Celebrating Earth Day 2017
Celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree, as I will be doing today. My garden will be graced by the beautiful Leptospermum flavescence Cardwell with its soft weeping foliage. I also share this poem: Earth’s Secret Not solitarily in fields we find Earth’s secret open, though one page is there; Her plainest, such as children spell, and share With bird and beast; raised letters for … Continue reading Celebrating Earth Day 2017
Growing Borage
Borage is a hardy annual herb that flowers during the warmer months and is much loved by bees . When planted in the garden, the lovely bright blue, star shaped borage flowers attract these busy pollinators. The bees then also visit all the other plants you grow, increasing the productivity of the vegetable garden and ensuring good fruiting and flowering. This amazing herb has been cultivated … Continue reading Growing Borage
Happy Easter
To all our gardeners, our friends and followers we wish you you a Happy Easter! Christós anésti, Buona Pasqua, Joyeuses Pâques, Felices Pascuas, Feliz Pascoa, Frohe Ostern, Schöni Oschtere We have been busy colouring eggs a bright Easter red. You can see how to boil the perfect eggs and then colour them at the link here. This beautiful tradition is followed in many places throughout … Continue reading Happy Easter
Pink Guava Jam
The pink guava tree is groaning under the weight of ripening fruit and while it is nice to eat them freshly cut as guava with sugar and lime juice, we thought we would make some jam to use up some of the harvest. The result was a tasty, well set jam for our toast at breakfast and worth the small effort involved. Pink Guava Jam … Continue reading Pink Guava Jam
What to Plant in April
The following is a list of things you can plant in April in Sydney, a temperate zone: Amaranth Beans – broad beans, fava beans Beetroot Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Daikon Endive Garlic Kale Kohlrabi Leeks seedlings Lettuce Mizuna Mustard greens Parsley Peas Radish Rocket Shallots Silverbeet Snowpeas Spinach Turnip Flower of the Month – Dwarf Striped Dahlia Continue reading What to Plant in April
Eggplant and Pasta Parmigiana
Early autumn is a great time to try new ways of cooking the last of the summer harvest. There are still lots of tasty ripe tomatoes and eggplant and basil to be cooked. This is traditional Italian light parmigiana using eggplant and rigatoni with a good oven roasted tomato sauce. You will find the recipe for the tomato sauce at this link and it is … Continue reading Eggplant and Pasta Parmigiana
Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Tart
Summer is over and we are finishing the last eggplants and cherry tomatoes of the season. This tart combines these two main ingredients along with caramelised onions and a touch of roasted capsicum and parmesan cheese to make a tasty savoury tart for lunch. Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Tart Ingredients: Tart Filling: 5-6 Long eggplants 500g cherry tomatoes 1 large onion, sliced thinly 1 … Continue reading Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Tart
Culturing Milk Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink originating in the north Caucasus Mountains and is a rich source of probiotics. Probiotic bacteria found in kefir products include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactococcus lactis, and Leuconostoc species. It has even been mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo of his travels among the Tartars: “They drink … Continue reading Culturing Milk Kefir
2017 Collectors’ Plant Fair Sydney
The Collectors’ Plant Fair Sydney returns in 2017 with over 80 growers from all over Australia, bringing their array of unusual and rare plants to you. Its just a month away. Bring your friends, buy a plant that is not easily available, chat with growers and experts, find that book or have a coffee and enjoy a day out amongst other plant lovers. There is … Continue reading 2017 Collectors’ Plant Fair Sydney
Potato Gnocchi
Well made gnocchi are a delight to eat and are delicious little pillow dumplings served with a good homemade tomato sauce. Gnocchi are easy to make but success depends on choosing the right potatoes. They should be old potatoes that are dry and so, when cooked, will need less flour which in turn makes the gnocchi light and fluffy and a pleasure to eat. I … Continue reading Potato Gnocchi
The Grantham Gardener 