More patch tales

What a busy couple of weeks in the patch and kitchen.  

We've had lettuce go to the poop because we couldn't eat it quick enough, I've picked more corn cobs than I can poke a stick at, eaten more than I thought we would and made a few jars of corn relish. The onions were made into pickles with a few left over. There's a few different jars of salad dressing , there are chilli's hanging off the ladder (next to a rose one of the girls picked for me).

We've planted more carrots but they haven't sprouted. Neither have the chilli. Nor the onions. The Bok Choy are growing well, same with the kale, and those other green leafy things out there - I'm yet to figure out how to remind myself (or Nathan) that we need to label the beds. 

Today I picked another basket of purple beans, 7 tomatoes (I wonder how many of these will be rotten on the inside??) and 4 butternut pumpkins (I picked 1 a few days ago). 

The 2 apple trees that I've been growing from seed would have to be 30 inches tall by now! I'm so impressed that they've grown, let alone got that tall!!

There's also the recipe I found for 'Whole Spiced Oranges'....but I didn't have a jar wide enough for a whole entire orange to fit into so I thought sliced oranges would be good.....but then I saw the rum in the cupboard so I added a good splash of that to the mix of salty water I had them soaking in for 24hrs. 

I've been searching for months for a good Australian website that details what to plant and when. Well I found one. So for January I plan on planting:

lettuce

swedes

beetroot

rosella

oregano

not a big list huh! But thats only because everything is already happening: zucchini, turnip, corn, parsley, egg plant, cucumber, carrots, and asparagus (is that the same as asparagus pea?? Does anyone know what amaranth is and/or what its used for?? I've heard of the name but thats about it.

So here is the list of all things January:

PLANT                            WHERE                                                                     HARVEST

Amaranth (also Love-lies-bleeding)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Asparagus Pea (also Winged bean)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Beetroot (also Beets)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Burdock (also Gobo (Japanese Burdock))	Plant in garden.	Harvest from June
Carrot	Plant in garden.	Harvest from May
Chives (also Garden chives)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Climbing beans (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Cucumber	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Dwarf beans (also French beans, Bush beans)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Eggplant (also Aubergine)	Plant out (transplant) seedlings.	Harvest from May
Kohlrabi	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Lettuce	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Marrow	Plant in garden.	Harvest from May
Mustard greens (also gai choy)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from March
Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo)	Plant out (transplant) seedlings.	Harvest from May
Oregano (also Pot Marjoram)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from March
Parsley (also curly leaf parsley or flat leaf (Italian) parsley)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Radish	Plant in garden.	Harvest from March
Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from July
Salsify (also Vegetable oyster)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from May
Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Sunflower	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Swedes (also Rutabagas)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from April
Sweet corn (also maize)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from May
Turnip	Plant in garden.	Harvest from March
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash)	Plant in garden.	Harvest from March

(http://www.gardenate.com)

There are plenty of other stories from my kitchen, but thats next blog (if I remember!).....raw food recipes, burnt cooked food, dinners from the patch and paddock.