Flowering cauliflowers: leeks and cabbages

A couple of Doug's cauliflowers have been left too long in the sun and have matured a little too much, developing unusual yet attractive flowers. It doesn't matter though, as they taste delicious and crunchy in a salad, and soft and sweet when cooked.

Ox heart cabbages and leeks are ready to eat too, along with parsley,, lettuces, spinach,, snow peas, silver beet, carrots -- -- -- and there are still some of the 80 or so pumpkins grown earlier in the year.

There is plenty to give away and share, and plenty to exchange for eggs and sweet potatoes.

Mitchell in outback Queensland is blessed with good soil and plenty of water and sunshine.

Growing vegetables in Mitchell, outback Queensland

Our vegetable garden (actually, I should say Doug's vegetable garden) is coming into full production with our first cabbage and broccoli picked today. Lettuce, silver beet, spinach and rocket are still going strong, with sugar peas, leeks, carrots and beetroot well on the way towards maturity.

Our 40 plus stored pumpkins are beginning to show rot in places, so we're giving them away at an even faster rate than before, to avoid waste. Pumpkin soup is still one of my favourite lunches.

Our neighbour Marg has been giving us sweet potatoes grown over the summer months, as well as turnips and eggs. The sweet potato in this photo is amazingly heavy.

With warm sunny days, river loam soil, horse and chook manure, compost and plentiful water, vegetables grow exceedingly well in Mitchell. Greens are the most important vegetables to grow, as far as I'm concerned. Greens freshly picked from the garden taste much better and have superior nutrients to those that are frozen and grown in China.

PS

I couldn't resist including two more photos in this blog that have rounded off my day. First is a view up the Maranoa River from the old crossing. The second was taken from our front verandah, looking over the river to the full moon.