Friday 2 September 2016

Grow what you Eat

The first little cherry tomatoes have been picked and more will ripen progressively as the new season unfolds. A handful of these round, red delights will be tossed into the healthy salads we eat during the warmer months. 

 Tiny tomatoes in a tiny basket.

We grow these delicious tomatoes because we eat them and, in growing them, we save money because we don't need to buy them. There will be no tomatoes on my shopping list for a while! There is little point in growing what your family doesn't eat. One year, I planted eggplant even though we are not big eggplant eaters here. While I  loved watching the aubergine globes forming on the plants, and felt quite joyful that I had actually grown something edible, I think back now and I know that space would have been put to better use growing the vegetables and fruits my family actually eats. (Our friends loved our eggplants though!)

 I can't wait to harvest this produce!

When I visited the nursery last weekend, I chose some seedlings that will produce fruits and vegetables that we'll use in our salads. We already have an abundance of lettuce and cherry tomatoes so I selected cucumbers, spring onion, capsicums and zucchini. All of these grow well in our veggie patch and all of them will save us money when we begin harvesting them.

I have planted out these seedlings now and I can't wait to see their growth take off in the warmer Spring weather. With sunshine and water and nourishment (The wonders of seaweed solution, worm tea and lucerne mulch can't be underestimated!) they'll soon be thriving and providing us with healthy, nutritious food. Then, it won't just be tomatoes and lettuce that I can cross of my salad shopping list!

What you are planning on planting at the start of this new season?

Meg 

 



 





8 comments:

  1. I have just planted seeds of corn, mixed lettuce and zucchini, I will probably put in some Lebanese cucumber soon to. This year I'm making a huge effort to succession plant to extend the harvest and minimise glut. I planted the first batch about 2 weeks ago, and they are just showing their tiny little leaves, in about 2 weeks more I will plant the same again, and if I've got room, I will do a third round. I won't be planting tomatoes this year, I keep getting a fungal disease on them, I think it's in my soil now!

    Isn't it delightful that Spring has finally sprung!

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    1. Hi Cheryl. Have you thought about growing a few cherry tomato plants in pots? That would take the issue with your soil out of the equation. I also find that they are the easiest of tomatoes to grow. When I'm watering my tomatoes, I try to stop the spray from hitting the lower leaves as that can cause issues. I just let hose trickle over the soil at base of plants. I have cherry tomatoes, at varying stages of growth, in pots and they do quite well as long as they are in a sunny position in garden or verandah. And yes, it's so lovely Spring is here. I love to see the growth spurts that plants make in response to the change in the season. I find my spirit is always lighter come the Spring. Meg:)

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    2. I probably will succumb and pop a few tomato plants in pots, I can't help it!

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  2. Nothing getting planted for us but I agree totally about not planting things you don't eat. I also focus on planting things that are expensive like herbs. I love cherry tomatoes as they ripen quickly and are not around long enough for the bugs to find. That and the superior flavour.

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    1. Hi Fiona. We have lots of herbs growing here. Thyme and oregano form the border of our main veg patch. Parsley grows well in my wicking barrels. Rosemary in a drier part of the garden is my favourite thing with roasted potatoes! And, I have basil growing just outside the little entrances to the native bee hives. They love the flowers! I expect you'll do lots of planting once you are settled in New Zealand, Fiona. Is there an established garden there or do you get to create your own from scratch? Meg:)

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    2. I am planning a couple of posts about what we are heading to which is just a big paddock so nothing established at all.

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  3. Hi Cheryl,
    We haven't planted anything yet,we don't have the room as the garden is still full of silverbeet and kale! In summer we have the most amazing crop of tomatoes which are all volunteer seeds from our compost. x

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    1. Hi Mel. Volunteer seeds are the best aren't they! We have so much lettuce from self-seeding volunteers. Beautiful bright green leaves with redish purple speckles. Mmmm... Kale is still growing strong in my garden too but silverbeet is beginning to slow down a bit now. I have dotted the salad veg seedlings I bought throughout main veg patch. I just tucked them into the soil with a handful of compost in spaces where there was room. Meg:)

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