kapunda garden

summer evening on the verandah

2012-01-23T20:58:00.003+10:30

Another row of hot dry days, and the garden is suffering. The other issues that I've had to attend to mean that I've had little time to take care of any of it. These things happen. I will get back "on top of things" later.

This evening, as the sun is setting (8.30pm) I am sitting on the verandah feeling sorry for my garden if not myself, though there is little I can do until it rains again.

The view from the verandah is very dry..... buddha is sometimes hidden by tall watsonia and weeds, but not now....

The ground is dry, the bushes sparse and the trees are dropping their leaves as they do in the summer here....

The wormwood is thinning, and the jade plant has dropped its leaves and those that remain are soft and wrinkly....

Gertrude has seen me photographing the yard, she has some kurrajong leaves and water, but would like some company. The house behind her was not here when I moved in. The previous owner built it and moved on, leaving me with neighbours who run the air conditioner at night in the summer and so opening my windows has become unpleasant, though it is the only means that I have for cooling my house. I love it when the electricity is interrupted! Gertrude has cactus plants beside her pen and they are flowering now....

... as I took photographs, the bees were still attending the flowers.... I can see one in this photograph. This is the perfume that I smelled in the night last night.... I don't suppose the airconditioned neighbours even know about the perfumed air around their house.

The sun was setting as I photographed the front yard....

... and then I saw a troubled rosella... ready to fly...... and it went.....

No wonder, the galahs, en masse, arrived, noisy and arguing.....

.... there are about 50 galahs that sleep in the gum trees in my yard.

The sun is gone, but the glow in the west remains with fiery colours iin the clouds, but still no rain.

The galah sounds have changed... still a few squawks, but a few of the cooing contact calls as they settle into their positions for the night.

Artichoke flower and my break in communication

2012-01-21T21:49:00.002+10:30

After posting most days, or at least weeks since I began this blog, I have had a break of 20 days... nearly three weeks. I have had a patch of family issues and and a stressful patch leading to a lack of energy to post or communicate very much at all. I am not an orphan here.... most people go through patches like this, whether it's health related, emergent disasters or just weather or environment related... this is not new. Families and communities have always had to deal with surprises of all sorts and all kinds of disasters.

I haven't had the energy to communicate with anyone, let alone my blog readers.

At first, I thought I'd be "back on track" before anyone noticed.... then I thought I'd limit my absence to a respectable holiday period" and then I realised that I would need to say something about the gap in posts.... As most of my regualr followers know, I am really concerned with being as self sufficient as I can be. This summer, with the family issues and the hot (no... scorching) weather, I have not been able to keep up with my usual garden production and planning that I am usually able to do. While this is disappointing, it also leads me to think about these issues in other times and other places.

It is all very well for any and all of us to plan to be self sufficient, and this is really good.... but what happens when there are family emergencies and regional disasters of all sorts.

My thoughts are always to go back to the "olden days" and... what did people do. Community is important. Friends and extended family were the first assistance, and the local community have always been the first backup. In modern times, the community has diminished in importance. If our means of support when things are difficult is disapperaing, then what will happen as our means of support becomes even more precarious.

I am lucky that I live in a relatively small community where I have significant help from friends, neighbours and even some formal agencies (because I know the individuals who are there) but what of the city friends who live anonymously as "cogs in a wheel" and who will help them when something goes wrong?

We need to re-think the anonymity of life in the modern world and what happens when things go wrong. I am hoping that I am getting "back on top of things" and I will be resurrecting much of my garden in th next few weeks... yet another interesting patch, for I am not the first person to lose a crop when things went terribly wrong.

Hot days

2012-01-01T23:01:00.002+10:30

It is new years day, asdn while this is mid summer, and we expect summer weather, the last few days have been very difficult. The past two days have been in the mid 40's (around 110F) and the garden is not doing well.
After the new year's celebrations, it's been necessary to be up early in the morning (to water the garden and to bring Gertrude out) and then to remain up late until the weather cools down, to water again and to make sure that the livestock (however minimal ) is ok.
Days are long... it is midsummer... and so the hours of work are longer. This evening I cooked pasta primavera (my own version) for dinner, medicated Gertrudes eye, watered the garden and "retired to the verandah" for the evening. It is still over 35C out here, but there is a breeze and the air feels fresh. the prayer flags are blowing in the gentle breeze....

... the currajong trees have dropped many leaves ( a aummer survival strategy) and it is the first time today that these trees are quiet... they usually hve so many bees at the flowers that they are "loud".... these photographs are taken at night as I sit outside....

Tomorrow will be another hot day ... apparently around 40C, and it will be the time to begin the garden repair after this heat wave. The Bureau of Meteorology does not give an optimistic utlook for some time. I can only look at this as a "learning experience" for what did my grandmother do when vegetable crops were devastated by a heat wave. Gardening for food, when it isn't merely a luxury or an indulggence is a whole other pursuit. Days like today bring this urgency home in no uncertain terms.

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T16:20:00.004+10:30

I've been busy during Christmas.... though I hadn't realised that it's been so long since my last post. Today is quite hot... close to 40C, and the garden is watered and protected from the sun. It has "gone downhill" a bit during the past few weeks as, between work, minor and major crises in the family and the arrival of a temporary lodger with too much stuff, I have neglected some patches.

It's amazing to see how well the salvias are surviving. I have quite a collection from various countries where conditions can be equally hot and dry, and I'll make a proper post about those shortly.

Meanwhile, Gertrude has been unwell. I had only recently been admiring her wonderful general health, shown by her fat tummy and her amazingly shiny hair, when I noticed that one of her eyes had a red edge to it a couple of days ago. Today, her pupil looked whitish though she didn't seem unduly fussed....

... during the hot days, she has been in the shade and getting rid of feral olive branches.

The vet has been to visit, and there is nothung in her eye. I'm assuming that she's scratched it or got something in it that is long gone. The vet used some anaesthetic to poke around (while I held her back legs off the ground to reduce traction) and now she has some antibiotic cream in and around the eye....

... hard to see, but the white ring around her right eye is a good dose of medication. I can't wait to have a go at putting some more in tomorrow morning... it will be a great way to start the new year.

Perfumed lilies, ladybirds and jalapenos

2011-12-21T18:55:00.001+10:30

The latest lily to flower is the amazingly perfumed white one.....

.... the shadows of the salvia behind it look interesting. There are more to come.....

The ladybirds are still out on the parsley seed heads.....

.... and the carrot flowers.....

The parsley is almost ready to plant.....

.... this is where my seeds come from.

The new jalapeno crop is beginning while the old ripe fruits remain.....

.... I'm obviously not eating (or freezing) enough of them.

New lily & first tomato!

2011-12-15T12:56:00.000+10:30

The first of this different lily came out yesterday afternoon. A little the worse for wear in the sind, but beautiful....

... my grandmother used to grow this kind, and it reminds me of her.

I ate the first local (20 metres) tomato today....

..... not a huge crop, but it was very tasty.

The ladybirds are still at work.....

... and hopefully dining on aphids as I dine on tomatoes.

Bath time

2011-12-15T12:49:00.000+10:30

The young rosella that has been haning around the pond was back again this morning.

It always drinks and bathes, and this morning was no exception....

.... this morning, a friend came too.....

.... and a young blackbird... don't know what it was thinking, but it didn't go near the water until the splashy bath was over.....

Interesting morning. And this is all straight outside my kitchen window and it's what I watch while I wash the dishes.

Best bronzewing picture

2011-12-09T17:12:00.001+10:30

Today I went out looking for a cuckoo that I heard, but never did see. However, having got my "eye in" yesterday, I found the Bronzewing without any difficulty at all. They ar every apprehensive about people compared with the other birds around here, but I photographed this male bird quite easily....

.... in this first photograph, there is a definite yellow puffy patch on the forehead... that makes it a male....

... and in the second picture you can easily se the multicoloured feathers and stripes down his back. I suppose the female is sitting on eggs. There are usually two birds around, but I can't see her. They are both in my yard though, and both call in the same way at times. I'll keep looking, but if only they knew that I wasn't going to interfere, with them, and that I have forgone fruit trees to preseve their habitat here.

Bronzewing

2011-12-08T20:59:00.001+10:30

I have been hearing a Bronzewing pigeon for some weeks. Their sound is very distinctive, it begins at about 4.30 am in the morning and goes until dark (nearly 9pm lately.) As it was getting dark this evening, I saw it.....

... and I realise that this is not the best photograph in the world, I am just so pleased to have found the Bronzewing.

Earlier in the day I had been photographing a young red wattle bird around the pond.....

.... it was very funny......

..... it didn't like the bees around the lily pads......

... but here, if you look carefully, you can see the red wattles... just tiny, but they are there.

And here is a baby blackbird, learning to catch earwigs....

..... this year is a BIG earwig year..... so the blackbirds had better get on with it.

The garden is not doing so well at the moment.... hot, earwigs and less attention than usual.... at least the birds are doing their part.

Eggs

2011-12-07T17:46:00.001+10:30

This may not be an exciting picture to many, but this is the first day on which I have retrieved 4 eggs from the chickens.....

.... since the night of the fox I have had to deal with stressed hens and a lack of eggs. I now have only four hens (prior to the fox in the henhouse, I had 13 + one wierd rooster) and significantly less eggs than usual. Today is the first day that I have found four eggs in the nestbox. That means that even the black hen is laying eggs. She is the one who sat for two weeks without moving.... here she is when I first saw her roosting... a couple of weeks ago....

The production of four eggs today means that she is back "on the lay" and hopefully happier. She was the first out of the pen when they came out to deal with my earwig problem today.... a turnaround!

More cactus flowers

2011-12-04T16:26:00.001+10:30

It does seem to be a very good year for cactus plants/flowers this year.... just beside Gertrude's pen are these.....

..... a pinkish purple one...

... this yellow one, with a green centre....

... and more of the spectacular while flowers....

And here they are all together.....

... the very tallest plants are a different species, I think and so far these only have buds... so much more to come.

Flowers, seeds and insects

2011-12-02T16:02:00.001+10:30

This morning, when I was out in th garden early (before work) the air was heavy with perfume. i took this photograph to add to my facebook page before I left for work.

This afternoon, the same flowers look a little the worse for wear... no wind, gentle weatehr, but the flowers don't last very long.

The compensation is the next cactus flowers.....

... and these have come out during the day.

I went to check on the rest of the garden when I got home. Someone asked me the other day what I do when plants go to seed. In faact, I do pull a few out, but mostly I let them "do their thing" and this is the result....

these are coriander seeds. For a start, dried coriander seeds (like this) are very useful... they constitute much of the "volume" of the curry powder that you can buy. This "fresh" version has much more flavour than the dried, ground version that you can buy. As well as that, I plant the seeds again to get more leafy coriander (cilantro/chinese parsley) and I am never short of any of these flavours... it's one of those flavours that either you love or hate (I love it) so I am pleased to have a constant supply.

I always let a few winter carrots "go to seed" as well... it is just at this time of the year that I am trying to encourage ladybirds and they love carrot flowers for their babies.... and love to eat aphids! This lady bird is running around on a carrot flower....

... but the parsley flowers seem even more attractive. Here are three on this flowerhead and I could have photographed any number of them today.

I also found this fly on another carrot flower...

...don't know what it is yet, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be grateful... I assume it's "friendly" until I find out otherwise. There seems to be an un-written rule that the adult insects that hang out on mature plants have babies that feed on the pests of the young/immature plants that I am in competition for... the friends of my enemies are my friends.

2011-12-01T16:02:00.001+10:30

The poor black chicken that was savaged by the fox is definitely getting better. Today is the first time that she has been out foraging for earwigs in the yard.....

.... she looks so much better, though you can still see her bald patch behind her head. The fox took off with a lot of feathers, and the patch is only now growing back....

.... if you look carefully, you can see the gap in the feathers behind her head. Baby feathers are growing back, but she still looks a bit odd.
But remember this.....

.... she spent two weeks like that (and she didn't eat or drink!) and I seriously thought about euthanasia.

I found two eggs today. The two bantams lay smaller eggs than this big one. That presumably belongs to the white hen. The tiny one is probably produced by the black hen. Chickens often produce these funny little eggs (no yolk) when they are "learning" or when they re-commence laying after the winter (because "normal" hens don't lay all year round.)

Anyway, this egg had a black feather stuck to it. I think that it just might indicate that the black hen might be coming back "on the lay." So pleased to see that she has survived, let alone laying eggs! A survivor!

Pond still needs work, but is getting better by the day... fish are enjoying it too, is seems.

The colours of summer....

2011-11-30T16:34:00.001+10:30

On the way home form work today I stopped to look at the landscape.... this photograph is actually taken looking back towards Nuriootpa in the Barossa. This is what my daily communte looks like....

The canola is long gone, but the grain is ripening and being harvested as quickly as possible.....

.... but it is the colours that I like at this time of year... summer colours....

everywhere.....

except on the other side of the road where the vinyards are irrigated and green.

I wonder how long this will be possible, as water becomes more scarce.

Gazebo? or not?

2011-11-27T13:06:00.001+10:30

I have done some work on the pond this morning, in particular, making the platform at the "kitchen end" of the pond. My plan is to feed the fish in the mornings so that they become a bit more visible.

There are five fish that survived the move to the bath tub and back while I modified the pond.... and you can just see them here....

I have been thinking about a gazebo for some time. My idea is to have a kind of pavilion in the garden where I can sit outside and read during the warm weather. Then today, I wonder whether I really need one..... today, having done some work on the pond, I was sitting out under this olive tree with my book....

... my view of Gertrude is quite good as well. (She likes my company, even when I am reading.)

My view of the pond is pretty good....

.... and here is Gertrude clearing the leaves that she can reach....

... and again.....

Perhaps I don't need a "proper" gazebo after all. Perhaps people without trees are trying to provide this kind of shady comfort when they build gazebos... though in a few weeks time, when the flies are even worse, I might want a screened pavilion to spend some time out there.

After all the fun and games.... back to work....

2011-11-26T18:02:00.001+10:30

The garden has been neglected. I have been otherwise occupied for several weeks, in fact. But it is time to get back to work.

The past week has been a week of fun and games with family. One of my sons and his girlfriend have been visiting. it has been wonderful. Here they are playing hand-ball in the yard....

and goat managing.....

...it has been a wonderful visit. Now, it is back to owrk! The summer garden will not manage on its own. The summer vegetabele patch looks a little the wrse for wear....

... the pond is slowly being resurrected after a leaky disaster.....

.... and the damaged chicken (the black one) is back "hanging out" with the others after her adventure with the fox....

... in fact she has just begun getting out and about. I collected three eggs today....

.... though I'm not sure who they belong to. One to three eggs per day are enough for the moment.

The lilies are flowering.....

... and becoming more spectacular by the day.....

The next few days require quite a bit of work if I am to have enough vegetables to last me through the summer.

New Holland Honeyeater

2011-11-15T07:55:00.001+10:30

I went out to hang the washing up before I left for work this morning, watched by this little honeyeater....

... a New Holland Honeyeater.

The hungry gap

2011-11-10T19:39:00.000+10:30

The hungry gap is considered to be unavoidable in climates such as Britain or Northern Europe. This refers to that period of time before the summer crops are bountiful. We are more fortunate here, our crops are more flexible because of our more benign climate, but there is still a period of time when winter vegetables have been eaten, spring crops are tentative and the summer season of vegetable gluts has not yet arrived.
This is where planning ahead is necessary. In most cultures there is a tradition of preserving the "glut" for less productive times... in antiquity, there were granaries and oil (high energy food source) that were stored for the lean times. Various cultures have means of preserving the bounty... ancient granaries in the fertile crescent, dried fish (bacalau) from Newfoundland, salted olives from the mediterranean, passata tomatoes from Italy and our own "Vacola" bottled fruit and vegetabes that are judged at any number of local shows. The reason for these skills, back in the day, was to tide families over during the hungry gap.

In my own garden, it is interesting to compare my food supply with that of those people from those days. In my store cupboard I still have spaghetti sauce (various) made when I had a glut of tomatoes and zucchinis last summer. I have a variety of fruits still in sterile syrup... quinces, nectarines, peaches and some apricots from the previous year that are just fine. The silver beet has gone to seed, though I still pick a few leaves from the remaining straggly plants... I always grow silver beet (as anyone who has been a recipient of my silver beet seeds will agree) and encourage other people to do the same.

Even the broad beans have finished. I have eaten the leafy tips (stir fried) the baby beans as a substitute for peas in "rice and peas" from Italy and the bigger beans in curry... the rest will dry to provide seeds for next year as well as the well cooked beans in minestrone. The last two artichokes are about to be used, and the last mangel worzels are looking appetising.

The idea that any and everything is available at any time of the year is so "unreal." Not only does it require an inestimable amount of fuel to maintain the artificial production, but also the transportation of "out of season" fruits and vegetables that need to come from thousands of miles away is not sustainable. Recipes in trendy books include ingredients that are not avbailable synchronously, supermarkets advertise special on non seasonal fruits and "good cooking" is now seen as gathering ingredients from the supermarket and making meals (seasonable or not) with the least effort possible. Until we re-learn what is available locally and how to use it, we will never have any impact on carbon emissions, climate change or our extravagant budgets for our basic needs.

And so here I find myself in the "hungry gap" and with less variety in mealtime ingredients. I buy flour, and so I have fresh home made bread. I have chickens (though recently reduced in number) and so I have eggs and I have a small, much smaller thatn usual, selection of vegetables... currently artichokes, silver beet, carrots, beets, mangel worzel, onions and garlic. I still have a couple of pumpkins too. I still have the perennial herbs, and olives from last year.... probably a few other items also, but the reality is that the variety of ingredients is less than at other times of the year. It is the "hungry gap".

The big advantage of this is that when there is a bounty, one appreciates whatever is available and there is some incentive to preserve the excess for the future. I have some empathy for those women who had no choice in the olden days, I regard them as skilled women from whom we could learn much and may well need to in the future.

Gertrude doesn't worry about the future....

... this is "goat heaven" with watsonia all around for a goat who loves watsonia. She doesn't need to worry about her diet in the various seasons because she can digest cellulose (with the help of her bacteria.)

For us (humans) we need to make sure that we have adequate, affordable, locally grown food items for the rest of us that can't manage on watsonia... gardens will do this, but it is not an instant "fix". It has taken some years for my garden to be sufficiently productive to be reliable, even during the hungry gap... I think we all need to learn some old skills.

gecko

2011-11-09T22:20:00.002+10:30

After all of the miserable stuff of the past few days, it was good to find a friendly critter....

... a gecko came out from under my clock radio on the window sill in my bedroom. I hope he's looking for mosquitos. Anyway, after a few days of death and destruction, it was good to see an energetic little gecko on my window sill.

repair and regroup

2011-11-09T15:44:00.000+10:30

I had to go to work today, but when I came home, my first obligation was the hen house.... I took my hen house repair kit....

... and I made the repair to the spot that the fox had got in. I have also done a few pre-emptive repairs to some other dodgy spots, though this is the repair that will foil that fox for the forseeable future....

The chickens that remain are doing as well as could be expected.... here is the bantam (light coloured) and another reddish broody hen....

.... the white (sussex?) broody hen.....

.... and the sickly black one....

She hasn't moved all day, and if she was a mammal I would be thinking about euthanasia, but birds of all kinds (including chickens) seem to be differently wired. I'll leave her for another day or so and see how she is. Black Australorps are my favourites, and, while she's by no means a well bred chicken ( I raised her from an egg from a mottley crew) I'll wait to see how she goes.

Meanwhile, out in the rest of the yard, the irises are flowering....

they are only "flag irises" that grow wild along the roadways here (usually white or this colour purple) I like them very much.

Gertrude is tethered near them, though she can't get to them.....

...she is eating Watsonia plants that are close by. The same buddha is just behing Gertie's head if you look carefully.

Fox in the hen house!

2011-11-09T07:01:00.000+10:30

Yesterday morning, just as I was leaving for work, I went out to make sure that the chickens had enough food and water to last them until I arrived home to let them out to forage for a while. I found a complete disaster.....

....ten dead chooks, but if you look carefully, you can see one nervous looking little bantam hen, apparently untouched.
This morning, I went out to survey the damage again, and there is one very sick looking black hen and two broody ones sitting on plastic eggs. It looks awful out there.
This afternoon, after work, I'll make the more permanent repairs to the roof of the yard and I'll bury the bodies that are already attracting flies.

busy week

2011-11-07T21:07:00.001+10:30

I came back to my blog today, only to be surprised that it ia a week since I've posted! I have been planting spring vegetables, re-organising my pond & my spare room and spending longer hours at work because there is much to be done there as well. The broad beans are finished and the artichokes are almost over as well.
I have planted tomatoes, potatoes, some more "greens" and the green pepper plants that have survived since last year are flowering already. Plenty of herbs, a few beets and carrots, but I'm looking forward to the new season summer vegetables.

The cactuses have been flowering profusely..... so many flowers.....

... and in the mornings, the bees are out as well.... taking advantage of the nectar and pollen....

There is more to do, but I have also been working on my house. It has been necessary to remove graffiti from the walls of a bedroom that is to be used shortly.... it began like this....

so far, much of the room has five coats of paint and now it looks like this.... (the "BitcH" in the photo is still there.... especially the "C")

.... almost gone, but I've used a lot of paint! Who would have thought that it would be so hard to cover over.
The new "guest room" will soon be ready for visitors!

I have also been working on my pond... photos of that are coming soon.

Ironing and value

2011-10-31T20:52:00.001+10:30

I have been ironing the linen and teatowels this evening. I was ironing one of my well known serviettes (napkins for my north American friends) and saw its usual darned patch....

... in fact, there are several mends... small darned areas in this serviette....

... I'm sure that some people would decide that it's not worth laundering, ironing and taking care of with its little patch of darned and re-inforced patches. In facat I like it.

Whenever I iron this particular serviette (napkin?) I am reminded of my hand knitted socks. I have been asked whether I would knit socks for other people and when I say yes... but I need to be paid $10 per hour... I usually have two different reactions.

either the suggestion that $10 per hour is too little remuneration; or
$10 is ok, and so how much would that be altogether?

In fact, it makes a pair of socks worth about $110... and the quote is always turned down.

People would prefer the Chinese "tube socks" for about $2 per pair.

I don't... I wear hand knitted woollen socks and I mend them, should they need it, having taken many hours to make them.... but it is interesting how people's priorities are organised. Socks that take many hours to make are worth maintaining.... just like damask serviettes.

Anyway, my darned serviette makes me consider the value of the items that are in my house. Spending hours mending and darning household items like my serviette merely confirms the value of those items. When we have acccess to disposable and cheap cotton serviettes... or even "disposable" paper ones, it shows how little household items are valued in recent times. Not only does this de-valuation of household items make traditonal "women's" work worthless, it also means that resources and energy are equally devalued. It seems like our loss. And it probably can'tcontinue indefinitely as resources and energy are more scarce.

Perhaps, as energy is constrained, our attitude to household items, and the resources that are required to make them, will change.

Spring

2011-10-27T20:09:00.003+10:30

I am aware that I am not documenting every bud, flower and fruit that is being produced in the garden. This is not because I mean to be secretive or even un-interested, but it seems that once again, this year, the same vegetables are doing much the same as they have in previous years. Right now, the tomatoes are flowering....

... and the beans are curling....

It is late spring and more effort is required in the garden.... watering, soil testing and amelioration and the odd spray of seasol. So much to do, so little time.

Squatters in the back verandah

2011-10-26T19:01:00.001+10:30

The nest that has being built in the back verandah, above the dry wood pile is occupied....

... and someone is occupied, full-time, on this nest.

Toolangi Delight

2011-10-23T09:15:00.001+10:30

I grow potatoes at all times of the year. They grow slowly in winter, when water is more plentiful and they grow faster during the longer days though it's necessary to provide supplementary watering. This is the time of the year when I hope for a good crop.
This year I have planted several different varieties... Toolangi Delight, Pink Fir, Dutch Cream and Salad Rose. So far, the Toolangi Delight are producing the most beautiful plants....

The others are growing slowly, but seem more bothered by pests as well. More leafy growth is needed to feed the tubers, and so I may end up growing more Toolangi Delights in the future.

Harvesting broad beans

2011-10-22T18:12:00.001+10:30

The broad beans always produce very well here, and as is their style, they eventually produce a lot at once. In the early days, I eat them whole, in the same way as ordinary beans. Even before that, the growing tips, leaves and all are good to stir fry in the same way as other green vegetables.
Now, though, I am picking a lot of bean pods that need hulling and cooking in the same way as peas that are taken out of the pods.
It's been a chaotic week, so I this morning I picked a huge basket full...

These are taken out of the pods, blanched, dried and spread out on a cloth....

.... they are in the freezer, and they'll be ready to put in bags (like frozen peas) in the morning. These will be good for my risi e bisi converted to risi e fava later in the year. I am lucky to have a freezer this year. (Previously I have "bottled" the beans and they are just as good, though a bit "soggier" than the frozen ones.

Evening cactus flowers

2011-10-20T18:02:00.001+10:30

These cactuses flower at night. They are pollinated by moths... though not here, in Australia, where the required species of moths are not available. As the sun goes down, the next days blooms begin to open.....

... the ones that will flower in a few days time are still tiny buds.....

... but tonight, the air will be perfumed again....

..... the moths are missing out on all of this.

Perfumed garden

2011-10-18T07:54:00.001+10:30

The perfume in the garden this morning is wonderful....

..... the cactus is flowering again.

Kapunda Celtic Festival 2011

2011-10-17T09:52:00.002+10:30

This week has been busy and disorgansied... and to cap it off, we had a music festival that lasted the weekend.... I saw Sibin on Friday, an assortment of bands on Saturday, though I missed much of the singing competition... otherwise occupied.... and then yesterday, more music.....

.... and the parade.....

.... wonderful weekend, but now it is "back to business" and a week of garden, work and goat-herding.

Plenty of broad beans

2011-10-17T09:16:00.002+10:30

It is that time of year again. the broad beans are producing and we are eating well....

.... beans with herbs and rice and cheese..... Mmmm....

Spring and the shortage of nesting holes...

2011-10-09T15:19:00.000+10:30

I have just spent much of the day out in the garden (between watching bits and pieces of the Bathurst races) and it is beautiful out there. The herb patch is flowering.....

.. the broad beans are producing.....

....and the tomato plants are beginning to flower 9though you might have to enlarge htis one to wee the flowers.....

... baby cucumber plants in the ground.....

... an assortment of zucchini plants are doing well (and a few beans)....

However, there is drama out there. For the last two days I have a seen a galah at the nest hole in the gum tree....

....today I saw a pair hanging around for much of the day.....

I actually saw the pair of rosellas fly away. They are very distinctive because one of them is so red, unlike the usual "Adelaidean" variety. The "Adelaide" one has been back to the nest hole.....

.... but then I spent a while watching this galah obviously finding something in there.... eggs?

Seeing this galah apparently feeding on something from the hole that I suspect might be eggs, I have to think that the reason for having such a deep hole (parrrots prefer a metre deep hole) is to prevent this sort of egg destruction.

Nest holes are definitely at a premium, and perhaps the more so this year after several neighbours have cut down big old trees in order to subdivide their yards or clear for an "English" style garden. Any thought I had of cutting one of these trees down to allow fruit trees to grow is long gone.

October, Alex's 27th birthday.

2011-10-01T12:01:00.000+09:30

It's been a very busy week. We did get more than 30mm of rain though and the garden is looking really happy.

I have begun to plant the spring vegetables, though there is still quite a bit to go. Today I planted tomatoes, basil, some more broccoli, beans and I've transplanted some zucchini plants.... and then I collected the vegetables for dinner....

....one mangel worzel, some carrots, broccoli and broad beans and four artichokes. Now to decide what we will eat.... I have a piece of meat from a local, grass fed steer that was killed in the Kapunda abbattoir and sold to me in the local butcher's shop. Perhaps it will be pot roasted with the vegetables and served with broccoli and broad beans.

I had a friend out there too.....

... she was puffing up to make herself bigger, and hissing at me with her blue tongue out, but I wasn't afraid and found her a safe spot under the weeds and rocks. My good deed for the day.

Equinox weekend

2011-09-23T19:55:00.000+09:30

Driving home form work on Thursday, the vines (Barossa wine vines, of course) were really springing into action... so beautiful....

... a grebe on the dam on the way home from work....

... and the view coming into Kapunda... the road home.

This afternoon I picked the food for dinner... broccoli and the first broad beans! Tiny but lovely....

.... life is good.

Flowers and vegetables

2011-09-17T13:46:00.000+09:30

I go out daily to make sure that everything is surviving in the garden, and when you look closely there are a lot of interesting flowers and plants.... the bay leaf tree is beginning to flower....

... and the echinacea is not only flowering, but producing lots of new growth at ground level....

... the coriander is flowering now. That means that there's not much more leafy "cilantro" this year. Now, I'll wait for the seeds for curries and for planting after the weather cools down in the autumn.

The broccoli is beginning to produce plenty....

.... and the baby broad beans are looking more "bean-like" by the day....

I'll check the artichokes again this week (broad beans and artichokes seem to produce at the same time.)

Quince flower

2011-09-17T09:06:00.000+09:30

I like quinces. They are one of may favourite fruits. I even like the tangy taste of them raw. The quince tree here is quite small. I planted it two or three years ago. I have difficulty growing fruit trees because of the other large trees in the yard, but with the rosellas nesting in one of the trees and not a lot of alternative nest holes, I can't change that.

Quince trees aren't really so much trees, as some kind of shrubby bush, and this one seems to be doing reasonably well. This week the flowers came out. They are lovely...

.... one of the most lovely fruit blossoms that I've seen.

Goat antics

2011-09-12T17:15:00.001+09:30

I went out to check on Gertrude today. She loves to climb anything that is around. Here, she as climbed up a pile of wood that was cut from the Kurrajong tree....

.... one can't clear this away (it isn't good firewood, only compost) but right now it's Gertrude's favourite climbing place!

The other thing that I found is this centipede....

.... it is quite large... more than 12cm long... (about 5 inches?) and beautifully coloured. There were a lot of earwigs and cockroaches around also. I hope the centipede is out there filling up on earwigs!

Food garden & bird behaviour

2011-09-11T15:16:00.000+09:30

I have been out looking for the birds that are nesting in the gum tree again today. I finally saw one of them, but more of that later. I planted some more early vegetables, and as I dug the garden, I found another few potatoes... quite big ones.... I don't know how I missed them!
Then I went for a walk around to see what else was out there to eat.... it's not ready yet, but the next broccoli crop is looking good....

... and of course there is still quite a few mangel worzels.....

... and I am learning to use them more and more. They are a lot like beetroot (except for the colour) and they are easier to cook with their skins on in the same way as bbetroot. I skin them afterwards, and put butter on them. Next I want to try roasting them.
There is always parsley (and silverbeet) so no need to go without our green vegetables....

Just the other day, I was thrilled to see the first broad bean flower. Now they are all over the place....

.... and I have seen some tiny beans.... these are about an inch long....

With tiny beans appearing, it's also time to look at the artichokes as they seem to be available at the same time....

Once again, the recipes for this combination of vegetables come from Greece, Italy and Morrocco where the climate must be similar to ours.

Kale... and this is the most beautiful one..... beautiful colours.... and the cabbage moths don't lay their eggs on these lacy leaves as often as on the plainer leaves. I suppose they think that the leaves look too moth-eaten to be worth adding more babies to. Interesting camouflage!

The garlic crop is growing better this year than usual... I planted it in the same way and it has had the same time to grow... though this lot got goat poo!

Gertrude is very clever!

I did finally see one of the rosellas.....

... looking in at the hole in the tree. It leaned right in, as if it might be feeding the bird that is sitting on any eggs. I'll have to find out about the breeding behaviour of rosellas....

The bird leans right in, but never seems to "change places" with the one that is there.

Spring?

2011-09-10T17:09:00.000+09:30

When the first day of September arrived, there was much mention made of spring. In fact, Spring starts at the equinox I've always thought.... the sun knows better where it is than we do. In fact, when the sun appears to cross the equator on September 23rd (at about 8pm here) we will have equal length days and nights and we will be starting spring and on our way to summer...

You can tell that it's still winter.... the washing is hanging wet on the line....

... the birds are not venturing out....

.... this is the tree with the rosella nest in a hole.... and I haven't seen them all day! A grey day in Kapunda.

I'm still waiting for spring.

Broad beans 2011

2011-09-04T12:42:00.000+09:30

I've been out looking for signs of the new season's crop of broad beans. The plants have been flowering for a while, but the weather hasn't been quite warm enough for beans to form. This morning I found the first tiny beans...

... admittedly, one does have to look carefully, but they are there.
This is when the advantages of seasonal eating are particularly good. I've written about this previously, and I still think it's wonderful to have the novelty of fresh new vegetables each season.
The trick now is to decide how large to allow them to grow before the first taste. Eventually I'll try just one, I'm sure while it is too tiny to be worthwhile at all.

Blackbird

2011-09-03T15:16:00.001+09:30

Blackbirds are not a native to Australia. They breed efficiently in my garden, and I'm aware of one nest being constructed already this year. Today I foudn one in the bird path.....

.... it checked me out, and then went on bathing....

.... I have a few of these around the house. I love their song, and the fact that they eat earwigs from the vegetables patch without disturbing the productive plants. I wonder which species they have driven out. I can't help but appreciate their activity though. There is always a conflict between introduced and productive species, like us, and the original inhabitants.... difficult situations.

Spring cleanup and planting potatoes

2011-09-03T14:30:00.000+09:30

It's the first really warm day in the garden today, and being a weekend, I have time to get some werious amounts of work done out there. I cleaned up quite a bit of the spent plants and preparted the ground for the next plantings.

While I was at it though, I found quite a few edible odds and ends. I cut the good bits from plants as I pulled them out (the chickens have the rest) and found a few hidden treasures, including this mangel wurzel....

.... the pencil is there to show its size. I don't know how I didn't see this one previously!

I've planted four different kinds of potatoes.... three in these patches..... another kind in a more shaded spot, just in case we have a really hot summer. They'll be better shaded there, and while potatoes need plenty of sun, I also know that they can be killed by too much of it. As I have commented previously, I even grow winter potatoes in case of some warmish weather because the water demands are not such a probnlem in winter...

.... I don't put all of my "eggs" in one basket!

The garlic is doing much better so far this year.....

.... goat poo must be good for it!

Gertrude is down near the back fence. She has even been eating grass today, though she prefers shrubby stuff. Here she is lying down on the top of a pile of weeds that are composting.....

....she often climbs up anything that's availaable (even chairs)...

... sort of like "queen of the castle" I suppose.

This borage has come up by itself in recent weeks. I've actually found several plants like this....

... I had kept seeds previously, and last year I threw some in amongst the "herb and flower" patch... and here they are coming up all over the place. I'll be watching for flowers.

Rosellas in spring....

2011-09-01T18:36:00.000+09:30

I've been watching a Rosella nest hole in one of the trees in my yard.... the first thing that I saw a few days ago was an incredible fight among about 8 or 10 rosellas. Eventually I saw what they were fighting over.... a nest hole in a tree in my yard. I hate to confess it, but I had been considering cutting this tree down bevause it is hampering my efforts to grow fruit trees, but more of that later.... here is the red bird coming out of the nest hole...

.... and going back in again.....

Today, a few days later, I went out to try to photograph the bird inside the hole looking out. I waited and waited, but eventually I saw another bird land near to the nest.... another rosella, and it sat there fluffing up its tail and "waggling" it near the nest... I don't speak "parrot", so I'm not sure of the significance, but it was very interesting...

Then this "cool dude" came and chased that other tail flutterer away....

... and eventually the other part of the pair came to checkout the nest hole....

All of this took some time, and so I was looking around at the graffiti on the fence.... I'd never noticed this sad face before (I have a lot of graffiti.... just lucky, I guess)

... and a signature that a number of people will recognise.....

Around the garden.... this flower is just coming out of the ground....

.... and a tulip is flowering....

.... it must be spring.

Boronia

2011-08-27T17:06:00.000+09:30

It's been a long week. I've been to a birthday party in Brisbane, lost my camera, done a big week's work, bought a new camera (learning curve) mowed about half of the yard, been out to the studio, organised the hanging of an exhibition in a gallery and tonight I plan to make pizza and bread.
However, the highlight of the week was finding this boronia in the yard....

... it is hard to grow here because hte soil is alkaline and the summers are hot (that means pots don't work.) This time, I dug a huge hole in the yard, filled it with "azalea soil" and planted it in a shady spot. It has survived and is flowering. It surely means that spring has sprung!

August showers and longer days bring flowers...

2011-08-17T16:39:00.000+09:30

It has been very cold and wet. We have even had a little bit of hail during the day. Overnight, last night, we had 11.5mm of rain, and the tanks are almost full.... 37,000 litres!

I have already commented on the broad bean flowers, but every year, they are one of those garden produce that I await with enthusiasm. And as I have often written before, eating "in season" makes the pleasure of those items that aren't available all year round all the more enjoyable when they appear. The excitement of seeing the first flowers on these plants is more than just a photo opportunity.

I went out (between showers) to check the vegetable patches as usual, and found flowers of all sorts... my garden plants seem to understand the change on day lengths..... coriander.....

..... rue.... I still love the smell of this whenever I brush past it... though I know that some people find it an unpleasant odour....

.... the "rocket" (arugula) that is self sown near the fruit trees is flowering already. We ate some of this earlier, though once it flowers, like many brassicas, the taste changes and it isn't so nice any more.

.... the "Asian greens" have begun to flower.... many of the plants are still looking edible, but they're probably on borrowed time.

.... even this cabbage is trying to flower.....

.... and my favourite calendula, those with the "buddhist monk' colours are flowering beautifully.

It is the time of the year when I anticipate the new spring plantings. I'm beginning to work out just which plants will go where and which patches of soil are most appropriate for my various vegetable plantings. Peter Cundall's admonitions concerning crop rotations have been well heeded and I'm busy planning the garden and its outcomes, our meals, daily.

Broad bean flowers....

2011-08-14T18:59:00.000+09:30

Today was a perfect day to spend in the garden, though I was otherwise occupied at the studio for SALA. When I came home, I went out to collect the vegetables for dinner... mangel worzel, onions, an assortment of brassica flowers and eggs....but I found the broad beans with flowers already apparent....

...... then more....

.... not much new in the way of flowers or herbs, though there are signs of spring among the herbs that suffered during the frost a couple of weeks ago.

The constantly flowering feverfew continues to look happy and healthy....

Dinner is vegetables and eggs...

... the vegetables here are mangel worzel, broccoli (side-shoots), onions and chinese broccoli. Eggs to be added soon... with sweet chili sauce.

Winter rain, winter sun.

2011-08-11T17:02:00.001+09:30

We have had rainy, dull days for a couple of weeks,a dn about 30mm (more than an inch) of rain in the past week. It's been hard to get washing dry (hanging it around the kitchen fire after dinner is the usual method) and I've been avoiding the soggy garden paths, hoping that the vegetables were out there enjoying it on their own. The pathway to the clothesline is overgrown and still wet....

The garlic is doing well....

.... I had mulched it with seaweed (from middle beach) and given it a dose of seaweed fertiliser and it is looking really good.

The other vegetables are looking very healthy. This is the third to last of this particular crop of cabbages....

.... there are plenty more brassicas to come and then I'll need to replant some of these gardens as spring approaches. We are eating well.

The wattle is flowering beautifully this year....

... wattle is our national flower and this one, black wattle, seems to flower best in mid-winter.

Eggs 2

2011-08-04T20:59:00.000+09:30

Continuing from yesterday's post about storing eggs... it works!
I made lasagne from frozen noodles...

it was really good, despite the fact that the noodles were thicker than the usual lasagne style that we qre used to....

Chris liked them....

I will be preserving more eggs (using thinner noodles) as precursors of lasagne in the future.

Eggs

2011-08-02T20:40:00.000+09:30

Since the solstice, the chickens have been laying eggs faster than we can eat them. I used to sell the surplus, but in recent times, no one wants the eggs with poo or feathers attached and that means that I need to wash them and make sure that they look like "shop" eggs. I probably should do it, but I still have a few people who take them for free (unwashed) and that's ok too.
This week though, they have really got away from me....

... and so I have decided to be a little more creative. Eggs make very good noodles, and these keep really well. I even think that one of the reasons that pasta has been such a staple food in Italy may be due to the fact that eggs could be preserved as noodles for the winter when the chickens go "off the lay."

I have tried all sorts of methods for preserving eggs in the past. For the relatively short term... months... I have used waterglass (sodium silicate) and that works better than vaseline. I've tried high protein fruit cakes, but we don't eat a lot of sweet foods. I have dried fettucine but it is so brittle that it's hard to store also... noodles break and are good for soup or casseroles, but not like the usual pasta dishes. My serious lack of space doesn't help either.

Lately, our predilection for lasagne has made me try again... and so tonight I have been preparing noodles ( about 12 eggs worth) for lasagne. Lasagne is such a good way of using odd vegetables and left over odds and ends... I think that peasant women in the past had more clues than I have caught up with. "Trendy" versions of traditional dishes don't seem to preserve the frugality of the original versions.... or so I am beginning to believe.

We often eat lasagne... a favourite around here so it seems like a good plan... to try to make my surplus into something useful. It's one of those commonsense ideas that seems to be surplus to requirements when we can but out of season ingredients to make whatever we wish in recent years.

And so I went to work after dinner tonight... I made the dough and finished the kneading with the pasta machine on number 1.

I thinned the noodles to number 4 (just a guess) and hung each piece over the same sticks that I use to dry the fettuccini...

Once it was all made (12 eggs worth) I took each piece and cut it into three.... then I packed it between plastic sheets (old bread bags - I don't buy plastic except for when it comes with other purchases.) And here it is....

.... all packed into a carton that I used to bring my groceries home from the local IGA. I ususally make use of the cartons as kindling for the kitchen stove, but some boxes are taken away for more noble purposes....

I did put a 'lasagne' label on top of the noodle sheets....

.... I hope this works. Next is to see how frozen noodles go in lasagne! I'll need to make this on the weekend.

Weeding the vegetable patches

2011-08-01T17:18:00.000+09:30

It's been an amazingly warm day. I have just spent three hours weeding the more important vegetable patches. After a few very cold and wet weeks, a couple of lovely warm days have been very timely and mostly an opportunity to remove a lot of very healthy weeds. The various garden plots have differing needs, but weeding is for everywhere at this time of the year.

The garlic has some new seaweed mulch and are looking healthy...

The smelly bucket of fertiliser (made with chicken poo and stinging nettles) is really productive....

The echinacea continues to flower....

... and while weeding I found this little plant (a cobra lily) that has survived a transplant and a serious frost last week. Hopefully it will increase in this new spot.

The rue plant is flowering profusely. It doesn't very much bothered by the frost last week.

Signs of spring?

2011-08-01T11:33:00.000+09:30

This morning we have a warm, gusty wind blowing... the kind of wind that is common in September or October, but it is only 1 August!

In recent weeks, almond blossom has been out all along the roadways around Kapunda. Along with the wattle and frost bitten soft plants, this is a sure sign of winter. In fact, just over a week ago, we had a really cold night when I had to dig up all of the potatoes whose plants had been seriously frosted. It had been one of the coldest nights for some years apparently... not that that was a surprise to me as I checked out the vegetable patches next morning.

This week there's been a complete change. While it's not so very hot yet, the warm gusty wind makes it feel like spring. The big slow blowflies are reminiscent of last summer too.

Outside this morning, I found this....

... the apricot tree is just beginning to flower! A sure sign of spring! Confusing weather for sure.

Brassica dinner

2011-07-31T18:24:00.000+09:30

I've been out in the garden to see what we can have for dinner. It's brassica season, and that's what we'll have.

We have leeks, beets, carrots, a cabbage (a small sugarloaf one) and an assortment of broccoli side shoots, chinese broccoli (gai lan) whcich has even begun to flower (white flowers in the picture) and one very strange "broccoli" that appears to be a cross between ordinary broccoli and the chinese broccoli. Interesting plant!

I'll fry these until they are soft and add the four eggs that were laid today.... brassica dinner....

Here are the vegetables, cooked in olive oil, with pepper and salt....

..... and with added eggs....

.... only four today, but I used a couple of older ones as well.

Winter vegetables in Kapunda, and Gertrude.

2011-07-28T11:23:00.000+09:30

The garden is growing well as the days begin to get longer.... the weeds are doing well also, and with three days a week at work (and preparations for SALA) I'm not keeping up with them lately either.

But here are the current pictures... the newest broccoli plants (though I'm still picking the side shoots from the "old" crop.....

..... more mangel worzel.....

the first plantings of broad beans.....

.... and the second planting of broad beans in the old "brick" potato patch....

.... cabbage....

... fennel....

... garlic....

Now that the weather has been cold, the jalapenos are ripening. They did this last year too. They all seem to go red as soon as we have a really cold night....

...."greens" of all sorts...kale, chinese vegetables, beets, afew carrots, broccoli and more....

From the "flower" patch, there are a lot of vegetables and herbs around as well...

.... and Gertrude, of course....

Renmark and the river...

2011-07-24T19:52:00.000+09:30

Today we drove to Renmark, and back, so that John could check out a "new" car (because his ute caught on fire and he's been without one for a while.)
Renmark is on the Murray River and with the break in the drought, it is looking very healthy... we had lunch at "the club" by the river and this was the view....

That boat that is closest is pretty wierd......

.... thought the next one "The Industry", a steam driven paddle boat that was originally used to clear snags from the river.

We walked along the riverside path. There's a real attraction to see what is around the next bend. I want to spend a while on a house boat on the river one of these years... one of those plans for the future. (There are two house boats on the edge of the river in the distance... it would be wonderful to spend a week or so on one of them one day.)

On the way home, we went via Swan Reach and the ferry....

... missed the first one....

Got aboard and waited to go....

.... in the afternoon sun, the river cliffs looked amazing....

The River Murray is a beautiful part of the world.

And John found a car! More of that later. We will go back to collect it once the money is organised.

Potatoes

2011-07-23T12:35:00.000+09:30

I have mentioned previously that I plant some vegetables at the 'wrong" time because, with the increasingly variable weather it's hard to guess just which ones might do well in any particular season. Once again, this year I planted potatoes that would grow during the winter. The summer is often too hot and dry to grow them very well without significant irrigation. (I have heard that potatoes need an inch of rain per week!)

In the past few days, we have had one of the coldest nights ever for this area... there was ice on the ground in the morning and the bird bath water was frozen solid! It had been below zero during the night!

Of course, my first thought was the garden. The only vegetables that seem to be damaged are the potatoes. By this morning, the plants were all burned and lying flat on the ground. I have been out digging the potatoes.

There are about 5 kilograms (10 pounds) and so I consider that putting the left over small potatoes from the summer crop into the newest potato patch (along with a wheelbarrow full of goat bedding/poo produced by Gertrude.)

I have also collected some green vegetables and a few carrots, and a cabbage and four eggs.

Tonight we should have potato pancakes with fried cabbage and an assortment of other vegetables.

Mangel worzel for tea

2011-07-21T16:52:00.001+09:30

Today has provided the first sunny afternoon on which I don't have to work, meet or run errands, and so I have mowed about quarter of an acre of winter weeds and winter grasses. There's more to do, and I'm hoping for a few more sunny days... even if the mornings are cold. (We had a frost this morning!)
I have also raided the garden for dinner....

... potatoes, broccoli side shoots, silver beet and my first mangel worzel. This one is quite large, and they do grow much bigger than this, apparently without becoming tough or floury. I just couldn't wait any longer. They are related to the other beet-type vegetables, and the seeds even looked like silver beet (chard) seeds, so I'll be using the green leafy bits as well.
I just want to find out what they are like and decide whether to plant another crop in the spring. All of these vegetables have grown during the winter, but should be much faster to mature in the summer.

Later: The cooked mangel worzel looks quite plain....

... this shows the pale "beetroot" part and the leaves from the same plant.
Altogether, with a small piece of meat each, we also had....

.... mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli side shoots. (The original plants are still producing.)

Computer issues and gardens in winter

2011-07-17T10:28:00.000+09:30

It's a whole week since I have posted here, but not for lack of trying. My problem is that I usually rely on photographs to explain what is happening in the garden, and recently, my computer can't cope with any more information in its hard drive (I keep getting warnings about its lack of memory) and my camera doesn't seem to be able to send photographs to it.

However, the garden continues to produce and we eat well. Over the past week, the last of the baby lambs are in the paddocks, the grain crops are all green and tall enough to wave in the wind and the first almond blossom is out.

This winter, so far, is much colder and wetter than usual. The rain is very much appreciated, but the cold is slowing things down considerably. Currently, in my garden, I have plenty of cabbage, broccoli, and an assortment of root vegetables... beets, carrots and potatoes. Meals are often long-cooked soups or stews on the wood stove which heats the kitchen at the same time.

I have been checking out the Digger's catalogue for new seeds that I'll begin to plant as soon as the weather warms the soil. One is supposed to wait until it's comfortable to sit "bare bottomed" on the ground before planting seeds directly into the garden. I won't be testing the ground with my bottom, but since the garden soil has become more "organic" I have found that it warms up more quickly. The texture of the soil with extra organic matter is "lighter" and the colour much darker. Perhaps the darker soil absorbs more heat, or perhaps the micro-organisms produce a little bit of heat during their own metabolism, but one way or another, in the springtime, as soon as the days become sunnier, the soil warms up very quickly.... all ready for the new season.

Today, it is gently raining, and between showers I will collect the vegetables for soup. The rest will be bacon bones, preserved tomatoes, some beans and peas and barley and later I'll make some bread to go with it. I'm warm in here by the fire and the house is comfortable but I really am looking forward to spring.

It always rain on washing day!

2011-07-10T18:37:00.000+09:30

Today I washed the clothes ready for another week at work. Of course it rained... it's winter. Between the showers, I managed to get much of the washing almost dry.
Then while the fire was heating the oven ready to bake the bread, I heated the irons and finished the drying...

... and so while the bread is baking and the dinner (garden vegetables with eggs) is cooking, the damp clothing is ironed dry... and all for no extra cost than an armful of wood.

Yukina

2011-07-09T12:08:00.000+09:30

Winter in the garden means that we have a lot of "greens".... broccoli, kale, winter lettuces and plenty of beet tops, silver beet and even mangel worzel this year. But one that is very productive and becoming a favourite is Yukina (Brassica juncea).

It grows easily and very fast. It needs to be thinned as it grows, and these "thinnings" are all good to eat of course.
I first knew it as "Asian greens" and bought a few "Asian greens" seeds that turned out to be Yukina.

Looking over the fence....

2011-07-02T14:53:00.000+09:30

Gertrude can be quite nosey when the lady next door is hanging up her washing. She stands up on a chair to peer over the fence....

... but she comes running when I open the gate.

Winter

2011-07-02T14:48:00.000+09:30

It seems as though there is less to tell about the garden in winter. We are still eating motly garden produce.... potatoes, silver beet, broccoli, cabbage and an assortment of other "greens" but while the temperature is lower, growth is slow.

The second plot of broad beans is up now.... three rows of them. The older ones are much bigger, but these should be ok now that they are up. I've put bamboo sticks around them ready to tie them in place during any windy days. The sticks that are across the garden are to keep the chickens out when they are roaming free.

The roosters are gone. One of them had killed two hens, so I had them "processed" at Kapowie, and they are in the freezer. It's good to have a "poultry service" right here in Kapunda. Rooster soup is really good!

The potatoes have suffered from the past week or so of cold nights... several frosts, but this is as bad as it gets....

The plants will recover, and produce plenty of potatoes... though I haven't needed to bandicoot any yet.

Fire

2011-06-20T11:57:00.000+09:30

John's car caught on fire on Clare Road.

When I arrived, the flames were quite large, but I didn't think to take a photo.

Three fire trucks and a police car caused quite a stir in Clare Road.

Winter is here

2011-06-19T16:30:00.001+09:30

This week we were given some oranges from a friends backyard tree. These are so much better than the well travelled shop oranges that we can buy.

I haven't been posting as often recently. This is partly due to to my time being taken up with earning money to pay the bills, but also because the garden work and production is seasonal, and activities and harvest are repeated similarly each year and I often have the feeling that I've written about a particular crop or activity in the past.
This week, the broad beans are looking very healthy. These are the first ones that I planted some weeks ago.

The nights have been cold and the soil had cooled significantly, making germination slower. I have a larger patch that was planted some time after these, and I'll be watching those also.

We are picking plenty of broccoli...

... with plenty more to come.

The garden is growing slowly during the colder weather... except for the weeds!

From the front is lettuce, beetroot and fennel then cabbages, broccoli and celery, then a few carrots and onions and winter herbs (parsley and coriander) with salvias on the left hand side and weeds galore down the back beyond the clothes line.

Ladybird

2011-06-13T15:24:00.000+09:30

I haven't seen any ladybirds for a while, until today,

This one was sitting on a silver beet (chard) leaf.

Seasonal vegetables

2011-06-13T13:00:00.000+09:30

Eating vegetables when they are in season is not only healthier, better for the environment and interesting, but, as I have written previously, makes food much more interesting. Waiting for a particular fruit or vegetable in season (rather than having whatever you want flown from wherever it is in season) makes the enjoyment of the food so much more.

Right now, we have broccoli daily...

.... the "already picked" broccoli heads are now producing side shoots as well....

... the last of the green beans....

And soon.... the cabbages are coming.....

.... and so are the fennel bulbs....

The most recent potato plants are growing in the soil enriched with goat poo....

... and we'll have new potatoes in the spring (though a few will be bandicooted before then, I'm sure.)

Broad beans are up

2011-06-13T12:30:00.000+09:30

I planted the first of the broad beans about three weeks ago. The weather has been very cold, but they are finally up....

.... there are three short rows here, in the garden that is closest to the house. I have another patch that will eventually be more productive. The beans are still some months away, though the new leaves will be soup or "stir-fry" material as soon as the plants are big enough.

The Adventures of Gertude

2011-06-04T17:21:00.000+09:30

Gertude has been ththered in a new patch of weeds..... but there is a pile of bricks to climb on.....

... hard to resist.

I went inside to hang the washing in the back verandah....

....and when I came back..... she was standing on top of this car (a Borgward that belongs to John)...

... but as I came to see what she was doing, she jumped down onto the bonnet to check me out....

.....and sniffed around the camera.....

Gertrude is nothing if not inquisitive.

Winter vegetables

2011-06-04T17:02:00.000+09:30

It feels like winter. We have had enough rain that I haven't had to water the garden, and it has been quite cold... even a couple of early morning frosts. Today I went to pick vegetables for dinner.....

.... potatoes, broccoli, tiny cabbage, carrots, capsicums and eggs of course... and you'll notice that our eggs come with a date.... 4/6 today.

The cabbages are doing better since the couple of frosty mornings. The cabbage moths and their caterpillars are gone for this year....

... and the heads are beginning to form.

The newest potato plants are doing very well. These are growing in soil enriched with goat poo from her bedroom floor.....

... I can't wait to see how many potatoes these produce.

The garlic is growing (also in a mixture of goat poo) and looking healthy...

The echinacea is still clowering in the "salvia patch".....

.... I don't grow many flowers, but this is one little patch of salvias, rosemary, bay leaves, and a couple of unusual lavenders...

The strangest product at the moment is this little new eggplant....

.... must think it's still summer!

Vegetables, our changing circumstances and carbon tax

2011-05-29T17:28:00.000+09:30

This morning I planted some more broad beans. I also picked some vegetables for dinner....

... just a few bits and pieces, but enough for this household.

I've been thinking about the current discussion about carbon tax and the effect of our emissions on the climate. Most people accept that the increasing carbon in the atmosphere will cause significant change in the climate in the future, if it hasn't begun to already. To those few who don't think that this is a fact, I'd even suggest that erring on the side of caution until we do understand what is happening might be the prudent course of action.
Once we have got that far, there needs to be a way of reducing the production of atmospheric carbon, and depite that, the only discussion about the "carbon tax" is about how to introduce it without having any effect on either "poor people" or industry. This seems strange. The whole point about this is to reduce the amount of electricity (or any other carbon source) and to make sure that the tax has no effect at all will not change behaviour.
If the tax (or whatever other measures are taken) are remedied enough to make them have no effect, then we are talking about "business as usual" and no change in modern industrial society and the consequent continuation in carbon emissions, climate emergency and risking the furure of our children and grandchildren.
While I am preparing to manage with little money, "commercial" input and in a relatively sustainable way for the future, I despair when I read of the attitudes that assume that our way of life (dependent upon the 200 slaves that represent the amount of energy that we use.) I wonder when the wealthy of the world (and my pension puts me in the top 13% of incomes in the world) will decide to reduce their consumption and their emissions rather than complain about the increase in taxation.
Our way of life is going to change. I suppose it is up to all of us (the wealthy) whether it is sooner, managed and livable rather than later, more uncomfortable and chaotic.

Broccoli

2011-05-23T18:38:00.000+09:30

It's been one week since the first frost, and in the past couple of days, we've also had nearly an inch of rain. I had planted the broad beans just a day before the rain began, and I'm going to pick the first broccoli any day now...

... the rest of the winter crops are doing well...

.... beetroot, chinese broccoli and, still, in the background are green peppers and the last of the eggplants. The flowers in front of some of these vegetables is the first of the coriander crop ending. I have more planted already.

More beetroot, mangel worzel and "chinese greens"....

Tonight we have leek, pumpkin and potato soup... mostly garden produce, though the pumpkin came from the side of the road on my way home from the Barossa Valley last week.

First frost

2011-05-16T12:32:00.000+09:30

It has been a cold morning. The temperature was around 4 or 5C early this morning. It's a sunny day though and warm in the sun... no wind, no rain and beautiful sunshine.

The garden is looking healthy....

.... though some of the potato plants, most notably the ones lowest to the ground were just frosted enough to turn some leaves dead looking....

As I checked out the potate plants, I saw a mouse run away and hide among the border rocks. I'll be looking carefully at the potatoes as I dig them. We are in the middle of a "mouse plague" and they are everywhere... inside and out.

The garlic is mostly up....

... three rows, and a few extras, and not all weeded. I'm leaving the peas that grow (from the pea straw mulch) because surely these will produce a little extra nitrogen, that should benefit the soil and the plants, as long as they aren't too close to the garlic. I've been pulling out the grass and the sour sobs (oxalis) to help the baby garlic plants. I'll give them some seaweed fertiliser later also.

And of course the mangel worzel. This one seems to be producing its bulb partly above the soil. The roots are very yellow....

... and apparently grow quite large without getting tough or woody.

This is the leafy part of the saffron plants that I picked the flowers (and the spice) from in recent days. Someone actually asked me about the leaves... they are very grass-like though rather more clumped....

It's a good day to be out in the garden, soaking up the sun.

Fast food

2011-05-14T10:07:00.000+09:30

I have often described the preparation or preservation of food from the garden. The other part of this is knowing how to make use of the results and learning the advantages of pre-prepared ingredients.

Water in the big pot is boiling read for noodles and the jar of pasta sauce is one that was bottled about three months ago when the summer vegetables were plentiful. The finished product....

... topped with grated cheese, is fast food.

Back to bandicooting potatoes...

2011-05-07T21:29:00.000+09:30

The garden is producing vegetables, though there's not an excess in recent days.... today I found leafy greens of a couple of different kinds, very few tomatoes, onion, garlic, capsicum, beans, eggplant, potatoes (bandicooted)....

From Jackie French... "Harvest potatoes when the tops have died down, though you can wriggle your hand into the soil to bandicoot new potatoes as soon as the plants begin to flower."

.... these were all cooked in Clare Valley olive oil and eggs added and cooked until they were just set.

This is good with chili sauce. Dinner from the yard again.

More saffron

2011-05-07T12:45:00.000+09:30

I always water carefully around the saffron now. Today I found two more flowers...

... and I harvested my crop of saffron for the rice...

Winter is almost here...

2011-05-06T18:23:00.000+09:30

The days are getting short very quickly, the nights are cold (down to less than 10C overnight last night) but we still have some warm and sunny days.

The saltbush plants are fruiting....

.... and the wattle is flowering....

.... winter is coming.

Gertude was out in her favourite spot today. In the front garden there are some kurrajong trees with limbs that hang close to the ground. Gertrude can stand on two legs really well to reach the low hanging branches....

... for her favourite food (apart from calendula flowers) and she is full!

The winter garden is going well.... potatoes....

.... the newest garlic plants have jsut emerged...

... and my fascination with the echinacea flowers continues. This flwoer has produced the most beautiful "petals" in recent days. The actual flowers are the tiny yellow dots in the round mass in the middle of the flower. It's the same as other daisy flowers.

The interesting flower that I saw today was this one... almost finished, but the three little yellow dots in the middle are almost the last of the flowers for this daisy head.

Apparently echincea is good at self seeding... I'll be watching for new plants next spring.

Locusts

2011-05-01T20:48:00.000+09:30

The locusts are invading!
At this time of the year we usually have an invasion of mice... and I must say that since the fields are being burned off ready for planting, we do have a bit of a mouse problem. However, this year, as the weather has turned cooler (only 20C today) and we have had the first autumn rain. I'm not sure how much today, but it was the gentle soaking rain on still warm soil that the vegetables love.
Today I found several locusts inside. I suppose they are also looking for a safe haven in the rain...

... this one was on my kitchen window.

Vegetables

2011-05-01T14:23:00.000+09:30

The vegetables are still going, though the pickings are getting slimmer. I have been supplementing our meals with vegetables that I froze during the "glut" earlier in the summer...

... and now I can't wait for the next surplus which should be beetroot, potatoes, silver beet and I'm hoping that the mangel worzel is a new and successful crop as well.

Saffron

2011-05-01T09:02:00.001+09:30

While watering the garden yesterday morning, I found a saffron flower. I used to have qute a few, but they had been in another part of the garden and not doing very well... This poor flower got wet as I watered the rosemary, but I rescued this lovely flower....

... and removed the three stamens. We will have saffron rice soon! Mmm....

Garlic

2011-04-28T18:05:00.000+09:30

We have been eating home grown garlic for the whole of the past year. There is still some left....

... but today I took some of the biggest, best cloves that I grew last year and planted them again. It's earlier than last year, but some of them had begun to sprout and it might be an advantage to plant them while the soil is still warm.

Mangel worzel

2011-04-25T20:23:00.000+09:30

My mangel worzel plants are growing really well, and they are different from other vegetables... the leaves are doing well... much like silver beet (related) but smoother leaves...

... and the roots are beginning to swell....

... and we will soon get to eat mangel worzel!

I found a new eggplant fruit today too... late in the year, but they are still producing....

... the garden is doing well.

Pumpkin and chick pea curry

2011-04-23T18:48:00.000+09:30

It's been a busy week, though I did plant some more vegetables... peas, carrots and onions in one patch and potatoes in the most recent compost pile that has long since rotted away to nothing. I put the bedding from Gertrude's "room" onto the new potato patch too. It isn't the "official" potato planting season, though I have been planing them twice a year and often doing better at this time than in the summer... depending upon the season. In the summer, water can be a problem, and with such a high rate of evaporation, it is almost impossible to supply enough water for potatoes. In the winter, we still get enough sun, and as long as we don't get much of a frost (last year none at all!) I get even more potatoes.
Tonight I am making pumpkin and chickpea curry for dinner.... the tomatoes are from my bottled ones, local pumpkin, capsicum and jalapenos from the garden and an assortment of spices...

... the chick peas are from the Ord River, WA, and I cooked them a couple of days ago, on the wood stove while dinner was cooking... all good!

Gertrude's room is cleaned

2011-04-17T14:11:00.001+09:30

Gertrude has been out in the yard for most of the day. She's been doing her weed clearing job...

.... checking out my camera....

... and you can see where she has been pruning the olive tree...

The lower part of the branches had just as many leaves and olives until she was tethered here for a few days.

While she was out and about today, I cleaned out her bedroom. The old straw and goat poo is now on these two garden beds. The closest one has three rows of potatoes planted and the further one is raked smooth, has added gypsum and is ready for the garlic to be planted soon.

Gertrude has a new bale of pea straw to take apart....

... and she has already begun to eat the good bits...

The end of summer, and the winter plantings....

2011-04-14T17:41:00.000+09:30

The summer vegetables are coming to an end. I picked enough for dinner tonight...

.... beans, zucchini, capsicums tomatoes, jalapenos and eggs. I certainly wouldn't starve as long as I had a garden.
At this time of the year, the summer production is slowing down, but I've been planting fairly regularly... these are the first "post summer" plantings of chinese broccoli, kale, carrots, beetroot and some golden beets....

After those, I planted the mangel worzel and those are growing well too. They are another silver beet relative and those vegetables seem to like it here.

Chinese "greens"....

.... these must be healthy because they have a few little holes in the leaves... if the bugs survive, then I suppose that I will also.

The first "normal" broccoli is doing well, though I have had to pick white moth eggs off these plants almost daily.

I still have a few zucchini, though instead of picking enough to thicken the soup and freeze the rest, I am getting just a few every couple of days.

And on to the bigger "winter" vegetable patches.... here is fennel, beetroot and lettuce....

...cabbages, broccoli and celery....

.... onions, carrots and peas....

In order to eat every week, one needs to plant something every week.

Hamilton burn-off

2011-04-09T17:42:00.001+09:30

Today I spent a few hours in Hamilton (10km from Kapunda) in my studio. When arrived the yard was full of galahs....

.... not usual for that yard. They were not happy.
They were avoiding the smoke and flames from the neighbour who was burning off ready to plant soon...

Later in the day, the flames were closer....

... just outside my window!

It rained later in the day.

I'll be interested to see what crops are planted here.
As I left, there was gentle rain... perfect timing... and the job was done...

... ready to sow seed.

20% waxing moon

2011-04-08T19:33:00.000+09:30

I went out to lock the chickens in and to keep the foxes out. The moon is amazing... 20% and getting bigger....

.... beautiful moon.

Jewel beetle?

2011-04-08T17:00:00.000+09:30

Beautiful warm weather and the garden is growing well. Every time I walk past the lemon verbena, a cloud of moths leave in a swarm. I've tried to photograph them, but instead I found this beetle. It has such beautiful colours and is so sparkling that I wonder whether it is a "jewel beetle" about which I am aware, but not well informed. I'll be googling them soon.

The moths are beautiful too. They are almost invisible when they sit still amongst the flowers, but the cloud of them when I walk past is anything but inconspicuous.... a cloud of moths!

The lemon verbena is beautiful....

... and I'm going out to pick vegetables for dinner.

Three balls of alpaca yarn

2011-04-04T17:17:00.000+09:30

Today I washed three skeins of the yarn that I spun from a black alpaca fleece. Despite the brownish tinge in this photo, these are quite black.

Next, I'll try the other two fleeces... two different shades of reddish-brown... and then a decision on how to make the best use of the yarn. Spinning is quite a meditative activity and would be good for a number of people that I know.

Breakfast

2011-04-04T10:54:00.000+09:30

It occurred to me that I don't often get around to posting anything until late at night, and that is probably why my garden breakfasts don't make it into here. This morning I had a kind of Kapunda bruschetta...

... toasted local bread (I haven't baked in recent times as I've been working away from home) with basil and sliced baby tomatoes... mmmm....

Quinces and alpaca wool

2011-04-03T21:00:00.000+09:30

Today I picked the quinces. The tree is quite small and has produced quite a few beautiful quinces this year. The birds have been eating them, so I decided to pick them and wait until they are just a fewe days riper here and then make the quince paste.

Last week I was given some alpaca "wool" and I've begun spinning. So far I've started on the black fleece... though it doesn't look as black here. These three skeins are all two-ply and ready to knit when they dry....

The fibre is very interesting and different to spin from sheep's wool that I am more used to, but interesting, never the less....

The spinning is fairly uneven, but it will be easy enough to knit now that it's two ply.

Ripe quinces

2011-04-02T13:21:00.000+10:30

Quinces grow very well in Kapunda. They don't mind the hot dry weather in the summer, the clay soil or the soggy winter ground. The quinces on our little tree are ripening now...

The birds are enjoying them also....

This week I'll pick most of them and make some paste. I have bottled them in the past, and they turn out to be a lovely colour...

I have made jam with them too, but this year it will be paste. Maggie Beer makes a beautiful example of this and so I think I'll try it also. Apparently Maggie Beer was first attracted to the quince via the flowering tree, and I can well imagine that. Quince trees look beautiful when they are in flower.

This morning I mowed the weeds around the trees. I can't call it a lawn, but it definitely looks much better now....

The salt bush is fruiting too....

The oregano is "taking off" after recent rain...

...and a couple of garlic bulbs that I missed are sprouting....

I'm expecting colder weather soon, so I have my hoops ready to cover with plastic for the eggplants and capsicum... they might not produce much more, but the plants may make it through the winter and I'll be ahead when next spring arrives...

Snail creeper... beautiful perfume....

One of my favourite roses.... not one of the ones with multiple row of complicated petal arrangements... but very beautiful....

.... and these produce amazing rose hips as well.... a bonus....

Friday night

2011-04-01T22:15:00.000+10:30

It has been a busy day and I have been painting at the studio.

By now, late on Friday, I am in the kitchen, and life is good... the computer, the kitchen and the bookshelf..

.... the stove is alight... steak sandwiches or tomatoes and basil toasts (bruchetta?) for dinner... all cooked on the fire...

.... wine on the table....

I've been spinning on this wheel....

...a whole spool of alpaca wool.... (crappy photo?)

... I need to make two ply yarn that won't drift to the side when it is knitted (like single spun yarn) and I'll update this later.

More of that later, but the vegetable garden is doing well.... pumpkins, tomatoes and zucchinis....

... and what I don't have growing, I buy locally. These apples and pears are all local (from Kapunda gardens) and odd, with blemishes, bumps and differing sizes. But they taste good, didn't travel far and keep us healthy.

Clothes-line goat

2011-03-31T18:25:00.000+10:30

One of Gertrude's main jobs here is to keep the weeds down around the clothes liine. I don't like getting my feet wet when the grass is wet, or getting grass seeds in my socks when it's dry. Gertrude does a good job....

She has also trimmed the jasmine. You can see the lower part of it well trimmed compared with the part that she can barely reach, though I have seen her standing on her two balc legs to reach the flowers that are up high.

We also have a kelpie who keeps her under surveilance much of the time... busy goat and busy dog!

I went outside with my glass of wine, and Gertrude came for a head scratch, a tummy rub and a back scratch....

But mostly she ate a lot of grass....

I put a piece of metal in the way of her vision so that she couldn't see my autumn crocusses... she would have loved them....

Potatoes that I missed when I dug them up last season are growing and they are very healthy. I am sure that it is better to grow them at this time of the year rather than planting them before the spring when rainfall is likely to be less.

Flowers have grown well this year... it rained a little bit during the past couple of months and so I have echinacea...

asian lily plants that I discovered last year? Not sure.

Blood lilies....

My dark centred calendula

and cosmos... beautiful flowers that are "going mad" right now. I hope that they self seed.

And the plant that I was so worried about before the sumer....

... the curry leaf tree. It's been a wetter than usual summer, and it has done well.

St Kilda mangroves... about latitude 34 S

2011-03-31T16:39:00.000+10:30

Today was a surprise "free" day. I went to see the St Kilda mangroves on the edge of Gult St. Vincent... about 40 minutes from here on the new freeway. I've made paintings of them in the past, and that is my plan... so today I went to see them.
These are special mangroves and they need to be taken care of. They are growing at a much greater latitude (further from the equator) than other mangroves because they have been protected in Gulf St Vinccent and Spencer's Gulf (near Pt Augusta) since Australia was a part of Gondwanaland.
They couldn't become re-established againif they were ever cleared, and so we really need to protect them. The gulf is known for its fishing, and the baby fish come from these mangrove forests and so we should all want to protect and manage them well.

A few of them are flowering. The flowers are tiny and it seems that there are always some of the trees producing some...

The backs of the shiny leaves often have salt crystals on them.... using sea water has its own salinity issues....

At St Kilda, you can walk along a boardwalk that extends out into the water and the mangrove forest....

... and part of it has been covered in seaweed....

Once out near the ocean, you can look across to outer harbour, the Port River outlet and the Adelaide Hills. Downtown Adelaide is just visible to the rhs of the double bump of mangrove trees in the rh/centre of the picture....

The red groundcover is samphire and the mangrove forest extends quite a long way inlsnd in such a flat landscape. Adelaide Hills are in the background again.

Back to St Kilda....

The sailing club looks like a good place to keep a boat.

Barnyard?

2011-03-28T17:32:00.000+10:30

I've been busy with painting in recent days, but when I came home (to cook dinner and prepare for work tomorrow) I decided to go out and check on my baby vegetables. This was the sight that was out there....

Looks like a barnyard to me! The roosters are still young and not crowing. They must have heard of rooster soup.

And the vegetables are doing well also....

... even the mangel worzel (Chris loves the name of these vegetables.)

... and we are eating well from the garden still.... today we have a few tomatoes, capsicums, jalapenos, kohlrabi, potatoes, and leeks with rice and lentils...mmmm....

Earth Day

2011-03-27T18:14:00.000+10:30

Yesterday was Earth Day. I turned the electricity off at the meter which meant that we also had no running water for the event. The candles were lovely though....

One was a religious one....

... but even that looked a little the worse for wear when it burned for an hour....

Today we are back to "normal" with lights, water and the wood stove.

Goat heaven

2011-03-26T18:26:00.000+10:30

I have been checking on my baby vegetable plants daily, and they are doing well (except for the ones that the dog has dug up!) I have also begun re-organising the big garden that produced well last year. It was divided by "duck boards" rather than having separate beds. This year I'm actually dividing it properly into four different patches. This will allow better access, and it will be easier to manage that way.... more of that later.
Gertrude was out for several hours this morning (before I went painting) and she looked like a goat in goat heaven...

though she is nervous about the washing on the line. People had told me to watch out, because she would eat the clothes from the clothes line.... in fact she's quite scared of it!

She is looking particularly healthy. Mainly because she seems to have got a winter coat...

.... she is quite hairy/wooly now.

Room with a view

2011-03-25T22:38:00.000+10:30

It's been a wonderful season for vegetables and grass.
I have a studio at Hamilton, near Kapunda, and today I spent the day out there. As I came outside, this was the view...

... grass fed beef and amazing green grass for this time of the year.

Mangel worzel

2011-03-24T17:46:00.002+10:30

I have finished my "work week" for now, and so I have been out to see how the garden has fared. It has been raining intermittently (three times the usual March rainfall for us) and so the garden is growing well. So are the weeds. I have weeded the baby vegetable patches.

This a healthy young mangel worzel plant....

... and the jalapenos are flowering as if their lives depended upon it...

and so we can expect many more spicy little peppers.

Flowers after work...

2011-03-22T18:29:00.000+10:30

I was away from home today, at work. I miss the garden when I'm gone, but it's wonderful to see what is here when I arrive home....
....flowers...

... fruit (quinces)... nearly ripe....The

... and the blood lilies are out again...

The link goes to the same patch from last year... and they are just a week earlier... perhaps it's the rain.

They are cming up all over the place.... the front yard and more....

Still picking vegetables, but the equinox is here.

2011-03-20T18:49:00.000+10:30

We are still eating well from the garden...

....but the equinox is here.

As I sit here, the sun is approaching the equator... (well, the earth's angle is moving around so that the sun will be shining mostly onto the northern hemisphere in another few hours) and so the garden needs to change gears as well. I'm planting the new seeds and preparing now ground... and remembering to plant something every week so that we can eat every week.