Around the Garden and in the Kitchen

Remember Kale Cauli? Well it grew up and was duly harvested. Kale Cauli ended up being a bit green and a bit purplish.

The texture was similar to cauliflower and the flavour was something akin to the taste of very mature kale leaves, ie, a bit strong. Kale Cauli was edible, but not sure if I'd want to eat it too often.

There are a few more baby Kale Caulis in the garden at the moment, so my thoughts are going down the pickles track at this point.



Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, in the kitchen drawer where I keep potatoes and onions, a sweet potato decided to sprout. This is the first time I have ever seen a sprouted sweet potato in Canberra - must have been the hot weather.

The sweet potato is growing well and I'll have to put it in a pot and see what becomes of it. Because the cooler weather will arrive before it's finished growing, the bathroom is starting to look good as a new home.







Have still been bottling like a crazy woman and last weekend I made my first tomato paste. Sure, I could have bought the same quantity of thicker paste for just a couple of dollars, but at least I know where this lot has been.

Also in the kitchen, I've started a couple of batches of wine brewing - one with elderberries, blueberries and plums and the other with peaches and rose petals. The first one will be a red port-style wine and the second will be a white/blush dessert wine. Drinking will be a while away, but it sure does feel good to be making wine again!
And yes, dear Crone, I'll put up a post soonish to tell you how to go about it.

love and light
naturewitch

Ramblings About the Garden

Following on from my previous post, here's a photo of the sweet corn and the maize. The sweet corn is on the lower left corner of the photo and as you can see, has not suffered damage due to the heat. The maize in the adjacent bed, however, is suffering quite a bit.

The main difference is the preparation of the sweet corn bed before planting - it received a double dose of manure. Although I have watered the maize more than the sweet corn and given it seaweed extract, it is less resilient.

Clearly, bed preparation is going to be paramount in the years to come.

Despite the hot weather, it's not all bad around the garden at the moment. The elder has decided to have a second flush of flowers, reminding us that elderflower cordial is particularly cooling in the hot weather. The recipe I use is from Self-sufficientish. We've been enjoying this today, mixed with mineral water and ice.

With the warmer weather, many seeds are ripening in the garden. This morning I collected a mix of broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage seed, which I'm calling "brassica surprise"; mignonette lettuce seeds, carrot seeds, white beetroot seeds and calendula seeds.

All the seeds are looking very healthy, thanks no doubt to our little buzzy friends.

While watering the roses this morning, a thought popped into my head about planting lettuces between the roses. I consulted the companion planting books to find that mignonette lettuce make a great companion for roses, as do garlic and onions. Well, now I know where those lettuce seeds are going . . .

love and light
naturewitch