How does your garden grow?
The garden is pretty much how NhillBillies Gourmet Treats all got started....
Over the last couple of years the size of the garden has grown quite a bit, with a variety of locations now as well as offering a few varieties of vegetables that are not available through our local shopping outlets.
This all started as food for the table, hobbies and a lot of experimenting. I have a serious recipe magazine addiction and have tried to justify this by cooking at least one recipe out of each book. This proved difficult when trying to find some of the ingredients in our small rural location.
My family has the space with each location on large house blocks so the garden just took off.
I have to acknowledge my mum here, as she does most of the hard yards with the seed propagation and nurturing the plants until they are mature enough to be planted out in the garden. Dad assisted with the creation of an old spring frame bed on wheels which is a day bed for the seedlings and can be wheeled around to capture the sun, so we are pretty much a resourceful bunch.
As members of the Diggers Club and through sourcing specialty seeds through The Italian Gardener each season looks after us pretty well and now not only supplies enough for the table and to hand out to friends but is a good source for NhillBillies Gourmet Treats.
We save seeds from each season to ensure that there is always plenty to go around and to use for a seed bank especially when particular items have grown really well in our conditions.
sometimes nature gives us a giggle...
As I channel my inner Italian Market Gardener....check out these giant parsnips that measure the full width of my kitchen sink.... now where is that recipe for parsnip chutney????
and I cannot forget the hard work of my little feathered friends... who put a new definition to the term "free range"...
meet Rocky and the gang... these little guys work tireless to eradicate bugs and critters from the garden and help to work the soil over, demolish garden clean ups and kitchen scraps in record time... then reward me with a couple of eggs every day... they are the recycle guru's!!!
so if you are looking for some balance in your life, or just feel you could benefit from being outside a bit more...
PLANT A GARDEN!!!
The rewards are endless.
Not only will you reduce your food bills but you will be so much healthier for it!
some handy links to help get you started..
