I mentioned earlier about our garden patch ... The Alpha school donated a huge tract of their ground to Woodstock community for a peace garden ... Paul and I had been deliberating taking a patch , to do a bit of gardening , grow some of the unusual veggies as a challenge ... both very busy , so we asked Cherry to come join in .. she an avid gardener but also as per us stays in a cottage with small garden ... so we have formed a team ... today we started on our little 15 square m plot .. Cherry brought her garden helper by the name of Festival , and I have enlisted the help of a short Kenyan by the name of Joseph ... I have been observing this man for a while ... he has never begged ... always seen him picking the berries that fall off the trees from the school across the road ... I started to engage him in conversation ,, anyhow with the now commitment to the garden ,,, I thought to myself .. we need help at home with various things and need somebody who is prepared to work ... testing ground would be to see how he works in our peace garden ,, anyhow he has not been around lately so I put my message to the universe ..., Lo and behold Friday evening I'm coming home from work round the corner in my street and there is he standing on the corner ... I hooted waved and told him to come to the house ... discussed my proposal he was so grateful for the offer ... gave him cash to get back home to Delft and back for 10: 30 this morning ... well he was here punctual at 10: 20 gave him a good breakfast ( cannot work on an empty stomach ) ... Cherry arrived at 11: 00 with Festival ... cars loaded with tools and bits and pieces... Cherry and Paul drove up and I walked the dogs up ... we stared at about 11:30 .. plotted out the poles .. Festival and Joseph digging the pole holes down to 500mm ... Cherry Paul and me turning soil and weeding in meantime .. hell man Cherry can dig and work with a fork and weed ... We worked till 13:00 then came home for lunch ... and then back ... all working like Trojans .. well at 16: 00 poles planted earth turned .. black plastic put down to allow fallow time to kill off any remaining weeds ... job done for the day ... I'm very happy .. the Joseph has as per my instinct been exactly as I envisaged .. a hard working gentle soul and yes trustworthy .. dogs are never wrong .. Madame Tina is a difficult bitch and does not take easily to people .. well she after he came into the house .. laid down close to his feet ... and was cool with him ... I did not have my camera so no pics today .. I will post pics of the garden progress and our team later on ...
:emot112_2: I can imagine how good you all feel, I felt good just reading about you day in your peace garden. Hell I nearly logged off to go and have a shower. It is always a good feeling when one has worked hard at something then at the end of the day to stand back and admire all you've achieved.I realy have to get my *ss into gear and get out into my garden. Been threating to do it for a while now.Maybe this is just what I needed. Lucky for me its dark now else I'd have gathered me tools and got out there.
More so Diana this is good for me Paul and Cherry .. a team thing with tangible outcomes and as I mentioned the Joseph who has been literally foraging for food yet never begging or expecting handout .. my soul has been prodding me to give him a hand up and not the hand out .. if he continues the same as the first day he has a at least once weekly job in my home . garden or the peace garden .. dignity from earning honest money , mutual respect for a good work ethic etc etc .. everybody here knows my mind workings so I need not elaborate hey ??? its all good ..
The joseph was a bit late this morning ... we wanted a 09:30 start ( public transport on sundays ?non existent here ) .. anyhow Paul went off to get more wind net I drove up with all my portable tools trusting that he would turn up at the plot .. got there unpacked toold and here he came a running ,, apologising profulsely ... only tihng is he missed a good breakfast ... luckily I had some sweet pastries in the cooldrink bag ... we got working I have tested him with various hand and electrical tools , he handles and masters all .. so yes he just not crude labour ... he now has an extra job helping Paul on his friday job of redesigning Davids garden ,,, not bad from nothing he now has two days work a week ... all I want is a good soul who is relaible as possible and not shy to work and so far seems Ok , hope no rot sets in .
Need a photo of our Garden Gnomes.
Me Paul and Cherry elve size .. the Joseph is indded gnome size ... methinks he's about 1.5 or less tall will post when we do work next week ..
Very good for the soul.. working in the soil. Looking forward to photo's, Sandy! Let me know if you need a herb or two to add to your garden, I might be able to spare a plant or two!
What about that big red tractor? Can Sandy Borrow that, it looks like it might look cool going down the M5....
catmusic
Our little graden patch will just be parking for the tractor ... catmusic
Ha-ha! Any time, but I'm definitely NOT driving it all the way from Bonnievale to Cape Town! image11a
You should paint your tractor blue and white wtripes and take her to Nuweland on Saturday!
woo_hoo
image201 Great idea! If I paint tonight and leave early tomorrow I might make it to the game in time and the paint can dry on the way! Only about 210 km to Newlands! The drive back bothers me a bit....
What are you worried about, you have a tractor.... you don't have to drive along the road, just plot a straight line across the flats..... make sure nobody steals your tyres though!
image11a
Our garden patch taking good shape .. Me , Paul , Cherry and Joseph did the raised beds ( milk crates ) and also dug in a car load of compost and soil mix as the ground is very clayey ... next week is planting time after we see how many weeds have popped up ... the Joseph now has 3 days work ... Monday and Friday at David and Sunday with us ... not bad going from nothing .. and when we start on the one cellar digging out possibly more days ,,more than enough work for a gentle hard working soul ... will post pics of the planting next week ...
As promised ... pics ,,, growing is artichokes , brussels sprouts , red cabbage , broccoli , patty pans , courgettes , red onion , spring onion , granadilla , perrinial basil , Blood sorrel , rocket , bell peppers , papino melon , sage , celery , strawberries , bronze fennel , Okra , adzuki beans .
(rosemary , lavender , marigolds for pest repellent ) , new plantlings today are peppadews , jalapeno, peppers , broad beans and butternut .. not bad for a small size plot hey ?? Cherry the spring onions are ready for harvest sooon !!
More
forgot last item ... a few mielie plants as well ....
About time Sandy....looking realy good.
Nice veggie patch Sandy !! our patch is looking pretty sick at the moment we needed the spring rain it never came.............we are getting rain today and tomorrow so hopefully it will look better by the end of the week.
Nice thing Frank is the walks up in the morning and evening .. excesise for us and the dogs ,, and yes while busy watering and tending they go crazy hunting field mice etc ... and now having chews on all the herbs the sorrel is in full swing the rocket now also being harvested.. Thai basil and perenial now at point for also being harvested ... spring onions and red onions also just about there .. a few patty pans and courgettes are now about ready a day or two .. ... the artichokes .. well thats a long wait , but the all plants are thriving excepting some caterpillar attacks ...
Sandy since it stated to rain a few days ago (75mm) the garden has taken on a completely different look to what it was this time last week. There is this weird green stuff growing out of the ground, 'grass' Margaret said!.........so out came the mower I actually got the mower bogged a few times.
As you said its nice to walk through the garden and if the veggie patch is in full flower its very healthy and tastier than the supermarket stuff, the veggie patch took a hammering this year, very little water over our winter months. As our water is metered and council charge like wounded bulls for the stuff, you would think it is not going to rain again, (climate change) 'ah' that's another story.
A few years ago I was growing Bok Choy and Chinese lettuce among other things, and as soon as they started to look good enough to eat, the caterpillar's and other bugs had the same idea I was left with the bare stalks. A friend told me of a concoction that did not use chemicals you crushed garlic and chillies in a bag with about 4 liters of water let it stand for a few days, you then add to it a table spoon of paraffin and a squirt of washing up liquid........... I suppose there is a bit of chemical you have to use.
Then remove the bag with the crushed up garlic and chillies (they can be used again) pore the contents through a sieve then you can diluted the concoction again then go get the little buggers..................................it worked, I was giving the veggies away in the end, it also worked on fruit trees.......aphids and any other sap sucking pests, try it Sandy you can experiment with the amounts................................Frank
not bad first plantlings... late october early / mid november ... the sorrel thriving ... rocket going inleaps and bounds .. the beans now spurting and staring to get ready to climb frame ... got today 3 nice courgettes and one very healthy and nice sized patty pan ... and many more in sprout this is the start .. we been feeding worm tea from our worm farm .. and growth is thriving ... rule of peace garden is .. ORGANIC .. and yes healthy plants can shrug off creepy crawly attacks ... Tomorrow we harvest red onion and spring onions ... after christmas I'm going to make a chilled sorrel soup ... theres so much of it ...
Woodstock peace garden. Now show me where the weed grows.
Sorry Georg ... no weed ... dont wanna get bust by the police ...
xmastree
Sandy! George! you two got some kind of code going here wanna and schow I know the significance of that icon weed and its not maple syrup.......... image04
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lol to both of you...
I just thought Woodstock and the weed go together. bar(1)
allgood xmastree xmastree xmastree xmastree Merry Xmas
Sory Frank. Just used the German version vor "sh" which is "sch".
Its all good George!! like the new images more please
36_1_74 winter1 :natale3: swim1 image04
Frank did the walk up to the plot with the dogs this morning to get rid of the fuzzy head ... all looking good .. flourishing ... more courgettes and spring onions harvested ,, that apart from me feasting each day on some rocket and blood sorrel ... the beans taking off now that they being fed worm tea ... have about 10 litres of worm tea stored .. ( good natural fertilizer ) tomorrow morning watering time and all will get more worm tea ... and cut out some brussels leaves with scale ... ( bastard pests .)
Sandy try White Oil
White oil is a home made insecticide spray used for controlling a wide range of insect pests in the garden. The spray works by blocking the breathing pores of insects causing suffocation and death. It is effective in the control of aphids, scale, mealybug, mites, and smooth skinned caterpillars.
The quantities vary depending on the source, but a typical mixture is 4 parts of vegetable oil to one part of dish-washing detergent (for washing by hand). Blend in a mixer until homogeneous and store. Dilute 1:50 with water for use, spraying leaves from above and below.
Thanks Frank .. will be bleinding some ... our big mistake was planting the brussels so close to the Atrichokes .. its crowded and very little air movement ,, ideal breeding ground for the buggers ...
Sandy!! over the last few days we have been getting a lot of rain, adding to this the heat and humidity has been well I won't say unbearable as we are air conditioned, but the mossies and the bugs flying around are spoiling this summer.
Eh, summer! What's summer???
Pic of the yummy veggies out of our garden patch - Sandy & Paul doing a great job - I get to reap the benefits! thnx 23_11_61
So wheres our Ratatoule ?? all you need is some tomato's , bell peppers , garlic and herbs .. catmusic
Psst by the way Cherry looking at the picture size ... you supposed to shrink it ... use MS Office picture manager ,,,
What do you call the yelow round zuchinis in English.
Ours here are a very light green and we like eating them when they get the size of a hand. FRensh grocciers sell them with a diameter of 30 - 40cm. We don't know what they're called, so we call them UFOs cause of their resemblance.
Georg they are called Patty Pans here ... actually best when they about fitting in the palm of the hand ...
After a nice belated new years lunch at a good friend ... we took a walk up to garden plot ... harvested a few courgettes ... and some more spring onions .. got caught in an untimely rain got home sopping wet ... me just amde a nice pasta with the courgettes and spring onions incorporated ... about to munch mmm ... good home grown and homecooked veg ,,,
Frank ,, ta ,, the white oil is doing the job on the aphids and mealie bug ,, mainly the brussels affected cos they too densely planted .. what pees me off is theres how many folk with their plots in total neglect , thats where the pests start , and now they eying our nice healthy juicy plants and see it as ideal feeding ground ... good thing is it appears lady bugs have settled in ... we had a whole lot of hatchlings ,, I hope they get fat on the bugs on other plants and proliferate ... but worse than that ,, our Mielies have already sprouted and what happens some sharp eyed bird has chomped one juicy one up already .. leaving the puny ones in the other plots ... The first artichoke thistle is starting that means many to follow ... mmm we had a braai tonight with fresh sorrel , rocket and strong spring onions all from the garden in the salad ... mmm
Frank ,, the white oil working a treat ... all bugs destroyed ... we now feasting well off garden each evening doggie walk up there ... nibble rocket , sorrel , basil . and lokk for whats ready ... a good success is the courgettes and spring onions .. the springs are monsters and now the courgettes also becoming monsters .. i took a pic ... please no size envy complexes gere please .. its only veg ... consideriing the garden only started in late oct early nov .. its doing damm well
pS ecuse the state of the kitchen .... cat1.gif
Sandy!! that was Ironic I just posted an article about QUIT smoking and then went to your post here and had a look at your kitchen photo.................................well please have a look (I am shaking my head) anyway Sandy!!! the rhubarb is the only thing surviving in the garden, we have had good rain over this last few weeks,........ we still have visitors staying from overseas over the Xmas period so have not bothered with the garden.
As we are into our rainy season I have a few month to address the situation. We were out today and had a beautifully lunch!! fresh caught Bream (they said that) and salad with a crisp white wine.. margarita.. the salad was excellent!! so must start in the garden soon.
Frank .. unfortunately white oil does not work for rodents hey ,,, our corn is being eaten by the buggers ,, sweet tender , they ripping open the sheath and eating , not only on our plot ,,, first thought it was birds ,,, anyhow next time no corn ,,, the courgettes are now sprouting monsters within two days ( even bigger that the ciggie packet ones ) and lo and behold aubergine now got friut , and discovered upon careful examination that the one artichoke bush has 4 thistles ,,, the others showing signs of developing ... come on harvest time ... woo_hoo
Did another harvest this morning ... see pics celery more spring onions , more monster courgettes and patties , plus now aubergine ... pic of my artichokes ,, thats the fist bush to start sprouting the rest will follow ... Cherry you missing out .. theres also two nice red cabbage ready for taking ... another pic of the garden looking lush and last .. Joseph our helper now removing all the rubble from our cellar ,, he done a sterling job so far ....
PS .. FRANK TAKE NOTE I LEFT THE CIGGIE PACKET AND ASHTRAY OUT OF THESE PICS .... :wow1:
WoW! Pretty impressive.... City Veg..... Bertie, hope you are getting some tips broer!
are-you-there
Good for you Sandy!!........make sure you get rid (Gigs) of them permanently.............err your rodent problem!! I have found over and under or side by side 12 bore shotgun kind of fixes the problem. BoomSmilie_anim Mind you it will make the veg's a bit messy.....not only that your neighbours might get p***** off................................... image04
What beautiful veg Sandy; I am missing out for sure but seeing my gorgeous daughter here in the UK does make up for it. Keep some for me for when I get back though back - pleez. xxx
Sandy!! I was looking in google at your annual rainfall to compare it with ours and came across this article.
The City of Cape Town says it doesn't have enough free condoms to meet residents' demands.
It blames the shortage on supply problems from the national department of health.
Cape Town's head of health, Dr Ivan Bromfield said the city had received a large consignment of condoms this week, but was concerned that there would be an increase in demand over the festive season.
This breaking news flash was supplied exclusively to iol.co.za by the news desk at our sister title, the Cape Argus.
Think the city council should give them all a piece of land and tell the to stop doing what they are doing and dig holes .................................... 36_1_711
Frank ... condoms vs rainfall ??? ok welcome distraction ... Cherry back from travels ... arrived for lunch today ... afterwards we had a walk up with the dogs ... more bumper harvest ..... by the looks our garden due to good soil preparation in going to be self sustaining .. we continually adding mulch which just rots away and of course worm tea from our worm farm .. now all gratis , all that is required is continual replacement of plantlings .. to replenish ... frank take note .. no ciggy pack now a matchbox for size comparison... the patty pan sizes are now amazing ... just growing monster size within a day or two ............
And the yummy lunch was made with veg from our garden; my mate next door has veggie envy! allgood
Mmm me wonders.. is it the phallic size of the courgetes ???
Yes Sandy !! I did digress from the subject. I said in an earlier post we had had very little rain this spring and our summer was also without our usual rainfall. We have had some good falls at the beginning of the year but from the 7th till now nothing, and the last few weeks have been hot and humid, these last few days have brought heavy rain to parts of southwest Queensland, including Charleville have had their heaviest rain in years, with in excess of 100 millimetres falling in the last 24 hours. This is the result or an Ex-Tropical Cyclone Olga.
We can grow almost anything here our climate is not restricted to cold or heat but we do need water, my veggie garden still has only Rhubarb growing in there (don't now how its survived) this rain we are having is good soaking rain and will do wonders to the earth so hopefully in a few weeks time we will have fresh veggies on the plate again.
http://au.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Kjq7GqQGZLpEMAGoc36At.;_ylu=X3oDMTExN2szY25nBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NwMQR2dGlkAwRsA1dTMQ--/SIG=11i2nn6kg/EXP=1265078826/**http%3A//www.weatherzone.com.au/
36_1_711
@ SandyB - I'm gonna tell Leon on you! (Insiders joke!)
@ Sandy - Looking great! It's very rewarding to use your own veggies, hey. And it tastes ten times better fresh!
My greenhouse for propagation will be ready and functional this winter, so hopefully I'll have a lot more to plant this spring. Getting ready for winter veggies now, like lettuce. I'll be trying to grow a few herbs from seeds as well, will let you know, might be able to pass a few plants on to you this year...
Me very heart sore today ... I simply had to tell Joseph to take the high road today ... when I first engaged him late oct last year when we started with our garden patch , he never begged , never engaged people just foraged for food ... started off well , worked hard ,, started earning money ,, got extra jobs on my recomendation .. ... welcome in my home ,,, even friends with the dawgs ,, almost a part of "extended family " because that's what I would have liked it to be .. cos he bright ,articulate well spoken and no fool and initially prepared to work hard ,, and yes if he kept to the plot guaranteed permanent work on my home and garden ... I stipulated certain rules , no pay ahead , no games , stick to working hours ,, don't bother me vis coming to my home with " problems " on non working days ... I have a demanding job and the last thing i need apart from running the gauntlet of trafffic light beggars etc etc.. is to come home and be bothered .. it crept in .. I explained over and over .. dont break the rules ... next coming late , then wanting to leave early .. his latest project was painting and waterproofing my roofs .. also another skill I'm imparting that would do him well ... and he has just been unravelling and yes i suspect taken to drink or whatever ... he caused a huge upset on wednesday ( Pauls day off ) he arrived to carry on with painting .. , a bit cloudy so told to work in cellar .. till cloud cleared ... after 3 hours work he said he wanted to go ,, he was given his wage before I left for work ... told that he can do other work and once suns out carry on with painting .. Paul got this blank stare ( and thats a blinder cos he no dumbo ) .... i got the phone call from Paul ,, said tell him to go and i want to see him in the evening ... I had reached the end of my tether ... and a decision .. he has avoided contact obviously hoping I would calm down ... today he arrived , not a case of me not calming down, just resolute .. so I explained the situation to him and gave him a few days wage as a "severance" , said he must use it wisely and look for work elsewhere ... he looked shocked heartbroken , and me for him , I was the one that threw a lifeline and , now for obvious reasons not of my doing am taking it away ... hey man it feels shyt .. but then again,, he survived , and he will do it again ,, I trust that will be ,,
Sorry to hear of your workers demise Sandy, it always comes down to human nature and what we are, and how were interact with others. Its a pity its happened to you Sandy because in all the posts I have read you seem to be a responsible and kind person. Giving another person a chance in life and then seeing it thrown away is demoralising. There are many organizations that deal with human misery, and how the organisers feel when the chain breaks and they have to start at the beginning again. Maybe the action you took will make Joseph think the next time a chance comes along.
Anyway the veg garden is still looking sick, I keep getting side tracked Cricket 20 20 on today Australia v West Indies, I did not think this would catch on and the price for tickets being the same for a limited overs 50 50 would deter the punters, well I did watch the Indian series last year and must say the game is great.......................better than a soccer match and that from a fan of soccer.....well I digress from the subject ..........I have Bobs words ringing in my ears 'GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE GOOGLE BOX'!! I did say this morning the garden was on the agenda although its a bit wet I still have time.
Ahem .. my conscience clear on the goggle box one ... me always busy wth something or other or when not do a bit of sociaising or l netting ...
Mmmh! At Spar we get "casuals" that work for us, they work blerrie hard, all over the place, always busy....... they work themselves into permanent positions..... and the ink is no sooner dry on their fixed employment letter.. and they become lazy, doing the minimal work.... what is wrong with the people?
Still feeling a bit shabby as I had taken him under wing and done as much as possible to give skills as well ... a kind of hand up and not hand out .. still would really like to know what caused the unravelling .. but then again its no longer my concern ,, Mike we have it at work ... probation period they work like trojans and as you say the ink barely dry and the laziness sets in....
Walked up this afternoon ... more veg to harvest , truly having to find ways to use it all .. sliced courgettes thin and flat last night slightly salted and roasted ... tonight into a chicken dish aalong with patty pans and spring onion .. the brocolli on its way now as well ... the one red cabbage I have shredded tonight and slowy cooking in white wine vinegar sugar and a bit of salt .. a sort of homeblown saurkraut .. its normally fermented ..
Are you planning to plant any other winter veggies, or will you just be preparing the soil for spring and start serious planting then, Sandy?
Winter veggies of course ... its so simple , will go to Cape seedlings in ottery ,, see what they got for winter offering ,, do eenie meenie minie mo and choose what will go in,, takes all the guesswork out ... ... viola winter veg ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
My harvested red cabbage " saurkraut " is damm delicious ... got a huge dish lurking in the fridge .... last night I got some bratwurst from Raith deli ... did them in the oven ... made a nice potato bake layered with sauteed onion , and sauteed shredded carrot ... topped with mix of veg stock a bit of mustard and milk and baked till nice and golden on top ... mustard on the side ,, what a delicious meal , plenty of left over so the same tonight ... MMmmmm ...
If I am not mistaken Raith Deli are the same folk from Hartliefs in WIndhoek..... Cape Town Branch was in the gardens centre...
Now bratwurst baked in the oven, I do not know.,...
Yup in a pan with a light oiling keep on turning the sossies till they slightly browned on all sides ... mmm almost like putting on the braai .. I dont like the other way and thats lurking in a dish of boiling water ...
The braai tends to add a nice smokey flavour to them though, however if the coals are to hot, they gonna pop....
My latest thing that the girls and I like to braai, is smoked pork belly...... braai em till the fat crackles... gonna do some on on the fire 2morrow afternoon in fact......
Slurp!!!!!!!! with a few draughts....
Cherry ,,, you got some of harvest to collect ... we have cut back the courgette plant a bit it was looking shabby ,,, hope it gives a last burst ,,, methinks its nearing the end of its productive time ... paties also slowing down , but the broccoli coming to the party now ,, a good 3 or 4 heads forming ... think I'm gonna harvest another artichoke tomorrow and see ow it disassemebles . that will give me a guideline hopefully ... one or two . Okra now starting to flower .. it never stops ...
Hey you! Got an old mate from Botswana days coming to spend the weekend so won't be able to collect - lots of braai/sport plans this weekend with him and Koos Holl. Will give you a bell. xxx to you and Paul.
ARTICHOKES ARE BITCHES .... MY HARVEST OF ARTICHOKES GOING ON ,, BEEN EXPERIMENTING ... OK THE CONVENIENCE OF THE CANNED ARTICHOKE HEARTS WONDERFUL ,, BUT ME PLAYING WITH DOING MY OWN .. FIRST HARVEST SMALL SIZE ,, NOT MUCH NICE STUFF TO EAT , SO I LET THEM GROW BIGGER , IN THE MEANTIME DOING THE ODD SEARCH ON THE WEB ... LAST TWO I HARVESTED NICE AND BIG ... GOT MORE CHOKE AND OK SOME BOTTOM FLESH .. DID SOME MORE SERIOUS SEARCHING ... WILL NOW HARVEST YOUNGER AND SMALLER ..
THE ARTICHOKE IS THE EQUIVALENT OF EATING CRAYFISH OR CRAB ,,, MESSY BUT REWARDING ... DOWN TO STRIPPING THE LEAVES AS ONE EATS ONES WAY THROUGH ... REMOVING THE CHOKE AND THEN GETTING TO THE HEART ... GONNA HARVEST SOME SMALLER ONES // WILL UPDATE .
PS BROCCOLI ALMOST READY FOR HARVESTING .... CHERRY ARE YOU LISTENING ??
Sandy, you can always dry some artichoke leaves for me, I use it to make a very nice liver tincture... weed drinking-41
Bertie ,, read up on the benefits of artichoke leaves as liver remedy ,,,, currently any leaves that snap of we just toss onto the ground as mulch ,,, will dry some definitely ...
I will be there hopefully this weekend for some broccoli honey but right now my boet is having a really bad time since his embolism scare so may need to go out to Malmesbury - will call ya! xxx
@ Sandy - Good! Dry them flat on a mesh, in the shade. (Warm, dry corner of the house, or stoep). The leaves should not turn brown, but keep their greyish colour. When you've dried some, let me know, I'll tell you how to make the tincture to have the optimal strength for the right dosage. I have best results with 1:5 strength in 45% alcohol. Easy to do, will give you directions to concoct your own. Soon Sandy will be "medicine man" of the suburbs... we'll have to get you the right head-gear and fitting feathery, leathery, beady attire for when you start selling your medicine on the sidewalk... msn emoticon (8)
Just harvested first Broccoli head ,,, its a monster ,,, Right now snackiong on an artichoke as per the instructions ,, time consuming but fun,,,,
Mmm that artichoke was lekker .. stripped the pithy part of each leaf with teeth , then got to center ,, removed the choke and ate the fleshy botttom part ,,, kind of like eating prawns , crab or kreef ... slowly and enjoy ,,, will pick the next lot a lot smaller , then there will be a proper heart , as they get bigger the heart turns into choke ,,, if i get enough it will make an interesting starter to a dinner ,,,
Du you also grow chickens in your garden Sandy?
Georg yes they come off the plant ready roasted -- sorriso2 ,, arent I just so lucky ... the chicken was there for size comparison.. last time I used a packet of cigarettes to compare size I got it from Frank .. hammer
lol
Okay. Now I realise your intension. But still. Do the chicken come seasoned??
image201
The supermarkets sell roasted chickens!! and they also sell them in these plastic bags which you can microwave bloody marvelous. Now I understand that you can grow the buggers in the garden is it some special soil you have there........................... Sandy!!! I think you should patent this image04
trex-073
Did our sunday morning stint early cos the heat was building up already .... fertilised with worm tea and a good watering .. and cut back again on plants reaching end of time ... pity about the lovely marigolds now dying off they were colourful and hopefully a bit of a pest repellent ,, as one lot falls away the next comes in .. the Okra now coming to the fore one by one ... the bell peppers now also coming to the party ... seems my other artichoke plants not going to do anything unless the shot of worm tea spurs them ... I miss that disassembling eating experience ... if they do nothing they too will be cut back to rejuvenate for the next season... the aubergine still producing albeit slowly .. one thing learnt ,, no cabbage , no brussels , no broccoli , they attract scaly things .... we will concentrate on hardy stuff ... in a week or two off the cape seedlings to choose new crop ....
SAD NEWS I GOT YESTERDAY ... THE SHORT JOSEPH , MY KENYAN MAN THAT STARTED SO WELL HELPING GETTING MY GARDEN GOING AND THAT I EVENTUALLY CUT OUT OF THE EQUATION DUE TO UNRAVELLING ,,, ONE OF HIS" BROTHERS ' ARRIVED AND MY FRONT DOOR TELLING ME THAT HE WAS WAITING AT SALT RIVER CIRCLE PICKUP POINT WATING FOR CASUAL WORK WHENA TAXI CAREENED OUT OF CONTROL AND TOOK HIM OUT ... STONE DEAD .... I HAVE DONATED MONEY TOWARD HIS BURIAL .. FEEL SHITTY ,, HE WAS STILL IN MY MIND A BRIGHT BEING , PITY .. ABOUT HIS LIKING FOR THE JUICE THAT PUT THINGS WHERE THEY WERE ... JOSEPH REST IN PEACE ...
That is so sad - liked Joseph too - life can be very crap ...
Sad story Sandy. I'm sorry about that.
Went up to Garden this morning to do bit of work and harvesting ... Garden coming into spring mode ... we also have an extra bit on the outside now ,, will be growing melons & baby marrows on frames ... the artichokes are coming along nicely so we harvested 4 and also some bush beans ,, seem like they going to be a prolific producer ... we have a cherry tomato vine that just came up out of nowhere ... they are dlicious straight off the vine ,,,
For daddy Georg I remember him talking about the " spice carnation " in german Nelken , afrikaans naeltjies ,, yes the clove spice ,,, its a member of the carnation family hence the german name ... we have one growing on the plot ,, see pic...
Great to see the garden is still going and growing well xxxx
Had the artichokes for starters last night .. yuummmmy ...