Harvest Monday

It was a very disappointing garlic harvest this year, not so much in quantity but the quality was definitely lacking.

While some of the bulbs on top look a decent size, they are in fact quite small; the biggest one is only 4cms. There are some that didn't develop past the stage of the clove that I planted and others that split into seperate cloves.

I don't know what happened this year, could it be that I planted them at the wrong time, 2 days before the full moon in April. I think next year I will sow at the winter solstice as I did last year, the resulting harvest was much better.

The only other thing that has been harvested in the last week or so was carrots, 800gms of baby carrots to be exact. Grown in a polystyrene box and for the most part badly neglected.

 I wasn't sure whether they would be bitter because they had been neglected but no they tasted really good.

I have been very busy in the garden over the last few weeks rearranging things,  I'm not quite finished yet but hopefully by the weekend it will all be done.  I'll be back with photos when it is. Linking up to Daphne's Dandelions.

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Road Trip

Just a little over a month ago my daughters and I packed up the car and headed off to Victoria for the very first time to see my son who moved there two years ago and who we hadn't seen since Christmas.

Our first stop was in Renmark for morning tea, the roses were in full bloom and absolutely gorgeous.

I had the best apple pie and fresh cream I have ever tasted.

Yum!!!

 Next stop Swan Hill, to refuel the car and ourselves. Not long after we arrived a wind storm blew up and as there were no shops opened we thought it would be better to continue on our way. Boy was that a mistake!

You can see some of the damage from the storm in the picture above.

Continuing on our way in the dark and battling against the elements, dust, tree branches bouncing off the windscreen, a giant eucalyptus tree that had fallen across our lane that we didn't see until it was almost too late, it was a relief to arrive in Mooroopna. It was a very long, scary drive (14 hours all up) and we were very happy when we finally got to my son's house 45 minutes later.

Light display on the old water tower in Mooroopna.

  We spent a day recovering from the drive and then headed off to Melbourne.

Art installations, the cow cracks me up!

The colours of Melbourne.

Scenes from our walk.

Swan nest on the banks of the Yarra River.

It turned out to be a very long day, 5 hours driving time and 5 hours going from store to store at the DFO's, not my idea of a fun time.

Benalla botanic gardens and the ceramic mural that took 27 years to complete.

Lunch on Saturday at the Red Stag restaurant, Eurobin and Mount Buffalo, just beautiful.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Victoria but one week wasn't enough time to do all the things we had planned. Next time we are planning to stay longer and take our time getting there and back home again. One thing I did learn from this trip, if you're visiting Victoria in October pack a coat and winter shoes otherwise you are going to be cold. At least I remembered to take an umbrella.

 

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Harvest Monday

This week's harvest consisted of the last of the broccoli, along with snow and sugar snap peas.

Excuse the less than stellar photo, the lighting in my kitchen is terrible.

Ginger, Grace and Rosie enjoying the remains of a broccoli plant.

 More peas, more than I can use really. I wonder if you can freeze them. The first asparagus spears were picked and enjoyed, as well as the smallest cauliflower I've ever seen.

 I forgot to weigh it but the basket it is sitting in is only 23 x 20 cm (9 x 8 inches) which should give you some idea of how small it was.

The only other thing harvested this week were potatoes. From the twelve plants that grew I only got 5.94kgs, I was more than a little disappointed.

I had planted four different varieties (Cream Delight, Red Pontiac, Purple Kestrel and Golden Delight)but I ended up with mostly Cream Delight, a few Red Pontiac, one Purple Kestrel, there was no sign of the Golden Delight at all. Next year I think I will grow them in wire cages, maybe that will improve my chances of a bigger harvest. Linking up to Daphne's Dandelions

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Uninspired

It is 3.41 as I sit typing this post and it is raining outside, which is a good thing because the garden really needed it.

Tiny flowers on my tiny Geraldton Wax plant.

I am feeling uninspired at the moment, uninspired and a bit blah. There is so much to do in the house and out in the garden but I just can't find the motivation to do any of it.

Gold Bunny, the first rose of the season.

I'm hoping that it is just the change of seasons that has me feeling so out of sorts and that I will get my mojo back soon. In the meantime here are some photos taken in the last week or so.

The last of the turnips, so good.

Papaver somniferum (Opium poppies), they take over the front garden every year at this time but I don't really mind as they're so pretty.

Plum blossoms.

Flowering Dill.

I'll be back soon, I hope.

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Monday Harvest On Tuesday

A bit late but better late than never.

Bok choy and broccoli, almost finished but there is still enough in the garden for one more meal. Sugar snap and snow peas and there are, I am happy to say, plenty more to come. Eggs, always plenty of eggs. This will all (except for the eggs) be used in tonight's dinner of Lemon Chicken. Linking up to Daphne's Dandelions

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