Harvest Monday Tomatorama

Apologies for the poor photography, my camera is being most unhelpful of late and is probably adding to the slight lag in blogging, but even fault euipment wont stop me today. Here is this week's harvest post and again it only means one thing - tomatoes!

Tigerellas, tumbler red and yellow cherries and one lone black russian that is cracked and ripening off the wilted vine.

Actually I have noticed a real problem with the blakc russians cracking this year, as I pulled another two from the vine with similar large cracks. Probably due to the large but intermittent rainfalls we have had this year. Last year they didn't crack because we didn't get any rain (if that was the only other choice I'd prefer cracked tomatoes and rain thank you very much) I gave a handful to my neighbours last night in an act of mildly inebriated kindness. They loved them!

If only the zucchini and cucumbers would co ordinate their flowering a little better, the boys and girls are still too shy to be seen on the bush at the same time. I certainly can't wait to harvest more yummy full-sized yellow zukes and to harvest my first cucumber. For more fun harvests head on over to Daphne's Dandelions.

Rambling about Roses

Signs seem to be pointing towards the purchase/acquiring of a rose. I spotted the most amazing tea rose at the markets the other day. It was a mottled purple and white and smelled quite lovely. There was also this rose collection as the centre piece for my cousin/friend's wedding (it is rather odd when you know the bride and groom from two very separate areas of your life, one a relative, one from university work.)

So pretty, such a beautiful aroma, but pot friendly? How have people gone with roses in pots before and any tips?

Black Pansy in the mist

Way back in Autumn I planted some seeds from a 'bolt of blue' collection. The cornflower and random purple thingo came up quite quickly and have been flowering since late-mid Winter. Packed into a rather small pot I thought it was a miracle that these two competitors managed to eke out an existance. There were a few smaller seedlings below these taller flowers but I thought they would wither and die due to the lack of space. Boy was I wrong. Not only have small forget-me-nots sprung up but a tiny love-in-the-mist also featured briefly (though each time it flowered the blue petals disappeared by the end of the day.) Then the jewel of the mix and a complete surprise took centre stage, this black pansy! Camera issues do not to this beauty justice, it is really quite stunning.

I love these surprises, they make gardening even more interesting.

Zema Estate and the Parsnip Gnocchi Adventure

Hurricane J said it couldn't be done, or perhaps shouldn't, I can't recall the nuances but suffice it to say Parsnip Gnocchi was not to be made or consumed. Never, never ever ever ever, not now, not then, not ever. Never one to listen to anyone telling me what to do (ask my Mum, she'll agree) this negativity meant one thing - that the challenge was ON! I have, in the past, perfected the sweet potato gnocchi and adapted the recipe in various ways, jerusalem artichoke gnocchi, pumpkin gnocchi, gluten free gnocchi ... next stop was parsnip gnocchi.

Miss J and fellow academic Mr E were the guinea pigs in this culinary experiment. It started with ... the making of bolognaise!!! This for me is an all afternoon adventure. I start by peeling a motherload of tomatoes (alas not grown on the balcony garden.) Miss J is the best at this job but when the cat's busy getting ready for a trip to Paris, I, the mouse, have to peel.

2kgs of beef in the pot, along with browned onions and garlic. I collected some herbs from the garden including oregano, basil, sage, rosemary and lemon thyme to add to the mix.

Can't forget the vino, I used this one, a Zema Estate Cab Sav because no other cheaper wine was available! Don't tell Dad!!! Although good cooks only cook with wine they would drink, and boy was this drop drinkable (and kinda pricey, but again don't tell Dad, because he bought it when he visited last!) Half for the pot, save the other half for me.

The gnocchi was easy to make, well relatively, although I took no photos of the process. AND I took no photos of the finished product, at least the parsnip ghocchi with bolognaise. I do have this shot of the entree, parsnip gnocchi with a nut brown butter and sage sauce!

And before you ask, yes the entree was parsnip gonocchi, so was the main, but the dessert had nothing to do with parsnips or gnocchi at all, it was homemade coconut cream and raspberry ripple icecream. Overall I have to say the flavour of parsnip gnocchi was very mild and was clouded by both sauces but the texture was definitely divine. I even made a second batch later in the week in which I incorporated goats cheese in the mix for extra fluffiness (Hurricane J tried that batch, and it was not spat out which is a promising sign.) Next gnocchi challenge has also been set ... beetroot gnocchi - at least this time I can use home grown produce!

Harvest Monday

Forgive the lack of posting lately. Not only is it manic thesis writing time, I decided to ease the stress by spending a weekend away in Venus Bay. Oh what fun it was to pretend the Phd was not the devil on my shoulder, even if only for two days. It was a lovely group of people, a lovely beach house and a truly beautiful area. Unfortunately I didn't take a single photo!!! Might just have to go back. Luckily for the balcony garden the brilliant Miss C watered it in my absence. She did a splendid job, despite her fears she overwatered it, the plants seemed most impressed. Now onto the crux of this post, the harvest. I am so excited I finally get to join in on Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions. I originally wanted to title this post - 'and so it begins' - and I think the picture below might be a clue as to why.

Yes the inklings of a tomato harvest are starting up here on the balcony garden. It is slow but enough to keep my salad happy each day (or in today's case a BLT). The tigerella has produced about 8 medium sized tomatoes (though they don't seem to have a lot of taste) which have been shared with friends who have dined here recently. Lovely Miss J thinks the lighter flavour is wonderful. Hurricane J declined to comment on the tigerella, although he did channel Escher or possibly Gaudi in his demolition and reconstruction of the lego house, but more on that later. The cherry tomatoes from the red and yellow tumblers are also starting to ripen. Ahhh the beginning of the season. Given the state of the tomatoes, which all appear to have the wierd wilt again and were menaced by thrip early in the season I don't think the harvests will be huge this summer. Still I am grateful for even one little tomato on the balcony!

Yellow Petals in Peril

Yellow seems to be the in colour in my garden at the moment (and I don't just mean the dying leaves on the tomato plants!!!) There are vegetable flowers and normal flowers alike sharing this vibrant colour. Cucumber flowers are starting to appear, though like the zucchini there is absolutely no gesture towards co ordi nating the sex of the flowers. Male flowers only open when the female flowers are still forming or have died while waiting for the men to show up. I would make some sort of social comment on this, perhaps refering to high school dances, or other such occasions but ...

The sunflowers in particular have been looking radiant of late. There are the two single headed giant ones (which are still smaller than last year's mammoth one that got to over 2 metres in height) and a yellow mutiheaded one.

It is lucky I photographed these guys over the weeks, because NONE of them have any petals left. In the last five minutes, literally while I have been penning this post, gusts of wind took off EVERY single petal from the sunflowers. They also managed to blow over several of the tomato pots! Grrrrrr not happy jan.

Gone Strawberry Gone

The strawberries, alas, are no longer. They seemed to be rotting before they were ripening and were one of the most thrip affected plants so the other day I ripped them out. In their place will be some lettuce and silverbeet. But before the greenery takes hold I thought I might take a trip down strawberry memory lane. These, as blog followers might know, were originally an indoor plant. It faced early eviction due to a spider mite problem, but seemed to survive just fine in this post.

They even enjoyed the inhabitation of the original lego house in this post.

They did seem to flower quite consistently, and their pink petals were a real treat.

But all good things must come to an end, and I had some tasty plans for the last ripe strawberries that weren't rotton.

They went into my morning fruit salad! YUM.

More Rain (sort of)

I am a bit obsessed about rain lately. Probably because of the lovely but atypical falls we have been experiencing. Gavin, over at the Greening of Gavin, has some great points to make about it. Looks like we will get more tonight. Sadly though only 5.6 mms dropped in the city, none overnight, and when I popped out to the Balcony Garden a little while ago I realised that I actually did need to water some of the tomato plants (who were wilting in the lack of water way.) Luckily with all this rain the water saving in the household has been a cinch so they were happily watered and look much healthier already.

In other news I recently receded back into my jigsaw puzzle habit. Ironically this one was entitled 'Raining Cats and Dogs'!

Love it!

Explosions of Rain

We have had a rather hot spell of late, broken by one large rainy day. Suffice to say I am sure it wasn't the heat that made the car pictured above explode outside my apartment the other week! Luckily everyone was OK in this incident, well everyone except the car, it was gutted. But back to the cooler, wetter bit, the rain.

What a joy it was this morning to wake to the sound of rain. Ok when you live in a multistorey apartment complex it isn't quite the same as during your childhood when the rain fell on a tin roof and made those wonderful loud noises. Indeed hearing the rain from my place is mostly symbolised by hearing wet tires on the road (the sound is more muffled.) Rain has so many benefits, the plants love it (tap water on water restriction days just doesn't cut it) and I love it because it means I don't have to water the garden which takes a while, and the water I have saved gets used another day (although I have to use it up at some point because it goes a bit manky after a while.) Looks like showers, thunderstorms, hail and rain are forecast for the new few days so enjoy this Spring weather Melbourne!

Eggplant Enters the BG

I meant to post a little earlier about the additions and subtractions to and from the Balcony Garden but essay marking, parental visits and a return to the PhD thesis got slightly in the way. While I'll weigh in on the tomato situation in a different post (8 out, 3 in, with more to go shortly methinks) I thought I'd write a post about another impulse buy - the eggplant.

Two tomatoes and some carrots were originally in this pot, a sturdy large square self watering pot. Unfortunately the wilt came early, even before flowers could set so the Flame tomato and Aunt Ruby's German Green had to go.

I cleaned the pot and intended to start the process again, albeit with store bought seedlings of any yellow and any green tomatoes I could get my hands on. Unfortunately the seedling choice was, well, abysmal! Some were so leggy they could be olympic high jumpers, others had yellow leaves wherein I wanted yellow tomatoes, and some, well, you just knew their days were numbered. I did manage to find 3 adequate specimins which I'll post on later, but the ones for the square box just could not be sourced. I am not a patient person (sometimes, othertimes I'll wait hours/months/years for people, it's a situational thing I guess) and I wondered what else could fill that sunny spot. Then I stumbled upon eggplant!

Yes eggplant. I had actually toyed with the idea of growing eggplant this year, from seed. I had some white eggplant seeds and had intended to give them a go. But calls from friends about how fickle eggplant growing can be, and seeing the troubles some bloggers went through I decided to double the cucumber production and ditch the eggplant. However, with a free pot and a seedling in my hand I knew I had to give it a go.

He is just a normal eggplant, no lovely white uniqueness here. But the label said he was a vigorous grower which would work well given the slightly late start. Plus being my first eggplant it would be good to go with something a little more idiot (inept) proof. I'll update when the flowers set but in the meantime he seems to be happy except when his leaves become snail dinner! I've planted some sunflowers around him, less for protection and more because I am starting a new obsession with them.