SpinachThis is a quick and easy recipe for creamed spinach.  It’s one of the best ways to use your own home grown spinach.

I can promise you that when you pick the spinach fresh from your own garden it will taste far better than any bought spinach!

I don’t have to tell you about the many health benefits of spinach which are long reputed to be unbeatable.

Suffice it to say that spinach is packed with the best vitamins and protects us against many of the dread diseases.

All that in a bunch of spinach?

Yes! And here’s a delicious way to take advantage of those health benefits. Read the rest of this entry »

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Amaryllis on the patioMost people buy their Amaryllis plants from nurseries when they are in full flower because they are so spectacular.

But this is unnecessarily expensive particularly if you would like to have a collection of amaryllis flowers in different colours. In this case, you should think about purchasing a few bulbs.

Amaryllis Bulbs

Make sure that you buy the largest bulbs as mature bulbs will give you the biggest flowers. Smaller bulbs may skip a season before they flower and disappoint you.

As soon as you have planted your amaryllis bulbs – remember not to plant them too deep – water them thoroughly and allow the soil surface to dry a bit before watering them again. Read the rest of this entry »

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AmaryllisAmaryllis flowers have become increasingly popular as gift plants, undoubtedly because the bulbs bloom so freely on garden patios as well as indoors.

The large, showy flowers make a bold statement and are available in a large variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.

Amaryllis are not difficult to grow.  You can bring them into bloom every year if you treat the plants correctly.

You can keep your amaryllis indefinitely, and if you can provide the right conditions for growth and dormancy, your bulb will get larger and multiply itself over the years.

Large bulbs may produce as many as three flower stalks and some bulbs may bloom during the summer as well as during the winter, depending on the temperature and other growing conditions.

But in the main, they are very easy to grow.  And this is one of the best features of the amaryllis. Read the rest of this entry »

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Quite a few gardeners believe in planting by the moon.


Planting by the moonPlanting  by the moon means that you take into consideration the phases of the moon before you do your planting.

Gardeners who plant by the moon also tend to harvest,  cultivate or deal with pests according to the phases of the moon.

Here in the southern hemisphere, the 22nd September is Spring Equinox day when knowledgeable organic and moon gardeners arrange to do their planting.

It’s supposed to be a very favourable time for planting because moon gardeners believe that plants thrive hugely when they are planted this way.

Well, I don’t know if planting by the moon works or not but I was willing to try.  So I prepared the soil carefully with compost the week before.  All my garden beds were ready and waiting for the important day.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Pumpkin frittersHere  is my pumpkin fritter recipe. These fritters are easy to make and they really are delicious – especially when you have grown the pumpkins in  your own garden!

The fritters always turn out puffy and golden brown.

My Easy Pumpkin Fritters

2 cups mashed pumpkin (500gm)
½ cup flour (125gm)
2 level teaspoons baking powder,
Pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
A little milk if the consistency is too tight.

Mix well and drop with a tablespoon into hot oil. Lightly brown both sides.
Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with cinnamon and sugar. Read the rest of this entry »

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PumpkinPumpkins are surprisingly easy to grow. I proved it and I’ll tell you how it all happened.

I kept a few pumpkin seeds from a really good pumpkin we had bought at the supermarket.  I knew that pumpkin vines needed a lot of space. So I planted just 6 seeds at the bottom of my garden.

Our garden slopes towards the bottom boundary so they were well out of sight and I forgot about them until a few weeks later when I saw some big healthy pumpkin leaves.

It didn’t take long before yellow pumpkin flowers started to develop and soon one plant in particular began to trail down the slope bearing lots of little white pumpkins. Read the rest of this entry »

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