June 2016 Issue #130

Hello,

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

1) Flowers
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Roasted Eggplant and Macadamia Dip

Here are sweet peas on tip-toe for a flight,
With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white;
And taper fingers catching at all things
To bind them all about with tiny rings.
~ Keats

Followers on my Facebook page will have marveled at the picture of what spiderlings do in a flood. If you like it, click the like icon!

Eco gardening tips

• Kids love flowers
  When helping little ones to appreciate nature and grow their own, there's nothing like planting flowers, along with veggies. Sweet peas are ideal because soon there are bunches to pick of these rainbow glories.

  Sweet peas are called that because of the sweet scent, not flavour. Unlike edibile peas where you can eat the peas, pods, flowers and all, sweet peas are mildly toxic and definitely don't go in your salads... or mouth.

  Stroll along the garden path and read a short article on growing flowers.

  ---

• Winter mint
  Any of the garden mints can be grown in pots inside over winter… handy to have for picking. In colder areas now, as your mint plant starts to die down, dig down or tip your plant out of its pot, and no doubt you'll come across thick white roots snaking around and along looking to spread.

  Snip off several 2-3" (5-8cm) lengths and plant these root cuttings flat about 2cm deep in good potting mix in a pot on a windowsill and watch the new shoots quickly sprout.

• Zoom in on zones
  If you want to know what sort of climate zone you live in, ask Google or the search engine you use. It's as simple as typing in the words: "grow zones Australia", "grow zones US", or any country. Yep according to Google, even Liechtenstein can be divided into three plant zones: the Rhein Valley floor; the lower mountain slopes above the Rhine and the Alps; and the fens and moors.

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!

Roasted Eggplant and Macadamia Dip

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 200g ground macadamia nuts
• Oil or butter to brush on eggplant slices
• 2 tspn lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Add more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Method

• Slice eggplant thickly, lay on oven tray and brush with oil or butter.
• Roast at 160°C (320°F) for 30 minutes.
• Puree all ingredients in blender.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Serves: Makes a medium bowlful

Live, love and garden.
Megan