With most gardens winding down after a productive Summer, ours continues to save us quite a bit of money.
Silverbeet grows all year round and our two plants provide us with greens on our dinner plate at least twice a week. When broccoli is too dear to buy at the supermarket, silverbeet is a nutricious alternative.
Our lemon tree still has fruit from last season as well as new fruit growing that we will be picking in a couple of months. All fruit we cannot use straight away is juiced and frozen for year round savings. Lemon chicken, lemon butter, lemon on fish and lemon drinks for sore throats are some of the ways we enjoy our lemons. At 80 cents a lemon in the supermarket, we are saving a small fortune.
The raspberry bushes are almost at the end of it's picking season. Since early December we've picked over 4.5 kilos. All fruit has been frozen as picked and turned into delicious jam a few times a year. I also make a couple of batches of raspberry and white chocolate muffins for afternoon teas and snacks on the go. The cheapest raspberries to buy are $10 a kilo in the supermarket, so our bounty would retail for a minimum of $45. WINNING !!
The last of our potatoes will be dug up in a week or two. I'm hoping the latest crop will provide us with free potatoes for another six weeks. The last time I bought potatoes was mid December last year.
The $4 punnet of lettuce seedlings I planted a few months ago is still growing well. We've enjoyed many salads during the warm weather we had. Now that it's cooled, we like to add lettuce to our lunches of dry biscuits and tuna. Just another way to get nutrients from green vegetables.
In a months time I will be picking the first head of broccoli with more to follow shortly. I have many plants at various stages of growing. If all goes to plan I'll be blanching and freezing lots of broccoli with the hope of not having to buy any for a long time ( if at all ).
We have beautiful displays of vibrant chrysanthemums growing in our flower gardens. Not only are they enjoyed out in the garden. We pick punches of flowers to brighten up our home and to add a pop of color. We love to spread the joy around by taking punches of flowers to our daughter's homes when visiting.
The chicken have enjoyed many meals of weeds and old veggie plants. This in turn reduces the amount of chicken feed they eat.
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| Our labours of 2020 |
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| Our chrysanthemum display |
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| Enjoying flowers in the home |
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| Darren is growing kale ( not for me ) |
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| Tiny broccoli seedling |
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| Our bigger broccoli plants |
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| Our lettuce patch |
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| Lots of flowers |
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| Our entertainment |
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| Just coming into bloom |
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| Silverbeet for another meal |
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| There are always lemons. |
Are you still picking anything from your garden ?
Your garden is beautiful and productive, Wendy. Such pretty flowers and homegrown veg too. I recently planted six silverbeet seedlings and a dozen mixed lettuce seedlings. This should give us plenty and some to share with our neighbour too.
ReplyDeleteMeg🙂
Glad you're all better, spinach is definitely the budget saver here also and having fresh herbs to pick just outside the door. Have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteDo you give out the recipe for the muffins? They sound pretty tasty.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers definitely add a splash of colour to your home. I am going to get a freezer so I can enjoy the veg I grow too. I love passing on to the neighbours but I would like to use most to reduce my food costs and eat better fresher food. Thank you for your inspiration. Cheers
ReplyDeleteWe're coming into a late spring (we still have nightfrost here - unheard of!), but my chives are in a container and are already tall enough to harvest. It's a nice addition to sandwiches and salads. I have sown spring onion seeds in the same container, and hope to be able to harvest soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's spring here as well, and we're in California, so we have a long growing season. We have lots of herbs right now (cilantro/coriander, basil, rosemary, parsley), lemons, oranges & we are just getting radishes. We sautee radish greens. We also have a lot of jalapeno peppers, that we will make into pico de gallo this weekend, and perhaps pickled peppers.
ReplyDeleteI love the photos of your "production." Especially the mums. I came across some what survived our winter and I repotted them. They are tiny now but I hope by fall they will be big enough to plant in the flowerbed.
ReplyDeleteSo far, this spring, it's been very cold so nothing is ready to pick. I received 2 new-to-me rhubarb plants that I've planted in the new bed. My old plant needs to be divided and transplanted, so I will do that this week.
Oh, I guess I do have one thing. Walking Onions are up. I will not need to buy onions again until next winter.
I also am rooting some organic romaine lettuce bottoms. They are showing new growth so I hope I can transplant them once the roots appear.
Flowers- I transplanted an iris plant that was too deeply planted and have some of my pots planted. I also have some moss rose to plant in a rocky area.
Next will be some strawberry plants in a raised bed and starting my herb bed. I bought a rosemary this week.