Harvests From My 2016 Garden

To start the year off, I thought I’d share a few photos of what I’ve grown and harvested from my garden in the last year.

Despite the drought, with less than 50% of the average annual rainfall, I’ve managed to:

• harvest a continual supply of nutrient-packed food from our garden while working;
• sell, share and swap a surplus of vegetables and herbs;
• save thousands of seeds;
• propagate hundreds of cuttings and new plants; and
• preserve the harvest in many ways.

In addition to the many flowers, annuals, perennials, natives, trees and shrubs in our garden, these are a variety of the seasonal edibles I’ve grown.

Fruits and Berries

Paw paw, bananas (40+kg), mulberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mandarins, peaches, passionfruit, pepinos, lemons, watermelon, kaffir limes and grapes.

Harvest basket of homegrown Dwarf Ducasse bananas

Handful of fresh strawberries, mulberries and blueberries from my garden

Banana, paw paw and edible flowers from my garden for breakfast

Mandarins, lemons and lemon myrtle leaves

Many Varieties of Vegetables

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, rocket, Asian greens, celery, ginger, turmeric, yakon, chicory, asparagus, eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, leek, radish, beans, peas, beetroot, chard, chilli, lettuce, spinach, pumpkin, avocado, squash, yam and spring onions.

Beans, kale, tomatoes, herbs and mulberry harvest

This zucchini harvest was a heavy handful

Homegrown vegetables and spices for a healing hearty soup

Harvest basket with eggplant, red and green capsicums, beans and herbs

Pink and Dutch cream potato varieties for roasting, potato salad and wedges

Herbs, Edible Flowers and Seeds

Sunflower, chia, oregano, mint, thyme, gotu kola, herb Robert, rosemary, stevia, chives, parsley, dill, pineapple sage, borage, comfrey, basil, aloe vera, garlic chives, lemon grass, nasturtiums, calendula, marigold, dianthus, lobelia, violas and native violets.

I love propagating and growing new plants for free from cuttings and saved seeds

Summer salad with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, rocket and 8 varieties of herb and vegetable microgreens

More Edibles to be Harvested this Year

Pineapple, dragonfruit, choko, lime, pummelo, feijoa and macadamia nuts.

If you’d like to see what I’m growing, harvesting and cooking throughout the year, follow me on Instagram. This is one of my online garden journals. I’d love to connect with you and check out your gardens too.

Growing an Abundant Garden

You may be surprised, but I grow all this spending an average of just 3-4 hours/week in my garden. I can’t take the heat and humidity during our long summers and have a lower back injury that limits heavy gardening practices.

So I’ve had to think creatively, work smarter not harder and micro garden by principles. I have designed our gardens, microclimates and plant combinations, using Permaculture principles. I work with nature and get handsomely rewarded.

I’m looking forward to sharing these techniques and strategies with you in coming eLearning classes, so you can peek over the garden fence and see exactly WHAT I do and WHY. I look forward to inspiring you to keep growing good health, connecting with nature, soaking up the lessons a garden reveals, and having a ball along the way.

If you want to prepare your garden for planting, these tips will get you started.

Happy gardening! Anne