End of July Notes

I had a walk around the garden yesterday to take some photos to remind myself about what to do and not do next year. You wouldn't believe it is winter at the moment as we are having a couple of days of really warm temperatures before the cooler weather arrives next week but I don't think there is any snow forecast this time. :-)

I priced an organically grown cabbage last year in a certified organic shop and it was $10. Ouch!  I thought I would plant extra ones this year so that I could ferment some like we did in our Simple Living Toowoomba Fermentation Workshop a while back. 

  I am yet to do make up a couple of bottles but must remember to stagger the plantings of cabbage next year so that they aren't all ready to use at the same time. 

 I haven't seen very many pests on the cabbage this year and hopefully Jerry Coleby-Williams' suggestion to plant Landcress (Barbarea Vulgaris) has done the trick. I bought the seeds from Eden Seeds and if you are interested in experimenting, it is sold by them as Cress - American Upland.

 
 I still have a love-hate relationship with kale and won't plant as much next year. I find that this Russian kale is getting mildew on it unlike the dinosaur kale. I know I should use it for smoothies but getting into a smoothie routine is the hard part. LOL!

This is arrowroot and apparently you can eat the tubers as a potato replacement when they are the size of a tennis ball. These are probably a bit too big for that so I really need to do my research and learn how to use the plant. We bought this from Green Harvest.

 The tamarillos continue to pop up everywhere and I look forward to our one red tamarillo plant becoming as prolific (courtesy of the local wildlife) as apparently they have a nicer taste. I took some to our Simple Living Toowoomba swap and one of the ladies who took them home made what is apparently a lovely tasting Indian Style Tamarillo Chutney which she brought along to our morning tea with Rhonda. One of the other ladies tasted it and recommended it. I was very good and did abstain seeing as it has dates and brown sugar in it.

 As usual there loads of mandarins on the tree which I will eventually take along to our monthly swap. Some of them are quite small at this stage but considering they are never fertilised it is a wonder they produce any fruit at all. They do tend to be forgotten where they are.

I am trying to pluck enough courage to pick and dry the stinging nettle and today would have been a perfect day to do that but I procrastinated. I want to use it in soap making and perhaps infuse it in olive oil but I really need to get motivated before the CEO gets the weeding bug as he really dislikes this herb even though it is so beneficial. He would probably rather have that bug than the one he currently has....must be a bit of  'man flu' going around. ;-)Apparently even if you get stung by the nettle it helps with arthritis. What???

Not much is happening flower wise for a few more weeks when the garden will be a riot of colour. The bromeliads are doing their thing....

 ...the camellias are starting to flower....

...the lavender is waiting for me to pick the flowers to make an infusion or perhaps dry them and make some Lavender Wands like Kathy did recently.  I did make them years ago but I am not sure I have the patience to do that now.

So, that's about it for the month of July. Spring is definitely just around the corner according to the mulberry tree. I wish my grandchildren lived closer so that they could pick the leaves for some silkworms kept in a shoe box like their mum and her brother did. Did anyone else do that when they were growing up? It was a great pastime for us all those years ago.

Have a great weekend everyone.