Juicy Harvest

So after months of watering and tender love and care. The plants are doing well and looking so delicious. Can't wait to taste it.

The juicy beetroot with it's voluptuous curves teases and it takes alot of mental control to leave it alone and not pull it out too prematurely!

The other leafy goodies are coming along well too albeit some holes thanks to some hungry fat caterpillars. I don't really mind them. As long as they don't demolish the plants completely, there's plenty to go around.
In midst of the summer, we go away for 2 weeks. I reluctantly gave the caretaker responsibility to the neighbors and my mum. Water it and harvest I instructed. But when we came home, the plants exploded. I was kind of sad I wasn't around to watch them grow. They grow up so quickly.

They were delicious. The Amaranth Spinach - the leafy greens with the red middle is my favourite veggy. They make all soups go pink. My daughter loves the pink soup also. Unfortunately, they overgrew along with the chinese brocolli. They really should have the shoots plucked and eaten when young to retain it's juicy crips youth. The rattlesnake beans are the sweetest, juiciest beans ever. Oh and don't get me started on the beetroot and carrots. Forgot to take photos of the purple dragon carrots. Will remember to take photos in next harvest.

So this was Summer's harvest and have harvested most of these juicy morsels. I'm growing the winter plants now and will put the pics in the next post. I also decided to expand the garden to the back courtyard. I might be developing a slight obsession here.

After a conversation with hubby this morning, I think I'm a little too keen on expanding the garden. Was thinking of chickens, setting up a lucern paddock, growing fields of rasberries and asparagus plants in the council land. Was even wishing I had a buffalo or horse to help dig the ground. Ok passion is getting a little out of hand, need to go back to what is realistic and possible!

Our Garden

After the winter of 2008, the weeds took over the patch.

We had some wallabies who found the patch a favorite rendezvous snack points in winter. So I gave up gardening in the cold and fighting with the roos and possums.

We decided it would cost too much to build fences to keep the wildlife out. So we planted some blood oranges, mandarins and blueberries in the patch. And during the cold months, the weeds took over.

I didn't mulch which is the thing to do to keep weeds at bay. It just means I have to get dirty and start over again.

But I changed my mind again and decided fruit and veggies cost way too much so I decided to plant around the little trees. I thought I'll plant mostly leafy veggies, herbs and maybe some squash around it. Hoping a mix of herbs would deter the wallabies and possums from eating the veggies. But during rubish collection, someone threw out some fencing. It wasn't very tall and not very strong neither but I was going to try anyway.

After weeding, the veggie patch now has a mandarin tree, a blood orange tree and a blueberry shrub; some parsley, chives and leek plants. Over the top is a lemon grass shrub. Still lots of space around it for herbs and leafy veggies.

After mulching and putting a very small and possibly useless fence, I decided to expand the patch and make use of such valuable sunny real estate.

Oh this year I also have a little help from a cutie poo. Who also reminds me the fence is terrible.


The expansion of the vegie patch from a little circle to a big ass veggie patch conveyor belt.

I bought myself some heirloom seeds from diggers and very excitedly planted some
rattlesnake beans (stripy purple and green beans)
10 colour tomato mix, striped beetroot, purple carrots, Red Spinach Spent over $50 on seeds. I sure hope they grow.