gardening and my garden is mostly full of weeds at the moment, although I have a few things in. What I want to do is learn all I can about growing my own food and becoming more independant and self-sufficient, partly because it seems like the sensible thing to do, partly because it will save me money, and partly because home-grown food tastes so damn good!

I live in South Australia, which has a Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers and mild, wet winters. Well, that's how it was before the drought - now the winters are pretty dry too, and the summers can be scorching.

So far this year we've had one heat wave with several days at or near 40 degrees (over 100 F). We've had one rainy day - yesterday, when we had 19 mm rain, and a cool day at 26 degrees maximum.

This is my first post. More on my adventures on growing food later.