Regrowing Bok Choy !

Regrowing Bok Choy !
When you buy bok choy or any other Chinese greens you can cut the bottom of and put it on a tray with a little water and they will start to grow again...I planted them into my vegetable garden yesterday ...One of my lovely readers who posted a comment on another blog post I did on regrowing spinach said she regrows bok choy ..so do I but I forgot to add that to my list but thought I would post and show you all...Pretty much like free food really ..I save any meat trays I get and use them for this...

Re-Grow Spinach from Spinach Roots !

Spinach-Free Food !
When we buy English spinach from the shop it comes with all the roots,like you can see in the photo.. You can cut all the roots off and replant them in your garden or in a pot and you will have free spinach ...
In the photos below you will see I have one where I have planted all the spinach roots in our vegetable garden just yesterday and the photo below that is the new spinach growing in a pot which I planted about  a month ago ...so why waste it ...
This can be done with so many other vegetables..
Who else does this ...what other vegetables do you replant ..some I have replanted are celery, onions, garlic& beetroots.

Our First Fully Enclosed Vegetable Garden Completed !

This is our first fully enclosed vegetable garden which is made from recycling our old rainwater tank that was hit by lightning in 2010..which you can see here if interested here. As we live on a semi rural property we have not been able to grow any food as every time we try all the native animals eat it before we get a chance to ...So this one is fully enclosed so no native animals should be able to get in and eat our gorgeous organically grown food ...This has taken a long time to complete because I have been and still are sick with Lyme and we have been trying to work out the most environmental and cost effect way to complete it...As we have lots of peppermint trees growing on our property we decided to use them, they are free and no toxic chemicals can leach into our garden..So as you can see peppermint trunks are around the edges and across the top, sort of like spokes which they will be great to hang all my strawberry bags I plan on making to really maximize the whole space...Then it is fully enclosed with bird wire..cost so far has been $135 for a 50 metre roll of wire(plus a little extra we need to complete the roof and a piece found on the kerbside that we used for the door)... ...we were considering getting soil in but decided we would just use the virgin soil already there and slowly build it up with worm juice and compost and then chicken manure when we get our chickens... So far I have planted bok choy and pak choy, parsley, broccoli, english spinach, lettuce and carrots.. I will post another photo when things are all growing well...I cannot wait...

wow this was 3 years ago ...hard to believe..

we have 4 big rings that Kev cut from our big rainwater tank...one will be the chook pen...

This is a photo of Jack in the tank...hard to believe again ...he is 10 now...

Dont Throw Away The Base Of Your Celery ! Why not grow more celery !

Grow More Celery For No Cost !
When you chop the base of your celery off, put it into a tray with a little water and wait for it to start sprouting knew leaves then plant it into your vegetable garden. You can harvest a few leaves or stems as you want them. How Cool is this it's like free food. I also do this with beetroot tops and the base of a lettuce which you can see in here also. What else do people grow from things they have bought from the shops.

Choko's From The Lovely Barb

Choko's from the lovely Barb! 
A few weeks ago I called in to visit the lovely Barb from Barb's backyard. Her garden is very impressive she grows just about every thing imaginable and I finally got to meet her, she is a such gorgeous person please drop bye and visit her blog. Barb gave me some choko's from her garden and a few mornings later I peeled a few and I lightly fried some up in a little extra virgin olive oil then I served them in a bowl with my celtic salt and a grinding of fresh pepper it was yummy.. I haven't used choko's very much over the years only on a few occasions once I made an apple and pear crumble and added some choko's which was really nice. So as you can see from my second photo I planted two of them so I will have my own crop of choko's hopefully next Autumn. They were growing like weeds at Barb's place so I hope mine do as well, I have planted them in an old rainwater tank that is fully enclosed with chicken wire around star pickets.I'd love to hear any one else who cooks with choko's what do they make with them. They pretty well take on any flavour they are similar in taste to zucchinis....

Growing Coriander + Make Your Own Coriander Seed Packets!

This is last years coriander crop!
On Friday I planted my summer batch of coriander seeds, depends on where you live, here in the South West of Western Auistralia, best time to plant is summer and spring. Coriander can be quite expensive buying it fresh in the shops for such a tiny bunch, when its so easy to grow your own, even if space is limited grow in a pot on your balcony. Here is the really great tip to save you money and supply all your friends and family with coriander. I buy my seeds in bulk for $1.50 for 250 grams, then you can make up little packets of seeds and give to family and friends, send them in a card for a birthday or thank you gift, this can also be done with lots of other seeds. You can also buy little packets of seeds from your supermarket spice section. After growing your coriander let some go to seed for the next growing season.

Free Food !

Free Food !
When I buy beetroot, before I cook them I cut the tops off and plant them, as they grow I harvest the leaves as required. They are great tossed through salads the red stalks add a lovely colour to your salads. They are also very nutritious, so I say why waste the tops when you can grow them and get free food. This can be done with some other foods, that you buy.

Our First Harvest Of Broad Beans !

Our First Harvest Of Broad Beans !
This was our first harvest of broad beans, We've never grown them before and DP loves them. I lightly steamed them for about 2 minutes then drizzled a little bit on my home made salad dressing which is made from extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a little honey . They were delicious and so quick and easy to prepare, I love dishes that taste great with so little effort. I've never cooked them any other way. I read a recipe from another Simple Saver Mimi who makes a broad bean dip, I may try that one if we get excess beans! If any one has any great recipes using broad beans please post them .
Here is another recipe I came across I haven't tried it yet, I don't usually put recipes on my blog that I haven't tried but it sounds nice I may make it this weekend and report back with the results.

Broad Bean Patties

2 cups fresh young broad beans

1/3 cup onions

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup Italian parsley

1/3 cup fresh coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch hot chili flakes

1 tsp sea salt

oil for shallow frying

Just process all ingredients together,

make patties and shallow fry.

Growing Herbs

Growing Herbs !
If you live in a unit/flat and don't have a yard,then grow pots of herbs on a sunny window sill in side.
I found a use for my 1 kilo yoghurt containers !
Put the pots of herbs inside the yoghurt pots, that way there will be no mess on your window sills.

Always Have Spring Onions !

Always Have Spring Onions !
If you are like me, when I buy spring onions I end up throwing half away. When I buy onions if any start to sprout in the cupboard I plant them in the garden. When I need spring onions I chop off what I need for my recipe . I use them mostly for  garnishing dishes or I  toss them  through a salad.
Note: They are always fresh and no more waste !