Vivi's Kitchen Garden

It has been three weeks since my last Calendula harvest and they don’t look very happy after all this heat and dryness…….so a good harvest today should help them spring back……and ensure I have a good supply for a whole year of skin care. A huge part of my self-reliance and frugal living is ensuring I have a good supply of flowers and herbs for looking after my skin and hair and dealing with minor ailments……so these lovely flowers get as much space as some of my vegetables.

It has been an incredibly dry year already and now we’re into another heat wave so the garden needs water every day. Here I share some of my watering tips…….but….more than that, I share some slow, quiet time……..the sounds and sight of water……..the morning light……cats washing……join me for some quiet, meditative time as I give some vital water to my lovely plants.

The tomatoes are growing away well now so it’s time for them all to have a bit of a prune. I have also ‘earmarked’ a couple of cucumbers for seed saving and talk about how and why.

A little moment in a local shop suddenly brings memories flooding back of my days on the ward. They were mostly the best days……but occasionally the worst. I wouldn’t have missed any of them. Please note: I talk about mask wearing in this video but I do NOT want folk to start getting political and debating mask wearing here……..this is not the place….this is a happy moment of remembering my work and the amazing children I got to spend time with.

After a very humid night it’s a groggy start to the day so I’m trying a new tea called ‘Up Beet’……let’s see if it can get me going before I go to the garden to harvest….after which I need to do a bit of freezer shuffling.

Ugh……today, amongst other jobs, I need to slightly dismantle a tool……I haven’t had to do it before so I’m referring to the manual that came with it. I am so rubbish at reading manuals……I’ve been putting this off for a couple of weeks (erm, nearly a year).

At the beginning of August the garden is finally beginning to catch up after the lateness of many sowings and plantings…….and there are wonderful signs of the harvests to come everywhere I look.

It’s day 3 of my slightly different month…..and time to think about changing some habits/introducing new ones. Oh….and I haven’t quite got the hang of making short videos yet (!)…..but for the rest of these little videos this month I will aim to keep them around 10 minutes…..if I can stop nattering!

My beans are finally beginning to get away now so the climbers need a bit of attention……and I notice some Black Fly so get straight on with dealing with it using an organic solution.

On the first day of my month long holiday from my normal routine my head is still rumbling a bit……so I indulge in some quiet time pulling memories out of cupboards and finding pieces to sell.