Urban farmer 2

I would love to be able to harvest fresh produce from my garden, select it as I need it for cooking or baking. I picked these pomegranates in a friend's garden, wanted to dry the seeds in the sun and then plant them next season. Alas, as soon as they were dry and wonderfully warm in the sun mice (and perhaps rats too) came and gobbled it all up. Empty shells and broken plates is all I had left.

My stash of chilli was a little more successful, and I have shared this harvest with friends, and made some spicy meals. Yum. However, these are very thirsty little plants.

MH signage recycled

About 3 years ago they changed the logo of the company, so all the signage was replaced. I couldn't bear the thought of the large sign that had been in reception lying on a landfill, disregarded and rejected, so I took it home. OMW, it lay in the ground for a while like a pimple on the earth, then it was propped up against the wall. Spiders spun undetected webs and mice hid from the dogs behind it. It was a great size for a fire pit, but the wrong material, certainly more of a melting pit should you start the fire. Eventually it was just annoying me and I thought it would be delivered to a rubbish dump after all, but I turned it over, filled it with soil and asked my nieces to transplant whatever they liked from the garden into it. Ta-da! I think they did a great job. They even added rose quartz for the finishing touch.

See how our greens grow

We cleared a little plot in the garden and prepared it so we could grow our own vegetables. Every morning I would stand at the edge and pray for the seeds to crack the soil, peep through and meet the sun. On the fourth day, our first breakthrough, radishes. Can not wait to add it to a salad. And so every day something new would appear. And even though we planted it and knew it would grow we are still amazed at the wonder of it all. The thunderstorms we have had recently have been unkind to some, the beetroot seemed to have drowned, but kind the others, the butternut and gem squash are flourishing. From time to time we add another seed, at the edges we have planted sunflower and borage and mielies and beans...

A hop, skip and a jump

A hop, skip and a jump from September to November, it's almost as though October never was. So here is just a short recap for October. If there are any typos in the text please forgive me. No need to highlight them and send me a message, like all good mistakes, I cannot go back and undo them.

Vegetable garden

All I want to do is have my own vegetable garden. Stuffed with healthy veggies, so we pick something fresh for our evening meal every day. Our plot for vegetables is 2.5m x 5m, we have prepared the soil and are waiting for the first rain before we stick those eager seeds into the ground.

Meanwhile in my own garden

I have been off to this place and that place (more about that later), meanwhile in my own garden everything has been celebrating spring. Flashing a lot of colour and basting in the warm weather.

Vegetable garden layout

All the seedling are in the ground. Now its wait and see. Excited.

Vegetable garden

I needed a distraction from the PrettyUglys so we decided to make a vegetable garden. Not the half-baked effort of last year, ha ha. We have been out every morning before work this week and now it is ready. We are just waiting for the cold snap that is expected this weekend to be over and then we will start planting. It looks like its in the shade but remember, my darling, that the sun travels south for the summer.

Green tomatoes

I planted seedlings earlier this summer.
I hope I get to eat them when they ripen, and not the birds.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe. Ooh! from Fried Green Tomatoes

Garden at No. 5

Trish's garden is looking magnificent. I am so excited - she is starting a gardening blog next week. Will let you know when it's up and running.

Row of Geraniums

I stole this idea from my friend Trish, but being German, mine are all lined up in a straight line ;-)

Fresh garden salad

A naked wall

This wall has been naked for 19 years. At last I did something about it. May it grow vigorously and bloom all year. Pretty.

Velcro

These slippers are not suitable for gardening :-)))))