I hope you have had a wonderful and productive weekend. I had the entire weekend at home which suited me just fine. Next weekend is full of Christmas parties so it was lovely to potter around and get things done. Two weeks of work to go and I can be a stay at home mum for two weeks....cannot wait for that.
This weekend's colourful harvest. The last of the bok choi, heaps of cherry tomatoes, a couple of cucumbers, some young celery, kale, spring onion, a golden zucchini and spinach.
The leafy vegetables inspired me to make my first green smoothie. I forgot to photograph the cucumber in the above shot, at the front is some aloe vera and just in front of the apples is a knob of ginger.
I picked a little bit of Brahmi to go with this mix as well - for extra brain food. I peeled the lemon and cut the apples into chunks and put it all through my juicer. I then added a little water and this is the result.
To my surprise it was actually really yummy. I would probably only use half a lemon next time, but Paul and I both agreed that it did perk us up and get us going.
Yesterday I harvested the basil seeds that I left drying last weekend. It was a fiddly job but very productive.
These are the biggest tomatoes I have grown and I did not even plant them. They just sprung up on a corner of the house so I have tied them up to the pipe.
This is the bok choi that I cut off instead of pulling up and it produced another two bok choi. Good tip that one.
It has been so hot here that the last few lettuce have bolted, and I have cut them off to dry for more seeds.
These are the Grosse Lisse tomatoes which I planted in my new garden bed. They have doubled in size and seem to enjoy the part shade. I added more mulch today and hope these will continue to thrive in the heat.
despite the lack of male flowers I finally have another large golden squash growing. These were beautiful in the chutney I made a few weeks ago. I have pollinated the rest with male flowers from the other squash so it will be interesting what they turn out like.
The patty pan squash are the only ones I have not successfully grown yet. I have been diligent with the pollinating so here is hoping!
More golden zucchini.
Three little rockmelon all in a row. I fertilised the patch today as the large one does not seem to be getting any bigger.
The broccoli now has another 'flower' sprouting on the same plant. The larger one is in front behind my shadow.
This is the start of my honey mustard for the Xmas hampers. The mustard seeds are soaking in white wine vinegar with a cinnamon stick.
Not very appetising, but this is what the inside of my bokashi bucket looks like after one week. It is 2/3 full and despite having prawn shells, meat and bread scraps there is no unpleasant odour. Every night I add our foodscraps, spray with the microbe solution and squash with the trowel.
I made an easy watering can out of a plastic bottle for my seedlings. I just squeeze the bottle and...
Presto :)
I managed a quick trip to the markets this morning and had a great time at this herb stall.
These plant stands are really cute. With six large tubs, including the herbs, they only cost $60. I think my mother in law will be getting one of these for Christmas (maybe me too).
Of course I had to get more herbs. $2.50 each - bargain! Rosemary, Parsley, Herb Robert, Comfrey and Pizza Thyme.
And I couldn't resist these bags of beans and squash $2 a bag. The squash are crossed with zucchini so I wonder if I will end up with any like these?
Oh, and I almost forgot...I made my first Christmas cake and it tastes amazing!!! Thanks Cheryl. Will post the full details including the recipe tomorrow.
