all in a row - Peta's sweet potatoes

Sweet potato are number 33 on the Environmetnal working Groups list of veggies containing pesticides. This is a very interesting study that can be found at  http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php . Luckily for Peta, and other organic veggie gardeners out there, she does not have to worry about how toxic her food is when it comes straight out of her garden.

Getting back to the list of high pesticide containing veggies, it would be quite useful to incorporate this list when prioritising which veggies get planted at this time of the year. For example, I seldom plant onions unless I have a special variety that I’m wanting. I mainly leave them out of the garden because they take so long - up to 6 months. I find it more worth my while to buy them at the grocer and use the avialable space for another veg. According to the list onions are right at the bottom with the lowest pesticide load. I now feel double confident that it’s OK for me not to be using my own homegrown onions. This winter I would rather use that space for celery which is very high on the list and I use copiously in winter soups - plus they are fast and easy to grow.

One of the happy, fun, relaxing, exciting things about being back in Jo’burg is the market day, and preparing for market day. In this day and age every woman and her shopping basket has a local market to attend. Mine is the Farmers Market at the Bamboo Centre in Melville. The market is every first saturday of the month and starts bright and early, 7 am. Usually everything is sold out or packed up by 12 or 1, so it’s always better to get there early.

The Bamboo market overflows with colour from all the flags and gazebos that decorate the patio. Each table, other than being adorned with yum produce is also decorated with the handmade tablecloths of fabrics that vary from German Print to Hello Kitty varieties. This gives such a fun and youthful, fresh style to being here.

The types of produce you’ll find at this market are; delicious plum and rose petal jelly (Janes Delicious Garden), Dutch cheeses with flavours like sundried tomato or Cumin matured Cheddar, organic garlic, salamies and hams, veggies from a - z, wine, fresh cut flowers, hand rubs and salves, fair trade coffee (this is my ‘bonny’s best buy) , eggs, the most divine lemonade, honey and herbs. (theres more). There is also a community table which is open to the public for anyone to just market their fair on.

For the January market, the Room To Grow stall sold its own produce as well as an exciting new range of products from Alison’s on The Green. Alison is one of RTG’s very exciting clients. We are developing a large market garden for Alison, who is a chef specialising in seasonal fair and healthy, fresh food. The first phase of the market garden was implemented on October and already Alison has got more than she can keep up with. The Marrows are huge, cucumbers, lettuces, turnips, beans etc. etc. are overflowing. Alison used her produce of Chillies and fresh Genovese basil to make the Chilli Sauce and Basil Pesto. The Mayonaise that was on sale is made from organic eggs and Grapeseed oil - the healthy alternative. The Pesto sold out rapidly, and the Mayo, which I bought a bottle of, is vanishing fast down our throats here at home.(please keep tuned in for more news of Alisons on the Green).

Despite the fact that my eat right/blood type diet restricts me from eating pasta, my inner Italian was so inspired by the bumper tomato crop of the year that I made and bottled this delicious pasta sauce. Made with fresh Roma Tomato, Sweet basil and garlic, this sauce really is delicious. It sold out on saturday. Hopefully the abundance of tomatoes will allow for this recipe to be a repeat next market day. It’s also really easy to make - check the Preserveless link to the right where you will find a recipe that is similar to mine. Of course you dont HAVE to have your own homegrown Toms to make it, but it will add that extra flavour if you do.

But being back in peoples gardens is so much fun. So much has happened over the last three or four weeks. There are little surprises waiting behind every leaf and under every stalk. I’m sad that the summer is now going to start winding down - although I say that forgetting what a HUGE fan I am of autumn. At least there is the kind reminder that with the end of summer comes the ripening of all the squashes and pumpkins, getting me in the mood for the smell of a good, warm winter soup.

This is my beautiful Bergamot coming to the end of its flowering. What a stunning flower this plant boasts - very bright purple/magenta. My idea is to plant this somewhere en masse for next year.

This is one of the lucky ‘chokes that escaped the black hole that is the endless pit of lust for artichokes that is my stomach… this only happened because I was away while this baby lived out its short little folded up life. Retrospectively, I need to subdue my desire for these delicacies as seeing them in bloom here and there in the garden is so rewarding. They are electric in flower.

That little figgy went to market, but THIS little figgy stays at home…to ripen for the perfect sunny end of summer day when I shall sink my teeth into it with serene satisfaction that I finally have space in my life for a fig tree. Shouldn’t everyone make this their ultimate goal in life?

This is one psychadelic specimen of squash pumpking! This is out of Shirley’s garden. We’d been gardening all morning and only spotted this girl much later when we were training the vine - it was so well camouflaged behind the broad leaves and dappled shade. There are at least 9 or 10 other blossoms on the vine right now. (yay!)

After a relaxing time on the beautiful East Coast of South Africa, it’s back to Jo’burg, traffic, and vegetable gardening.

Here’s the team; Given, Brighton, Me, Patrick and Proud. October 2008