First planting session...

...finally!

I planted the first tomatoes today. I managed to squeeze in 10 plants per bed. They may be a bit close together, but let's hope for the best. (I always plant them a bit close together, it seems to have become a spring ritual, I'm afraid.)

There are stardroppers at either end of the beds, plus one in the middle. Later in the season, when the plants grow bigger, I'll use some twine to weave it around them - called 'Florida Weave' - and that tucks them in nicely.

I also started on the other summer vegetables. Zucchini (Golden Summer Crookneck), cucumbers (Armenian), okra (Burgundy) and tomatillos.

There are still quite a few plants left to be planted, but one day at a time! How are you going with your spring planting? :)

Berry patch

The raspberries, youngberries, silvanberries, tayberries, etc. are flowering madly.

The paths are getting narrower and narrower.

Flowers and bees everywhere.

The bees are loving all the flowers.

It's amazing to watch these creatures fly from flower to flower.

 It's also interesting to note the differences in bees.

Strawberry beds

The berry patch looks stunning. Soon we will have all kinds of berries to pick.

We made a few new strawberry beds this year.

This one is a 'walk-in' bed. (It was a bit windy when I took that picture.)

 This is an 'old' bed and to be netted very soon.

And some of the berries are already blushing.

Photos of the other berries will be in another post. :)

The things you discover...

...when you finally brushcut in the orchard.

The gooseberries have fruit on them! Wow. Now I better protect them from the birds. :)

First feast of broad beans

We picked the first broad beans today. They are still quite small, but that's how I like them. This way you don't have to shell them and then peel off the tough outer skin. This is what they look like after shelling them. Cute, aren't they? :) And they'll be very sweet, tender and tasty.

Busy bees

The bees are having a field day. The days have warmed up since the snowfall. We had temperatures in the mid twenties and lots of sun. Everything has grown like crazy. Tons of plants are flowering.

The bees are busy flying to and fro the hive.

For the first time today I saw bees that were more than laden with pollen. They are covered in pollen!

It's snowing!

Just for the record. It's spring.

 And we don't get snow in winter normally either.

 So. This is today's weather.

11.29am and 5.4C on the balcony.

And it is snowing. Madly.

Purple cauliflower...eating it

This is for you, Sue, so that you can check the colour of the caulie when cooked. :)

Purple caulie broken up into florets and stems cut into slices. Yes, I do eat the stems, they are delicious. If they are very thick, they might have a woody outer layer, just cut/peel that off.

Thrown into a frying pan, with just a bit of butter and coconut oil. Salt and pepper. Then fry until some of it has a lovely golden colour.

Fresh eggs from our girls complete the meal. It's very simple, no fuss, but oh! so delicious.

Purple cauliflower

Yes, I know. I have been writing about this a few times before. But it's such a stunning vegetable, I can't help it.

We had a very good season this Winter. The vegetables thrived and we had plenty to eat. We are still harvesting quite a bit, but I am sure this will change soon, once the warmer weather settles in. Everything will very quickly go to seed.

One thing that really worked - netting all brassicas! We did not have any problems with caterpillars on our vegetables, as the white butterfly cannot get through the netting and lay its eggs.

Hope you all had a good season, too!

First day out...

...for our tomato seedlings.

They are now basking in the sun and enjoying this marvellous Spring day. As soon as it gets cooler this afternoon, we will put the lids on the boxes. That should keep them toasty warm until tomorrow morning.

A treat at dinner time

We had this gorgeous organic, free-range chook the other night. Just rub on a mixture of your favourite spices. Stuff it with herbs, spices, lemons, etc...

Have a walk in the garden for some roast vegetables to go with the chook. Here we have carrots and parsnips. Never had a parsnip shaped like this before! We also threw in some pumpkin and young potatoes. All from the garden.

Nearly forgot to take a picture of the end result! It tasted just fantastic. The juices were simply delicious. A treat, indeed! :)

A walk in the garden...

The lemon tree is looking fantastic. This is the first year we actually had a lot of lemons on this tree.

The first plum tree has started to flower. The structure for the netting is looking a bit wonky. Will have to try and straighten that out soon.

The Native Wisteria is flowering madly.

Isn't it a lovely flower?

The Nashi pear has tons of fat buds. Hopefully we'll get to eat a few pears this season.

The apricot tree has just started to flower. We won't have much fruit, though, as we missed the opportunity to prune it back.

The red currants are looking great, too. Another good harvest again, maybe?

The variegated elder tree has tons of flower buds. Can't wait to see it laden with flowers.

We are still harvesting some of the winter vegetables. Here is a purple cauliflower.

Tucking in the babies

Now that we are in the midst of repotting all the germinated tomatoes, the hard bit starts. Where to put them? Especially over night, when the temperature still drops down to 4C? Even though they are on the balcony, under cover, it still gets too chilly there for them.

Well, we have some really good boxes (from the fish shop) with lids.

On with the lids, as soon as it starts to cool down in the afternoon.

Then some blankets over that.

That should keep them out of harm's way. :)

Seedlings...again

They are rapidly growing up. It's always amazing.
Here they are just a few days ago. Various tomato seedlings.

And here they are, already 'promoted' to the windowsill and enjoying the view.

In a day or two we will have to repot them.

Sweet basil has germinated surprisingly quickly.

Rosella seedlings. I have never been successful with germination, and these came up within a few days. It will be interesting to see how they do at our place, as they will need at least 5 frost-free months.

 All very exciting! :)

Time for a treat!

The beetroot patch is starting to get slightly feral. Time to thin it out and use the beetroot. So..what to do with the beetroot? What's your favourite recipe? I have quite a few up my sleeves, and shall try them all in the next few weeks. But I am always happy for new ideas.

One of our favourites - Beetroot & Chocolate Muffins. Recipe adapted from Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Cooking.

Here is one of the gorgeous roots. Isn't it stunning?

All grated. Looking amazing.

I added the zest of a whole orange to the mix. Just because I love the chocolate/orange combination.

Plonk mixture into muffin tin. And the best bit! - put a generous piece of good, dark chocolate in the middle.

Oh, okay. Two pieces, if you must! :)

Fresh out of the oven.

Let cool slightly. But not too long. I like the chocolate to be still warm and oozing out. A dollop of cream is justified, I think. After all, this is a muffin with (a lot of) healthy beetroot!

Yes! That's how I like it!

And now for a brisk walk, to feel all virtuous. And to make room for more muffins. :)