Winter warmers, blazing fires and one pot wonders
After I got over the initial shock of those first chilly winter nights, I fell in love again with all that winter brings. Hot water bottles, fires burning, my favorite beanies and mittens, delicious red wine and of course comfort food.
It’s a great time to get cracking in the garden whilst the trees are dormant. I’ve planted some sweet little olive trees along the the northern fence of the vegie garden. They will act as a wind break and keep us in good supply of olives in years to come.
The bees are bunking down and feeding on the extra reserves of honey they made in the warmer months when the wildflowers were in bloom. I’ve pulled all my zinnias, fox gloves and nasturtiums out of the cottage garden and saved all the seed. The plants are hanging in the old stable to dry out and I will try my hand at propagating the seed in the first week after the Melbourne Cup! That’s about the time the old cockees around these parts say we are no longer in danger of a visit from Jack frost.
The apricot, plum and cherry trees have had a good prune and I prepared the dormant vegie beds with a cocktail of chicken poo, compost, and ash from the fire, ready come summer for a planting of the more Mediterranean variety of veg.
Did you know even in cold environments, like the blue Mountains, down on the south coast and out on the great Western plains you can grow wonderful vegies all winter long by what I call “winterizing your garden”?
I am currently growing Bok choy, cauliflower, kale, rocket, spinach, and sweet peas.
