In this issue
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Festive worms?
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Merry Christmas for families
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Growing tricky vegies – Carrots
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A Christmas recipe home grown from your garden.
Festive worms?
I’m not talking the worms kids get at school that cause a dreadful itch in the nether regions, but compost worms.
Can they be festive? I guess they can be festive if given as a Christmas gift, but I haven’t noticed a distinct change in their demeanor at Christmas, except perhaps for being a lot hungrier!
Have you had problems with your worm farm? Would you really like them to digest all your kitchen scraps and convert them to free fertilisers and organic soil additives?
Using the easy steps we cover at the workshop Thursday morning this week, you’ll get the dirt on worms. No more issues, no more smells, no more ants or rotting food. Just the good stuff.
We'll set up new worm farms; look at renovating existing worm farms; worm uses; pests in the worm farm and what to do; feeding; fattening and troubleshooting.
This will be an active workshop with plenty to stimulate and inspire.
If you enrol with a friend you'll also get a free organic gardening gift on the day for introducing your friend to the Ecobotanica workshops.
You’ll need to book right away though. Call me today 33492962
Held at the Ecobotanica organic garden, Wishart
Date: Thursday 2 Dec
Time 10-11.30
No need to bring anything, but you will be able to order more fresh and hungry worms 3 days in advance to top up your worm farm if you like for $35 per 1000. They’ll be ready for you on the day.
Merry Christmas for families
The ever popular workshops at Mt Coot-tha are coming up soon.
This Christmas we are focusing on an environmentally friendly Christmas gift theme, creating a gorgeous living gardengift made from bamboo. We'll also have stories and games to entertain kids aged 3-14
At just $20 per child, a snack and all materials are included it's the best fun they'll have.
Date: Thurs 16 Dec 9-10.30 OR 11.30-1pm ]
BUT you must book as we limit numbers for each workshop.
Call me on 3349 2962 or email linda@ecobotanica
Growing tricky vegies – Carrots
There are a few vegies we all love and tend to eat regularly. Lettuces, tomatoes and carrots are just three of these. Each of them have their peculiarities for growth and best quality, but I wanted to share my carrot growing history with you. My experience may help you to grow better roots.
I started trying carrot growing in a pot as a 17 year old student nurse in the old Queen Vic nurses home. I lived on the 4th floor, south side of the ancient building. A tiny window and tiny pots.
The seed germinated, but in the business of student life and shift work, I forgot to water them and didn’t give them any more food than was in the potting mix. Not surprisingly they didn’t grow. Too little sun, too hungry, too dry.
The next try a few years later was in Ballarat, my first home garden. It was promisingly positioned on an ex gold mine slag heap. There were lots of those around Ballarat. The garden beds were all clay, rock and weeds. The bed was prepared for the first crop, a winter planting. Didn’t the Bunnings book say that they were a winter crop?
Snow as the seed germinated killed it off quick smart. A new sowing in spring grew a little better. I had planted King Chantenay. The pack showed a gorgeous orange root about the length of my forearm. My mouth salivated at the thought of pulling these carrots in 3 or 4 months time. I collected carrot recipes for the abundance I would reap.
When I pulled the first ones up, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Stumpy little things with 4 legs and hairy all over. The rest were just the same. Consulting dad, he recommended that the soil would have to be prime quality for the best carrots. After all, the roots only grew as well as the soil would allow them.
OK then, this was a serious challenge! Lots of compost, deep digging, trailer loads of manure from the stock sales yards and weed from the lake in the centre of town helped to improve the rock hard clay. Each year, I tried new types with small roots- baby carrots, golf ball carrots and similar. A few carrots grew, but still with knotty roots and hairy to billie-o as dad would say.
A move to Queensland and new carrot promise. Sadly, clay soil again, no stones, but this time I knew better. There was success! ...
If you've clicked and gone to the website to read the rest of this story and would still like some inspirational to give you a head start, I’d love to visit you in your garden. A garden consultation makes a great gift too. Ask me about a gift voucher for Christmas. Ph. 3349 2962,
A home-grown recipe from your garden
Edible hibiscus, Aibika or Abelmoschus manihot,is a delicious leaf from a perennial plant, that at first I did not have a clue what to do with. It seemed such as waste having all this potential food going to waste.
It grows as a handsome, tall bush, producing rich green, grape-shape leaves throughout the year. Now I’ve been experimental, we enjoy this leaf sliced into rice dishes, stir fries and noodle dishes. It stands out in a league of its own though when stuffed and rolled up as you would dolmades, the Greek stuffed vine leaves.
Go to my Recipes at Ecobotanica for a terrific recipe called Asian Style Hibiscus Rolls. Gardeners at the recent Perennials Workshop raved about how good it was. Hope you enjoy it too. If you’d like a piece to grow yourself, email me and I’ll organise some for you. linda@ecobotanica.com.au
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