The Christmas Harvest

If you're anything like me, you're pretty busy in the week leading up to Christmas, and not a great deal gets done in the garden. This year, as I didn't have to work until Christmas Eve, I did a lot of Christmas baking for gift and for our visitors on Boxing Day. I made my 'famous' shortbread, made with my late Grandmother's recipe, and highly anticipated by some members of the family; Christmas cookies, sugared peanuts (that turned out really well and were gobbled up by my spouse well before Christmas!); and Oliver and I made chocolates. I also made a yummy trifle as I do every year.

I find though, that once Christmas is done, I'm super keen to get my jobs done while I have some time off from work. So in the last four days I've been pretty busy. I did some indoor cleaning and organising, but also did a few things outside, including harvesting my first crop of apricots, which I'm confident will ripen nicely off the tree. The one I tasted was delicious, so much so that I took the ladder into the garden to make sure I picked the really high ones. I'm amazed at how big the apricot tree has grown since I planted it last year. It's easily twice the size of the apple trees in the same garden.

I also picked my first zucchini (yum!),

a bucket of potatoes (which I cooked straight away and forgot to photograph!) and in the next week or so will probably be picking several kilos of blackberries. I'll go out and take a photo of the bush tomorrow, it's amazing!

I also did a bit (OK, a lot) of weeding, tied up more tomato branches and cut off some more of the un-flowering leaves (I'm sure there's a proper name for them!). 

Grow your own breakfast

This morning, I really wanted a leek omelette. If you've never had one, I recommend you try it. I found this recipe a while back, but don't tend to use the salt, pepper or nutmeg. Just the leek is enough.

Even better is when you grow the leeks yourself.  The leeks I planted in October are just big enough for me to pick.

 So I pulled out two of those, and together with a couple of my eggs, I put together a little omelette and satisfied my craving.

Great way to start the day!

Vertical gardening

Despite having a big block, we're still always looking for more places to plant things. And I'm always trying to find ways to use the bits of stuff that Anthony collects for 'just in case we need it'.

So there were a bunch of old gutters lying around (don't get me started on why we have old gutters lying around!), and we thought it might be a good idea to experiment with some different garden arrangements.

Anthony screwed three of the pieces of guttering to the fence above my raspberry garden, on an angle one above the other so that they will (hopefully) drain OK. We then filled them up with potting mix, and planted a bunch of things, including strawberries, parsley, oregano, a chilli plant and some lemon grass.

If nothing else, it will be a good experiment. If it works, it will be a good way to do herbs (leaving me with more room for my vegies!). I do like the idea of using the unused space, and using materials that would otherwise be chucked out.

See all the yummy blackberries in the background? Can't wait until they're ripe!

I'll keep you posted about how they go.

A berry good harvest!

Super busy this weekend, but I did manage to pick some berries. A good punnet and a half of blueberries:

And the same of boysenberries:

I do so love boysenberries, but geez they're painful! If you've never grown them, they grow on branches covered in tiny little thorns that love to attach themselves to you even when you're just passing by.

We put our boysenberries in a few years ago, and then a few years later tried to take them out, but they send out underground sucker, so once they're in, they're almost impossible to remove. So I've given up and just let them grow in the little bed beside my driveway. Because they do taste very good!!!

Little Harvests

We have had a fair amount of rain (more than 50mm) over the last few days, with some big thunderstorms keeping things interesting (I love summer storms!).

I've been too busy to take pictures but the storm clouds have been amazing!

So I haven't been out in the garden much, but this morning was able to go and pull out a few weeds and pick some food!

A punnet's worth of yummy blueberries:

Some potatoes for dinner (slow-cooker vegemite roast lamb with home grown rosemary and garlic!):

 And my first cherries in a couple of years! YUM!

This a dumb thing to say, but the stuff you get to pick and eat is definitely the best part of growing food (oh, and we'll be a bit better off when the zombie apocalypse comes)!

Garlic....

“Without garlic I simply would not care to live.” – Louis Diat

I love garlic. It probably doesn't make it very pleasant to be around me sometimes, but it is one of my favourite favours (and aromas! There is nothing like the smell of garlic sautéing!).

So growing garlic is one of my favourite gardening adventures.

And today was garlic harvest day.

In January 2012, we visited a friend in Meander, Tasmania (an absolutely gorgeous part of Australia, if you ever get the chance to go there). When we were leaving (to do some more Tassie touring), he gave me three heads of beautiful organic Tasmanian garlic. Since then, I've been growing it. Today, despite my chooks' attempt to decimate the garlic crop a while back, I harvested 28 lovely heads, including an enormous one, at least 5cm wide!

My monster garlic head!

I know a lot of people don't think that organic makes much difference, but garlic is one of the vegetables where I can really taste the difference. This garlic tastes so good!!!

So I've picked it, braided it (I just watch this video for instructions- I still need a little practice!),

My 'braids'

and it's hung up in a little old caravan that I'm planning on turning into a drying/storage room.

I cannot wait to cook up lots of lovely garlicky things!

I love roasted garlic cloves with some roast lamb, or a bit of cabbage fried in butter and garlic (and perhaps a little vegemite!). My father-in-law used to swear by a raw clove of garlic and a slice of cheese every evening. What's your favourite garlic recipe?

The Vines

Not only are food plants amazing, they're also mulit-talented!

Today I'd like to introduce you to my vines:

My front door is in there somewhere...

Our front deck faces NorthWest. Which means it's full of beautiful mid-afternoon sunlight in the winter, but also very warm mid-day sunlight in the summer.

The only thing that can help you make you comfortable in both of those situations is a plant. If we had covered our front deck in colourbond, it would keep us nice and shady in summer, but would make it seem cold and uninviting. So, instead, we planted three grapevines. A deciduous plant like a grapevine loses its leaves in winter, and grows a thick canopy in summer.

The biggest we planted long before we ever considered a life of food growing. We built the deck in the early 2000s, and put in the 'ornamental' grapevine at pretty much the same time. It's now got two impressive trunks (and a lot of established growth).

Grapevine trunk (and its weed friends)

Of course, being an ornamental grapevine, the grapes are pretty awful. They're quite sour and full of annoying pips. The birds love them, and sometimes the bees, but they're not really all that good in a fruit salad.

Th old vine, on the northern end of the deck.

So, when we got a little more serious about growing food, we cut the old vine back, and planted two more vines at the opposite end of the deck. They're both red grapes, seedless, and very nice to eat.

The view from here....

Of course the best thing is that as they have all grown bigger and more dense, they have provided a lovely, sheltered space right outside our front door. In winter we can sit there and soak up the sun, but in summer, it's a lovely shady space. The air moves freely through the leaves and branches, but they still block out most of the sunlight. It can get pretty messy, but it's nothing a sweep can't fix, and the dead leaves are just more good organic matter to put back into the garden. And - bonus: they give us some great privacy!

Now, we just have to wait for the grapes to ripen!

Introducing...my girls

Today I'd like to introduce you to my girls:

We've had chooks on and off for a number of years. I love being able to eat fresh eggs whenever I want to*, and even better share them with my friends and family.

* Except when it's winter and their laying cycles are all out of whack. Or when it's really hot and they get broody. Or when the crows come in and steal them...

At the moment, we have 8 chooks. Most of them are rescued; mostly from people who decided it wasn't worth the effort. I love 'em. I love the way they run to meet me at the gate, the way they carry on when the dog gets too close, the way they can spot (and catch) a bug at 5 metres, and of course the way they give me yummy eggs. 

Sometimes they make me cranky, like when they got out recently and dug up half my garlic, but mostly, I love 'em.

What chooks do to plants if you let them - a blackberry bush in their yard

But they do require some work. They eat a heap, so you've gotta make sure they've got seed and plenty of green pick (luckily our weeds do that job most of the time, we just pull them out and give them to the girls). You've gotta keep their nest boxes clean and comfy, and you've gotta watch out for their health.

Then, there are the other problems. For a long time, we has ravens coming in regularly to steal eggs from the nesting boxes. I mean they went right into the shed, stole them out of the boxes (whole!), and flew off with them (whole!). We tried plastic owls, CDs, scarecrows, roofing and all sorts of things, but nothing deterred them. Until we put in this special door that the chooks have to go under to go to bed.

But all of this is worth it. Because when you want to make a nice meringue, cake or a delicious breakfast, you know you've got the most important ingredient sorted.

And they're fascinating! Here are some interesting things I've found out about chooks in my time as a chook owner:

• A group of chickens will always have a dominant one and one right at the bottom of the pecking order. The dominant one gets the best sleeping spot and eats first. The other? Last...
• A chicken's reproductive cycle is influenced by the number of daylight hours. That's why they don't lay as often in winter.
• Chickens will eat just about anything. And they love mice! Ewwwwwww!
• The colour of egg yolks is related to what chooks eat. Dark yellow usually means there are greens in the diet, light yellow usually indicates a grain-based diet. 
• Egg shell colour is usually related to the colour of the chicken.
• Eggs are one of the best sources of protein.
• Chickens wake at dawn and go to sleep at dusk. In fact, in times past, people used chickens to turn the street lights on and off!

War of the Weeds

Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere

We've always struggled a little with weeds. In the beginning it was because I wasn't as focused on the garden as I am now, but since Anthony (my partner) starting breeding parrots, it's gotten harder and harder. Because of course parrots spread their seed around, and it grows. Into weeds. For a while he encouraged it because the birds ate them (and I wasn't as focused on the garden), but after a while he didn't need to encourage it, if you know what I mean...

Beautiful things sometimes like weeds.

And then about a year ago I broke my knee. Not too bad, but it put me out of action for a significant period. In the springtime, when everything is growing, including weeds!
By the time I had enough mobility and confidence to get back to the garden, it was late summer and the weeds had taken over! Then winter hit and I think I've mentioned that I don't do so well in winter.

So when spring arrived again this year and I was feeling much more like gardening, I had an enormous task ahead of me. To get rid of the weeds and get my garden back. To give you an idea of what I was facing, here are some before and after shots of what I've managed so far. But believe me, there is still a loooooong way to go!

Beside the driveway...

and after.

Eek! Front yard.

And from another angle.

And now.

A little better...

What happens to your garden when you're busy?

Did you notice I'm a sometimes blogger too?

It's not for lack of trying; I'm just one of those people that likes to do lots of things.
To give you a bit of an idea of the many things that keep me busy (apart from my garden): I have a gorgeous 11 year old son Oliver that I completely dote on (spoiled yes, brat no!). Those of you that have seen me in my previous blog will know how important family is to me). I am a music buff, and spend a bit of time talking to other tragic Foo Fighters fans. I'm quite involved in the Canberra Lego community, and am quickly becoming an AFOL in my own right. I am a keen (but extremely amateur) photographer, and a Sh'Bam instructor, with three classes a week that I team-teach to keep me busy.

I also work full time at a local university, and have recently been a part of the Human Brochure campaign, with the culminating activity being one of the things that has kept me from my blog over the last week.

However, I have embarked on this endeavour because I want to document my garden. Something I wish I'd done from the start. But it's never too late.

So what does happen to your garden when you're too busy to look after it? Simple: Weeds. The bane of my life, and a story that will be told soon!

The Sometimes Gardener?

Why am I the Sometimes Gardener?

I'm one of those people that gets all excited and passionate about a project and throws absolutely everything I have into it, and then get distracted by...Oooh! Shiny thing!

It can be hard to concentrate on the garden when this is the view from your front door...

Seriously though, I do love to garden. I love the satisfaction that comes from seeing something that you've nurtured produce something beautiful or edible. I love the feel of soil between my fingers, the sun on my neck and I love that bone-tired feeling after a good day in the garden.

But there are a couple of problems. I have a lot going on in my life, with periods of intense busyness, I don't do well in winter (as I've mentioned previously), and sometimes I get discouraged or overwhelmed by the task ahead of me. Last October, I also broke my knee. Which set me back in many areas, but overwhelmingly so in my garden. The weeds grew tall and took over, the pruning didn't get done, and worst of all I didn't get to plant anything. It's taken me a year to get my mojo back, but I'm hoping I'm on the right track now.

...and this is the view from the back!

In the past I've been a bit of a set and forget gardener: plant the stuff and hope it will grow, occasionally water it, pull out the odd weed. I've had some success with this, but I want to get serious. I want to grow lots of food, share it with others, and become just that little bit more self-sufficient. Hopefully this blog will help me stay on track.

Coming up: tackling the weeds, my chooks, the grapevine.

October in the garden - planting!

Of course one of the big jobs in October is planting! Especially when you're growing vegies (and constantly finding fun new food plants to try...)

So in the bits that are already prepared, I've been planting.

I've planted lettuce twice, as the first lot was decimated when the chooks escaped from their yard (along with some of my precious garlic - aaaargggh!).

As well as some tomatoes, basil, eggplant and leeks. I had some little bits and pieces that I'd grown from seed (like some zucchini plants) but the chooks got those too. I'll put them in again this week. One of the pitfalls of having them I guess, but I wouldn't give them up. I love my yummy fresh eggs! I'll introduce you soon.

I've also put in some new raspberry plants from my dad (a very clever gardener along with my mum), planted some corn seeds, transplanted some strawberries and I thought I'd try a honeydew melon in a warm spot that I've got out the back. We'll see how it goes...

October in the garden - new growth!

Every spring I feel like I'm coming alive again. I've lived in Canberra my whole life, but I still struggle with the winters: the cold (though mostly beautiful and clear) days are tough, but the shorter daylight hours are what really get to me. By September I'm really down in the dumps and ready for things to warm up.

So in the spring, the garden and I come alive together. The wonderful thing about growing food is that in spring there are lots of blossoms. On the apple trees,

the berries,

and especially the weeds (I'll tell you about those another time!).

I grow really good weeds too. Sigh...

October is a great month for asparagus too (although in the last week or so, it's gone crazy with the warmer days!):

(I swear if you had a couple of hours to spare, you could actually watch asparagus spears grow!).

There's a lot of work in the garden in spring, but it pays off when you've got a big bunch of yummies straight out of the garden! 

October in the garden - preparation!

Early this month I gave the chook yard a good going over and in my garden beds put down chook poop and comfrey (good green manure) and 10 bales of pea straw (you should see all the pea plants that have sprouted now!); to keep the weeds down (ha!) and the moisture in. 

My 'orchard': apples, oranges and apricots

Comfrey

I also did lots and lots of weeding. In fact I'm still going with that, but I've got a whole other series of posts planned about my weed battles! 

I also had a go at tying down some branches from my pear tree, which I'm hoping to espalier (with no actual experience or knowledge of the process) along our new rumpus room/shed). 

And we created a new garden bed for my favourite berry - the raspberry! Of course, it has to be dog-proof!!!