The leaves have fallen and winter is before us! well for 2009 at least !

Last day of autumn. I have been away for a couple of days but thought I would show you chook house progress. Some of my garden, and the things I am doing to grow more. As well as areas I would like to pretty up a bit. I am hoping to put up a trellis for the kiwis so that they will hide the gas bottles. I am also going to plant the grapes so that they will give us summer shade on the deck. Cold and getting colder here today. I do get envious a little of the lovely gardens with great edges and defined paths. We have let our paths get grassed over, but they are being cleared, and we will re gravel. So I will be glad to have some time to deal with weeds and organising in the next three months. Joining in Sara's project 2010 of becoming as self sufficient in vegies, herbs and fruit on Simple Savings site is one of the great things I am undertaking for the next 18months. I love the aspect of planning ahead and really getting a grip on my garden so that it provides not only a place of beauty, relaxation and food, it provides my exercise workout, my quiet time, my care of my chookies. My DH and I find we dont really have a need to travel much or have holidays. Though we still do go away for weekends and a week or two here and there. It just seems to me our home is the place we are happiest. We already know that we are one of the most fortunate couples in the world we are content, we don't desire to be rich or have material things. We are happy with a lifestyle of simpler things, good friends, a sense of community and each other. We have our dog and cat, along with the native animals and birds that let us share their land. We see ourselves as being on their place and ensuring that we provide shelter and food plants for them as well as our selves, which in turn we kind of hope will help with them not eating our foods. (not that it happens )lol. Just had a wander around the garden to see how things are, and noted that in my absence of three days more mushrooms are growing or have become the giant mushrooms whilst I have been away, form my $3 bags of mushie compost. I have picked and picked so many swiss browns over 10kgs off them and the white button ones, another 6+ kg so have been able to share with neighbours and store mushrooms made into a mix of mushrooms, onion garlic and red wine. Great soup starter, or for rissotto. Popped several bags in the freezer. My blue angel peas are flowering, they are the ones in the polystyrene box sitting and trailing up the house.

More photos of my winter garden

The pictures are my broad beans and silver beet, and one lot of my brassicas. I have them under tulle yet still I had caterpillars on them. (explains the leaves with holes). I have hand picked all I could find. Little blighters are so hard to see. Eat your heart out MIrage and all those exotic resorts, we have eggotic Wattlegrove Chookie savoy

Last few days in Autumn 2009

First photos of chookhouse under construction. It is very exciting having the foundations and flooring structure up. This chook house will not be moving anywhere. Cemented in and structurally sound for a heard of sheep let alone half a dozen hens. My darling man says it is his Taj ma hal to me! His gift of love. Ohhhh I have such a lovely man in my life! My vegie garden is doing okay. Only trouble is my winter bed of greens seems to have been overtaken with weeds. Must be from the horse manure! I used old stuff, or maybe some of the sheep manure, but this was very very old stuff. Oh well I have been checking out with my plan what I am meant to have growing in this bed on Wikepedia (falling in love with this as I dont always know what a vegie looks like..lol so they give a picture). Helps me a lot. Silverbeet is going well (I have been selling some at the fortnightly produce market down here)! My broad beans are amazing me. I have flowers on a couple of them already. My peas that are growing against the house have some flowers on them. The Happy wanderer is coming into flower, and I am almost 100% certain this is early. Rosemary is flowering and many bulbs are up. I still have leaves on my plum, peach trees, though apricot cherries and hazlenuts aswell as part of the apple(grafted) have their beautiful autumn colours. We have had some rain and beautifully mild days with sunshine. The nights are cool (not surprisingly) and there have been a frost or two. I will be working on pathways, weeding, and fencing through out winter. Along with preparing seeds and seedlings for my summer feast of vegies. I appreciate the guys on the garden thread at simplesavings.com.au for their help and assistance with answering questions. I love my garden and am really enjoying providing food for us to eat. I have lately been having meals with all produce provided by producers in my local area. I am very proud to support them. I get great organic beef from Nicholls Rivulet, and fruit and vegies from fellow producers at our local produce market, and locale.

Alpine strawberries and autumn raspberries

So here I have been waiting and waiting for my alpine strawberries to ripen. They DONT they are a white strawberry and have a delicious taste. We have not got a lot just a couple of handfuls but made a great discovery. I was weeding about them thinking to myself that they were taking a long time to ripen. I noticed that some were going rotten and bugs had eaten them...hmm what? me thinks. So I popped one in my mouth, a lovely burst of strawberry. Darn ignorance in this case was not bliss. lol There are quite a few more flowers on the strawberries and raspberries, I am hoping we will have enough for desert of them one night.

Winter vegie beds and paraphenalia from tip shop to protect the seedlings

what on earth happended to April!

Well cool and wet down here today but I have been out to take some pictures of the garden. Things are growing relatively well and you will see my devices (mostly from tip shop) to try to thwart bugs.lol The silver beet is as you can see growing fantastically, I have sold several bunches at the produce market, people seem to love the tri colour of the stems. Broad beans are in same area and are doing well though I do have to put some string about them to stop them being blown about to much in the wind. I have also put in some tree onions in this plot, and a mesculan mix, and one or two other things um fenugreek hmm( I have to improve with putting lables about what is growing where. I have picked my very first saffron from my crocus two have flowered but sadly my DH accidentally threw out the first three i had drying. Second lot are in a safe place. Such a pretty flower. Still getting some tomatoes and zucchinis off the plants. Under the netting are my brassicas. Cabbages, Cauliflowers, brussel sprouts, and broccoli.

March marches on and progress has been made!

Hi All no photos this time, as my new camera has a problems. Off to the seller. sigh I have broad beans up and some peas. I have cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts seedlings going well. The meter squares seems to be growing well. I have lots of little seedlings up. My silver beet has been incredible, and looks as if it has self seeded in many places. The peach tree I thought I had lost is full of leaf and I have added some manure and compost around the bases of all the fruit trees. The rain water tanks are full! YIPEE so exciting. The grass is green and the garden is looking incredible as many plants that were not doing so well have revived. I have planted a flowering gum against the dam wall, and cant not wait to see it in flower in a year or two. They were spectacular in the south of Tasmania this year! I have put in over 100 bulbs, and lots of seeds to have lovely flowers for spring and summer. The garden at the front of the house is looking really good. The plants I transplanted in summer, that were not doing so well in the heat are going great guns. I hope to be able to have some pictures soon. I have been clearing paths about the flower garden, and getting the beds in better condition. I have put horse poo, blood and bone(which helps keep the rabbits from eating the seedlings) and compost over the beds, and dug some in as I planted the new bulbs. In the process I have dug up so many fresias, that I have to put them in pots, as they seem to be spreading so crazily. I am rearranging my vegie garden and organising beds for spring, summer plantings. The two potato beds (hopefully will be free of potatoes just never seem to get rid of them all) will be for tomatoes, zucchinis, capsicum and pumpkins (growing as I did this year between the beds.) I am moving my strawberries plants and extending the berry bed. I have to move the goose berries and the currants, as I have not allowed enough room for them to grow. The raspberry beds will be extended and this will give the jostaberries an area all of their own. I am making a bed just for asparagus, and another area just for rhubarb. My rhubarb has been growing all summer. So we have had lots of it. The wild apple is full of fruit and I will pick some soon. They are still very green, but will be great for pies and freezing. As well as for crumble with rhubarb. All the gardens will have new good quality steel birdwire fencing(thanks Mr Rudd) and I have a dream to have good paths and cleared area on the outside of the fences to minimise weeds getting in. My dream would be to have edging, and I am thinking of using stone, and cement(with brown colour added) to do this. I have to work out where to put the garlic and next seasons potatoes. I am popping some in just to see if I get some early ones. Gosh life is great in the garden. I love the hardwork and the rewards. I love hand watering with a hose, as I can really keep an eye and give each plant its needs. I will be very happy when the March flies and mosquitos vanish. They have been such pests in the last couple of weeks, I got bitten by two march flies..arrgh!. We have been eating our own potatoes, silver beet, spinach, tomatoes, coriander, french tarragon, parsley, rosemary, oregnao, bay leaves, the odd carrot, beetroot, raddish and zucchinis. Salads with borage flowers and marigolds. We have also had native wild cherries which are yummy(at least I think they are). My basil was a failure, I never seem to have any luck. So it will be grown in pots next season. My beans have not done so well either. The lemon tree is looking good, I wait for lemons and limes. I dont get it? I have very little luck and yet my SDDgets lemons in the hundreds on her little tree. I am going to protect it more and will put up a barrier about it. I have some plastic I bought for another purpose so will try that to see if it helps. Oh and some hessian in case of frost. My passion fruit and grapes are growing but no fruit. My poor fig is miserable. I transplanted my french tarragon into a poly styrene pot as it was not happy in the garden where I had it, but it has lots of new shoots. I am also going to give horse raddish a try again. Mine all vanished?

Winter Garden beginings March 2009

Thanks Sara for the inspiration to get cracking on my winter vegie plots. I have put mushroom compost, horse manure and home compost onto this patch and will add some blood and bone today. I am going to go try the one magic square concept, a very interesting book by Lolo Houbein, and it is Australian which is even better! There will be several bed each a square metre. One will have the root crops, onions turnips, swedes, beetroot, onions, garlic, and she puts winter radish but I think I would prefer more garlic. The onions are in the centre. Another will hold the antioxidants, amaranth, Chinese broccoli, rocket, silver beet, spinach. I will also have a salad bed which will have endive, baby carrots, mizuna, diakon radish, coriander, shallots, Chinese swedes(if I can get some) corn salad, snow peas, tatsoy, onion, parsley, spinach, winter lettuce, rocket, a soup plot with onions, garlic, kale, leek, beetroot, carrots, sorrel and cabbage, A broad bean and pea area, a stirfry bed with broad beans, snow peas, sprouting broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, bok choy, tatsoy, and pea shoots. another concept is the Horta plot. So looks like a lot of greens on the menu for us, along with the pumpkins I have already on the vines, root vegies, and my stored potatoes and garlic. It is my plan that eventually I will not need to buy any vegies. Great plans and only time will tell how it all comes about. Needing lots of encouragement on here and Simple Savers website.. simplesavers.com.au great site for support and savings tips. We are really beginning to get onto the chicken house, and during winter we will fence and build an area for them. My concept is to have the chicken area with acess to an area of the vegie gardens, that need to be cleaned manured and turned, so that the chooks will have plenty of free ranging, a nice home to roost and be safe from quolls and eagles and dogs. Some greens that they can eat regularly and we will get eggs and at times free range meat. Anyone who knows me knows I am not built for speed and my darling man likes to think things through where as me I would just go for it..woosh..lol

The Afternoon Tea.

On Saturday we had Marks Afternoon Tea and Jazz Birthday party at our place. I had been cooking and preparing for it for a week, cooking late at night as it was too hot to cook during the day. My first ever attempt at nori rolls was successful. It is a shame the same can not be said for the Vietnamese rolls bought out late in afternoon but eaten. they just would not roll properly for me. The garden is so dry and we are low on water, but we had it all looking nice on the deck. Thanks to Mark and my dads hard work. We were lent a beautiful tarp, and this is where the band played. How fantastic were they. We had two friends from NSW and my Dads partner staying with us and what treasures they were, doing fairy bread, and great sandwiches. There was great joviality and raucousness from the production line out on the deck on the Saturday morning. As one of our friends said, the preparation is part of the fun. You know what it was. We had about 35 people come, and enjoy our afternoon tea. The great thing was there was very little left over. (well 3 cakes that I did not put out, and 3 dips I forgot). I was very happy, very tired and had a very delighted Mark. It was great to have so many family and friends share with us. I prepared 95% of the food and we had serve yourself coffee, and tea making facilities with an urn my work had lent us. We had straw bales to sit on out side near the music and under the shade of the wattles, there was the deck where people sat, chatted and listened to the music. We also had the lounge area of the house so those that wanted a little less noise and more comfort could sit and chat. Strangely the alcoholic punch went down very well, and people seemed to enjoy the non alcoholic punch, just not as much! When I bought home the bottles of Green Ginger wine, Mark was reminded of some experiences when he was a youngster having it. Added a bottle of vodka, pineapple juice, orange juice, dry ginger ale, and lemonade..it was very intoxicating little drink. the worry about people getting here, due to road closures about us (from a new Targa race) did not deter people and everyone arrived, some just a little later. I was busy ensuring food, and drinks were maintained and those who were sitting about were offered food, I was on my feet all day, and so so exhilarated but have I mentioned tired before? at the end of the day. Marks daughters helped with cleaning up thanks so much. His lovely GD danced to the music and helped with decorations. Thankyou darling. My aim was for Mark to have a party where he did not have to do a thing, just chat, eat drink and listen to the fantastic Jazz that was played. Our neighbours were great helping with shade clothe, which he just put up for us on our deck, and he trimmed the trees so people could sit out in the shade under the wattles. They also lent us some out door chairs, and tubs for drinks people bought with them. Life is so good with a great sense of community and friendship. We are so happy and fortunate with our neighbours. On a different note, we have still not had rain, and have had some corker of hot days and nights (for tassie) not as bad as Melbourne and Adelaide though. The garden is suffering because it is so dry and the wind has been so bad this year. Relentless, so even if the garden is going okay it is blown to smithereens! My pumpkins, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants are growing and flowering. We have been digging up potatoes as needed, but hard to find as I just chucked them in an area, I did not raise them and so now the rabbits have eaten off all the stems, I have to be careful where and how I dig..lol but they are delicious. The tanks are low and we are wanting some rain(preferably a good gentle soak and then some heavy showers, only at night..and dry warm days..I dont ask much lol) It was lovely to have my dad and his partner here, and our other friends stay with us. It is lovely to be just us again now. I love having people stay, and love it just being us too..lol Routine is re establishing itself, and I have been worried about my dad as he has an allergy to dog and cat hair, we have both. So poor man must have been very uncomfortable to be with them, yet he took the dog for walks, mucked about with him and was great.lol what can you do? Paradise just needs some rain, and a fair bit. The dam behind our house (belonging to our neighbour) is dry totally, and Mark has never seen it like this before in his 30 years living here. We can buy water in which it is looking like we may have to. I was so busy at the party, that I did not take a photo. So I am hoping that people who did will send us some. If they do I will post some on here.

Summer seems to finally have arrived here.

We have had quite warm days the last couple and it has been great in some ways, but the all ready dry soil is worse now and not much green grass. Which probably explains why rabbits and other creatures are eating many plants not before eaten. Oh well sharing is okay..lol. My tomatoes are finally flowering and I have some very small green fruit appearing. Pumpkins are going well, and lots of flowers and several small pumpkins so fingers crossed. Most other things are going to seed, but I am still picking some silverbeet, peas, and finally my peas(those I planted in the raspberry bed are doing well. I have had very little success with those in the vegie garden. My sunflowers seeds have been shocking failures, I must have planted twenty and so far yet again only one appears to have grown. What is it with me this is the third year when I get only one flower. It has not flowered yet. My neighbours have squillions they grow them for their hens. Oh well there is always next year. Picked all the cherries now we got about 5kgs off the second tree, so we were happy with that. Water tanks are holding up well, we have a forecast for some showers later in week and highland snow, can you believe it. It is so hot even the bees are slowly buzzing a gin and tonic is looking good again tonight, with a frozen lime I have in freezer. A neighbours lime tree had heaps on it and I popped them whole in the freezer in a bag, and now slice one in half and yummo..cool lime gin and tonic. So I will sit and watch the shimmer on the water and hope again to see the dolphins. We had a pod of 8-10 swimming in the river on Monday evening, I saw them as I was driving home from work at 9pm. Oh yes you mainlanders it is still light at 9pm for the time being. No place like Tassie for summer evenings.

Welcome to my New Year! 2009

Well we are now into the third day of the New Year, and I must say I am feeling a great deal more positive than I have been. The downstairs bathroom, living area and kitchen are all lovely and tidy, and clean. So new resolution to take pride in my home, and myself have begun. I am also happy to share with you that the rain tanks are filling..I would still like more rain, as the soil is still not really moist yet, but more water than we may have had for summer. Especially as I left the tap on..loosing heaps. We have had to have the fire on the last two days, so cold, snow on the mountain range on Wednesday when I drove to work at 5;30am. Not sure how this unseasonal weather will affect the vegies, my tomatoes, egg plants, pumkins, and capsicums especially. Finished picking the last few heads of garlic, and have some lovely large ones. I also took out nearly all the broad beans, as they were getting to big in the pods, and the wind had decimated them. So my poor old vegie plots are looking a bit tragic. Raspberries going well. Second cherry tree hopefully will be ready to pick soon. I hope to spend a couple of days in garden next week. When I take the dog out I usually end up doing weeding for a while..lol

Our Garden and some of our home grown produce

Dec 2008. I am so lucky my DH gave me a lovely digital camera for Christmas, and I have been getting used to it by taking photos of our garden. You will get an idea how dry it is, and why I was so upset when I accidentally left the tap on and we lost one whole tank of water. (reliant on tank water). Despite this my garden is growing, my new seedlings are taking. It is a work in progress, and fencing things to save them from the possums, wallabies, potaroos, bandicoots, and birds, has been a on going learning curve. The netting over the raspberries is working well. We have been eating raspberries from our garden. We have also been feeding the neighbours chooks, and getting eggs and some raspberries from their vines too. I picked a kilo to share for Christmas lunch. One of the covers over the cherries is fine, but the other cherry was invaded by a mother black bird and her three young, we evicted them and felt we had sealed the net up well. Only to come out the next day to find little birds in the cherry tree. Still we did end up with a lovely bowl of cherries from this tree, which we also took to share with family Christmas day. Much sweeter (if smaller) than the bought ones.

Our house Spring 2008

It is a hard place to live

I love living in my beautiful home, and environment. I have been picking raspberries(only a small handful so far) and they are not very sweet as we have not had a lot of sunshine lately, so sugars have not risen so well. Lots of flowers and sunshine coming.. The strawberries on the other hand have been great, over 1Kg so far. My potatoes are giving us lovely new potatoes. I have been doing a bit of bandicooting and we have been enjoying, with home grown parsley or mint. Tess the horse is doing a fine job of eating the long grass, but I will still need to have someone slash some areas. At least my fruit trees may be safer this year. My vegie garden is very basic as far as structure goes, but the plans to improve it over winter and put better quality wire fencing around. Put some pathways, and get the beds sorted properly. I finally managed to net the two cherry trees today, the blackbirds were not happy..lol My DH is giving me a digital camera for Christmas, so I will be able to put up more up to date photos. The photos on the blog so far are from last year, springtime. Well it is nice to have some where to share images of my home and area

Springtime at home 2008

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