Our garden edibles

[Corzhens]

We have a small backyard but it is replete with edibles like herbs, spices and vegetables not to mention fruits. It is not really to save on money but to experience the joy of harvesting and eating what we have planted. The backyard farmer is my husband who has that so called green thumb.

Before I continue, let me share the photo of our American lemon which is heavily fruiting with some ripe fruits already.

 

[missbishi]

That looks great! I'm growing chillies at home and had the pleasure of eating my first fruits of the year last night, on a home-made pizza. It was really satisfying, eating something that I'd made from scratch, right down to the chilli. You are right Corzhens, there is definitely a special kind of joy in eating food you have grown yourself.

 

[kammy]

There is just a certain joy that I get whenever I get the chance to consume a fruit or vegetable that I have toiled hard at; it's like i just feel so proud within myself. I especially like picking tomatoes from my garden; they're just so big and juicy and somehow they seems to taste better than the ones that I purchased at the stores. It's also great to know that i can eat what I grow and save a few dollars that can be directed elsewhere.

 

[DancingLady]

I have one watercress plant successfully growing right now. It's about the only think that I have succeeded at. I keep it really close to the sprinkler so it can get enough water and check on it layer in the day to make sure it is f drying out. I found I really like watercress. It has a nice flavor and it's said to be very healthy.

 

[Berties]

We've had a couple of pounds of home grown strawberries today and the gooseberries and raspberries will be next
And dug new potatoes and lettuce
Radish and ever lasting onions were picked this morning

 

[Morning Glory]

Oh dear, all I've got is sage, rosemary and thyme. I'm now in a state of envy of those of you who have Garden Produce.

 

[Corzhens]

We've had a couple of pounds of home grown strawberries today and the gooseberries and raspberries will be next
And dug new potatoes and lettuce
Radish and ever lasting onions were picked this morning

Strawberries are my weakness, the fresh ones that I see on the farm. We would travel 6 hours to take a short vacation in the place called Baguio city to savor the cold climate and the strawberry farm. We do the harvesting and the farmer do the weighing and then we pay for what we have picked. You know what, I had tasted the best strawberries in Beijing, China last January. They are so sweet and large in size that I was tempted to buy 3 kilos to be brought home. But it was in the cargo area since it was not allowed in the hand carry bag. Expect it to be bruised when we came home. The taste was not that good anymore.

 

[Corzhens]

Sorry, I forgot to post the next photo. Anyway, speaking of berries above, we have our own mulberry tree. There are about 4 trees with slender stems although they are all fruiting. We call it blueberry for the color and the name stuck. The leaves are good for feeding goats which we have in the vicinity taken care of by a neighbor. But I don't allow the goats to come near our mulberries, hahahaaa. Here is the latest harvest that I did.

 

[Corzhens]

Let me introduce to you our local spinach called Talinom. It thrives in almost anywhere and so easy to cultivate. Just water it regularly and it will prosper with the edible leaves and flowers as well. Talinom can take the place of broccoli in dishes. We normally mix it in boiled beef dish or even beef stew. It doesn't taste like spinach and it actually tastes better. Talinom is a wild plant that is not very common and not sold in the market.

Here is our Talinom plant in the backyard...

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

@Corzhens Your lemon looks great! I love lemons because it has many uses to us. You are lucky to have a husband who had a green thumb and he can plant anything under the sun. It is just right that if you had a backyard make use of the space of the lot for planting herbs, fruit bearing trees and vegetables. It is very rewarding to know that what you are eating comes from the harvest of what you plant.

 

[Corzhens]

One of the most overused vegetable in our backyard farm is the camote a.k.a. sweet potato. The camote is very resilient and grows by itself even without irrigation during summer. But, of course, we water it regularly. Aside from the tuber it gives us, the young leaves can be eaten when mixed in vegetable dishes. But it can also be eaten by boiling and serving as chaser for fried fish.

Here is our small plantation of camote...

 

[Corzhens]

Before I continue with the greeneries, let me post this photo of the cassava cake ingredients which we prepared last Saturday for the informal gathering of my siblings. SInce our cassava crop is not yet ready for harvest, we just bought 3 kilos in the market. By the way, the cooking time took 2 and 1/2 hours because the pie pans we used were quite tall. But nevertheless, the output was still good and the guests enjoyed it... and actually took home some of it.

The ingredients: young coconut, coconut milk, grated cassava, condensed milk, sugar.

 

[Corzhens]

We recently harvested our banana. We bought the planting material that is imported from Thailand. It has so many fruits with 13 clusters where each cluster has at least 20 bananas. That breed of banana is very prolific and easy to grow. Unlike some bananas that take 1 and 1/2 years to fruit, this one took only 10 months before the bloom came about.

In photo is our first harvest of our banana...

 

[MyExWasAChef]

Growing your own food really helps the environment. In my backyard we have a raised garden bed filled with tomatoes, potatoes and lettuce. It's easy to do if you buy pre-made compost and just make your own compost pit from food wastes. I'll probably spend money on some mulch though because weeds are starting to sprout. Everyone should join the square foot garden revolution and try growing their own food because it's cheap and healthy, especially when it's all organic.

 

[Bakemehappy]

Hey this looks exciting. You must have a very big yard to plant on? I envy you Corhenz those lemons and bananas are free of pesticides right? How I wish I can grown my own and harvest them for later use. Do you by any chance sell these fruits in the market? They look organic to me.