It’s been a long time since I wrote a post and even longer since I wrote a Monday Harvest post. In a nutshell we’ve been away, mostly to spend time with my partners relatives in the UK but also to Amsterdam, Paris and Shanghai. I get a bit paranoid about posting about holidays on the blog so I figured silence was better than burglary (of course this might also be a convenient excuse for lethargy…..).
6 weeks is a long time to leave garden, even if you have a very helpful next door neighbour to water and generally keep an eye on things. When I left I planted out a few seedlings and just left the perennials to reappear after their winter hibernation. This is what I had to eat upon my return.
Lots of herbs (not all pictured). The parsley was bolting but still had lots of edible leaves. Ditto the coriander. The oregano and tarragon had started growing and were looking great. And the much abused mint was happy in its what would be its 6th, and counting, home.
The lettuces and silver beet I planted out pre departure had reached edible size.
But most interesting were all the things that I hadn’t planted that were starting to appear. Beans, lots of them, tomatoes (to be expected), flowers – Cosmos in particular, coriander, the occasional pepper and these parsnips that germinated during winter but were now ready for harvest.
I will try and post more regularly now that I am back and gardening again. In the meantime I will reply to all the comments that I have had since I last posted. Apologies for the delay but I will try and respond. In the meantime check out what others are harvesting by visiting Daphne’s Dandelions and following all the links.
On an administrative note: Due to the number of spammers registering on my site I am having to delete all the sites users. If you registered to receive email updates by registering as a user then you will need to click on the Subscribe icon to ensure you continue to notifications about new posts.
I’m the same when we are away from the house but as it is rarely for long I set up scheduled posts to give the impression that I am around, Where did you visit in the UK?
Hi Liz; Welcome back. I’ve missed you. A real gardener wouldn’t be daunted by a 6-week absence, so I hope you will be back “up to speed” very soon.
Ah yes, but I’m not a ‘real’ gardener, more an on again off again novice who likes eating veg…and fruit…and herbs….
Hi Liz, great to see so much harvesting going on, even with this all over the shop weather! Ive had so many people coming to me and asking how they can prevent the coriander and parsley from bolting – its been particularly bad this year! I wrote a post to help everyone out which I thought you might like to read- http://bit.ly/1nTID3k
Coriander I always struggle with but I haven’t been as diligent as following your two week method – something I will attempt this summer. Parsley only bolts in early spring in Melbourne so is reasonably easy to predict…getting around to sowing seed at the right moment is a different challenge….
Wow, it’s good to see you post again!!! I’d hate to leave my garden for 6 weeks, but it sounds like you did some great traveling. Hopefully the garden won’t be too hard to whip into shape now that you are back. And I know what you mean about not advertising your absence. I’m funny like that too! 😉
Thanks Dave. Actually my garden was in such a mess by the time that I left (mainly due to too much work, too little gardening) that I admit to being quite glad to leave it. I think I needed the break too – I have planted out quite a few things since our return and I’m generally getting back into the swing of it all.
Hope you had a great time on your trip. I’ve got to get out tomorrow morning and pick more herbs to dry. I’m almost out of dried sage and winter hasn’t even started.
That has reminded me that I need to buy a new plant – I managed to kill the last one and I do enjoy eating it.
The garden can sometimes get all encompassing and what you need is a nice long break from it to recharge your batteries & regain that enthusiasm…I always think of winter in that way.
Its interesting – I’ve always really valued our ability to grow things year round but there are definitely advantages of your ‘down time’ as well.
Welcome back! Amazing to see you have been away but still have an enviable harvest! I have to pull up parsnips too, before they go to seed. Hope to see more harvests from you.
Nice to see your post Liz! I’ve just lifted a massive crop of parsnip and have to work out how to store it. Any tips? Sounds like an amazing trip, that can knock the stuff in’ out of you too for a bit. Hope the garden behaves for you, it is good to have a break as with most things you return with a fresh set of eyes and mindset. 🙂
I have to laugh reading this – I’ve just finished writing a post about what happened to that parsnip, but it didn’t have a happy ending…..
Can’t wait to read it!
Good to see you back Liz. Hope you had a good trip – if I’d known you were over this way, I’d have suggested you drop round for a ‘cuppa’ and a chat! Your garden sounds to have been very well behaved in your absence… and now you get to enjoy the new growth and harvests – both good things to come home to.
A cuppa and a chat would have been lovely.