Diggers Rest – Digging a no-dig garden; Eco gardening tips; Carrot Cake Muffins

January 2015 Issue #113

Hello,

What fun that we both love gardening. Thanks for joining me.

1) Digging a no-dig garden
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Carrot Cake Muffins

I've been digging! A person's gotta dig when… well, when… there are rocks and bricks in the way of a no-dig garden to be. So, this potential garden is starting off as seriously DUG over.

Staying with son, Toby and family in their new (but old) house in Hornsby, Sydney, Australia, I am pitching in trying to turn sand into soil. Also battling heat waves, then downpours that have the little ones dancing in the rain with glee as the ground steams and the plants gasp with relief. When the thunder and the hail as big as large marbles comes, we wisely retreat under cover and watch in awe.

No matter that our lettuce seedlings look like shredded tissue after hail and the celery and spinach leaves shrivel to a brown crisp in the heat later.

Here are some photos of the rocks dug up and me starting the actual no-dig part with cardboard. Wish me luck!

Eco gardening tips

• Bamboo for you
  Clumping bamboo is good for shelter hedges and most types can be eaten (the shoots). If you have room and would like an attractive border to your garden, plant some bamboo. Don't plant running or suckering types as they can get out of hand.


• Baked worms
  Here's a problem I've noticed with friends' gardens in hot weather — black plastic worm farms, and uh oh... the hot afternoon sun beats down on them and the poor worms bake. So even though your worm farm is shaded in winter, make sure you give them a spot in the shade in summer when the sun is hottest. See more about worm farms and vermiculture


• Give perennials a chop
  If your clump of perennials, be it rhubarb or asters, is fighting for space, it could be ready for division... usually a slog of a job. Rather than dig the whole shebang out and chop bits off and replant in freshly composted soil, try a bit of a short cut.
  
  

  Grab your spade and plunge it into the middle of the clump. Chop a wedge shape or even just a trench space and remove. Fill up the space with good compost and organic fertilizer and the plant is good to go for another year or so.

Sure you can... have the perfect garden!

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Carrot Cake Muffins

One of the many great recipes from Ultimate Paleo Guide.

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 tspn baking soda
• ½ tspn salt
• 2 tspns cinnamon
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tspn apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1½ cups coarsely grated carrot
• 2 ripe bananas
• ½ cup raisins
• Stevia to taste.

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
• Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl (almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and stevia to taste)
• Combine wet ingredients in a separate mixing bowl (eggs, vinegar, coconut oil, and mashed bananas)
• Once wet and dry ingredients are mixed well, add them together, and combine fully
• Slowly fold carrot and raisins into mixture
• Spoon servings of the mixture into lined muffin cups and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Makes: A small tray of muffins depending on size

Happy gardening
Megan