Hamburg Parsely - a taste test

Before I begin, dad dug these up early because he was amending the patch and the greens had been more than decimated by snails.

I microwaved them for about a minute and ate them, i still had a chinotto flavour in my mouth so that may have skewed the results. They were tiny, only a sample! haha...

 

Ok the ends were woody.
They taste like a weaker carrot with a peppery undertone without the spicyness and less sweet and an almost more starchy consistency, strangely getting a hint of banana though... Interesting. 

---NOTE I have never tasted parsnip other than in a soup once so it could very well taste like parsnip?

Getting Ready for Spring!

So I planted my first batch of spring seeds a few days ago as the weather seems to be warmer and the fruit trees are starting to blossom!

Dill
thyme
lettuce leaf basil
sage
walbergia
parcel
yellow stuffed tomatoes
tigerella
black salsify
butter crunch
vulgaris cress (natural dead end crop)
mesclun
grande rapid lettuce
heirloom variety tomatoes
black nightshade
nasturtium (edible flower, whole plant actually)
capsicum heirloom varieties
upland cress
rocket
sunflowers (giant russian)


stupice (good for low sun)
green tigerella tomatoes (big yield)
lucerne sequel (green manure)
crimson forest onions
indigo rose tomatoes
winged beans (entirely edible)
salad burnet (tastes a bit like cucumber apparently.)
yellow and red pear tomatoes
summer savoury (peppery)
snow white tomatoes
pepino (melon pear)

I think I should invest in a patio tomato plant also...



My new batch of seeds arrived in the mail- i think i still have a few more to arrive- and my pepino cuttings!

I emptied out some pots. Harvesting the bolted rocket, and bitter black mustard, and giving up on the basil i attempted to overwinter. One basil DID overwinter, in the tiniest pot. I dunno how but it did! So that will have a head start this year, i will collect seeds from it- perhaps its genetically hardy!(then it died...at the very end!)

I have 1 overwintered capsicum which is only now in late August showing signs of distress- but the hot weather is soon among us! (also dried up in a hidden spot)

I will do a lasagna pot method. Newspaper in the bottom, then layers of egg shells and banana peel mainly and other scraps, and newspaper. Then a handful of worms, and mostly done compost for the top layer. This will hopefully set the tomatoes up- which I intend to plant in there.

I repotted some strawberry runners into a vertical bottle garden also.

Took many hours- but not much to show. All in a days work!

Spring is Near

I have decided to be smart this spring and only plant foods that work well in my garden (read- make a decent harvest) and that I or a family member loves to eat. Here are my lists:

NEW/ YET TO BE PLANTED:
Black Salsify
Summer Savoury
Salad Burnet
Asparagus Winged Pea
lucerne (green manure)
Parcel
Toothache Plant
Tiger Nut (chufa)
crimson forest onion
tomatoes- stupice, snow white, yellow pear, green zebra, ...


SUCESSFUL & REPEAT:
Mouse melon (didn't get any mildew or wilting, lots of produce! Delicious)
Borage (already self seeded)
Vermicompost Tower, (doing very well)
Australian yellow stuffing (or another yellow, like snow white-gotta keep the birds and harlequins away)
Lemon
Basil (will focus on producing more)
Lentil- as a cover crop!
Mushoom Herb (Only a few small harvests, but DELICIOUS)
Grape Leaves (Plenty, yum! but half got a black mould, birds ate grapes)
Southern Wormwood (LOVE the scent and tea, barely making it past winter...)
Parsley (more than we will ever need, but it's lovely!)
Nasturtium (2 plants were not enough! Mother loved it, so did leaf miners, bees had a taste, will plant about 4+ next time, hopefully more colours)
Olive Tree (Plenty for canning!)
Purple Broccoli (last year made half our needs, this year nothing yet despite planting double. Keeping 1 for bee flowers)
Sunchoke (delicious roasted, made a nice amount)
Chinese Celery (HEAPS- too much, good in soups. Might dig up some, seriously too much, but attracts lots of carpet beetles and crab spiders and such beneficial insects like hover flies)
Rocket (Bolted fast, need to keep making resows of it.)

OK I'LL KEEP IT:
Stevia (only if it overwinters, here's hoping!) IT DID!
Olive Plant (leaving it in, it's ok to eat, wont die anyway!)
Apricot (WAY too much! I personally would graft the nectarine to this and heavily prune because too much shade and i'm not even fond of the tart stone fruit it produces but my parents disagree)
Oregano (I'll keep it but i don't remember harvesting it because it seemed wooly)
Pineapple sage (flowers are nice, leaves not so much, will keep because it is thriving)
Compost Heap (didn't break down much but was ok, made for some efficacious dark chunky soil.)

SWAPS:
Roman Chamomile (swapping for some noble chamomile)
Other Kales (Curly, Red russian)- it's just not really worth watering as no one likes the taste, maybe a handful instead of a handful of each kind, I'd rather plant cover crops.

Roots. Turnips (1) (They just don't produce in a pot, i'll try in ground - worked!)

Tom Thumb Lettuce (12 were just enough, delish! and grew well, will try a straight leafed butterhead this time for ease of washing and larger size)

Tigerella (might try get some pale ones because the birds beat us to most of our red ones!- also truss style for more harvest)

FAIL AND 2ND ATTEMPT (COS I WANT TO): 
Strawberry Spinach (heat killed it)
Capsicum (seedlings are now about 1.5 years old by spring, they never died in winter, nor did they take off in spring weirdly enough, stayed 5cm tall for 6+ months, only at 20cm now!)- died at the end of winter, i forgot to water them and they were in a shady spot.
Nigella - still haven't managed to germinate ONE! :(
Dark Opal Basil (1. Colour)
Sweet Max Corn (3 and 3 mini ones - I planted too late)
Sunflowers (only in full sun! and Early! Also gotta keep the harlequins away)
Dill - (I HAVE to because we have a vine and love making dolmades!!!)
Snow Peas (the birds will not let out, they can't grow! :'( so yummy though )
Purple King Bean (didn't fruit much because planted late, but nice and colourful!)
Silver Beet (birds wont stop munching new growth, father likes it in soup)
Tomatoes (many succumbed to blossom end rot. Need one that needs less water, also green-white-orange so birds don't get them)
Mints (only to deter rodents really...and occasional use for fish or beverages)
Strawberry (Now that the mother plant is older it is putting out an outrageous amount of flowers! Hopefully this year is the year! Low pollination rate though)
Boisenberry (Few handfuls, hate it but mother loves it)
Persimmon (2- but it was young)
Nectarine (growing because mother loves it, the fruit is usually inferior)
Fig (1, birds took the rest, also in shade, hopefully this year it reaches above the roof)
Marrow - Just 1 plant. The only cucurbit I will try (other than mouse melon) in a pot with reservoir.
Chives- to flower

WAITING FOR HARVEST:
Mangle Wurtzel 
Hamberg Parsley
Lady Fingers Carrot
White River globe onion
Various root veggies

-----------Not Planting:

NOT WORTH IT: 
Chia (barely survived and made 1tsp seeds)
Pigface
Valerian (I hear it smells like socks)
Amaranth (Not yummy and too much effort/shade inducing)
Perino (WAY too small to warrant watering)
Dinosaur Kale (hate the taste, once they die, no more!)
Cornflower - (they are a nice flower, bees don't care for it, neither do I)
Black Nightshade (they produce but are scary to eat)
Georgia Southern Collard - Basically like eating a broccoli leaf, not really worth the space

NOPE. MADE LITTLE/NO HARVEST DUE TO DISEASE: 
Marrow (1 fruit) - but will plant 1 in a pot with reservoir and treat mildew early
Zucchini (3 fruit)

NOPE, MADE LITTLE/NO HARVEST DUE TO CONDITIONS: 
Rosella (too late, died)
Eggplant (not enough sun or water)
Mimosa (finally grew to a decent size but wet feet and cold weather killed it. Pretty happy to give up on this or use it as a novelty if i can be bothered)
Watermelon (2 out of 3 plants made 1 viable fruit)