Enjoy your Harvest - Eat A Rainbow
In the photo: beans, capsicum, squash, carrots and rocket
The different colours in fruits and vegetables show the presence of vitamins, so 'eat a rainbow' every day to get your share.
Recipe
Sanitarium's recipe for Sesame Polenta with Salsa would make a great lunch, or serve it with salad for a main meal. You could add a little cold chopped chicken to the salsa if you have some. Polenta is a dry coarsely ground corn meal, which is cooked like porridge then baked. It is often sold in the bulk section of the supermarket or places like Bin Inn. Spanish onions are also known as red onions - they are sweeter and milder than brown onions, so are often used raw. You could be using corn, tomato, capsicum and perhaps coriander from your garden in this recipe - coriander prefers spring and autumn's coolness. If you like chilis, add some finely chopped chili into the salsa - home grown of course! The salsa would also work well served in a wrap- you could add some lettuce, etc from your garden
In your garden this week:
In the photo: harvesting tomatoes and silverbeet at Grandview Community Garden
Where to get woodchipping mulch
At Treescape, 91 Riverlea Road phone (07) 857 0280 Hamilton you can buy bulk wood chipping mulch for your garden. They are open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5pm. A trailer load costs $15.00 and they can usually load up your trailer for you.
Watering well
There is another dry week ahead in the Waikato. Careful watering is so important to keep your vegetables going. Zuccini, beans, tomatoes and most other vegetables will keep producing if you water them carefully.
Remember:
- Water in the evening so it has all night to soak in
- Give each plant half a bucket each.
- water slowly so it soaks right in
- Water veges twice a week, fruit trees once a week
In the photo: watering zuccini
Look out for cabbage butterfly
Are your cabbages full of holes? Look under the leaves or in the middle of the plant for green caterpillars.They live on cabbages,broccoli and pak choi. If you find any - squash them!
Planting out seedlings
The hot weather is hard for baby plants. Here are some tips for successful transplanting:
- Plant in the evening if you can
- Water the planting hole before you plant, and water the plant in afterwards
- tear off a few leaves. This stops the seedling losing too much water when its planted. New leaves soon grow.
- Make some temporary shade for each seedling:
In the photo: shade made from bamboo leaves for the seedlings
What to sow now
Silverbeet, celery, pak choi, lettuce, spring onions,spinach, beetroot, peas, leeks
In the photo:celery
Look around for specials on seeds. Palmers on Lincoln St Hamilton have 5 packets of McGregors seeds for $10.00 this week.
At Grandview Community Garden this week
Join us to sow vegetable seeds, water and mulch your garden or start gardening with us! Thursday February 21st 6pm to 7.30pm and Saturday February 23rd 8am to 10am
In the photo : sowing vegetable seeds at Grandview Community Garden
Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat. Bring tools and seeds if you have them.
Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)
Get in touch if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors
What's Happening in the Region
Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival
Road To Resilience on saturday the 23rd in the Sustainbale Backyard, is free event where you can watch a fruit tree pruning demonstration,
see how to build a top-bar bee hive and learn about Time Banking. You can even buy a scone cooked in the earth oven!
Happy Gardening!
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