Improvement, achievement and success are powerful words to me and they align nicely with my life-ethos: Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind. They're positive words that hint at the path to success being somewhat of a journey of improvement and achievement however, of course, we need to insert failure there also as that's a large part of the road to success.
I've been on such a journey over the last several weeks with my vegetable gardening and whilst I'm a long way from calling it a success I'm gaining some improvement and achievement so far and that's pretty exciting for me. My plants are doing great!
Today I plucked some radishes along with lettuce and spinach leaves and used them in a salad for dinner tonight. It probably doesn't seem very momentous however for me it's a very cool moment as eating my own home-grown produce brings a lot of satisfaction. In truth it's not the first things I've harvested as last week I took a bunch of spinach leaves and made a meal of ricotta and spinach cannelloni with it. It was super-tasty and, again, the fact I grew it for myself made it taste even better.
I've worked pretty hard at making my vegetable garden as successful as possible and its growth has been exponential. It's been so much fun to go out there each day to check on the plants, encourage and nourish them and sing some growing songs for which they're paying me back in growth. It's been a very enjoyable process.
Above you can see one of my strawberry plants with a few strawberries starting to sprout. I have several of these plants and it won't be long before I'm enjoying my own strawberries. I'm not sure how many I'll get but I'd say enough for a few strawberries and ice cream serves at least!
I ate breakfast in the garden very early this morning and as the day brightened the blossoms of my fruit trees released their scent and it was simply glorious.
I sat amongst them, kept them company and was feeling pretty happy about how everything is going; hard work and effort pays off. The image above is my potted apricot tree which has started to bear fruit for the first time. It's only a year old and I'm not sure what the fruit may be like but I'm planning to dry them rather than eat them fresh. Ok, some will get eaten fresh. More than some probably. Drying them will mean I can use them over a longer period and will probably use them for baking however I've been meaning to try chocolate-dipped dried apricots for a long time so that will probably happen too.
I picked up a couple of almond trees the other day; the plan is to transplant them into fresh, and larger, pots in a week or so then they'll join my orchard of fruit trees so in coming years I'll have a bunch of almonds also. I don't know how long it'll be before I can harvest the nuts but I'll enjoy the process of getting them there no matter how long.
It's always a good day when I get to eat my home-grown fresh produce and despite some unpleasantness later in the afternoon I had a reasonable day overall. I'm probably going to start early again tomorrow and breakfast in my garden again as it felt like a pretty nice way to start the day. There's something about seeing the sun rise and breathing that crisp fresh air...It didn't remove my headache, but made having the headache more tolerable.
I hope y'all are coping with the week so far and have a great day; Wednesday is around the corner and that means the run into the weekend starts too! Tough it out y'all, Friday is coming.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Discord: galenkp#9209
The garden looks lovely.
When i was a kid I loved gardening...I plan on buy a flower pot to keep close to my Windows and grow a flower (not sure of which)
When I have the money to I'll have a nice garden like the one you have going on there...itsa an adventure watching them grow.
I htink it's nice to have a plant around the place even if it's in a pot; it sort of brings a nice connection to the planet right?
Yeah...it does.
This year, I planted/harvested garlic, onions, peppers, potatoes, and beans. (Plus a continual supply of fresh herbs).
It's interesting to see that you can grow almonds in Adelaide. We just don't have a long enough season. Perhaps I should build a little greenhouse to artificially extend my growing season .... hrmmmm
Adelaide's climate is actually quite well suited to almonds. I recall as a kid we'd harvest the three of four almond trees in the orchard each year and have masses of the little buggers. Almond everything from that point on.
I won't get so many now of course but it'll be fun to have my own and make some stuff with them.
It sounds like you got a decent harvest! I'm looking forward for mine to start really producing too.
Nice...I do love our garden grown radishes too. We occassionally throw them in tinofoil on the charcoal with some butter and salt/pepper. We're fancy like that up here in Cheeseland...
You folk know how to do it! That sounds like a great way to have radishes. Might try it myself! ✅
Great always to grow own food, as it is also organic and healthy. You seem to have things growing good over there farmer:)
I am busy taking our garden apart as we will move out sometime and I took this baby out today.
They call it Beetroot.
Under the sack cover is my avocado tree and I will take it out just before we move, as they don't like transplanting.
Behind it is a Cape Gooseberry bush that is easy to move as it is in a big pot.
The bare ground in the photo was all covered in pumpkins, but I have removed them all.
Nothing like working with one's fingers in the ground.
We have beetroot here and it's tasty! Although, I've had many a slice of beetroot slip out of my sandwich onto my shirt and the stains are difficult to remove.
I didn't know you're moving. Going far?
Ohe yeah, you remind me of mu school days, as I got many a hiding for messing beetroot and other stuff on my white school shirts.
Nope, in the same area but still searching for a better place. Having trouble here with the "rulers" and one should at least have peace at one's home.
Because I don't dance to their tunes, they are making life very difficult for us. We already do difficult work and we have decided that's it, we are out of here.
Ah yeah, landlords huh? I hope it works out. ✅
Something like that and yes, we have been approached by a guy that wants to buy this place, but we have not found a new place yet. Things are terribly expensive here and we don't want to take a loan, even though it is offered, as I hate debt.
So we will just keep on searching.
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's the same here, different, but the same. All the best with it, I'm sure something will come up.
Thank you Sir.
As you have clear stated in your post their is no straight road to success, they are always someone obstacle along the way.
And eating the fruit of your labour is bliss, in your case you actually ate the fruit of your lobour, by plucking some radishes along with lettuce and spinach leaves and used them in a salad for dinner tonight".
There's always obstacles in life we have to navigate and all success is tempered with failure.
Thanks for commenting.
You're welcome friend 👍🏼
Rewarding eventually, anything fresh is a delicious treat.
Never eaten sun dried apricots chocolate dipped, but then I don't live is Aus 😆....
They are very damned tasty I can assure you. Dip half the dried apricot in and let it set. Then...YUM!
Would try the taste test if I had some apricots, calls for you to do a demonstration on unusual Aussie sweet treats!
If I make some I'll do a post.
Foodies with a twist....
Aah. It is true that IT IS THE LITTLE THINGS that account for such joys in our lives~!✨✨✨Like the scent of fruit trees on a bright morning--aaahh🥰💛 It's so sad when I see people rush throughout their day and often forgetting to stop and smell the flowers and appreciate all the little things...
By the way, your garden is lovely💜🌻🌼🌸🌺
I've put a lot of work into the garden. Behind me where I took the last image above is a nice seating area surrounded by flowers and all. It's quite nice. I also have a firepit as well. I'm pretty lucky. :)
It’s really nice when we see our efforts reward us, as growth and development come with a lot of effort. Well done with your garden 👏🏽
I agree, I prefer the reward for effort ethos as it makes me feel more satisfied with the end result knowing I've expended effort to make things happen.
Thanks for your comment.
May the harvest be bountiful amen 😊
Yes, that would be fortuitous. Thank you.
Aside from appreciating the arts, I also love this kind of activity. I love seeing those fresh foods from the garden. 😍
Gardening in general is enjoyable I think and with vegetable gardening one gets to enjoy it a second time when eating the produce.
Trueeee 😁
I have a few things growing inside, and have even been able to eat some things from them over the years.
A few years ago I grew some pineapple strawberries. Image something that is the size and shape of a strawberry, but the color and taste of a pineapple. A bit different but I found them quite tasty.
You just made me want to try pineapple strawberries!
This is the second time in the last month or two that I have thought about them. Maybe I should get some more myself.
I think you need to...Seems like fate is playing a hand.
Look at you, Mary, Mary!!! Look at that garden grow! I must say that I am overly impressed with you. Next thing I know, you will be opening a farmers market!
I kid, but, I am impressed, and cannot believe the progress!
Yep, it's all coming along really nicely. A little good weather, some rain and the rest is my preparation and nurturing. I'm pretty chuffed.
You should be! I am too and it's not even mine!
Yeah, it's been a bit of work. Planning the right plants for the pods and all, the prep and ongoing care. Rewarding though.
Tonight I'm making a pasta with a stir-through pesto but I'll be using spinach and basil from my garden when I sauté the mushrooms and chicken so...Yep, it's the small things sometimes.
Oh! Sounds divine! The spinach tops it off nicely.
It's almost always the small things with me.
It should be good; I'm a reasonable cook although am not into the fancy things I guess. Just good honest food presented well.
Define fancy? Well presented and delicious? The classiest food is served simply, so you can taste it.
Sounds like your garden is going amazing :) Homegrown stuff is really quite satisfying.
and I don't care what the expert blind testers say, backyard chicken eggs are much better than store bought eggs so there XD
I'd like some chickens actually, I just don't have the room I'm willing to give up to them.
The wat
Your little Strawbs are so freaking cute! Beautiful garden you have and quite impressed with your variety of fruit trees. Really spectacular in diversity.
Nothing here really wants to grow, keeping plants alive in Oudtshoorn spring/summer is going to be the death of me 🤣
Glad you're already reaping your harvest, that was super quick work, clearly you know all the best tricks.
How about those strawbs eh? Lekker!
I'm no expert but have done some research and do a lot of hoping. Seems that combination is working out ok. Good luck with your Oudtshoorn keep plants alive mission! (pronounced OOts-Or-En of some such knucklyheadedness I guess.) 😆
Your garden looks great. The mulch on the strawberries is great, I am planning to do the same for mine. And your lavender is blooming now 😍 here in Bulgaria it was blooming month ago. And the peach tree looks great, we weren't able to keep some the first year 😁 we ate them all 🤤 dried peach with choclate sounds delicious, I will try it next year. Thank you for sharing 🙏
Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it.
We're into spring here so things will grow really nicely...Come summer though I'll be battling to keep things alive. It's the way of it here in Australia. Good luck with your gardening when your own spring comes along!
I have heard that gardening is like therapy for most people, there is something soothing in taking care of the soil and reaping the harvest. I think that you will grow so much stuff as you already have so many skills, agriculture can be awesome if you also have the right tools to work efficiently. Here most farmers tend to use pesticides but I noticed there are still people growing it all organic. I suppose you also do it organic
All organic here. No non-natural anything. Even I'm natural.
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