Friday, November 6, 2015

warm days

There is so much goodness to be found in my garden this time of year, the warm days of our mottled Spring/Summer have truly settled in and my garden is overflowing with fragrant blossoms and delicious fresh produce....

Onions..... This week has seen me pulling up onions, sweet white onions, hundreds of them! I'm drying them out, hoping that once dry they'll store for (at least) 3 months in my pantry - by then it will be time to plant, and enjoy, my next years crop....
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I'm excited to have finally planted just the right amount of onions in my garden this year - just enough to have my family and I eating them fresh from the ground months before our 'final' harvest and just enough (I hope) to have us eating them, dried, for months to come.

Tomatoes.... I can never plant enough tomatoes!!! Can you??

This year, so far, I have 24 tomato plants growing - all at different stages and many different varieties. For my bigger, taller growing varieties I'm having a go at 'stringing' and so far it's working a real treat!
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Have you ever tried 'stringing' before? Here's the video I watched to learn how....


Cucumbers.... I love fresh cucumber, sliced thick and smeared with Danish feta, especially on a hot Summer day... This year I'm growing my vines overhead (instead of overflowing onto the ground), as a way of providing shade in Summer to a bed that will be filled with delicate leafy greens.

How do you like to grow your vines?
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Bread.... It's something that I seem to be writing about in every post lately! I truly have fallen in love with the Sourdough baking process and was so excited last week when my Farmer baked a loaf for me in my absence.

It was perfect, this guy of mine is a natural!
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Having been baking Sourdough EVERYDAY, for about 5 weeks now, I'm itching to start trying something new and when I saw this post by the gorgeous Glenda I knew that 'Sourdough Baguettes' were the next thing that I MUST try!!!!!

Crochet.... It's something that I love to do everyday too. It winds me down and lifts my mood after what can sometimes be a 'crazy' day in the schoolroom with my 3 kids.

Mandala's are my latest favourite thing to create and this sweet one has been made as a special gift for a dear friend. The pattern was from this issue of Mollie Makes Magazine - so simple and so pretty and so much fun to make. 
Mandala to gift a friend - pattern from Mollie Makes magazine #54.... ♥
Happy Friday Friends!

Jodie xxx

13 comments:

  1. Love your blog Jodie - glad you're back! I'm going to try that method of growing tomatoes - it looks great!

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  2. I've always wondered how people string up tomatoes, thanks for the link! I know a lot of old Italian people seems to prefer to grow this way, I'm so going to try it!!

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    1. I am definitely preferring this method of growing tomatoes too Cheryl, I look forward to hearing (and seeing) how you go with it too..

      Jodie xx

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  3. I didn't know about stinging tomatoes. Ours have gone crazy which is something new. We have some cucumbers planted and I was wondering whether to try getting them to grow on something rather than taking over the garden as it is pretty small. I might do that now as they are still small enough to change plans. I love reading what you've been up to.

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    1. I didn't know about 'stringing tomatoes' either, that was until I stumbled upon a YouTube video and thought I'd give it a go...
      My cucumbers seem to be responding well to growing vertically and are twice as big as the vines that I have just let sprawl over the ground - I've also heard that growing cucumbers vertically prevents the fruit from getting damaged from the earth/ground like mine sometimes do (did)...

      Jodie xx

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  4. Beautiful Jodie, lovely light in your photos! Your bread looks perfect x

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  5. This is a really nice article and awesome blog .

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  6. I want to try the bread now! I might not have the right pots though.

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    1. Dear Jodie, I am pleased you have recommenced writing your blog. My husband and I was had a property in Central Western NSW and I love seeing the photo's you post. I have picked a lot of radishes today so I am going to try your Pickled Radish recipe - I will replace the cane sugar with coconut sugar, I am sure it will taste just as wonderful. Kind regards Lenore

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  7. so nice to see you briefly last week........glad you blogging again too.........

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    1. It was great to see you too Donna... Next year we will definitely have to have lunch... xx

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