Garden updates

School holidays are over, finally, I have a little solitude, but I had to give up the sleep in, and I really love the sleep in. I have previously posted about my tomatoes, (I would add a link, but I haven't quite worked out how to make that happen on my iPad yet.) I am growing the Grosse Lisse variety, and yesterday we finally ate our first one!

 

It was so sweet and delicious, I am looking at the rest now, impatiently waiting for them to ripen.

We also ate something else from the garden, yesterday, I was making veggie soup and I realised there was no celery! I do have celery growing, but it's still so small, well tallish but thin, I wasn't sure we could really eat it yet. A quick Internet search and a taste test later, I was out in the garden, pruning shears in hand, snipping off a few tasty stalks for the pot. 

Baby celery had a much stronger flavour, and when raw, a nice peppery bite. I used the whole stalk, leaves and all. It was great to find what I needed in the back garden, now if only I could grow money... I suppose in a way, I do.

There is also new life happening in the garden, maybe in another three or four months, we might be eating soup for which everything is grown in our backyard! 

I've planted 5 climbing peas, and also cabbage, swede, cauliflower, leeks, spring onions, carrots, with some sage and dill to help with pests. Most have started to peek through the soil, there will be progress photo's. Sharing gives me a boost of encouragement, be prepared for the photo onslaught, I need all the encouragement I can get!

The perpetual spinach has been very encouraging.

These cherry tomato seedlings too, I have them positioned so that as they grow, they will cascade down instead of me trying to tame them up.

Annie, my kombi might not be on the road for awhile, the amount of TLC she needs, and the cost of all that TLC, is more than we can afford at the moment. There is a positive in this, I'll be able to spend some time treating rust spots, and prettying her up, do all those little projects that I can't do when driving her everyday. 

I am off to the kitchen, where I will dance and sing to jericco, and work out what we are having for dinner tonight... What music has you bouncing right now?

Bek.

Blog post 13, my favourite number.

One of my sisters has 3 as her favourite number, and 9 is extra special to her as it is 3 x 3. 13 is my favourite number, if one is superstitious it is considered unlucky, but for me it represents so many good things. Sure there are horror movies out there like the 13th floor, or the Friday the 13th series, but come on, what about a bakers dozen? Isn't that a lucky thing if you get to eat the delicious spare? Or how about the 13 full moons we admire each year? Does not the age thirteen signify a celebrated point in ones youth? What about a packet of playing cards, how it's 13 cards from ace to king each suit? My oldest daughter was born on the 13th, yesterday my youngest son turned 13 years old,  all good things, 13 can't be as ominous as it has been made out to be. 

These are my 3 crazy sons Micheal, Brendan, and Kayleb, posing for a picture with me, my poor sister was trying to get a nice picture but the oldest spawn wouldn't cooperate, I dont mind, when the spawn get together it's always fun crazy times! Add my little sister in to the mix, and this is exactly the kind of fun insanity you get, we are nuts and I love my family. We had a great night with pancakes for dinner, lots of laughter, and our 13th birthday tradition, a horror movie. Well, a tame and funny horror movie, for the most part I keep the M15+ movies as exactly that, and my spawn think I'm evil. My youngest turns eleven this year, so it won't be too long until I'm sharing all my favourite scream fest movies with them. 

In the garden things are continuing to wither and die in their own version of a horror movie, the mildew is back attacking the zucchini plants, the pumpkins still refuse to open their flowers, and the tomatoes are just managing to cling to life. The mystery melon has not brought on fruit to any sort of maturity, even though I self pollinated some of them. 

The zucchini and pumpkin/melon patch.

The greenhouse is coming along nicely though. 

These cherry tomatoes have taken off rather quickly, less than two weeks growth.

 

The growth difference in these comparison shots is a little less than two weeks. Not much on the rocket, but the perpetual spinach is growing well. 

And the capsicums are flowering after all, I don't know if I'll get any fruit, but it's exciting see anyway. I'll be doing another post soon asking for tomato advice.

I did finish Mass Effect 3, and can't tell you what I think without spoiling it, I can say I have mixed feelings and hope that the indoctrination theories are true. 

Right now I'm taking my two girls to the doctors, and tonight I'll be with my 19yo Micheal spawn, who will be designated driver for my little sisters meet the new boyfriend dinner, she's gathering her closest friends together and it's going to be hilarious fun, and I've already met him and deemed him a great fit. Plus, if he can handle my personal crazy, he'll definitely survive the group insanity. 

Bek.