April 2022 Issue #200

Hello,

What fun that we both love gardening. Thanks for joining me.

1) Good footprints
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Beetroot Mould/Mold

Eco gardening tips

• Let's have lemons
  Citrus fruit give us vitamins, especially vit C, so hopefully most gardens have a place for one or more fruit trees, including a lemon at least. For the first year, it's worth thinning out the fruit so the tree can put its energy into forming a solid root system. Also feed and water well, with several good long soaks during dry weather. Fruit dropping off is usually caused by lack of water in dry spells.




• Tidy and clean
  Need to plant something into mulched ground? Here's how to dig the hole: Scrape away the mulch first, then lay down an old sack, sheet or some cardboard next to where you will be digging. Pile the soil onto the sack etc, so that it doesn't mix in with your mulch. Sometimes with dug up soil, old weed seeds can germinate. You don't want that to happen amongst your mulch!




• Well watered
  And another thing when planting…. after you've dug the hole and before you put in your tree or clump of rhubarb/lemongrass/etc, fill the hole with water. This ensures that the water soaks the surrounding soil. If you fail to do this, it's possible that after planting and watering, that water will be drawn to any dry soil nearby and wont be available for your new planting.

Best Vegetable Peeler

You only need this one multi-functional peeler. It grates, planes, slices ...it's all you need to prepare your vegetables for eye-catching salads and cooking.

Made of stainless steel, it's a high quality, sturdy and comfortable kitchen essential.

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Beetroot Mould

From the National Archives of Australia comes this dinner party recipe from the 8th edition of the Green and Gold Cookery Book, sold in 1936!

Ingredients

• 2 dessertspoons (½ oz) Davis gelatine
• 2 average sized beets, cooked
• 1¼ cups hot water
• ½ cup vinegar
• salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

Method

1. Peel and slice beetroot.
2. Line a mould with the slices and fill in the center with small pieces of beetroot.
3. Dissolve gelatine in hot water, add salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar. Leave to thicken slightly, then pour over the beetroot.
4. When set and turned out, serve garnished with shredded lettuce and sliced tomato. Also nice served with mayonnaise dressing.
5. If liked, can use more vinegar and less water in proportion. Can also use agar agar instead of gelatine.
6. This recipe can be varied by replacing some of the beetroot with other vegetables, such as sliced tomato, cooked green peas, thinly sliced onion, etc.

Preparation time: Approximately 15-30 minutes
Serves: 6

Live, love and garden
Megan