2013 PRODUCE TALLY

Well I finally have put my butt into gear and getting back onto the blogging horse after having my second son! I thought I would start off with a tally of 2013's produce. I will also be updating on my birth story, renovation goals and our upcoming 3.5 week holiday!

Artichoke 507 grams
Bay Leaf 79 grams
Beetroot 3361 grams
Bok Choy 54 grams
Broad Beans 10506 grams
Broccoli 714 grams
Cabbage 5161 grams
Capsicum 2964 grams
Carrot 383 grams
Cauliflower 4008 grams
Celery 654 grams
Chili 735 grams
Corn 201 grams
Eggs 653
Garlic 3010 grams
Kale 879 grams
Kumquat 15 grams
Leek 2631 grams
Lemon 846 grams
Lettuce 771 grams
Loquat 295 grams
Marjoram 237 grams
Marrow 30853 grams
Onion 676 grams
Parsley 3125 grams
Peas 171 grams
Pumpkin 37902 grams
Rhubarb 2052 grams
Rosemary 4 grams
Sage 502 grams
Silver Beet 11843 grams
Tarragon 443 grams
Thyme 131 grams
Tomato 60732 grams
Zucchini 25671 grams

TOTAL 653 EGGS AND 212.116 KILOGRAMS OF FOOD

one of my favorite harvests, These guys lasted for 9 months throughout winter and were super easy to grow!

NO SHOW AND A TALLY CATCH UP

Sorry I have been a no show on here! The last few weeks of pregnancy were an exhausting few, with many chores that needed to be completed before we brought our new little man home. And then when I thought I had at least a week to go, my waters broke 1 week before my due date! I will post our birth story in the coming weeks.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD JIREH SAMUEL BORN 14TH NOVEMBER AT 2:37AM WEIGHING 2980 GRAMS OR 6 POUNDS 9 OUNCES AND MEASURING 49.5CM IN LENGTH

23/9/13 - 1/12/13

64 eggs
347 grams onions
1235 grams leeks
2315 grams silverbeet
344 grams parsley
10506 grams broad beans
113 grams capsicum
11 grams thyme
295 grams loquats
507 grams artichokes
163 grams chili
2082 grams rhubarb
337 grams celery
321 grams carrots
947 grams beetroot
3010 grams garlic

TOTAL 64 EGGS AND 22.533 KILOGRAMS OF FOOD

WEEKLY HARVEST 34 & GARDEN SNAPSHOT

The weather is turning and we are starting to see some gloriously sunny warm days and cool but not cold evenings. Oh how this motivates me to get out in the garden!

9/9/13 - 15/9/13

626 grams parsley
14 eggs
221 grams celery
667 grams broccoli
810 grams silverbeet

TOTAL 14 EGGS AND 2324 GRAMS OF FOOD!

The cabbages are coming along nicely, and I just spotted a sneaky snail hiding!

The broad beans have come along nicely from last week, they should be ready to pick within the next week!

Looking forward to harvesting my garlic in early November when the leave start to turn yellow.

At the end of the tomato season I had a couple of seedlings spring up, I left them in over winter and this is the sole survivor. I wonder how it will perform this summer?

My tomato seedlings are coming along nicely, hopefully I will pot them up into bigger pots in the next couple of weeks. 

GARDEN SNAPSHOT

The garden is growing well, but as it is the middle of winter things tend to grow a lot slower. We were lucky enough to receive a load of beautiful mulch from a friend who is an arborist, so this was spread over last years load which was looking quite sad.

Our truckload of mulch

This is what the paths looked like before

And after

I love the look of fresh mulch!

Now for what's growing, the leeks are doing great!

And so is the garlic

And the herbs, and rhubarb

Hopefully the broad beans will flower soon

The celery is starting to take off and the silverbeet continues to produce well

The chili bush is still looking healthy and some chilis still on it and they are slowly turning red

The cauliflowers look like they will all be ready at the same time!

The purple sicilian variety really is so pretty!

More mulchy goodness! This took me forever to move! I did about 2/3rds by myself and then hubby helped with the last bit. I was unable to move the wheelbarrow so I loaded it up and he tipped it out for me!

The peas are doing well, but not as well as last year!

More garlic

And more silverbeet

The lettuce is still doing well

I don't think I will get sick and tired of looking at fresh mulch. 

WEEKLY TALLY - 23 & 24

The garden is growing nicely and has welcomed the winter rains over the last couple of days. Life is still hectic renovating our tushies off, and unfortunately the garden has been put on the back burner. Luckily it's not growing great guns like it would if we were in summer so it can go days and days without me popping my head in. This week I will be harvesting my first purple cauliflower of the season, so I am very excited about that!

24/6/13 - 7/7/13

26 eggs
31 grams lettuce
441 grams silverbeet
96 grams celery
2 grams bay leaf
114 grams parsley

TOTAL 26 eggs AND 684 GRAMS OF FOOD

CROYDON FOOD SWAP

I headed down to my second food swap. I have found 5 in my area and I am heading to them all to see which ones I like the best and when I am in peak production I will try and head to one every weekend to swap some of my goodies. Hopefully I will still be able to do this with a newborn, that is both garden to the extent that I do and head out to swap my goodies and chat!

The one I visited this weekend is Croydon Food Swap which is held at a local primary school amongst their kitchen garden. I forgot to take a photo of this beautiful location but hopefully I will remember next month! It was a lot smaller than the first one but this one hasn't been running as long. Given it is winter as well, a lot of people feel they don't have excess to swap. I found it quite difficult to find out about swaps in the first place and really think the local council should get on board and really help promote these great community groups and events. I met some lovely fellow gardeners and swapped some equally lovely produce!

This is what I took along ~

Zucchini, Maltese long marrow and some pumpkin.

Parsley and some dried chili

bay leaves, green feast peas and broad bean seeds

This is what I got in return ~

Coriander seedlings

Celery seedlings

Finger eggplant

Tiny hot chilis

Kumquat marmalade

Chili

Oranges

Squash

NOVEMBER HARVEST 2012

I had tallied up all my harvests for November but I misplaced my book. I recently found it so I thought I would share what I gathered from my garden 6 months ago :D

67 eggs
1492 grams celery
1229 grams carrots
5 grams bay leaf
4 sprigs rosemary
117 grams strawberries
462 grams cauliflower
1284 grams loquat
504 grams broccoli
1386 grams leek
567 grams potato
1215 grams silverbeet
199 grams lemon
1026 grams broad beans
handful thyme
2 handfuls coriander
90 grams beetroot
25 grams turnip
64 grams snow peas
47 grams parsley
16 small heads, 18 medium heads, 48 large heads and 1 extra large heads of garlic

TOTAL 9.712 KILOGRAMS OF FOOD IN NOVEMBER NOT INCLUDING THE 67 EGGS, 83 HEADS OF GARLIC AND HERBS!

DECEMBER PLANTING GUIDE

Successive planting for a family of 4...

Week 1
Lettuce 10 seeds
Turnips 4 seeds
Spring Onion 12 seeds

Week 2
Cabbage 3 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

Week 3
Lettuce 10 seeds
Carrot 20 seeds
Silver Beet 1 seed
Beetroot 6 seeds

Week 4
Turnips 4 seeds
Parsnips 12 seeds
Potato 8 tubers
leek 8 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Cucumber 3 seeds

Week 5
Lettuce 10 seeds
Cabbage 3 seeds
Peppers and Chili 2 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

RISOTTO WITH PRAWNS AND PEAS

This is one of my favorite risottos. I'm not usually a fish fan, especially shell fish, but in this I like prawns and the way they pop in your mouth. I find making my own stock works best for this, I find the store bought stuff way too salty, you could try the low salt version if you are pressed for time, but prefer making my own and find it is so simple to make.

FOR THE STOCK

prawn shells and heads from peeled prawns
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 onions chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp whole black pepper
2 L water

Toss the prawn shells in a pot with a little oil until they turn pink add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least an hour. Strain the stock and use as required. If you make too much it freezes well.

You can find the pea and prawn risotto recipe here.

ITALIAN HAM AND BEAN SOUP

After 2 day of weather over 30 Degrees celsius in Melbourne's spring, we now have a miserable rainy cold day! I thought I would make a soup, and as we ate at a friends house last night, I blew my diet completely (with a double dessert and drinks!) This soup is low calorie and filling and only has 307 calories per serve! Great for lunch too.

INGREDIENTS:

400g dried pinto beans soaked overnight in cold water.
2 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
500g ham bone (find these in the deli, they are the bone end from the ham off the bone, don't be tempted to use bacon bones they taste like dog bones)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 young celery stalk with leaves finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
750mls chicken stock
750 mls water

Drain soaked beans and give them a wash. Place in a heavy based saucepan with ham bone, rosemary and bay leaves. Add enough cold water to cover bean and about 4 cm extra above. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. Drain and when cool enough chop meat from ham bone and reserve.

Place oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, cook onions, until soft, add celery and cook for another 2 minutes then add carrots and cook for another 2 minutes then add chopped meat and cook for another 2 minutes. Season add tomatoes and stock, and drained beans and cook for 20 minutes. If soup is too thin remove 1 cup and puree and if too thick add some more water. Check seasoning and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

NOVEMBER PLANTING GUIDE

Successive planting for a family of 4...

Week 1
Lettuce 10 seeds
Carrot 20 seeds
Silver beet 1 seed
Beetroot 6 seeds
Spring Onion 12 seeds

Week 2
Turnips 4 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Cucumber 3 seeds

Week 3
Lettuce 10 seeds
Cabbage 3 seeds
tomato 3 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

Week 4
Parsnips 12 seeds
Potato 8 tubers
Carrot 20 seeds
Leek 8 seeds
Peppers and chili 2 seeds
Silver beet 1 seed
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Beetroot 6 seeds

OCTOBER TALLY

There will be no recipe today, we are going to a friends house for dinner. Seeing as today is the last day in October, I have added up the weight of everything I have harvested this month.

75 eggs
283g snow peas
2154g broccoli
733g beetroot
543g kohlrabi
2031g shelling peas
401g cauliflower
1603g loquat
1178g turnip
740g parsnip
1477g carrot
553g leek
157g lettuce
3230g celery
207g broad beans
2g bay leaf
235g parsley
1609g rhubarb
339g silverbeet
588g coriander

TOTAL 18.063KG OF FOOD NOT INCLUDING EGGS!

SPRING GARDEN SNAPSHOT

My spring garden is doing really well! I thought I would share some pictures with you.

red cabbage

yellow silver beet

potato

growing seedlings

carrots

sprouting broccoli green and purple

garlic going to seed, nearly ready to harvest

celery, has been so productive but i think it's life is nearly over looks like it's going to seed.

strawberries coming into flower and some little ones starting to grow!

peas have been so productive!

parsley

Rhubarb

coriander

Thyme

Tomato's already flowering!

blood orange in bloom

bay leaf

broad beans

savoy cabbage

Happy gardening!