Vegetables at last
At last I have a few vegetables forming in the garden - it seems to have taken forever. My baby butternut look just like the real thing, only very tiny :) I want to pick some when they are still quite small - in South Africa they make a kind of stew in a cast iron pot called a potjie. It is normally a mix of meat and vegetables, and they often have whole miniature vegetables in it - very yummy. Is it only me or is this the cutest little butternut ever?
the zucchini are also forming - I wanted them to ramble over a frame, but this one keeps heading the other way. I thought if it was over a frame it would stay drier with less chance of mildew problems. Already there is some powdery mildew and so far all I have done is remove those leaves and throw them away. If it gets any worse I will get out the milk and water spray. Now I don't want to get ahead of myself but I have heard stories of people being overwhelmed with lots and lots of zucchini so i have been trying out some recipes - check this one out http://africanaussie-recipes.blogspot.com/
Little red flowers peek out of the sides - aren't they pretty?
Because of all the bugs around I have been spraying pretty regularly with a chili garlic spray, and that seems to be working quite well. .
The ginger has started to flower and the leaves are turning brown but I am not going to harvest them - I just pick what I need and stick the growing portion back into the ground. Hopefully that works.
This is my favourite time of the year - the humidity dies down, and the temperature is very mild, and suddenly we can grow what other people can grow. "normal" vegetables. Up next though is my troubles I have with tomatoes, but that deserves a whole post of its own.
It is the cutest little pumpkin ever - yes! And the ginger... what kind of ginger is it? I'd really like one of those.
ReplyDeleteA cute butternut squash indeed.I love butternut squash. It's the closest in taste to the squash I grew up eating back home.
ReplyDeleteIt's the first time I've seen the flower of the edible ginger. Thanks for posting it.
That is most definitely the cutest squash! So perfectly formed. Hope mildew doesn't take your zucchini, I had a lot of mildew last year on mine, so disappointing.
ReplyDeleteThe butternut is cute, but I am thrilled to see your ginger. I've just been given some clumps and been told it's edible ginger. Not sure if it is. The roots are much chunkier than the ginger you buy in the shops. I haven't grown the edible type before so now I know what it should look like.
ReplyDeleteHi Missy,
ReplyDeleteYou can see how I grew my ginger in these two posts.
http://africanaussie.blogspot.com/2010/11/growing-ginger.html and also http://africanaussie.blogspot.com/2011/01/hot-and-spicy.html
It is a wet season plant so not sure if it will grow now - mine is going dormant. I have tried at different times of the year without success, but grew it very easily in November. Once it is established it should winter over and sprout up again the next year. You need to make sure you have those green shoots starting on it.
Ali,
ReplyDeleteI think you and Missy are in a similar climate, and might have to wait until the wet season to grow it.
Solitude rising,
Isn't it funny how we hanker for the tastes from our youth? I will try gemsquash again this year for the same reason.
Alison,
Yes I realize that mildew could take it out at any time, and if it threatens I will just pick all the small vegetables and make a tray of tiny roast veggies! the weather has been so strange lately though that I am willing to take the risk.
You're making me so envious! Why can't I grow such good looking veggies??? My husband reckons we should give up trying, but when I come to your garden, it makes me keen to try harder. Our problem is lack of sun...I do have a couple of raised beds, but they still aren't getting enough sun to branch out too enthusiastically with all the crops you grow. I do think you're a natural, too, though :)
ReplyDelete