I am determined to grow most of my produce from seed this year. Last year's efforts were sabotaged by my cats who kept laying in my seed trays. It took me quiet a while to figure out what was happening.
So far so good. Lots of spinach is coming up.
I have a pretty sizable supply of compost too.
I have started a second worm colony. My friend Anna said that the worms get stripes on them when they are breeding up...mine don't. Mind you, at Anna's suggestion I added a layer of wet newspaper to the top of the worm farm, and the worms seem a lot happier. I will keep looking for the stripes.
Keeping the chooks out of the veggie patch is still proving to be difficult..
Looking forward to a good growing season ahead.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
नेवर वर्क विथ अनिमल्स और चिल्ड्रेन
I have no idea why the title of this blog is in Hindi-
Today I am being driven mad by animals and children. Brandy has been bellowing in her paddock since sun rise, and it really begins to get on your nerves after four to five house. The problem seems to be she is on heat again.
Somehow the children picked up on the cow-vibe and have all been doing their own versions of the cow-bellow, that is: the tantrum. The chooks won't stay out of the house or the veggie patch, the cats keep lying on top of my seedling trays and squashing the seedlings. I just found a chook laying an egg our bed. The only animals that are doing what they are supposed to are the worms.
Trying to be semi-self-sufficient is mostly satisfying, but some days it is a real pain in the arse.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Sharing produce
A few weeks ago I met with some of our friends down at Peace Park in Nimbin to swap our surplus produce.
The idea was that we would all share what we have too much of, but that in coming together to barter we will create the inspiration to start becoming more self sufficient - and it seems to have worked.
The first swap went well, apart from the fact that half the people went to one park and the other half went to another- we eventually found one another. I took pumpkins, eggs and oranges- I came home with mandarins, bok choy, a loaf of Swedish rye bread and avocados. The next swap is happening next weekend at Hanging Rock Hall.
Everyone who went said it has inspired them to get into their garden.
The weather has warmed up a lot, and I have started summer plantings - we will still get a bit more frost, but within the next few weeks I should be able to get in a lot more stuff. I am still having great trouble getting seeds up - so this year I really want to work on getting that happening.
I've got an avocado tree to go in as soon as the frost is finished. I have also planted a custard apple, a lime tree, a bay tree. Already here was Guava, mulberry, oranges, lemons, mandarins, pears,plums, peaches, figs, mulberry, macadamia, pecan and an olive tree which is not baring any olives- apparently it has been too wet this year.
It is probably time to think about planting new citrus as the old stuff is very old and infected with rust mite- and I have tried white oil to control it with no luck.
The worms are doing really well living on cow poo. I am composting like mad for spring.
We harvested our potatoes, many of them were small. But we a lot of big ones too. I think I left it just a little too late to plant them. I will be replanting in the next few days, using the little ones as seeds.
The cows have been in the veggie patch a number of times later, it is amazing how much damage then can do in a few seconds. Brandy bit the heads off all my lettuces and the stems off the garlic- and her big hoofs trampled over the top of everything. The chooks are also proving to be opportunists, waiting for one of the children to leave the gate to the vegie patch open.
The idea was that we would all share what we have too much of, but that in coming together to barter we will create the inspiration to start becoming more self sufficient - and it seems to have worked.
The first swap went well, apart from the fact that half the people went to one park and the other half went to another- we eventually found one another. I took pumpkins, eggs and oranges- I came home with mandarins, bok choy, a loaf of Swedish rye bread and avocados. The next swap is happening next weekend at Hanging Rock Hall.
Everyone who went said it has inspired them to get into their garden.
The weather has warmed up a lot, and I have started summer plantings - we will still get a bit more frost, but within the next few weeks I should be able to get in a lot more stuff. I am still having great trouble getting seeds up - so this year I really want to work on getting that happening.
I've got an avocado tree to go in as soon as the frost is finished. I have also planted a custard apple, a lime tree, a bay tree. Already here was Guava, mulberry, oranges, lemons, mandarins, pears,plums, peaches, figs, mulberry, macadamia, pecan and an olive tree which is not baring any olives- apparently it has been too wet this year.
It is probably time to think about planting new citrus as the old stuff is very old and infected with rust mite- and I have tried white oil to control it with no luck.
The worms are doing really well living on cow poo. I am composting like mad for spring.
We harvested our potatoes, many of them were small. But we a lot of big ones too. I think I left it just a little too late to plant them. I will be replanting in the next few days, using the little ones as seeds.
The cows have been in the veggie patch a number of times later, it is amazing how much damage then can do in a few seconds. Brandy bit the heads off all my lettuces and the stems off the garlic- and her big hoofs trampled over the top of everything. The chooks are also proving to be opportunists, waiting for one of the children to leave the gate to the vegie patch open.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Worm Farm
I took custody of 1000 worms two days ago. I bought them from a local worm farmer for $33.oo.
They were delivered to work in a Styrofoam box and were covered in peat moss, which when pulled back revealed this squirming mass of tiny worms. They are a mix of three types of compost worm, the names of which I can't remember, and look just like earth worms you find in your garden, only smaller. However, compost worms won't survive in the garden- they live on compost, I've been told.
I have bought them for their castings, which I intend to use for a seedling mixture. I had thought they would make good chook food, but already I am too attached to them to feed them to the chooks.
I have two little black plastic worm farms that I have picked up at garage sales, which are essentially multi-layered boxes that pull apart. The worms can move freely between all the levels. The bottom level has a tap on it so you can drain off any liquid fertilizer the worms produce.
I have read a little bit about worm farming, but things in the book never really make sense until you try them out. So I am not really sure how it all works yet.
The worm dude told me to put food scraps into the blender with water and make a mush, or throw food scraps onto the lawn and run over them with the lawn mower or feed them cow shit...I am going for the cow shit option because it sounds easiest, and I have lots of it...plus the chooks eat the food scraps.
You just put the food in the top layer of the worm farm and top it up as required. I will have to look it up in my book as to whether I need to add water. Which I better do soonish....
The children were very excited about the worms...they really love having all the animals This morning they delighted in watching one of the new chooks lay an egg on Bill's grandmother's antique chaise lounge.
They were delivered to work in a Styrofoam box and were covered in peat moss, which when pulled back revealed this squirming mass of tiny worms. They are a mix of three types of compost worm, the names of which I can't remember, and look just like earth worms you find in your garden, only smaller. However, compost worms won't survive in the garden- they live on compost, I've been told.
I have bought them for their castings, which I intend to use for a seedling mixture. I had thought they would make good chook food, but already I am too attached to them to feed them to the chooks.
I have two little black plastic worm farms that I have picked up at garage sales, which are essentially multi-layered boxes that pull apart. The worms can move freely between all the levels. The bottom level has a tap on it so you can drain off any liquid fertilizer the worms produce.
I have read a little bit about worm farming, but things in the book never really make sense until you try them out. So I am not really sure how it all works yet.
The worm dude told me to put food scraps into the blender with water and make a mush, or throw food scraps onto the lawn and run over them with the lawn mower or feed them cow shit...I am going for the cow shit option because it sounds easiest, and I have lots of it...plus the chooks eat the food scraps.
You just put the food in the top layer of the worm farm and top it up as required. I will have to look it up in my book as to whether I need to add water. Which I better do soonish....
The children were very excited about the worms...they really love having all the animals This morning they delighted in watching one of the new chooks lay an egg on Bill's grandmother's antique chaise lounge.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Pumpkin soup
We grew around 100 pumpkins this year, straight out of the compost. So, pumpkin soup has been on the menu a lot lately and this has given me the chance to try and perfect my recipe.
This recipe is based on home-made chicken stock. See below for info on how to make your own chicken stock- it's really easy.
Ingredients
Ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon
salt 2 pinches
shredded garlic 4-6 bulbs
onions 2 medium
butter 2- 3 tablespoons
2 litres of chicken stock
1 large Jap pumpkin peeled and chopped
What to do:
Use large heavy based pot.
Soften onion slowly in butter on a low heat with the shredded garlic mixed in.
Add chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil.
Add pumpkin with salt and ground pepper.
Add water but do not fully cover pumpkin it should still be protruding by and inch or two.
Gently boil until soft.
Put mixture through blender than return to pot.
Stir on low and add 300mls of cream.
Should feed about 6 people
Chicken stock:
Take the carcass,bones and fat left over after a baked chicken diner, put it all in a pot with about 3 -4 litres of water and boil gently for 3 hours. Drain off the liquid and store in the fridge for up to five days.
This recipe is based on home-made chicken stock. See below for info on how to make your own chicken stock- it's really easy.
Ingredients
Ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon
salt 2 pinches
shredded garlic 4-6 bulbs
onions 2 medium
butter 2- 3 tablespoons
2 litres of chicken stock
1 large Jap pumpkin peeled and chopped
What to do:
Use large heavy based pot.
Soften onion slowly in butter on a low heat with the shredded garlic mixed in.
Add chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil.
Add pumpkin with salt and ground pepper.
Add water but do not fully cover pumpkin it should still be protruding by and inch or two.
Gently boil until soft.
Put mixture through blender than return to pot.
Stir on low and add 300mls of cream.
Should feed about 6 people
Chicken stock:
Take the carcass,bones and fat left over after a baked chicken diner, put it all in a pot with about 3 -4 litres of water and boil gently for 3 hours. Drain off the liquid and store in the fridge for up to five days.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Milling flour
Today I milled my own wheat and made muffins for the children. It was a surprisingly rewarding experience to take the food from such a raw unprocessed state to a baked product. The children were fascinated and all wanted to have a turn cranking the hand mill which I borrowed from our neighbors. It was a lot of work for six tiny muffins.
It took about 10 minutes to grind about 1 to 2 cups of flour. I put it on a coarse setting. I made the muffins with yeast and was doubtful they would it would react, but sure enough it did. The children really loved them and didn't seem to mind the texture.
It was interesting to see the amount of manual energy required to produce such a small amount of food.
It took about 10 minutes to grind about 1 to 2 cups of flour. I put it on a coarse setting. I made the muffins with yeast and was doubtful they would it would react, but sure enough it did. The children really loved them and didn't seem to mind the texture.
It was interesting to see the amount of manual energy required to produce such a small amount of food.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Whole food experience.
Three days ago, inspired by Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food," my partner and I decided to adopt a more rigorous whole food diet for our family.
The main changes so far have been switching from Basmati rice to brown rice and from white pasta to wholegrain. The pasta has been no problem so far with the children. We have not tried the rice yet.
We have always eaten wholegrain bread so that is not an issue.
The other thing we are altering is the balance of grains to vegetables. The children love grains and so do we. I think we eat too many of them. I know I definitely do (but I eat too much of everything:) ).
So the trick will be to eat more leafy vegetables and salads. The children already eat a lot of fruit, so we don't need to make any changes there.
We have long used butter and whole fat milk, often fresh from our neighbors cow. So there are no changes required there.
Michael Pollan talks about the symbiotic relationship between people and food, and by growing food we are putting ourselves back into the food chain. The ideas in the book are not really new to me, but the way he has woven it all together as a philosophy of food, was inspiring.
We have good reasons to try and introduce this way of eating into our family.I am overweight and I suspect highly sensitive to refined grains. Diabetes runs in my family- my mother has mature age onset. Although it is not in my partners family, our children are still at risk. But of course, this risk can be reduced by diet and exercise.
I have been working in the garden a lot, the garlic, leeks and onions are thriving. I have made a greenhouse out of an old swing set and some shade cloth and I am raising seeds in it. Really looking forward to spring planting.
The main changes so far have been switching from Basmati rice to brown rice and from white pasta to wholegrain. The pasta has been no problem so far with the children. We have not tried the rice yet.
We have always eaten wholegrain bread so that is not an issue.
The other thing we are altering is the balance of grains to vegetables. The children love grains and so do we. I think we eat too many of them. I know I definitely do (but I eat too much of everything:) ).
So the trick will be to eat more leafy vegetables and salads. The children already eat a lot of fruit, so we don't need to make any changes there.
We have long used butter and whole fat milk, often fresh from our neighbors cow. So there are no changes required there.
Michael Pollan talks about the symbiotic relationship between people and food, and by growing food we are putting ourselves back into the food chain. The ideas in the book are not really new to me, but the way he has woven it all together as a philosophy of food, was inspiring.
We have good reasons to try and introduce this way of eating into our family.I am overweight and I suspect highly sensitive to refined grains. Diabetes runs in my family- my mother has mature age onset. Although it is not in my partners family, our children are still at risk. But of course, this risk can be reduced by diet and exercise.
I have been working in the garden a lot, the garlic, leeks and onions are thriving. I have made a greenhouse out of an old swing set and some shade cloth and I am raising seeds in it. Really looking forward to spring planting.
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