Harvest Monday - Feb 28th

A few harvests to show this week.  More tomatoes - lemon boy, green zebras, break o day the mystery orange and a red beefsteak  and some basil.

More basil,  It's been a great year for this herb with all the rain  we've had so the bushes got a big prune at the weekend!.  I made a jar of pesto with some of it and blitzed the rest with some olive oil and garlic and froze in ice cube trays. This way I can just add a cube when I need it, or add cheese and nuts to make pesto later on.

Parsnips, a little weird-looking (a bit too much nitrogen in that bed). I haven't made anything with these yet but I'm thinking maybe some parsnip and potato rosti? 

And lastly a random mixed basket that collected when I was having a big clear up in the garden at the weekend: some green tomatoes that fell off when I was pruning, a funny-shaped cuc, some beets, some yellow zucchini and a couple of small carrots (and an egg)

I love this time of year in the garden when there is so much to harvest, it's very rewarding. The only challenge is keeping up with it all!  I hope all the southern hemisphere gardeners are enjoying the your own late summer harvests. To see what other gardeners are up to, including many in the northern hemisphere, pop over to Daphne's Dandelions.

Tomato chipotle jam (relish/chutney)

I've been wanting to make some tomato relish for a while but MMSTL isn't keen in it, although I'm convinced  that I will be able to make a version that he will. I made-up a recipe last week  containing tomatoes, onions, cloves, cinnamon, vinegar and sugar but it didn't go down to well.  Not wanting to give up quite yet, I found this recipe which looked like it might taste more like his beloved chilli sauce.  Actually it turned out so well that I don't actually mind if he doesn't like it - I'd happily eat the whole lot myself! It's quite sweet but with a lovely smoky warmth from the chipotles and a hint of ginger.  Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapenos. I've had mine in the cupboard for years and I think they are more common in the US, but I found them online in Australia here.  If you can't find chipotles, you could substitute some smoky paprika and some ordinary chilli powder or dried chillis.  The original recipe has 8 cloves of garlic which I was planning to put in, but forgot. Tastes fine without though.

Making the jam was straightforward, the only really time consuming part was peeling and slicing the onions, which I did on my mandolin - with the guard on of course - the rest was just boiling time.  


Recipe (adapted from French Tart's recipe on recipeshare)

2 kg ripe tomatoes (I used a mix of what I had - yellow, green zebra and red ones)
1 kg red onions, cut in thin half moons
250ml red wine vinegar
500g brown sugar
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely
10 Cardamon pods, crushed with the back of a heavy knife
4 dried Chipotle chillis, crushed in a pestle and mortar

Put all the ingredients into a large heavy bottomed pot and bring to a simmer.  Simmer gently for an hour and them bring to the boil, boiling rapidly until the mixture is reduced, glossy and syrupy.  Pour into hot steralised jars and seal. I turn the jars upside down when the lids are tightly on to steralise the top.  I think that to preserve this properly it should be put in a hot water bath. I'll have a think about that.  I prettied up the jars with some map wrapping paper that I bought for Christmas, just in case I give them as gifts.

Note: I checked the jars this morning and all the buttons on the lids had been sucked down so I think they will be OK.  I'll probably store the jars in the fridge just to be safe though.

The evolution of our backyard or, how to fit in as many veggies as possible into a small suburban block.

When I first moved into this house - a 1920's weatherboard (wood) house in the Melbourne's inner-Northern suburbs, it had a 'nice' garden.  There was a patch of manicured grass out the front, surrounded by a border of roses, all mulched with red bark. See how neat and tidy it looks!

2008

Out the back there was another patch of lawn and a mix of shrubby natives, and some mature natives, including a bottle brush.   I've always loved that we are surrounded by trees - there are some huge ones in neighbouring properties that attract lorikeets, parrots and a whole host of other native bird - but ever since I have been fortunate to live in places with some outdoor space I can't help  feeling that the space needs to be used productively for growing edible things. 

In the first year here, I stuck a few tomato plants in among the natives.  They struggled.  I didn't know much then about improving the soil and probably didn't water enough.  Undeterred the next year I moved some of the natives and planted  four zucchini and more tomatoes.  Four zucchini?  What was I thinking? We were overrun with the things!

2010

With the help of blogs and books I started to learn more, and over the next year - with the help of Dad and MMSTL - we cleared more space to use as veggie beds.   We added compost and chicken manure to improve the soil, mulched with lucerne and pea straw and the veggies grew.  By this point I was hooked and needed more space to feed my veggie-growing habit!  We built a no-dig bed over the lawn and edged the existing beds in recycled wood and planted some fruit trees out the front. We've kept all the mature native trees. The bottlebrush is spectacular in spring and they also provide good shade in summer.



When MMSTL moved in, and inspired by the many productive gardens in our neighbourhood, we decided to make the most of the space out the front.  I've always wondered why people don't grow more edible plants in their front yards.  Sure, there is always the chance that they will get stolen but I think its worth the risk.  Front yards often benefit from more sun too.   We (ok, he) dug up about a third of the grass, put in a barrier to stop the roots invading back into the space and topped up the soil.  It was hard work but worth it. Result? Tons more growing space and a much more interesting garden!  

The back corner of the garden BS and AS (before and after shed)

 Our most recent project has been to move the large shed in the corner of the garden.  It was useful for storage but took up so much space in a prime spot . Instead we got a couple of slimline sheds that fit down the side of the house and took it down  (fortunately someone was more than happy to take it away when I advertised it for free on Gumtree).  It's amazing how much it has opened up the garden.  We painted the fence, put a little bench there, surrounded by pots, planted up with veggies and herbs of course and  now have a perfect spot to survey the rest of the garden and enjoy the afternoon shade. 
There is still work to do: a wall to build out of reclaimed bricks and new garden beds to plant up - all part of the evolution of our little backyard but it's getting there, and we enjoy our weekend projects. The guy who came to pick up the shed was a concreter and remarked "I guess you don't need my services because it looks as it you are trying to turn every square inch of your backyard into veggie garden" Not quite, but it is certainly a lot more interesting and productive place to be than it used to be.  So, anyone thinking of digging up some lawn - front or back - or the nature strip I say go for it.  Make your outdoor space productive for growing food.  Not only will you be reducing your food miles, it's fun.

Harvest Monday - Feb 14

Yup, more tomatoes.  Some new varieties to show off this week:  an orange beefsteak variety that came from seeds saved from a mystery mis-labeled seedling that I grew last year, Lemon boy, Break O Day, Rainy's maltese, Cherokee Purple and Green Zebra.    A couple of the plants aren't looking too good, but I gave them a spray with Lime Sulphur at the weekend and I'm hoping this might help. It's the first time that I have used this and the smell was pretty overpowering! 

Melbourne had a few cooler days at the weekend and MMSTL suggested roast veggies for dinner. What a good idea.  We picked potatoes, beets, and drumroll please... parsnips!  My last attempt to grow parsnips, or rather harvest parsnips was a disaster.  This time the seeds were planted in a semi-raised bed in much lighter soil so were much easier to pull uo.  Like before, they lacked the sweetness of parsnips grown over winter, but they were tasty nonetheless.   The root veggies were joined by some red onion, home grown garlic, thyme and lemon, and some beans and cherry toms were tossed in for the last 15 minutes. Delicious!

Preserving tomatoes

It seems a shame to turn heirloom tomatoes into sauce, especially as they are delicious for eating fresh, and so pretty but the tomato bowl (all other fruit has been outed!) was overflowing, despite me taking in a selection to work for a much-appreciated tomato tasting.

I was hoping to bottle tomatoes this year. We picked up a second hand  Fowler's preserving unit recently but first we haven't got around to getting any new rubber rings, which are essential for successful preserving and second, I have to admit that I am a bit nervous of getting the process right. It seems a bit complicated: getting the right acidity, temperature, making sure the seals are good etc etc.  As they are a low acid food, tomatoes are easy to get wrong, and botulism is a risk (hmm, scary!) so I might need to do some more reading first.  In the meantime, this batch of sauce is destined for the freezer. It should last a good few months.

The recipe, such that it is, involves sauteing a finely chopped onion and 4 cloves of garlic in some olive oil, adding 2.5kg of roughly chopped tomatoes, a tsp of salt, a few springs of basil and some fresh oregano in a big pot.  Simmer for 1.5-2 hours until thick, then pass through a food mill.

I also dehydrated a batch of cherries and Principe Borghese, which are supposed to be the best kind of drying tomatoes.  I'm going to dry them until they are semi-dry and then pack them in oil.  Should be tasty!

Harvest Monday - Heirloom tomatoes

These are some of the beautiful heirloom tomatoes that were harvested this week,  Clockwise from top:  A red beefsteak variety, no idea of the name (the seeds were saved from a friend's grandfather's crop); Rainy's Maltese, a delicious pink low-acid variety; Principe Borghese; Tommy Toe; Break 'O Day; Green Zebra which have a nice zingy taste; Purple Cherokee which are probably my favourite; and in the middle Yellow Katinka Cherry which, according to  MMSTL taste  "like a party in your mouth".

It is amazing how varied the tastes are and we've enjoyed eating them in their multi-coloured glory on fresh sourdough with some basil and just a touch of olive oil and salt.  A perfect taste of summer!

Holiday time: how the garden fared when we were away

Sunset at Lake Colac, Victoria

The weather this week has been crazy.  Three days of hot, hot hot, hitting 40C on Wednesday and now over 60mm of rain in the past 24 hours - the moisture from Cyclone Yasi travelling down from Queensland.  We missed the heat as we were on a little holiday down at the coast.  What a wonderful time was had by all. We relaxed with friends, chatted, and ate communal meals in the evenings  - some of the veggies brought from the garden here.  LittleFB ran and ran on the beach, totally free.  It will be my enduring memory of that holiday, his little feet darting in and out of the water on an empty stretch of sand.  After the beach we went bush camping, the first time for LittleFB and he loved that too, especially cooking marshmallows over the camp fire.  He's already asking when we can go again.  We really enjoy camping too.  In addition to being able to spend time in beautiful parts of Australia, often away from the crowds, it is a reminder to simplify, and to make do with what you have.

One challenge though, of going on holiday is making sure that the garden and animals are taken care of.
Fortunately we have wonderful neighbours who agreed to look after things in our absence.  We assigned tasks to the older children - one took responsibility for feeding the cat, another the fish and rabbit and our friends fed the chickens and watered the garden.  It certainly needed it on those hot days.

Many, many zucchini... and a cucumber

We returned to find a pumpkin climbing up the windows at the front of the house, a few kilos of ripe tomatoes, a collection of huge zucchini (we always called them marrows when I was growing up in the UK) and squash and lots of beans; the garden largely unscathed by the mini-heatwave.  The one black jack zucchini plant in the garden has been amazing this year. It's about 3 metres long and been producing and producing for a month or so now.  I  spent yesterday morning trying to figure out what to do with them.  I baked a couple of loaves of  zucchini and cranberry bread (although I halved the sugar), and last night we had baked whole marrow stuffed with spiced rice.  I made up the recipe and it was pretty good.   With two still to use up, I might do the zucchini and tomato bake that I made last week, recipe from Veggiegobbler's blog (thanks, it was very tasty!)