Garden produce at our place is slow at the moment. Our hens haven't been laying for a while and I am thinking about buying a couple of Hyline Isa Browns, as ones we have had in the past layed throughout the cooler months. I don't like having to buy eggs. They just don't compare.
Our citrus this year has been fantastic and we have our first basket of oranges from our young tree. I am looking forward to making a citrus cake this week and perhaps some orange jelly? I picked our first rhubarb for the season too and made rhubarb muffins lastnight. Yum!
On a roll with 'First's' in the garden the raspberry canes are producing raspberries and I am dreaming about raspberry jam! There is something exciting about the 'first' fruit, the first glimpse of a little effort paid off. We are only at the beginnings of growing enough food to sustain us and it is exciting and humbling cooking and preparing meals from what our garden has supplied. You don't need a big garden or lots of plants to achieve this feeling. Even a sunny apartment balcony with a few pots of herbs will provide you with this same satisfaction. Most herbs are easy to grow and hardy making them a great food to start with.
Why do I love the concept of growing our own food?
- It's a positive step towards healthier eating
- Provides important life lessons for our children and creates opportunites for our family to connect with our environment
- Environmental impact - reduces need to travel to buy and buy food that has travelled
- Gets us outside digging, picking and collecting in the fresh air
- It really does taste BETTER...especially those eggs!
- Reduces food waste
- We eat what is in season
Can you add to this list? What are you growing in your garden and are your chooks laying?
Thanks for visiting,
