Fun Day at the Market

Friday's market day was great - the launch of the Jardin Natural herb range.  And here they are - with Becky Taylor at the American Embassy Market

Ready for Customers

Our first customer (2 corianders) was ABC parent Frances Avila.  Becky used to teach her child so it was a happy reunion as well as good for business.

Thank you Frances

It turned out to be a good day for Becky and reunions.  Here she is with her previous madre enlace Patricia Orellana (bush basil and salad burnet)

And thank you Patricia

But the prize for champion shopper must go to Karen Klaver .... who took away a box of 5 herbs  ... and then came back for another one!

Nice one Karen!

I couldn't quite work out the theme of the market but it was certainly diverse.  Carolina  Nixon  got me an introduction - she was here with her  well known Z'ETAS  mushrooms .  Here's a plug for her shop to say thanks.

                      

  

                                       The Shop                                   The Lady                                        The Mushrooms      

There was loads of other produce as well 

   

                   vegetables...................soaps and cosmetics..... some very lurid candy  ......    fabrics and jewellery  

It was a busy, fun, colourful and successful day!   And there's another one in two weeks so I'd better get out and potting!

                                     

Getting dressed up for Market

It's finally time for the first soiree into the world of commercialism.  That would be the US Embassy's monthly  farmers' market.  (Hey!  I'm a farmer!)  So I've been tarting up the herb pots.

The Makings of  Posh Plants

Getting there

Da-dah!  Lemon Grass, Coriander and Greek Basil - very dapper!

   Wow - stickers and business card?  Serious stuff ...

(Now I just need people to buy them!)

Meanwhile ... the dogs are sulking because I'm, giving all my attention to the plants...

Hannah's given up on life and won;t even look at me...

Daisy's thrown herself on the mercy of Paty-the-maid and is begging for adoption...

 

and Wolfie made a bid for freedom..         

but gave up when the digging got tough and just lay in the hole and sulked instead.

(Little do they know that I'm taking them to the ranch soon)

    

Fruitlets and Leaves 

Wow

 

Tomatoes - perhaps a little       A cuke ...ready         Hungarian Hot Wax         Purple Prince 

green still ... but promising!       to eat, now eaten.             chili pepper                chili pepper (tiny!)

The pointy bits are okra      Sadly out-of-focus          Equally bluirry pak-choi

....really!                               lettuce

and Roots ...(soon)

                                                  

Three stages in the life of a recycled Wine Carton

                  Before                                               During

                               

                                

After

(Lemon Grass and Sheep's Parsley)

The First plant Sale of the Year

....goes to..

Karen Hennigan

with an enormous order of 8 herbs and 4 tomato plants. 

(Paty - taking the herbs to the car - is pretty  pleased too!)

Thanks Karen!

(yes!)

Florence Fennel!

A quick comparison with Google  images and I do believe I have Florence Fennel growing!

Okay so it's still a way from the table yet but its a start...  And i'ts not in  a plastic pot.  

The Family

  

Here's a small part of Paty-the-maid's extended family ' helping me' in the garden and displaying part of the QS recycling programme.  Helping is a bit of a misnomer I suppose as everything takes twice as long when the kids join in, but they're sweet, they  have fun and enjoy giggling hysterically at my Spanish.  

And here's the smallest member, Adriana with a juvenile crimson King basil.

Aaaaaaaaaah - how cute is that?!

The Great Carrot Revolt

According to the moon today's a roots day, so I'm off to plant some more cosmic carrots in the patch out back.  Cosmic carrots are purple instead of orange.  About 5,000 years ago all carrots were creamy-white or purple apparently.  Orange carrots are the result of a bit of nifty political thinking by some 17th century Dutch agriculturists.  They pounced on a few mutant wild orange carrots and developed them into something delectable in tribute to William of Orange.  Sucking up I call it.  They wiped out thousands of years of carrot-independence just to keep in with the boss!

Anyway the worm has turned and multi-coloured carrots are making a come-back!  It' ll be a few weeks before I have any purple carrot pictures so here's a painting of William of Orange instead.

Am new to this blogging stuff .... so forgive the mistakes and poor layout.

As I've just learned how to put in piccies here's another one ...

I think most kids don't like veg because it's boring  .... here are some of my colourful ' mini-veg'  intended to appeal visually as well as taste-wise to the pickiest child.

The rainy season has come to an end and the root veg seeds are starting to go in the ground.  Carrots, kohl rabi, radish and beetroot are showing - no sign yet of Florence fennel.  I've never tried it before so not sure what to expect in volcanic soil and tropical temperatures..  One thing I have learned is not to take all professional gardening advice as gospel.  It's incredibly useful; but sometimes over-cautious.  Dill won't transplant ??  Oh yes it will!  Carrots don't like manured soil?  mine do!

Meanwhile, the toms, cukes, peppers and aubergines are starting - cautiously - to flower.  The basil's running amok and most other herbs are fit and well.  New tries okra and loofah seem happy

Responsible plant packaging is a must - there's far too much plastic in my organic garden and I have a vague idea involving corrugated cardboard tied with raffia around recycled egg/juice/wine cartons.  I hope the idea will develop into something substantial soon.

Meanwhile, the local evangelical church has set up for its once-monthly service in my place (the live-in maid is a worshiper)  Love em to bits but the guitar is never really tuned, the amps are distorted and they only know one song - which they sing between demands to  "repent of your siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiins....halleLUjah!!" for 2 hours.  Time to help the garden along with another box of clos (wine).

The  ‘roots’ bed  (used to be part of the paddock)   Carrots, radishes, beetroot and kohl rabi are germinating – no sign of the Florence fennel yet though.