November 2015 Issue #123

Hello,

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

1) Parsley to eat and decorate
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Raw Herby Dressing

My granddaughter, Jessie with parsley flowers. We'd just cleared out the old parsley patch and thought how gorgeous the long stalks looked, so here's the table centerpiece. See the delicious recipe using parsley at the end of this newsletter.

Like chocolate, no self-restraint is needed to enjoy
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Eco gardening tips

• They keep on keeping on
  Even when growing your own vegetables, you can still become more frugal. There are some vegetables that want to give you the earth; they can to be picked and picked.
  
  

  For example, pick some outer kale leaves and sure enough there are more to pick each week. Most cooking greens like collards, chard or silver beet, kale and so on, give great value over a long period of time; so plant these frugal greens and sit back and enjoy the mountains of healthy dinners they give.

• Love the littlies
  Here are some handy tomato facts... and remember it's not too late to sow or plant tomatoes in some areas in the Southern Hemisphere.
  
  

  Small varieties of tomatoes, such as cherry or grape tomatoes are a lot easier to grow than their big cousins. They simply aren't prone to many problems, plus, yum... the fruit matures earlier. The long trusses of fruit cramming these small varieties are often ready to eat in under 50 days from seed planting. Some will take around 60-75 days, whereas big tomato varieties need 70-100 days.

• Cover the soil
  Don't leave bare soil in your garden over winter, it may get washed away in winter rains and wind. Put mulch or compost over finished patches of garden and this will rot down in time for spring planting. Alternatively, plant a cover crop to help fix nitrogen in your soil... see no-dig materials.

Want to know what vegetables to plant?

Want to know when to plant them?

The GroVeg Garden Planner is your answer. Click here for a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL!

Raw Herby Dressing

Rather like a tabouli. Raw, no fuss, healthy… and tastes great!

Ingredients

• 1 medium head broccoli
• 5 spring onion finely sliced
• 100 g (1 large bunch) parsley, chopped
• 100 g (1 large bunch) mint, chopped
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 20 g (a good handful) pumpkin seeds
• 50 g (2 good handfuls) pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
• 100 g baby spinach leaves
• Juice from 3 limes or 2 lemons
• 1 Tbln olive oil
• 30 g (1 handful) goji berries (optional—adds a touch of sweetness)
• Plenty of black pepper and salt to taste.

Method

• Trim any tough outer skin from broccoli stalks, then chop the entire broccoli as fine as you can. Use a food processor if easier.
• In a large bowl mix the chopped broccoli with all other ingredients and combine well.
• Divide into individual serving bowls for diners to dollop over their own dinners. Great with cooked zucchini or roast pumpkin by the way!

Preparation: 5-10 minutes
Serves: At least 4

Happy gardening
Megan