June 2012 Issue #81

Hello,

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

1) Raring to grow
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Garlic & Parsley Toast

Der spring is sprung
Der grass is riz
I wonder where dem boidies is?

Der little boids is on der wing,
Ain't dat absoid?
Der little wings is on der boid!

Raring to grow

The FAQ section is the place where the beautiful people hang out... earthy, beautiful and raring to grow.

Who knows about centipedes, or rather sending Marise's centipedes on their way? Centipedes eating leaves

And any other ideas to help Kelly build a Lasagna garden on balcony?

Fun with flowers

Flowers are natural and beautiful. Nowadays boys and men naturally and artistically wear floral clothes... but back in 1890 certainly NOT. According to a book just published on how resourceful (and humorous) housewives were then, this is one of many hints: "How to hasten a divorce... buy him floral shirts."

Eco gardening tips

• Spunta spuds:
  I've just come across some spunta potatoes which are huge... think 1 litre container size! Long and lovely with waxy yellow flesh, these mid-season beauties are delicious. Do hope you can find some to grow in your area.
  
  

  A potato is like a banana which is like voodoo. Why? Remove the first letter, add it to the end and it will spell the same backwards.

  No more spud word tricks... but for the best spud growing tricks—I know I follow them—see what I mean here: Grow Great Potatoes

• Plastic and storing veggies:
  There's a forum thread on Best way to store veggies to stop wilting. Life without plastic did exist once; first it was bakelite, then around 1930 plastic appeared and changed the world! Here's a quick checklist for plastic...
  
  
  • On the bottom of each plastic container, there's a recycle triangle symbol with a number in. Avoid numbers 3, 6 & 7 for storing food, especially hot, fatty food, as they can leach hormone disrupting chemicals bisphenol-a (BPA) and phthalate (DEHP) into food.
  • For plastic bags and wrap, Saran and Gladwrap brands advertise they are food safe.

• Cold feet made comfy and warm:
  Gumboots, often called wellies can be cold to wear even with thick socks on. Recycle some of those thin styrofoam trays from the supermarket. Easy to cut to shape, just put your foot on a foam tray and score the outline with a pen or blunt knife.
  
  

  Also good for gumboots that have sprung a leak. And for biodegradable innersoles, corrugated cardboard works well too.

Garlic & Parsley Toast

Seriously, deliciously cool food for breakfast, lunch, or cut in thins to serve with a dip.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 small cloves garlic, grated or chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley leaves
• pinch red pepper flakes or fine chopped fresh chilli to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 slices wholemeal/sourdough bread

Method

1. Mix well together in a small bowl the olive oil, garlic, parsley, chilli, and salt.
2. Spread mixture evenly over one side of each slice of bread.
3. Toast bread in a 450°F toaster oven or regular oven until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
4. Serve immediately.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 4 minutes
Serves: 4

Happy gardening,
Megan