One of the great joys of growing your own food is being able to harvest tender young veggies just hours before they’re to be served up on a platter. A few steamed new potatoes, a couple of baked baby gem or butternut squashes, a handful of sugared berries (raspberries and youngberries are delectably in fruit now) – that’s all it takes to add a Masterchef touch to your dinner table, with a few squash and nasturtium flowers as cheerful edible garnish.
If you have no outdoor growing space, drop by an accredited garden centre and gift yourself a windowsill pot (or few) of the obvious favourites like sage, rosemary, lavender, mint and thyme which can be grown and ready for snipping for your Christmas meal!
What to plant
Sow seeds of short-season summer crops like spring onions and basil. Both will flourish in containers on a sunny balcony and they’ll grow even better if they’re all planted together in the same pot. The science of companion planting is a fascinating one to explore – learning how one type of veggie improves the flavour of another growing nearby, or helps attract beneficial insects (or ward off nuisances) to its different-species companions.
In the kitchen garden now
Water regularly to be sure your vegetables don’t suffer during hot and dry summer days. Spray deciduous fruit trees against fruit fly, and tomatoes and squash against leaf diseases such as blight and mildew if they’re a problem. The best disease prevention is healthy plants – try liquid fertiliser and foliar sprays as instant pick-me-up feeding options, and irrigate early in the morning, avoiding splashing the leaves. Harvest runner beans regularly to encourage more to grow, and sow more every two weeks or so to ensure a continuous harvest through the summer.
Recipe
We love courgettes – this delicious veggie is light and delicately flavoured to blend in with an array of different taste sensations.
Mix together (all ingredients at room temperature): 400g thinly sliced courgettes, 50g grated cheese (gruyere is yum), a little garlic, fresh chopped herbs (thyme, chives), salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and a ½ cup of double cream. Tip into a buttered baking dish, spread sour cream over the top (½–1 cup, depending on the diameter of the dish) and sprinkle with parmesan and paprika. Bake gently at 150°C for 45 minutes. Delicious with a leafy salad for an elegant lunch, or as a side dish to accompany a more substantial meal.
For more information on bringing life to your garden, visit the Life is a Garden website or join the conversation on their Facebook page.
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