Listening to a little jazz by the fire with a glass of vino, and the feel of dry sandpaper hands after a good day in the garden. Last week we had a family shin dig for Dad's 70th. Mike and Mandy drove down from the Nimbin Hinterland, bringing with them some lovely bohemian pumpkins, bell chillies and choko's a plenty. One of the choko's had sprouted a shoot with some leaves, so this week we decided to be frivolous and plant it by our front fence, despite chilling choko stories taking over peoples gardens and destroying their lives.
Surely they cant be that bad... right? Well I guess we are about to find out. If they are as rambunctious as rumoured, hopefully we will not be condemned and outcast by our neighbourhood. The kids and I chomped on one this evening, and we were all pleasantly surprised at their mild flavor and apple like crunch. Perhaps its the name....choko... if they were titled with something more exotic, like Brazilian bongo fruit, or the forbidden bobacko fruit of desire, perhaps they would not suffer such an unfair stigma.
With the successful planting of the community orchard in our nearby nature strip, we have been in the mood for planting a few more things in our own garden. this afternoon we purchased two Kiwi fruit vines (male and female), and some more rosemary for the front garden.
we also set about building a chook tractor, slash, possum force field, using chook wire and some conduit. We aim to finish it this weekend and hope to introduce the chooks to it by day, then use it to cover seedlings by night to ward off our "big fat eat everything and make your garden a barren wasteland" possums.
We too successfully grew sweet potatoes last season.. they are a very rewarding veg to grow. they are a great crop. no diseases, fast growing and easy on the eye. the heart shaped leaves are also edible. this year we had less success, as we did not have them covered and the possums ate the leaves off every stem. consequently we are considering a walk in enclosure to cover the garden beds.
Very interested in the talk about Aquaponics. We are very keen to give it a try also. Maggie, please let us know how the course on fish (and fungi) goes. Sounds very exciting. Wouldn't it be great to hold a fishing and bbq party in your own backyard!
Enjoy the garden.
Jo .... i'm dreaming of smoked trout! but that will be about a year away -- as the fish have to grow first. but i am looking forward with great interest to seeing how quickly the veg grow ... as they are supposed to! it's a diy aquaponics course ... the thing that really interested us as we didn't want a "buy our u-beaut system" .... we wanted to make it the way we wanted it for our lifestyle and back yard. the fungi course is at the end of june .... and apparently you can grow great mushrooms in coffee grounds .... which, considering my propensity for a good cup of coffee .... should be a treat! when we get ourselves settled with the fish we'll have to invite you over for a looksee .... given that you live nearby!
ReplyDeletechoko ... hmmm ... my husband's mum feeds them to us all the time and i have to say they look pale green and slimy .... and really unappetizing ..... but maybe i need to give them a look. i'm into ugly veg right now ... have celeriac going and plan on doing kohlrabi in the spring .
i am envious of your trees that you are planting. we put in a manderin and a tangello. the kiwi ..... hmmmm wow! i would love that! where did you get them from? some place local? i've been getting all my stuff either from diggers or eden seeds .... and sometimes the co-op up in katoomba. i am dead keen to get in some nut tree's as well (probably hazelnut and maybe a walnut or almond, and perhaps a quince too!
i planted out heaps of spinach today. and hubby was down in rouse hill this arvo and bought 10 bags of chook poo for $2 a bag .... so now all i need is a heap more cardboard and i can get on to these other beds that i need to get settled before the big late winter / early spring plant hits!
i have my eyes on a spinach quiche for our meal challenge .... could be only a month or so away!
we are really trying to do heaps. i went to an intro to permaculture course in march and got my desires affirmed and my passion ignited. i'll only mention it once (because this blog is about something different) .... but i have been keeping a blog since march ... www.backwardssimply.blogspot.com. really about the fact that as i face the ripe old age of 50 ... the second half of my life ... i am wanting and choosing to live a simpler ... yet much richer life.
thank you for this blog. i have encouraged several friends to join .... but they all seem so daunted by the idea of eating an entire meal, let alone a day or a week, from their backyard. they want to ... but don't think they can. i'm planning on having my friends over a lot so they see that yes, THEY CAN!
Hi Maggie, you should check out the Longview nursery in Wentworth Falls, on the Hwy opposite the crazy pot place with the fake giraffe's and Rhino's out front. We purchased our kiwi's here and I noticed that they have a good range of fruit and nut trees also, including almond. Its nice to keep it local.
ReplyDeleteKeep at those friends of yours... feed them some of that lovely spinach quince. My sister is still yet to join, and she is a worthy opponent in the garden. I love some sibling rivalry. Lets work together to get a few more join in the challenge. slowly,slowly.
We would love to catch up some time once you have things set up. thanks for the offer.
Lastly, We will have to keep you up to date with the food swap that we hope to start at the glenbrook markets after winter. the aim is to get local gardeners swapping their produce and exhanging ideas. We are really excited about it.
speak soon.
Jo and Joe
I have a choko or three growing on the back fence. While they started out quite content and contained they have since spread their wings or should that be tentacles! They are however a very rewarding vegetable to grow... prolific in fact. From cute minature versions of themselves they soon grow into huge beasts of things - quite literally within days in seemed. I use most of mine in sweet mustard pickles, but we also steam them in the microwave and top with white sauce and grated cheese and brown off in the oven. They are also a cheap addition to stewed pears and apples. It may have been the time of year I planted mine - but they did take a long time to finally produce. Good luck :-)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of encouraging a few more people to join the challenge. this blog is all about changing the world just a little .
ReplyDeleteChokos are great , we are eating lots in our winter stews right now. I have some sprouting too, will have to put a couple in a pot.
Maggie you so fired up and enthusiastic , I feel like running out in the rain right now to garden!!Can't wait to check out your blog this afternoon when I get back from art class
kim
Extra comment that I forgot to say:
ReplyDelete*Chokos are delicious if cooked the right way. We cook them like brocolli, and serve them in a cheese sauce like you do with cauliflower au gratin , also great chopped in a curry with the other veges as they absorb the flavours.They are bit plain to serve on their own.
kim