Category Archives: Gardening

A Hot Day

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We have had a remarkably mild summer so far but yesterday it really kicked into gear. The outdoor temperature at our place peaked at 40.5C. This is not remarkable compared to other parts of the country but it was certainly enough to make us choose to stay indoors. With the blinds drawn and a couple of ceiling fans we were quite comfortable for most of the day before turning the airconditioning on in the family room for 2 hours in the late afternoon from about 5.30pm. The temperature was set on 24C and this soon made the room pleasantly comfortable.

I spent most of the day sewing and made two bags for a friend from fabric she had given me. They were mostly relatively small pieces of linen and cotton which had been carry bags from bed linen she had purchased at various times. I am really pleased with the results and looking forward to giving them to her.

Meanwhile, GMan was hardly being lazy either. He had picked 45 Nashi pears from one of our trees the previous day. This was after the birds had helped themselves. If we get organised and net the trees next year our harvest should be about doubled. Neither of us were smitten with eating the fruit raw so he decided to try stewing them. This was a raging success as they taste just like the tinned pears we both remember eating when we were growing up. It was a huge job to peel, core and slice them all but we now have one container in the refrigerator and several others in the freezer.

Today is a day of extreme to catastrophic fire danger across most of the state so we will be indoors, staying cool and most importantly, following any emergency reports and advice.

Tomatoes – A Test Run

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I am always looking for ways to store the inevitable summer glut of home-grown tomatoes. I make tomato sauce (ketchup) but there is a limit to how much of that we need. The recipe is here if you are interested. I also used to freeze cherry tomatoes whole for use in casseroles and other cooking. I have dabbled in making tomato paste and tomato powder. These have all been reasonably successful but somewhat labour intensive.

Our tomatoes are not ready yet but the neighbours have generously shared their harvest.

I had these spread out to ripen and today I selected the reddest ones and cut them into quarters. I placed them into a round cake tin with 2 large cloves of garlic and a handful of basil leaves (all homegrown) and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them in the airfryer for 25 minutes at 170C then blitzed them in the high-speed blender.

I now have a couple of jars of delicious sauce which will be perfect for pizza bases, pasta dishes or adding to other dishes for a rich tomato flavour. This was super quick and easy and I will definitely be doing it again in the future. I choose not to process the sauce but simply store it in the freezer.

Some New Additions

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Today we headed to Bendigo which is about 30 minutes from home. My mission was to collect a portable hanging rack that I had found on Marketplace. I wanted one that would be suitable for taking to the weekly LETS market that I could use to display bags and other items for sale. This one is perfect as it is telescopic and the height can be about 800mm when collapsed or extended to hold full-length garments if required. It is also easy to transport without disassembling it entirely.

While we were out and about and with no time constraints I checked out a few op shops that I had not been to previously.

I was fortunate to find a pair of black canvas casual shoes which appear to be unworn. They have a decent sole and are well-padded so a good buy at just $7. Whilst they are not required right now in the summer, I can see plenty of wear for them with jeans once autumn arrives.

I found this pretty blue linen top which is significantly oversized despite being marked as ‘Small’. There is a lot of fabric in it and I am planning to refashion it to a different style.

We also went to a native plant nursery where we bought 9 shrubs and groundcovers. I think tomorrow might be a day in the garden. More about those once they are planted.

A Summer Garden

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The past 10 days have been an alternating mix of warm, sunny days and some significant rainfall so the young seedlings are enjoying the conditions. The zucchini plants which I planted at the beginning of December are literally doubling in size overnight. You can see what they looked like in this post.

This is today. The eggplant in the adjacent bed are doing well, too.

The cucumbers and new lettuce are also getting established.

Then there is the basil. Some in pots.

And more in the garden bed.

The basil is going to be trimmed this afternoon. I am planning to make a pesto/green sauce to serve with grilled eggplant, capsicum and pasta for dinner. As usual, this a creation I have have dreamed up. If the reality is as good as the idea I will hopefully have a recipe to share in a future post.

Gifts For the Garden

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Well, Christmas is over for another year and I do hope your day was pleasant, however you may have spent it.

We had a quiet but enjoyable Christmas. GMan received a gift voucher from our daughters which was for a garden nursery that he was planning to visit.

So, today we went to check out what was available that he might like. A specific focus was dwarf varieties of citrus trees and he was pleased to get a grapefruit and an orange tree. These will go in large pots on the front patio along with an existing citrus which he previously rescued from an unsuitable spot in the garden. We are not 100% sure but we think it may well be a lime tree which is very exciting. He also chose an olive tree which is a small variety which is supposed to grow to about 2m x 2m rather than 7m x 7m like many of the other varieties.

Finally, we added a selection of Australian native plants for the new area to be landscaped at the front of the house. There is a mix of different sized flowering shrubs and groundcovers which are bird-attracting. We will add more over time as it is quite a large area but we are starting with 2 banksias, 2 callistemons and a grevillea.

This is what it looks like at the moment. We recently repurposed and repositioned the rusted steel edging. There will be updated photos in due course, once we have added plants and mulch.

And yes, the sky today really is that blue. It is a welcome change after having received over 100mm of rain in 24 hours on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Thankfully, it was just rain and not the wild storms/tornado/cyclonic conditions which have hit other parts of the country.

Getting Growing

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We have reaped the rewards of a few fruit and vegetables that were already planted when we arrived here. Lemons and raspberries have been prolific as well as some beans and chard. I recently harvested the garlic that I had planted early in the winter and we are picking lettuce for summer salads.

In the past few days we have taken some more steps to increase the amount and range of produce that we grow.

This citrus tree was languishing rather sadly in amongst some other plants behind the fish pond. GMan rescued it a few weeks ago and potted it in an old plastic bucket as an interim measure. It seems to be coming good. We believe that it may be a lime tree.

When we were in Melbourne yesterday we bought 4 large green plastic pots for the princely sum of $9 each. So the as yet unidentified citrus is now repotted and placed on the north-facing terrace outside the sewing room.

Another pot now holds a relatively advanced Roma tomato plant which we also bought last week. It is at the other end of the terrace.

Our other purchase was two raised garden beds which we have placed just inside the front fence for the time being. The landscaping at the front may change once the driveway entrance is eventually relocated but we decided that we really needed a bit more growing space now. These have been planted out with zucchini seedlings in one and eggplant in the other.

All of these plantings are in a mix of garden soil and organic compost which we sourced from a local supplier in Castlemaine. We have also topped up the raised beds in the back garden and planted out tomato and basil seedlings.

The remainder of the soil will be used to turn the disused fish pond area into a herb garden. More on that another day.

Berrylicious

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We have grown raspberries in two previous gardens. In South Australia we had a few canes but barely managed to pick any fruit as our dog at the time loved fruit and would help herself. Even the prickly stems didn’t seem to slow her down. At our last home in Queensland we did pick some fruit but the biggest problem was the actual bushes which spread rampantly and were a lot of trouble for the relatively small harvest.

When we moved here there was a small clump of raspberry canes against the back fence. I honestly wondered whether they would be worth the effort after our previous experiences. We had not made any decisions when, a couple of months ago, we suddenly noticed that the canes were absolutely laden with small green fruit. A couple of weeks ago we tasted a couple of raspberries but they were not quite ready. Today we picked the first decent harvest. 560g of fresh ripe raspberries.

Ice cream and raspberries for dessert tonight.

Raspberries are not the only berries around at the moment. There is a massive mulberry tree on council land in the middle of town so we and others have been collecting mulberries. It is a messy business and my hands have a distinct purple hue but it is worth it for the 5kg I have picked so far. About 800g went into making a mulberry and apple crumble for a BBQ dinner we had on the weekend. We got 12 serves from it and it was very well received. The remainder of the mulberries have been washed, destalked and frozen in 250g bags. I will check the tree again early next week and see if there are any more ripened.

Spring Blooms

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Today is not exactly spring-like – cool, grey and trying to rain.

However, the past month or so has been a delight to see spring flowers that we did not see when living in Queensland. I was excited to see the daffodils which I planted after we came here in bloom barely 3 months later. It seemed like almost every garden in town had daffodils. Some were neat clumps beside a fence and others were drifts of them and other bulbs under mature trees. I am looking forward to having some more next year. I also plan to plant some tulips, probably in pots. The tulips in the public gardens in Bendigo were a stunning display and yesterday I noticed that the Iceland poppies were in full flower. They are an old favourite from my childhood as are sweet peas which I have noticed in a couple of local gardens.

Meanwhile, I noticed this specimen in the garden today. It is lurking between the espaliered fruit trees and the fish pond so not the best location to show off these stunning flowers. I am thinking of relocating and incorporating it in my planned spring flower garden for 2024.

Garden Update

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It is nearly two weeks since my last post and I could make the excuse that I have been busy but that is not true. I have been well occupied and juggling a few different aspects and I have simply not felt enthused to write. However, I am back with a few blog post ideas buzzing around in my head so I hope there will not be quite such a hiatus in the foreseeable future.

Today I want to show off some of the progress we have made in the garden. As always, it is small steps.

The weather is slightly warmer, or perhaps ‘less cold’ would be a better description. Either way, the bulbs and spring blossom are in full swing.

I did not plant these daffodil bulbs until early June so they were a little later than many of the bulbs around our town which are almost finished. I am enjoying their sunny faces which are just beyond our back terrace.

While much of the blossom around town is ornamental, I am very excited by the flowers on our espaliered nectarine tree. If every one of those becomes fruit……….Yummo, in a few months time. I will keep my fingers crossed.

A couple of months ago we cleared out the remnants of last summer’s crops and I planted some garlic as well as cauliflower and red cabbage seedlings. I hastily covered them with some fine netting to protect them from any bugs.

Yesterday was a glorious spring day bathed in blue skies and sunshine so we spent a few hours out in the garden. The seedlings had grown enough that I really needed to create a better frame for the netting. I sourced some thin metal roads that we had salvaged from an old clothes airer and some irrigation piping that had been left by the previous owners and managed to create the perfect framework for the netting.

Here is a closer look.

Cabbages and garlic.

Cauliflower.

Some flat leaf parsley which GMan salvaged and repotted about a month ago.

Until next time.