Watts Good Creations

Delishous BIG cooking apples.

Blessed to have a neighbour who doesn't want the apples off their tree. A LOT of apples have already been processed and you can't even see where we have taken them off the tree!! Most have been picked up off the ground!

Doing them in the slow cooker allows me to do life around preserving. No water, no sugar, nothing but apples.

Great over porridge, for baking, deserts and so so much more.

Doing some visible mending to my sons favourite pair of shorts..... he just doesn't want to let them go even though they are getting thread bare.... 5 patches and counting....
I think these will end up more patch than pants!!

Have you had a go at visable mending??? A

I have a pile of 5 pairs of pants I'm tackling today......

Beautiful harvested Rhubarb will become delishous jam today!

Have you made jam with non traditional fruit???
We are hanging out for feijoas for more feijoa jam! It is soooooo good.

As we approach crazy busy Christams season in full swing may I encourage you today to slow down.... to not stress or worry or feel guilty about what you havent done yet but to do what you can, when you can.

I can write a list a mile long about what I haven't yet done, but I am putting one foot in front of the other. I am being gentle on myself, I am loving on my husband and my children. I am not worrying about what I haven't yet done but focusing on what we have done and what I can do.

I can do advent candles even though it is already almost the 3rd Sunday of advent and we should've had them up 2 weeks ago! I can make a Christmas cake later. Advent calenders can be done next next or not at all. Housework will eventually get done. I can play a card game with my big kids. I can eventually plant my beans even though they really should have been in the garden 3 weeks ago along with the cucumber, zucchini, lettuce and the rest of the veges.

So do what you can this beautiful Christmas season and not stress about the rest!

Don't know what to do with excess cauliflower??
We currently have more than even we can eat and even though I am sharing with other families as well I am also preserving it by turning it into cauliflower rice.... I really want to make some chowchow but unfortunately don't have time this week. Hopefully next week, there is still more in the garden!

Do you do cauliflower rice??
We have done our normal rice dish with his and kids loved it and made successful pizza base the other night too!

Good haul of seeds arrived from King Seeds.... I ended up buying more flowers than food but they were just sooooo pretty!

What are you planting??

It's time to get sorted and get my beans in this week.....

We are open today (10am till 4pm) and while still a little chilly at least it isn't raining like yesterday.
$3 entry set by Sustainable Backyards NZ

Come learn all about getting the most out of a small space and feeding your family fresh food out of your garden. :)

Workshop at 10am today.

Another beautiful basket of cauliflower and broccoli harvested in this afternoon.... and this doesn't show the asparagus, spring onion or snow peas I harvested for lunch!!

We generally pick something everyday from out garden.
A lot is currently going to seed and there is a whole heap of green I need to go pick to dehydrate...
It's amazing what you notice when you take a walk around the garden. :)

What is in your garden producing at the moment?

Come and see ours this weekend for sustainable backyards trail and chat all things gardening in a small space. We are open from 10am till 4pm Saturday and Sunday. :)

How is everyones spring planting going???

We have managed to get some seeds in of zucchini, cucumber, beetroot, spring onion, beans... and some I can't remember right now.
I also brought some seedlings of zucchini and spring onion off a local grower to get a head start. The zucchini have been tucked in under the cauliflower that is just about ready to harvest.