Harvest Today

Latest haul from the garden, sweet potato and choko/chayote are on the menu tonight.

Brazilian Cherries and Pomegranates

This year is the first that we have had fruit on our Brazilian Cherry Tree and we think they are the loveliest looking fruit we have in the garden. They start off green, then change to yellow, and  then get redder and redder until they are ready to eat. They can be a weed in tropical and subtropical areas but are fine in WA. We are eating them fresh from the tree, only about ten so far this year, but at least it has started fruiting after being planted about 4 years ago.

 We have also picked our first pomegranate and have another one on the tree still. We have never actually eaten either of these two fruits before and probably would never have tried them if we had not grown them. It is amazing how trying to become more sustainable has expanded our knowledge and taste buds!

We are also harvesting pears, chokoes, passionfruit, eggplants, Jerusalem artichokes, beans, lettuce, apples, kale, capsicum and lots of herbs at the moment. We are lucky enough to be able to eat something from the garden every day of the year.

The Importance of Vines

 

We currently have quite a few vines in our garden which serve multiple purposes. They provide shade, privacy,  soil protection, leaves, fruit and vegetables. Here you can see a sweet potato vine and the choko vine.

In the front yard we have a boston ivy on the walls to shade the walls that face the west, a grape vine, a pumpkin vine and a sweet potato vine.

In the back garden we have three grape vines, a choko vine, a virginia creeper shading the eastern wall, a sweet potato vine and a passionfruit vine. They are not only useful but beaiutiful and make use of space which would otherwise be wasted.

In Our Garden Today

 Getting ready for the water tank and replacing the guttering, a new fence has been put in.

 Gutters have been removed and Andy is sanding them and rust proofing them, the plan is to plumb in another 5000 litre tank and connect it to the no - dig gardens at the front.

 We have had no fruit yet from the pomegranate tree but the flowers are glorious.

 The chilli plants are surviving amongst the pumpkin vines.

 The strawberry guava has produced at least 50 pieces of fruit this year so far.

 The apple trees are fruiting and getting used to being espaliered.

 Not sure what the vine is at the bottom, but the choko vine has taken off again after struggling in the storms and the heat.

 Amazing spider web in the garden at the moment.

 The jujube is still growing, as is the grape vine and banana plant in the pool area.

 The garlic chives are covered in lovely flowers at the moment.

Steamed Chokoes and Stewed Fruit

It was a wet and windy day outside today so I was pleased to be able to be able to cook some steamed Choko and stew apples, pineapple guavas and passionfruit, all from our garden, delicious.

Clambering Choko Vines

We were given a sprouting Choko a few months ago and planted it. It has now grown up the fence, along a trellis and is clambering through the nearby Hibiscus and Bottle-brush Tree. We were delighted to find some flowers and tiny chokoes, then looked up and realised that there were many, much larger ones higher in the tree. Hopefully they will drop off when they are ready to harvest.Hopefully we can try some great new recipes with them.