Seeds of Change

While we have been watching our summer veggie plants slowly start to fade away, we have been developing a new plan for our front garden, replacing 2 large beds with 3 or 4 smaller ones, intending to no longer grow messy forests, but a more sedate, sensible patches, set on a 4 year rotation plan.


With corn, pumpkin, tomatoes, etc still growing, we aren't in a position yet to put these plans into action, but have started some of the plant preparation by planting seeds.


Last year, I saw an interview by Jane Edmanson (who I love) with a Melbourne suburban gardener on ABC Gardening Australia.  This gardener suggested planting vegetable seeds in empty toilet rolls, with the holder and all being planted into the ground to avoid damaging the seedling roots when removing it from a plastic seedling container, with the holder dissintergrating into the soil as the plant grows.  I was worried that the soil would fall out with using the toilet roll holders as they are, and so looked for a way to use the toilet roll holders, but enclose the bottom end and came upon this method:


Take 1 toilet roll

Flatten out:

Flatten again, to give four creases equally spaces around the cylinder:

This gives you a squarish shaped roll:

Make small cuts on each of the four edges:

This leaves you with 4 flaps.
Fold these into the cylinder:

Then fold out to be left with the planter.

It may seem like a lot of effort, especially to make enough to make a difference to a small garden but I made them watching tv or when the internet was running slowly and got through heaps in no time.


I've marked some of these with a B, and planted them out with broccoli - Mr Fothergill's Broccoli Red Arrow Sprouting - we had great success with these plants a few years ago - it is more like a purple reddish brocollini and made prolific crops, giving us brocollini for most meals for a few months.  The strange colour was helpful given where possible we try to follow the 'Daniel Diet' philosophy of eating 5 different coloured veggies with dinner (to increase the different nutrients being consumed).  I also planted leek, as it the basis for my favourite soups, and some pots of spinach, as well as some flowers (stock and nigella) for the back garden.

This weeks harvest has included:
- Asparagus - steamed lightly and used for dipping in runny boiled eggs, in the manner I've read about in chocolateandzucchini.com - very french, very easy and very yummy.
-  Mini pumpkins.  These grow quickly and take up less room than standard pumpkins and I think we'll opt for these as the only pumpkins we grow next summer.

I used some of the small pumpkins to make the following soup:


LEEK, CHICKPEA AND PUMPKIN SOUP
Dash of olive oil
1 small leek
2 mini pumpkins chopped, seeds removed
4 carrots chopped (added because I didn't have enough pumpkin to make the amount of soup required for dinner..)
1 cup chickpeas
dollop of tomato paste
Chicken Stock to cover veggies in pot


Fry up leek in oil, 
Add carrots, chickpeas and pumkpin and lightly fry
Then add stock and tomato paste and boil until the veggies soften, then wizz up using a handheld mixer.


This week, to make the soup, I used the chickpeas left over from making these brownies:


CHICKPEA BROWNIES:

1.5 cups chocolate

2 cups chickpeas (1.25 tins -I have used dried chickpeas rehydrated for this recipe but these did not work as well as tinned -might need to add extra water)

4 eggs

1 cup sugar (brown sugar if you want a caramelly flavour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Melt chocolate (~2mins in microwave)

Whizz up chickpeas and eggs in food processor until very smooth

Add sugar, chocolate, baking powder and mix thoroughly

Pour into pan (8 inch cake tin)

Cook for 45 mins at 180 degrees


This is very easy and is gluten-free - and has the added benefit of including lentils in a dessert so it isn't all naughty...


This week, I found that accidentally leaving out the eggs in this recipe results in very rich fudge slice that my husband recommends highly.


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Anyway, fingers crossed the seeds will take - will keep you posted on their progress.  
If the toilet roll containers are a flushing success, or at least remain intact, I'll have some plants share.