Good weeds in the garden

I check out my garden every day, a few times a day and when you see it this much, it sometimes seems like everything takes forever to grow! 
Spend 3 days away from it and boom, its like everything has doubled in size. I should have picked a broccoli head before we left, but didn't and now its going to seed, which is totally fine as the busy bee's are going to love it.
I also let some of my 'weeds' just have their way like this beautiful smooth sow thistle, looks like a giant dandelion that stands a good 1.2m tall and has lots of lovely flower buds coming on which the bee's are going to love too. Did you know the whole sow thistle/dandelion from the root to the flower is edible for humans.....have you tried any?
I also planted several daikon radish before we left and they all have sprouted and my other seedlings are becoming the strong plants I look forward to eating!
Do you let any weeds grow for your personal use? Feel free to share your knowledge :

)

Herbs are amazing

The addition of fresh herbs to a dish can be worthwhile in so many ways adding flavour, colour and even medicinal properties. 
Tonight I cooked up a simple vegetable pasta dish and added so many herbs just because I can!
I saw this tidbit floating around fb today regarding nasturtiums so I also chopped up a heap of leaves and added them too. 
Eating from our own garden to nourish our bodies is one of the simplest pleasures in life.
What did you do today to nurture your body?

Gardening reality

Its been a bit of a topsy turvy winter, but there are still little green babies coming along. 🌱
The beetroot loves it here, phew! The snow peas never make it into the house, I'm dreaming about what I will do with my sweet cabbages and the broccoli looks so cute.
I find it so very interesting when I talk to other gardeners around here and how vastly different the growing conditions are for similar plants.
I have been having a crack now for a good 8 years on this patch and I can tell you it took me almost 8 years to accept I just cant grow everything I want.
So I put the love into what I know will grow and am rewarded with my abundance.
Figure out what grows well in your patch and be blissfully happy when you serve it up for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 🙌
Do you struggle to grow something that your neighbour somehow manages?

Green Smoothies

My magic bullet blitzer thingy broke recently after 8 years, I upgraded to the nutribullet and am loving its magic blitzing powers. 
Breaky this morning is big green smoothies using frozen homegrown banana and pawpaw, fresh kale, turmeric and mint, and homemade rooibos kombucha. 
The girls love this! They think they are getting a special treat for breakfast, I know they really are 😉
What treats are you having for breakfast today?

Gardens in the rain

I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen of late, but the garden is still going on beautifully out the front. 
I love visiting the garden during the rain, everything looks so clean and bright against the drab light of an overcast day. 
With the recent winter solstice and the beginning of longer (and soon warmer) days I planted out more seedlings - kale, celery, more beetroot, red onion, tomato, pak choy and more broccoli. Each time I visit I try to get a little more mulch down, its a slow and careful process putting it all in and around new babies.
My gifted sugar cane and cassava have sprouted new growth and I have a solitary winter sunflower hanging about near my beehive.
I also thought I'd share my pretty dinner from last night....Potkin Risotto with pomegranate and feta. Yummo!!
And a couple of jars of sauerkraut I bottled up today....only 2 available $8 each.....if you want some I can do some more, but you'll have to wait, it takes a good 3-4 weeks to ferment this baby.
Have you visited your garden in the rain? What else have you been up to in the garden this winter?