I do miss not having a camera, my neighbour has been great in lending me hers, however not keen to borrow it too often, I value our friendship!.lol

Okay I have begun my vegie garden with the sunken terracotta pots (no holes) that I purchased some time ago.  They have been dug into the bed and the saucers have become there lids.  I mulch over the lids when I fill the up.  The first two weeks they have been working well, as in I filled them and the tomato seedlings, beans and aubergine are surviving.  This week we have had 37mls of rain so I have not needed to refill them.  So far I only have organised one of my beds this way.  I had to cover this bed with hessian as the temperatures during the day and at night have been somewhat cold.  We have been having a fire in the house for a few nights a couple without and again needed on last night.  It is summer down here truely..lol
It does mean that I have still to finish putting my other seedlings out.  They look healthy and happy so hopefully this week.

The chooks are settling in well, and one hopes that at sometime Toby will stop rounding them up.  He does not do it all the time, and they ignore him often, but everyso often I look out the kitchen window and he has them all going round and round the silver birch.  They pop into the chook taj mahal and out the other side or just to escape him at times.  The two that are bigger have tried to let him know that they want to be left alone, by pecking at him.  The smaller two just flap and run often, so of course he chases them and rounds them up.
They are just begining to get the redness in their wattles and combs, they are about 13-15 weeks now and how delightful they are.   They are getting their full plumage now and the Barnevelders pattern is really lovely.  I love sitting in the sun stroking one they feel so soft, and the soft noise they make as they sit is beautiful.  I also love it when they lay in the sun with a wing up!


I noted raspberries on my vines today, not quite ripe so I have netted them a bit.
My cherries are hopeless this year!  I went out to net them but the birds had basically taken most and theyare still green, there were a lot that had not developed correctly either. I am putting it down to our weather and perhaps shock from when the tree was removed that was quite close to them. 

I have been getting some strawberries every day, just a good handful, as I am the only one that eats them apart from the lizards and snails, it is good.  I also had some lovely sugar snap peas the other day.  Morning tea consisted of strawberries and sugar snaps on the deck with a cup of chai.

The broad beans are nearly finished and have been a terrific crop over 10kgs.  yum!

I pulled some of the garlic on Monday as the leaves were almost dead as Toby had jumped on them, and as we were expecting more rain was concerned that they would get water inside and begin to rot.  Wonderful and I will have photos hopefully next posting.  (camera I hope will be back end of next week)

I went to the local herb and alternative therapy market last weekend. The weather was lousy but I was able to buy some horse raddish and other herbs, mostly for the chook run.  So they all have to have beds made and be put in, or I may put the wormwood in a large pot and place it near the Taj Mahal, to keep flies away. 
The others will go into a bed or two, and be fenced off until they are big enough to cope with the girls in and about them.

My kiwi fruit is flowering well one is, the other has buds, as they both have to flower to cross pollinate for fruit I am really hoping that very soon the other one's buds will open so fruit is on its way. 

My passionfruit has gone downhill, and I am going to buy another. If I can get one that is not grafted I may try that, or I just may get two.  One grafted and one not, and compare them.  I have decided these will go along the out side of the chook run fence. 
Well cool, wet and windy here in tassie.  I am not complaining as water tanks are full, things are green and growing.