One vegetable I love to have on hand over winter is
silverbeet (Swiss chard). It is so handy
to be able to go to the garden and pick a few leaves for dinner a couple of
times a week (remember our winters here are very mild, none of that being
snowed-in stuff!).
To get the plants well established by winter, I’ve usually
found it best to plant out seedlings in January. Usually I go for Fordhook Giant as I like the
dark green leaves, but this year we are trying Ironman as well. So far, it is looking great and growing much
faster than the Fordhook seedlings.
Son wasn’t around last evening to feed the cats, so I got
the job. They were not impressed! Cats are so much creatures of habit, and they
know from experience they never get fed by me.
I wasn’t going to put down their jellymeat until they would
eat it (too many flies around), and it was nearly an hour after normal
feed-time before they decided they were hungry enough to come when I called
them.
Here is Mittens after her meal. I always wondered where the expression “lick
your chops” came from!
Wishing everyone a happy day 😊
Margaret.
HEADER FOR MARCH 2023
This idyllic scene was at a small bay near Russell in the
Bay of Islands, Northland. The photo was
taken in 2019.
I grow rainbow chard, silverbeet.
ReplyDeleteWe too can grow it all year round I’ve always said if you have a couple of chickens and some silverbeet in the garden, you would never go hungry
We managed to get some Fordhook seeds over here and are also looking forward to a good supply by winter time. Your new kind is looking well on the way. Mr T can't understnad being fussy about the hand that feeds you Mittens. It's food mate, same tin, same spoon, same saucer, what's the problem with the hand wwaving the spoon?
ReplyDeleteApparently I don't know how to call them properly! Son has a special way of calling and they know that means dinner :)
DeleteOur Zoey is very finicky and spoiled. Sounds like you may have the same situation there!
ReplyDeleteVery nice header for March. I didn't know cats paid any attention to who fed them. Miss Kitty sure doesn't and of the three downstair cats here... one is scared of me, one ignores me totally and the last one is always famished ( or she thinks she is). She was abandoned as a kitten and no one knows how long she went without food before she was found so maybe that's why she has a need to eat. Luckily I'm rarely called upon to feed them. Granny Marigold
ReplyDeleteI love your new Header - I wondered where it was. I thought perhaps around Nelson. We grow silverbeet too. It's great being able to cut just a few leaves and it keeps on growing.
ReplyDeleteNot Nelson. It was at the other end of the country in Northland, near Russell :)
DeleteHi Margaret, One of my cats is always better fed than the other when I go away as Alley won't come to eat until my neighbour who feeds them for me has left the house. Love your new header. I know exactly where that beach is but can't remember its name. I've been searching for my photo taken there when I took Graham from Eagleton Notes touring in 2014, without success. Then I thought to search my blog. Found the photos but not the name of the bay. Ah well. https://paulinespaddock.blogspot.com/2014/04/boat-bottoms.html
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so classic kiwi :)
DeleteI think the beach was called Long Bay or Long Beach - it was just over the hill from Russell. I looked up a map and it said the name was Oneroa Bay and Long Beach Road ran along beside it.
Your silver beet looks good. I am hoping to get some seedlings at the Market on Saturday. Garden beds have been too full before and they told me they would start having vegie seedlings this week.
ReplyDeleteLast summer was the first time I'd planted Swiss Chard...I was thrilled with it! It didn't bolt like lettuce, and honestly, that's what I used it in place of. I'll try some other recipes this year - how do you cook with yours? Mittens looks absolutely happy with dinner...time to curl up in the sun and nap. Hope all is going well, Mary
ReplyDeleteWash it well but don't dry the leaves. Slice up (like cabbage) and then boil with a small amount of water. Leave the lid on and cook until soft. Drain before serving. Sometimes I add a knob of butter and chop that through while it is in the strainer. Add salt and pepper too if you wish. The white stalks can be cut out if wanted (before slicing the leaf) and used as a separate vegetable (sliced and boiled), or just left there (or thrown to the hens if you have them!).
DeleteI'm not sure I would like it raw and used like lettuce. But I do love it cooked! :)
I have seen a few humans lick their chops! When I was a kid there was an old man in the village who was a tad unkempt - putting it mildly - and we were quite sure he enjoyed his meal the second time around just by licking his moustache!
ReplyDeleteI so love your header for the month! No idea what we would call Swiss Chard.- but it looks yummy (wiki only has the English version for this here).
ReplyDeleteAre cats really that complicated?! I must re-think then ;-)
I thought I recognized the scenery in your header, I love Russell, one of my favourite places to visit. I also planted some chard about 6 weeks ago, I managed to find one named "bright lights" that I've grown before, it goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you can garden and provide greens for your table:)
ReplyDeleteI am currently 'houses sitting' for friends, and their cats are definitely being picky with me feeding them - one won't come inside unless I am asleep, and the other just comes and goes - but the shy cat knows that if he is close to the house and I see him come feed time, I will put some outside for him, to ensure he gets a good feed.
ReplyDeleteThe chickens also were timid the frist few days, but are okay with me now
Blessings
Maxine