The simple life

You know that feeling you have as a kid when the world is exciting, that the simplest, most wholesome things make life exciting and good and just so enjoyable? Well that's how I feel today. I have gone about my entire day with a huge smile on my face and a flutter of excitement in my heart all because of my garden.

I look out at my garden and I see so much potential, so many things I can do, not to mention the 'fruits' of what I've already done. Right now my veggie patch is on the cusp of exploding. I have 3 kinds of beans in the back plot near the compost bin. That's borlotti beans, Cherokee wax, and purple king. Also in this patch I have some kind of mystery brassica, I think it might be cauliflower but I don't know as this was a labelless freebee from the lady across the road. Also I have from her a single majestic kale plant with it's lovely grey curly leaves.

The next plot is full of potatoes, bright pink cosmos flowers, lettuce and the bastard weed that is nettles! Today I harvested my first lot of 'new' potatoes. New potatoes are the small ones with the fine skin that are still young. While 'bandicooting' these little gems out I was reminded of the nettles stinging me like some kind of protective security for the potatoes. Even now hours later I stil have red welts.

Next plot has neat rows of early carrots, red core carrots, radishes, golden beetroot, long red beetroot and parsnips. In addition to all that some lovely thyme, coriander that has self seeded from last year, some swiss chard (again another freebee from my lovely neighbour!), and some spring onions. I've staggered my planting of carrots in hopes that when one crop is almost done I will have another one coming up.

Last plot, closest to our back door will soon have curcubits in it. So that's cucumbers, squash, zucchini and the like. Up until a few weeks back it was growing a green crop of mustard which has now been turned back into the soul to add organic matter and help kill off any nematodes from the tomato plants I last grew there.

Other edible plants of note in various spots are a native Australian finger lime, a granny smith apple thanks to Al and Renee, my ever producing rocket patch, an artichoke that is finally taking off and becoming quite large, sweet potato, more herbs than I can list, a doughnut peach, silverbeet, papino, zucchini, pinkerbelle apple, lots of strawberries coming on as well as blueberries. Also I have found about 5 brocolli plants growing straight out of my compost bin, which if the most awesome discovery! The original plant I had never did much it just bolted straight to seed. With these I might actually get some broccoli from them.

I'm just so excited about all the fruits and veggies that my garden is starting to provide. I also love finding different ways of using plants. Did you know if you cook them you can eat sweet potato leaves? You can also eat the leaves from carrots, beetroot, as well as silverbeet as salad leaves when they are small. When I plant carrots seeds, you have to thin out the seedlings, but instead of throwing them in the compost, you can eat the entire plant in stir fries!