On Sat, 12 Oct 2002 08:45:07 +1000, "Fran Higham"
wrote:

snip Fran's insights

I have quite a few of these:
Have a think about: French sorrel, cherry tomatoes (which are a volunteer
crop each year as are all types of lettuces - the red oak leaf seems to be
particularly good for ignoring), silver beet, Mizuna, Mustard Greens,
Calendula, chives, garlic, strawberries,

I have many of these already
currrants,

Not sure they'd do well in my climate?

Salad Burnett (a very
pretty addition to any 'border' or veg garden, but seldom recognised even by
those who say they are keen gardeners), nasturtiums, mint, parsley. With
even a few of these in the garden then good salads are easy to make. I find
that the Salad Burnett gets a real caning as we like it a lot. I can send
you some French sorrel if you have trouble finding it.


Thanks for the ideas Fran, there are a few there that I've taken on
board. French sorrel was actually the first plant I planted when I
started the garden in our old rental property: some fo you may
remember that I was worried I'd killed the neighbour's elderly rabbit
when he broke in and ate the whole plant (the plant survived, the
rabbit did not, but we were never sure whether the sorrel was the
cause). I still think about the poor thing. And I still have the
plant, although it is now 8 plants all over my garden!

I've planted many of the above, as well as dill, and a numbr of chilli
bushes, as well as some elder and borage to break up the clay soil.

What I've decided to do is to purchase a number of herbs and trim them
into hedges: lemon balm, that sort of thing. We'll incorporate a
number of local plants into the backyard as well, and for the rest of
the garden I'll plant perennial flowers, such as impatiens. They'll
keep the insect life happy, and I won't feel guilty about ripiing them
out when I have the time for a more time-intensive veggie garden
again.

BTW Fran, did you ever end up getting yourself a jam pan? I've had a
big desire for one ever since that discussion.

Tara