Meyer lemons are such lovely, fragrant heavy orbs of succulent flavour! They are hanging low on the tree, even throwing themselves to the ground just to emphasise that they are ready to harvest. These tend to come all at once -unlike the Eureka which always has one or two to pick, and others getting ready.
Meyer lemons are a bit sweeter than the Eureka, which makes them great in deserts and cakes and spreads. They are wonderful to add to the cavity of a roasted chicken too.
There are too many ripe limes on the tree, so I made some lime cordial today. I am reusing bottles which I got second hand. The rubber tops had perished, so I was glad to finally find a brewing supplier who had silicone ones. I cut back the citric acid and tartaric acid in the recipe from Stephanie Alexander, as I find it adds a bit of an aftertaste. I know they act as a preservative, but I will keep these in the fridge and they will be fine. We add a splash to water when we have been working in the garden.
The pink grapefruit are getting an early blush, but I hope they hold off for a month or so.
This autumn is early by Perth standards. We had an 8 degree Celsius minimum temperature this morning, which is pretty rare when we haven't even finished March yet. March is often very hot indeed.
I have set up the seed raising trolley again, and planted these seeds in 'flats'. The packet says I could have put some straight in the ground, but I thought it was worth experimenting. I planted hollyhock seeds too. I took a gamble on it being 'really autumn" and put in some garlic a week or so ago, which is doing OK. I have also planted some new rainbow chard. Vietnamese mint cuttings are on the seed trolley - I am hoping to give some plants away to people I know who like cooking Asian food. Jerry from Gardening Australia demonstrated making coleus cuttings by putting them in pots on a tray of water, and I thought that Vietnamese Mint might like the same treatment.
I would guess that our herbs and green leafy things are the best things we grow in the garden, because they add such a wonderful addition to flavour in our food.
Apart from the garden, there was a bit more sewing on the yellow quilt. I am working on the border but there is not enough progress to brag about. I did get some 'stash enhancement" though when DD brought home this lovely batik piece from her op shop. There are two metres here. This is the best way to add to my stash, with op shop pieces that bring variety and challenge to my quilting. I am not sure how this will appear in the future!
That is all for today, thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Thanks to those who recently left comments -you are most encouraging!
1 comment:
Aaaaah third time lucky. I've typed a comment and my i-pad keeps crashing. Now I'm on the PC so will try again.
I was recently given a dwarf Meyer lemon tree as I love lemons. I know it will be a while before I see any lemons however growing it from the bottom up and caring for it is all part of the joy for me. Your lemons look very healthy.
I agree with you about the herbs too. I use them often and the kids comment on the flavour of dishes and ask questions. I let them know which herbs I used and they are then intrigued and ask more questions. I think this is great as they then really taste the herbs and hopefully realise that this is food and it really does have so many different tastes, smells, textures etc.
It seems our weather is the opposite here in Melbourne. March has been quite warm so I've held off planting our broccoli and cauliflower. My first time growing these. I love the garden and am learning so, so much.
Have a great day,
Kylie (Home Is My Haven)
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