A great piece of writing! Since discovering you I’ve been working up the enthusiasm to get our vegetable patch back into shape. It’s been almost totally neglected for about three years as during that time I’ve planned, fought with bureaucracy and finally managed to renovate a small building which I’ve turned into a natural wine shop and bar plus spent an enormous amount of time on working a 12 acre vineyard (we make wine). I wonder if you’d mind if I ask for a little advice? The vegetable garden is only about 15 metres x 10 metres but it’s now been taken over by grasses and weeds growing amongst the hardier vegetables (rhubarb, asparagus, chard etc). I think I should smother the entire garden with cardboard, put tarpaulins over the top then leave it for a couple of months to try and kill everything. What would you suggest? Bear in mind it’s mid winter here (Blackheath, Blue Mountains, NSW Australia).
Yes! I'd definitely recommend smothering the entire area with tarps for a couple months, then uncovering it gradually as you plant. Personally, I cover with tarps, uncover as I plant and then I mulch with cardboard but it also depends on how soon and what you're planting whether you want to do the cardboard before or after! Hope that helps and let me know if you have more questions. I love talking vegetable growing and gardening!!
I am about to harvest my modest crop of tomatoes from my greenhouse in the UK…the incessant rain has meant our harvest is behind. The first taste of a tomato warmed by the sun is alway memorable, year to year.
I love this! I'm a greengrocer and often joke that my colleague and I are fruit and veg fetishists! I'm loving this time of year for the beauty and deliciousness of rainbow chard, chioggia beetroot, heirloom tomatoes and tiny blushing apricots!
oh gosh Natalie, i love this so much. I remember the first time i grew tomatoes i was stunned and horrified by how they looked; bumpy, discolored, bulbous. But then i cut them open and it changed my world. It completely destroyed my conception of what a ‘healthy’ tomato looks like. There is nothing like an heirloom tomato grown in a home garden with love and care, it’s truly unmatched. This was such a wonderful piece. Thank you!
Ahhhhh thank you! If you've grown an heirloom tomato or devoured one, then I know you know: there's simply nothing like it, bumpy bulbous shapes, flavors and all!!
I adored this! Our loyalty at the farmers market are to the stands with the gnarly, non-uniform veggies. Much more trustworthy in our opinion (and they’re still beautiful!).
Ahhh this makes me so happy to hear! People like you are the BEST customers and I love when people tell me that they like all the gnarly/different looking veggies. 😊
omg ..you remind me of me ..love the Stewart comment ...reminds me of my quiet KC . I used to take all the ones with a little rot or an insect bite and make a pot of sauce with anything that needed immediate consumption up to 20 kinds and shapes of op tomatoes . I made tomato soup and canned it . I no longer do markets. I love your writings and your beautiful work ..
I loved this! I often think about why we eventually became conditioned for uniform, “more perfect” vegetables and what we’ve lost. How boring our food would be without people like you.
Thank you! It really makes me sad to think about all that so many are missing out on in our age of uniform, but very bland vegetables. There's just so much more to discover!
This is wildly gorgeous and making me so glad I abandoned a tomato essay. I will keep coming back to this!
Ahhhh thank you so much!!!
TOTALLY agree - fabulous
I love your veggies and your photos! Pure poetry.
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏻💚
Your vegetables look amazing, very beautiful. The ranks of uniform vegetables and fruits that we're conditioned to expect are just so boring!
Thank you!!!
A great piece of writing! Since discovering you I’ve been working up the enthusiasm to get our vegetable patch back into shape. It’s been almost totally neglected for about three years as during that time I’ve planned, fought with bureaucracy and finally managed to renovate a small building which I’ve turned into a natural wine shop and bar plus spent an enormous amount of time on working a 12 acre vineyard (we make wine). I wonder if you’d mind if I ask for a little advice? The vegetable garden is only about 15 metres x 10 metres but it’s now been taken over by grasses and weeds growing amongst the hardier vegetables (rhubarb, asparagus, chard etc). I think I should smother the entire garden with cardboard, put tarpaulins over the top then leave it for a couple of months to try and kill everything. What would you suggest? Bear in mind it’s mid winter here (Blackheath, Blue Mountains, NSW Australia).
Yes! I'd definitely recommend smothering the entire area with tarps for a couple months, then uncovering it gradually as you plant. Personally, I cover with tarps, uncover as I plant and then I mulch with cardboard but it also depends on how soon and what you're planting whether you want to do the cardboard before or after! Hope that helps and let me know if you have more questions. I love talking vegetable growing and gardening!!
I am about to harvest my modest crop of tomatoes from my greenhouse in the UK…the incessant rain has meant our harvest is behind. The first taste of a tomato warmed by the sun is alway memorable, year to year.
Beautiful, beautiful BEAUTIFUL tomatoes 💕
I love this! I'm a greengrocer and often joke that my colleague and I are fruit and veg fetishists! I'm loving this time of year for the beauty and deliciousness of rainbow chard, chioggia beetroot, heirloom tomatoes and tiny blushing apricots!
Yes! This time of year is a highlight for me too. There are just so many gorgeous vegetables!!
oh gosh Natalie, i love this so much. I remember the first time i grew tomatoes i was stunned and horrified by how they looked; bumpy, discolored, bulbous. But then i cut them open and it changed my world. It completely destroyed my conception of what a ‘healthy’ tomato looks like. There is nothing like an heirloom tomato grown in a home garden with love and care, it’s truly unmatched. This was such a wonderful piece. Thank you!
Ahhhhh thank you! If you've grown an heirloom tomato or devoured one, then I know you know: there's simply nothing like it, bumpy bulbous shapes, flavors and all!!
absolutely the best, i am so excited to one day to graduate from my tiny fire escape garden back to a proper one!
Totally agree! Great article! 😍 Love the photos too!
Loveeeeee this
Thank you!!
I adored this! Our loyalty at the farmers market are to the stands with the gnarly, non-uniform veggies. Much more trustworthy in our opinion (and they’re still beautiful!).
Ahhh this makes me so happy to hear! People like you are the BEST customers and I love when people tell me that they like all the gnarly/different looking veggies. 😊
omg ..you remind me of me ..love the Stewart comment ...reminds me of my quiet KC . I used to take all the ones with a little rot or an insect bite and make a pot of sauce with anything that needed immediate consumption up to 20 kinds and shapes of op tomatoes . I made tomato soup and canned it . I no longer do markets. I love your writings and your beautiful work ..
Ahhh thank you, Sharon! And I do the same with all the spoiled, not perfect bits and tomatoes too!!
Your vegetables are beautiful and you should never stop taking photos of them!
Thank you, Jenna! Taking pictures of all the vegetables I grow is one of the great joys of my life!
The photo of frost bitten Radicchio is stunning, you should print and hang that!
Thank you! It's one of my favorites. I just feel that it captures radicchio in all her winter beauty!
I loved this! I often think about why we eventually became conditioned for uniform, “more perfect” vegetables and what we’ve lost. How boring our food would be without people like you.
Thank you! It really makes me sad to think about all that so many are missing out on in our age of uniform, but very bland vegetables. There's just so much more to discover!