April in your gorgeous edible garden
April in your Gorgeous Edible Garden
We can’t believe how fast the year is zipping along. Here in Wānaka we have had weeks of divine endless still, sunny days and we feel very grateful for the amazing weather. This has meant our growing season has carried on just as well as the amazing weather and the harvesting of edible goodness has been incredible. This brings me much joy & a lot of whipping up wonderful creations in the kitchen to ensure nothing is wasted.
With plenty of harvesting in the garden, starting with the autumn tidy and seed collecting, this month has been busy.
In this issue:
- Beating Jack Frost
- The Bean Scene
- Keep up the Beets
Beating Jack Frost: This is the time of year when we can easily be caught out by the arrival of Jack Frost dropping in unexpectedly. Once we get the first decent frost you can abruptly say goodbye to many of the edibles we have been enjoying so much. Make sure you stay ahead of the game and keep harvesting your edibles regularly such as your berries, tomatoes and your courgettes. If you are harvesting more than you need, check out all the divine recipes online with ways to use them. Our freezer is now filled with slow roasted Ratatouille and yummy tomato sauces ready to use over the coming winter months.
The Bean Scene: We have had the most amazing runner bean season and if your plants are like mine there are still a few lingering green beans, on the vines. These are absolute gold, so just leave them on the plants to dry and go brown. Once the pods are brown and papery, pick them, (I leave mine whole) and pop them into a dry airtight space, ready to be sown next Spring.
Keep up the Beets.
In order to get as much green goodness as we can while the soil is still warm, keep planting the likes of the beets, kales and spinach in your edible gardens. I am still planting lettuces, mizuna, rocket and mesclun in my glasshouse, to keep the salad supply going for as long as I can. If you are like me, I can’t bear the thought of buying salad in a plastic bag, that’s likely travelled across the country in a truck. We can all play our part by growing some greens at home and just think of the freshness, taste and nutritional value we get as well by doing this.
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In the meantime keep enjoying the your gorgeous garden.
Until next month,
Anna xxx
