It was lovely to wake up to a cloudy day, with the ground moist from last night's rain. Perfect day for gardening. I went to check my big pumpkin and it snapped off so I figured it was ready to pick. I made the mistake of picking my last pumpkin too early so I have left this one on for a few weeks and the skin has hardened - so it should keep well in a cool dark place. The lime tree is going well now and keeping us in steady supply. I use them in my green smoothies.
This is the latest shot of my pumpkin patch. It takes up a lot of previously unused space but has only yielded four pumpkins so far. I think it's growth was stunted by the drought. We are one of the few farms in Gympie to have green grass!
There are more female flowers popping up again and I have been helping the bees pollinate them.
This is the neglected state of my water tank garden...and today's project to get ready for planting.
Many plants died in the heat and I just left them there until it got cool enough to clear them.
Surprisingly a couple of gems survived the lack of water. A small English Spinach plant...
,,,and this lovely Bok Choi.
The finished result. I cleared, added my own compost and some organic cow manure, dug it in and covered with mulch. I will post this week about my Autumn Garden Planning as it has been quite a process.
This shot is of the lemon tree garden. I had one side covered with weed matt to kill off the kikuyu grass and the soil underneath is now very fertile...the worms are testament to this.
So many worm trails. The cucumbers did not like the weed matt so I lifted it all up and will dig some compost and manure in to this, before topping with mulch.
This is my passionfruit vine that ran wild through the gum trees last year. There are no flowers yet and research reveals that I should probably liquid fertilise so that is on my list.
I refilled my herb pots with fresh seedlings. I do have some seeds which I will grow separately but I use alot of fresh herbs in my cooking so its handy to have them near the kitchen.
The seedlings on the balcony are also doing well. Cabbage, Silverbeet and Lettuce are romping ahead.
I made cherry tomato chutney this morning...a sweeter alternative to the relish.
And I started a new batch of yoghurt. This is my last batch as the one I started today won't be ready until the morning. Back on the diet this week so skim milk yoghurt and fruit, for snacks at work will be the go.
Sorry about the focus but I was trying to show the date. This is the fruit salad from my first batch of preserves made at the end of December. Now that the recommended 60 days has passed I thought I would sample to see if its worth making some more.
The jar opener removed the sealed lid beautifully....a lovely popping noise was heard.
The fruit salad was lovely. The banana was surprisingly firm, the grapes and mango absolutely delicious, and the only thing I would cut out next time is the orange which was a little sour.
I finished off the day with a batch of 'cheat' sausage rolls. Frozen puff pastry, and the filling is sausages with the skins rolled off. Just roll them up and bake for 20 mins...easy, quick and the kids love them cold for their lunch boxes.
I hope you had a lovely weekend! What did you get up to?
