A free monthly resource from the wonderful world of gardening; giving you tips, recipes and reminders to make your garden grow!

Hello,

What fun that you and I both love the topic of gardening. Thanks for joining me on this adventure. For any questions or feedback, just click on reply on the top toolbar of this email.

1) Greed IS good!
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Fruity Lemonade

Greed IS good!

Growing organic veggies enriches the wellbeing of us and others.

The more we cultivate and spread this practice, the closer we get to stopping the farming methods that, for a start, cause the disastrous runoffs of nitrates, phosphates and pesticides... which poison, deplete oxygen and cause unnatural growth in water supplies.

So with not enough clean water and good soil to grow safe food, and too much credit in the world... out the door we go... let the veritable vegetable rise to save the world!

Vegetables, in fact food as you've never seen it before. Check out Carl Warner and click on Print Sales. Truly mind boggling to think of the patience to make these scenes of food.

Southern hemisphere: It's enjoyable growing vines such as zucchini, cucumbers, melons and pumpkins. Don't leave it any later to get yours in now, and it won't be long before they get to that fun, rampant stage. Try growing an "Atlantic Giant" pumpkin if you've got a large patch of deep compost in full sun.

Northern hemisphere: There's nothing like Chinese vegetables, such as the good old standby of Pak Choy, to provide a long season of leaf pickings. It still may be warm enough to get some Pak Choy plants in, and depending on your climate, they will provide you with a great crop from early spring and into next summer.

Eco gardening tips

• Water and chlorine:
  Tap water has chlorine in it, but if you leave it standing in light and air for at least 1 hour, the chlorine dissipates. Sunlight speeds this process up and boiling the water dissipates the chlorine instantly.
  
  

  If you don't use a filter in your kitchen, keep a glass jug filled with water for drinking — and for plants use a bucket or similar outside. In summer don't let water sit for more than 5 days outside, otherwise mozzies may breed.

• More dribbles of water:
  Speaking of hoses, who hasn't had, or seen a discarded holey hose? Good, grab it and poke some more holes in it, block off the end (you can buy shut-off doodackys) and trail this recycled hose under bushes or around water loving plants.
  
  

  Now turn on tap gently and you have a soaker hose. If there is a large split, tape it up with electrical tape and Bob's your uncle.

• Tomatoes:
  Last month's tip about burying tomato stems doesn't apply to grafted tomatoes. You want the superior rootstock to grow the roots because it has been bred for strong growth and to resist fungal infections. You don't want the grafted plant on top to be growing roots.
  
  

  Grafted plants are usually high producers, although if you save the seeds, you will not get the same results the next season.

With lemon trees dripping with fruit and the last of the stored apples in the shops down here in NZ, this is a good time to try out some summer drinks. Here's a beaut semi lemonade that tastes better than the real thing but without the sugar.

Fruity Lemonade

   - 6 apples, sweeter the better
   - ½ lemon

Method

1. Wash and cut apples into chunks
2. Wash ½ lemon and cut into chunks, peel and all
3. Put through juicer
4. Add ice-blocks if desired

Alternatively, put the apples, lemon and enough water in your blender and high speed it until mixture is smooth, then freeze. Eat as semi-frozen sorbet or ice-blocks. Add the whole lemon if you like more lemon flavour and tartness.

Preparation: 8 minutes

Serves: 2 glasses

Happy gardening

Megan