As I’m writing this on Monday morning winter has arrived with a vengeance. I don’t often have to put the heating on in my house but this morning the reverse cycle is doing what it should. I have already put my woollen jumper on and closed all the doors and blinds to be as efficient as I can. As a long time wool grower and of the older generation, I am a great believer in wool and actually don’t own any synthetic jumpers… got to support our primary producers even if most of our processing is being done overseas!
Yesterday my young friend from down the street came to visit and we picked tomatoes from the self-sown plants that grew while I was away. We only went into the wilderness of plants a little way and came out with half a two-gallon bucket full. Later today I will venture further and see what else is there. I was amazed at the quantity that we did find. There is a huge amount of green ones on the bushes so I guess there will be quantities of green tomato pickles and relishes made when I find some good recipes. While I have made copious quantities of jams and pickles of many varieties over the years, I am ashamed to admit I have never used green tomatoes. One recipe that I found used “Ezy Sauce” as the base and this brought back many memories. It was a product I used over 50 years ago making sauce when the family grew commercial quantities of tomatoes. Those days Loneragans or Kelletts in Mudgee were the supermarkets where I used to buy it. I wasn’t aware it was still available but will certainly be trying to find it.. made wonderful sauce and was so easy!.. just as its name implies!
Even with the onset of this cold weather, there are many beautiful things flourishing in town gardens. Bougainvillaeas are putting on a great display. Up in Willi Street, there is one growing on the footpath near the turn into Rose City FM that has been trimmed into a standard and is a spectacular ball of brilliant purple. It is well worth a drive to see. Congratulations to the dedicated gardeners that have been diligent and kept it trimmed.
Roses are still putting out some lovely blooms even though pruning is not far off. One of my neighbours, who has a lovely garden and actually won the Festival Garden section of the competition in 2021, has some beautiful red blooms still being a highlight.
Don’t forget the garden competition in the first week of October and keep working on preparations through the winter. I saw so many wonderful gardens and beautiful shrubs and flowers when I was privileged to drive the judge around the district last year and I am looking forward to being the chauffeur again.
My veggie garden has run riot with weeds while I have been away and I am endeavouring to get it under control so I can have a spring planting. That’s what can happen when you go away for 2 weeks and can’t get back into the garden for 5 months!! The number of tomatoes that came up in the other veggie bed have chocked out all other competition so it shouldn’t be hard to clean up when they are finished. I am sure more self-seeded tomatoes will come up in spring so it will only mean thinning them and planting some marigolds and basil to keep bugs at bay. There will definitely be some slug and snail control needed!
I have always been interested in plants/trees/shrubs native to our great country ever since I was a small child and ate Lilly pilly that grew near a swimming hole on a friend’s property.
I have a native finger lime growing in a pot but as yet it hasn’t born fruit. Repot?? Maybe!
Recently I have seen lots of new native food plants available for sale. One such is the Midyim berry. Apparently, it’s easy to grow, will thrive in full sun or part shade, grow up to 1 metre high and wide, will be covered in white flowers in the spring and summer and have grey/white tasty, edible berries in autumn. Suitable for pots or open ground. Maybe it needs a spot in the garden.
Davidson Plum is another that I’ve been interested in for a while as it seems to have many uses and benefits. It is different to Kakadu Plum which has the highest level of vitamin C recorded for any fruit but has many benefits in that it is a rich source of antioxidants, vitamin E and zinc. As well, it is a non-dairy source of calcium. While the Davidson plums resemble the common plum we buy and eat the Kakadu plum is fibrous, tart and bitter. It was traditionally used to tread, colds, flu and headaches.
While these may not be suitable to grow in gardens in Warwick and surrounds I find it interesting to find out about them.. hope you do also and that it piques your interest to learn more!!
