"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Monday 9 January 2012

The start of our holiday...

We left on Saturday 17th December at 6.00a.m.  We were going to leave on the Friday, but it was the start of a long weekend (and, in some instances [like us] the start of the Capetonians Christmas get away), so we figured that the road traffic would be heavy.  In addition we spent the entire Friday cleaning our house as we had a show day booked for Sunday 18th.  So it made complete sense to wait another day.  


Clever plan - no traffic at all :)  We were taking our dog, Scallywag, with us, and naturally that entailed (with or without the pun LOL) a couple of pit-stops - as he's not that used to long-distance travelling, we really didn't want him getting car sick.  So all in we had a trip of 3 1/2 hours arriving at the farm at 9.30a.m.   A stunningly beautiful day - the perfect start of our three week break.  Whilst we were driving, RMan and I were discussing the last time we went on holiday - and apart from 2-3 days here and there every month to month-and-a-half, or the occasional week, we last had a full length holiday about 16 years ago.  Long overdue...


Arriving at the farm, the first thing I saw was my shadecloth veggie hut...
The comparison to a month previously just blew me away for there was growth - luxuriant growth - everywhere LOL  The rocket plants were head high, the tomatoes full of flowers, radish the size of golf balls, lettuce, basil, beetroot - everything was growing stupendously.


And my gorgeous Franchi Sementi purple beans - they seem to love it there...
The plants were full of beans...
... and flowers.
I am besotted with these beans.  Firstly, they are so unusual - they look so good, they seem to be pest free, and being dwarf plants, the beans are easy to harvest.

They are about the size of normal string beans, without the string.  And when you slice them open, they are green inside.  Completely delicious raw in salads too :)

And the rocket.  As I said the plants were head height, and the leaves...
Rocket leaves with a length of 30cms (a foot)
... they are enormous.  We just had to have a fresh farm a salad with our first night's barbecue... :)
Radish, tomatoes, lettuce, rocket, spring onion
and caramelized onion pieces - t'was yummy :)
Perfect proof that soil preparation is key, and the porous pipe works, and works well!  These plants had absolutely no fussing / TLC for a month and performed at least 500% (if not more) better than the vegetables in my town garden :)

More in a couple of days (too many photo's to go through LOL)...

14 comments:

  1. What a beautiful harvest! Congratulations on the bounty your hard work has provided!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait until spring. I am really anxious to get the garden started. It all looks good!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! That salad looks great. Wish I had one. ;) Glad the garden is doing so well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bee Girl - Thank you. Yup, the end reward is always worth the effort LOL

    John - Now you know how I feel when I see your harvests rolling in and my garden is bare :)

    Jane - Trust me - it was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s

    David - Really, really wish I could invite you over for a salad. Give it a break from spam and bottled cheese LOL

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Wow! That looks great. I can just imagine you jumping for joy as that first sight greeted you. Looking forward to follow up posts of the rest of your holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful getaway...well earned after many years and well supplied with yum fresh food. You did well and I can't wait to see more.

    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks great. What a super surprise to arrive to.
    Its great to leave a garden for a bit and see lots of growth all at once. We miss that seeing things daily......

    ReplyDelete
  8. Isn't it great when you get that reward!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely to have you back! And my goodness, you have done an amazing job!!! All my best efforts seem to fall in a heap somewhere along the way, but you have set it up so well. I am re-inspired now! If you can set it up so well that you get results like that without even being there, I need to go back to the drawing board. I always think it's because I don't have enough time in the garden, but you just proved me wrong, because you weren't even there and look at that produce!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dani, everything looks fantastic! What a lovely welcome for you all. The beans are so pretty. And so is the salad.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Garden Girl - You got that spot on - I was as excited as anything! Couldn't, and still can't, believe the growth...

    Sue - Thanks. Yeah - however, mr town house patch didn't surprise me on my return - guess it's because of the beach sand that the veggies are trying to grow in...

    Frogdancer - The best reward ever :)

    Linda - Thanks :) This result is due to the prep work - nowt to do with me LOL

    Leigh - Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ya .. it's 'tough' looking at that bowl of deliciousness with being in the throws of winter ;) Enjoy the bounty!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mrs Mac - LOL. Oh, we did :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day and removes the "loneliness' of sitting at my screen blogging supposedly to myself ;) I try and reply as quickly as possible so please forgive me if sometimes my response is delayed.