Busy spring

Our property came with a peach, nectarine and lime tree. The quality of the fruit is amazing. I remember tasting the first peach off the tree last year, it was warm from the sun and perfectly ripe and juicy.

It gets a bit hectic in spring and early summer, as I need to spray the fruit trees quite regularly. I've been using 2 teaspoons neem oil diluted in a litre of water as a spray and it's worked really well. I have to spray weekly as well as after rain - which was quite often last year. The only fruit that got stung where the ones I couldn't reach with the stepladder (we've pruned the trees properly since then)

My biggest hassle was the sprayer - I tried a few different sprayers, as well as home made ones, but they were either inadequate or left me with cramped hands. So this is what hubby got me.

It works brilliantly. One lesson I've learnt the hard way - use the right tool for the job.

This spring has been really hot. I noticed that 2 of my swiss chard plants started bolting. Apparently they get bitter when they bolt. So, I've started to seriously harvest the Swiss chard - this is what I get every alternate day.
The plants where started almost a year ago. They've been excellent providers for the small space they occupy. I planted them in a protected spot in the veggie patch - so they were fine through the frosty nights. It was wonderful being able to get something out of the garden in the dead of winter. I can't feed Swiss chard to my family at the moment - the girls love it, but hubby has had too much :) So I chop it up fine, steam slightly and pop in the freezer.