This issue: White Fruit Trees? Classes Coming Up Kra Chai- a recipe for you. Plants for sale: What to do with Turmeric A New Organic Store for Gardeners What To Plant in August and more...
Welcome to a beautiful August everyone. With lockdown it has been very quiet around here. I’m sure many of you are in lockdown of some sort and are wondering what to do next. I’ve been choosing to garden. I have a long list of things to do and while I thought I'd get it all done in a couple of days, it’s taking me forever!!! It doesn’t help that I keep adding things to my list now does it? The upshot of it all is that the garden will be looking simply wonderful when lockdown finishes and classes begin again. I’ve got news on classes below, so please book in and support my little business. Growing food and becoming a little more self-sufficient is a great feeling in uncertain times.
And check out more on the Ecobotanica website. Click below for a direct link.
Saturday 4 September 10-4pm Natural Beeswax creations We are going all natural and making lotions, moisturisers and wax wraps that include organic and all natural beeswax. Sun 17th Oct 1-4.30 pm Garden To Table Class We will harvest from our garden on the day and convert fresh fruit and veg to freshly preserved snacks and meals. Sunday 26 September 1-4pm Edible Flower Gardens and Delightful Drinks A Garden tour, afternoon tea and special floral drinks class.
Sunday 17 October 1-4.30 Garden to Pantry Class Enjoy a pantry brimming with preserves and snacks from your garden at this class. We will harvest and prep a range of goodies.
Sunday 31st October 10-4.30 pm Your Summer Organic Garden of Plenty Grow exceedingly good fruit and veg over summer. Here's how to do it.
Saturday 20th November 10-1pm Organic Pest & Disease Control Class Find out how to control pests and diseases organically. Brilliant for all organic gardeners.
Sat 27 November 2-4.45 Festive Edible Flowers Tour, afternoon tea & Growing class We celebrate fine floral food and growing your own flowers . Take your own home with you.
Sunday 5th December 1-4.30 Christmas Botanical Mocktails & Canapes Celebrate Christmas with your own fabulous pretty drinks and snacks that will delight.
Krai chai is one of the many names for this handsome relative of ginger that gives the authentic Thai flavour to curry pastes and soups. It’s also called Finger root, Lesser Galangal and Chinese Keys. When growing in summer, the leaves are about 40 cm tall, broad and exotic and deeply green. They can be grown in pots or in the ground in a sunny spot. It’s quite rare to buy as a fresh product, with the result that most of it is purchased in jars as brined fingers of the root. The brining process does reduce the rich and lemony peppery flavour, so its best used fresh or frozen. I have a great recipe for home made Thai curry paste and a vegetarian curry at the link below. Buy some roots from me or grow your own from plantlets. At $20 per kilo you’ll love the results Click here to order yours
We have lots of the most fabulous organic turmeric for sale. It's organically grown here on our property and I can’t encourage you enough to purchase your own stash of this pure gold perfection. At just $30 per kilo it’s a bargain, and about 1/3rd of the price in the stores. You can call and collect from me here in Capalaba or I can post you some.
I drink turmeric daily in tea, hot milk and in an Indonesian Health Drink, called a Jamu. It’s truly wonderful to reduce pain and inflammation. I use it fresh or dried. With excess turmeric, I process it into crumbles and dry it on a cool setting in the dehydrator then blend it into a powder for use through the year.
Gardening has been at the forefront of my mind and helps to settle the worries of having to cancel classes in lockdown.
During the lockdown I’ve run out of some key items and I’m delighted to say that my friends Ruth and Mark from Oz Home Yard have stepped in for me and topped up my organic supplies again. This business stocks a wide range of organic gardening products, including fertilisers, pest control, tools and those things like gardening aprons that we need to keep our clothes clean and tools all in the right place.
I love that they are organic, as I can order from them and know my produce remains organic.
It’s worth taking a look at their shop of garden goodies. It was established during Covid and stands as a testament to a family business that just gets in and meets a need even in the toughest times.
Their garden is booming too, producing more than they need. So being neighbours in our street, we have swapped fresh veg. Their pumpkins are superb! Here’s a link to the Oz Home Yard Store. https://ozhomeyard.com.au/home They offer home delivery in the Redlands area during lockdown or you can opt for Courier delivery if you are further afield.
August has rolled around again, and we start to see things change on the garden. New buds are bursting on the deciduous plants like the Mulberries and Hibiscus mutabilis (Confederate Rose) and the beautiful Apple and Nectarine blossoms are out already.
Click below to find out the perfect plants for sowing and growing now
