Garden Update

 I haven't shared about my garden for a while now. It's still an ongoing and ever growing project. Lately I've been watching a lot of documentaries on FMTV about sustainability and our foodchain. I'm more than a little concerned about not just what goes into our food but also what goes on it when it's growing. Now I've been juicing daily I try to buy as much organic as I can afford, which is usually the items on the list that absorb the most nasties in the conventional growing methods like celery and the ones that you can't really wash residue off, ie Kale. The last thing I want is a glass full of pesticide. So my answer to this has been to look for ways to increase my growing space.

 A few weeks ago I resurrected my old raised garden bed that I bought when I was at my last house, it's been in pieces since I moved nearly 2 years ago. Today its a bed of kale

 This bed contains curly and tuscan kale and was planted about 3 weeks ago and so far there has been really good growth and no bugs. It's had a dose of organic fertiliser and a couple of applications of seasol. 

Apart from a bed of Rocket in a kids sandpit clam shell everything else is growing in pots. I'd always been under the impression that I needed to plant in full sun. I'd had my eye on a particular spot of garden along my fence but was worried it was too shaded. But a bit of gooling at the weekend informed me that leafy greens don't need as much sun and will tolerate shade. 

I'd been a bit lazy with pulling out the grass that had grown into the existing garden so I decided I could accomplish 2 things in choosing that spot. No more grass in the garden bed and a perfect growing spot. I laid cardboard down on the spot a couple of nights ago to start killing the grass and today I built the garden. Several bags of potting mix, and compost along with some shredded paper and garden edging I have a new garden bed and this is the result ...

 It contains lots of yummy greens for juicing.

 Across the front I have planted curly leaf parsley.

 Then behind that in rows from left to right there is 

 white stemmed silverbeet

bok choy

rainbow chard

   I planted some rainbow chard in a big pot when I planted the kale and it will be interesting to see if there is any difference in the results between the pot and the bed.

I also planted some english spinach a month or so a go and have been picking and enjoying it for a few weeks now

It's planted in a galvanised wash tub that's had holes drilled in the bottom for drainage. It was a great way to recycle a tub that had been a display years ago when I had a shop with my sister. The spinach from this patch is the sweetest I've ever tasted. I love eating it straight from the garden.

There's lots happening in the greenhouse at the moment too. Loads of coriander and parsley along with chives, mint, wheat grass and cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes started flowering again a few weeks back so I've moved them into the greenhouse to keep them warm and see what happens.

 
 I can't wait for everything to get to the point when I can start harvesting and eating all of these lovelies and share them with my family.
 

Saladspiration - the BIG Green Salad

I've been busy watching videos on FMTV and learning heaps. The other night I watched 'The Healing Effect' which focused on a policeman in the US and his vegan lifestyle and how he quietly influenced those around him. One scene featured him in a vegan restaurant where he ordered the "five o bowl", a huge colourful bowl of salad and nuts. It was with that image in mind that I opened my fridge and started creating my 'BIG Green Salad'

What's in it? you ask.... um kind of everything!

kale, baby spinach, lettuce, rocket, cabbage, parsley, coriander, broccoli, roasted sweet potato, swiss brown mushroom, tomato, carrot, red capsicum, pepitas, toasted sunflower seeds and quinoa. All tossed around in a splash of garlic oil.

I served it with some marinated pan fried organic tofu and homemade hummus. 

The salad was super tasty and has kept me nourished for a couple of meals. I have to admit that I'm a little addicted to hummus at the moment. I recently found a note book where I'd written the hummus recipe from Mollie Katzens  'Moosewood Cookbook' we'd bought as a present for our mum in the 1980"s.  Back then both my sister and I were vegatarian, and already interested in raw food and juicing. After 12 years of being vegetarian I returned to eating meat in the late 90's.

Tonight I added roasted beetroot to the salad and served it with a Free Range Chicken Burger created from a recipe on the 'I Quit Sugar' blog which I adapted slightly.