To Be happy is to be Grateful

Welcome Again.

Thanks fro visiting my blog , I do hope you enjoy your visit and become inspired to become a little more self sufficient.

It has been a while since I last update as I have been busy in the garden and with 5-6 garden beds to water and weed and tend it takes up a lot of my time. I do love it and I find I get lots of ideas on new things to plant , grow and ways to make the garden better. I also get ideas for my jewellery making while in the garden. And If I am sad or angry these feelings are also somewhat less when I have had some time weeding, harvesting and just pondering . In fact I am sure being in the garden is good for your mental health.

I always emerge from my garden with a grateful

heart and outlook particularly when I see what

nature has achieved in my absence and when I have just picked 4 kg of Cherry tomatoes and 6 giant Zuchinni's and a few other vegies. I just so love being able to be a little self suffiencent so we have some control of our lives and not be totally dependent on outside inputs.

We have a long way to go, but just helping ourselves a little does a lot for your confindence to keep going and with every little step you achieve more independencce each year. It is not easy, but nothing in life is so I say have a go and you will be pleased with the results.

So far we have been harvesting Cherry Tomatoes, Capsicums, Zuchinni, Cucumbers, Beans ,Corn ( nearly ready) , Potato, Garlic, Strawberry, Rocket, cabbage.

I am going to try and grow 1000kg again this year- last year I grew about 400kg of food.

Anyone interested in sponsoring me 1c per kg of food grown to be donated to a cancer research. Growing your own vegies and eating them fresh and free from pestiside has to be better for your health and may even prevent you getting cancer in the first place. By having this challenge and this fund raiser I hope to inspire others to grow their own therefore benefiting others health indirectly.

Send me an email if you are interested in sponsoring me and when harvesting is all done- arround june - July , I will donate the money to cancer organisation.

email me zanil.design@clubtelco.com

To end this post here is what I find to be happy ,is to be grateful for the things we have and where we are right now .

Now is what we have, so enjoy now and know that when all si said and done- everything does work out .


Regards

Lina

First Harvest

Welcome to my contented life Blog.


I am sure everyone has been busy in their
gardens planting seedlingsor seeds ready for summer.

we have been or trying to inbetween the wet weather and stormy days. Glad to get all the rain though. We have lots of self seeded cherry tomato plants, that are looking healthy as a result of all the rain. They look better than the ones we translplanted.

I plan on thinning them out and moving them to another section so we can make sure the chickens don't trash them when they have fruit on the vines.


As you can see from the picture we have been picking some green and purple snow peas and broad beans. The ones on the left are off the purple broad bean plant and are smaller than the heritage variety. We have also been picking lot of juicy strawberries.

I seem to have less time this year to plant in the garden and I fell I get stressed out just thinking about what needs to be planted so we don't miss out. I find that when I do spend some time in the garden the stress just melts away and I feel I have all the time in the world.

I am determined to have my garden so in the next week or 2 , I am planting out the tomatoes, sowing some pumpkin seeds and water emlon seeds . I also will be clearing out the broad bean plants and harvesting the cabbages.

Recently I came to the realisation that not only do you need time to plant and nuture the garden, but you also need time to harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Sounds a bit like life really- need time to plan , nuture and enjoy your life.

I am looking forward to school holidays where I hope we will just not go anywhere to often - sounds boring, but I think I prefer that to the constant feeling of running here and there and never quite feeling like I have enough time to just sit and think and even have a cup of tea .

Cheers and happy gardening . I am going to try and grow 1000kg again this year. Wish me luck.

Lina

A New Growing Season Begins- Spring 2010

Welcome to My Contented Life Blog

This blog is about the simple things in life and how pleasureable they can be when we take the time to stop and smell the roses.

Enjoying life can be as simple as noticing the smallest of things , like a flower or the smell of some jonquils growing in the garden, noticing all the self sown seeds that in time, grow to give you nourishment.

We have a few things on the go in our garden- we have self sown Lettuce and Spinach plants.

We have been eating these. I have just used up my last harvest of tomatoes from our green house and manged to stop buying canned tomatoes for 1 whole year. I am so glad. we also have some strawberry plants that are in flower.

We are waiting for our broad beans to grow as well, and I am so looking forward to making broadbean meat pies with them. Yummy.

The next challenge is to grow everything we need and use it in our everyday cooking so we limit the amount we are getting from the grocers, so we can really reduce our carbon foot print.

Our Silver perch and trout are almost big enough to eat- they have taken a long time to get to this stage so this will be our reward when they are finally ready.

Here are some photos of our green house vegies at the moment. There is going to be an explosion of growth over the next month or 2 as it will be getting warmer and more things will germinate. I planted some cucumber seeds, but none came up and found some empty seed pods, eaten out by the resident worms. Very diasppointing, but I will not give up - I am imagining enjoyinh a mouth watering and succulent cucumber mid summer- so will have another go.

Thats all for now- happy gardening- It is still a little early to be palnting out the vegies, but if you have a small green house , start getting your seedlings ready.

Cheers- and have a happy life.

Lina

One Tonne challenge- 30 days to go

Welcome once again to my gardening blog.

Hope everyone is having a lovely and safe Easter.

My family and I have had a blissful 2 days so far and we have not drivem more than 5 km in 2 days. How wonderful .

In this time I have pulled up all the Gladiolis and replanted some strawberry plants. We have also ripped out all the strawberry plants from one of the aquaponic grow beds as they were aphid infested and no amount of garlic spray was going to get rid of them.

I am so tired now , but at least it has been done. Next thing is to get the garden beds ready for broad beans and brocoli. Time for planting garlic as well. We are going to try to plant some in the aquaponic grow beds with the strawberries as a companion plant to see if they will keep the aphids at bay.

One Tonne Challenge Update

With only arround 30days to go, I have managed to harvest more than

155kg of food.

I am so pleased. I still have quite a lot in the garden so keep posted for the final amount.

Gardening Tips

• Gardening is fun and you can do it also . Set your self an easy target first and you will be suprised and the result will make you want to keep going. I recomend growing cherry tomatoes , they are healthy and easy to grow.
• Canberra region vegies to grow now- Garlic, Broad beans, Kale, cabbage,cauiliflower, brocoli, lettuce.
• mulch well to keep mositure in the the ground.
• Gardening is also good for you - forget the gym get out there and grow some food it will keep you fit.
• Did you know that looking at a garden or nature lowers your stress level. Surround your self with a garden and enjoy a less stressful life.

Cheers hope life is treating you well.

Lina

One Tonne Challenge Update

Hello Everyone

Welcome to my blog. I just love writing about my garden and hopefully you are enjoying what you are reading and I hope that I am inspiring you to grow some of your own vegetables for a healthy and more rewarding lifestyle.

Update on my one Tonne Challenge.
So far I have harvested a massive 105.7 kg and I think I will make to to close to 300kg as there are a lot of vegetables still waiting to be picked.

All this lovely recent rain has revived my garden and especially the pumkins to sprouting lots of new shoots. Keep posted for the wonderful photos that I will post when I get a minute.

photo:Chickens waiting at the door for food.
Gardening tip.
Keep trying and don't give up, if you really want to succeed you will- just need to have patience.

Gardening is so good for us and your health. Growing your own vegetables is one way of looking after your health.

Cheers and happy gardening

Lina

Rain - A Blessing- Brings New Life

Welcome


I hope you are leading a happy and contented life.
Well I was certainly happy when the rain came and down poured.

We needed the rain, and even though there was some damage to our newly laid drive way , it was very appreciated.

There is nothing like a good soak for the garden. Watering the garden with a hose is not quite the same.

My dying pumkin vines have spung back to life with a mutitude of new shoots and growth and now there are quite a few female flowers with fertilzed buds that will develop into pumkins.

My cherry tomotoes have also srung to life and I have been leaving the tomatoes on the vine to vine ripen. They have grown to about 2-3cm diametre. There is nothing like the sweet taste of a warm vine ripened cherry tomatoe to quench your thirst.

I even have a small melon vine that suddenly grew lots of new shoots and I may even get a melon or 2 before the season end, if the chickens don't hack into it.

The rain also coinsided with the hatching of our eight new baby chickens - 5 white and 3 black. They are so adorable and I have been having cups of coffee with them nearby. I sit and watch them scratch arround and listen to how mother hen calls and coos when I throw bits of food to them.

I hope your garden is growing well as mine is and that you are finding solace from the non stop busy days in your garden. Nuture your soul and spend some time in the garden. Not only will your be doing your mind some good , but also your health and reaping vegetables as payment of your hard work.

Tip.

The best fertilizer in any garden is the foot prints of the gardener.

Kindest regards
Lina

Summer Harvesting Fun

Welcome to my Blog



What can I say , Thanks God for all the glorious rain that has made my garden spring to life.

It also flooded out our chook shed , which we had to clean out. I almost fell over several times in the slimy and smelly mud and my partner had to dig a drain in a room 2/3 his size. I am not going to complain as it was great to get so much - our rain water tank is full and the garden is blooming.





I am having so much fun reaping what I have sown over the last 2 months or so . So far on my 1000 tonne challenge I have harvested 31 kg. I am not entiurely sure thatI am going to make it to 1000 kg, but I am sure it will be well arround the half way mark. I am having fun and that is the main point. It is all in the journey and that is also so true of life.



Accross is a picture of what I have been harvesting on a daily basis for a few weeks now. The beans are a dwarf bean that are so prolific , from 5 plants I picked 108 beans in one sitting. This produce was harvested from our aquaponics system. The Cherry Tomatoes and Strawberries are so sweet.



I left some old stumps of tomato plants in the grow beads and as soon as the conditions were right they sprouted. We haven't staked them well so next time, we will build better climbing apparatus, you learn as you go. We are getting more than enough fo us.



Capsicans

I have also been picking Capsicans. I also left 2 old plants in the grow beds and they also sprouted when the conditions were right. They are even more healthy than the year before.

Last year they were riddled with Aphids and I was forever spraying some home made galic spray almost every day. This time around we dont have the aphid problem and it makes a huge difference. On one of the plants there are about 6 capsicans. I just love looking at it and the new flowers that are developing.



I also saved about 4 plants at the end of summer in pot plants and then replanted in the garden once the risk of frost was over. These are also going well and I have picked one or 2 capsicans, well ahead of the new seedlings I have also planted.



TIP

Save a few capsican plants at the end of summer and pot them up in pot plants. water over winter ( will have minimal growth) and replant the next spring.



Eggplants

Once again i saved a plant in the aquaponic grow bed and it is going ok with lots of new growth- hopefully will result in some fruit. i planted some new seedlings and there are 2 eggplants growing well. Once again doing much better since there are no aphids to stunt the growth.



Cucumbers

I am anxiously waiting to harvest my first cucumber and I have planted a few more seeds to ensure I dont miss out. Last year we harvested heaps of crunching Lebanese cucumbers that were so sweet.



Zuchinni

I have picked a few Zuchinni and looking forward to making stuffed zuchinni when I get a huge one. I also have a great recipe for Zuchinni Bread as well as a vegie juice . Will publish these as soon a I start to make them again and the recipe is fresh in my head.



I have also planted pumkins and water melons. These should helpm me achieve my outrageous and fun target.



Keep you posted and over the next few weeks my one tonne challenge harvest weight will skyrocket as the vegies start to be prolific.

You Win Some and Loose Some

Welcome again.

Today we had a major problem with one of the pumps in our aquaponic system in that it stopped working due to a capacitor breakdown. The water could not be pumped and aerated and as a result not enough oxygen was being generated for the poor fish that subsequently died, 36 in total. Needless to say that we were pretty annoyed .

Luckily it was Melbourne cup day and my partner was home to go to the shop to get another part to fix the pump.

Oh well you win some and loose some and in the end it all evens out.

This lovely rain has made the garden come alive. Today I noticed that we have hundresd of self sown Tomato plants in the patch where we dunped the Chicken manure. I just cant wait till harvest time.

So far I have harvests 8.7kg in my one tonne Challenge. I am going to have lots of fun in achieving this milestone.

good bye for now- worn out from all the landscaping and gardening I have been doing.

The One Tonne Challenge

Welcome to my Contented life blog.

Spring weather is finally here although we did get some cold weather accompanied by some much welcomed rain, just after planting some seeds and seedlings. So thank you God for sending the rain at the right time.

Yesterday , I picked some young Broad beans and had them with our dinner lightly steamed. They were so nice. Broadbeans can be eaten straight from the pod. I am going to make some broad bean pies and my favourite Broad beans , garlic and parsley salad.

So far this season I have harvested some lemons and strawberries which I have made into Lemon curd and Strawberry jam. I am stockpiling it for my up coming exhibition to provide some yummy treats for people to buy.

You are probably wondering what the one tonne challenge is. Well I have set my self a challenge this season to harvest 1000kg of fruit and vegetables from our garden. Well I hope I can do it, but the gain and joy is in the ride and journey. So wish me luck and I am going to try my hardest to get there. I haven't been measuring much so far, but will start.

Last year We harvested close to 300 kg of fruit and vegetables.

To measure my progress I will update the total list on the right had side of my posts.

Send me a comment Would love to hear from you. What do you think. Am I mad, do you think I will be able to achieve it?

This weekend I am planting out all my capsicums and tomatoes. I have planted out all the Eggplants and sowed Watermelon and Zucchini seeds.

Happy gardening. May you reap what you sow.

Lina

Another Good Reason to Grow your own Produce

Welcome to my Contented Life Blog.

I have spent the weekend in the garden and it has been lovely weather, the first nice weather this spring. It was perfect for being out door and getting your hands dirty and reconnecting with nature.



I planted some Egg plant, Baby Spinach, Capsican , Artichoke and
Zuchinni Seeds. I hope we dont get a frost. I have saved some seedlings incase we do.


We have been getting lots of beautiful strawberries from our green house. Slugs have been a problem and some of the best big juicy ones have been attacked. Why can't they choose the little ones? We have found this great organic pest control gadget to get them under some sort of control. It is a container ( will get picture soon) that you can pour beer into and the slugs are attracted to it and when they fall in they die.



I was reading an article about another reason to buy organic or grow your own . Apart form the pleasure of seeing the lovely fruit and vegetable develop and the wonderful flavour ,there is a lot of pesticides and chemicals that are used in commercially grown crops. Read the article here.


Perhaps if you can't grow much, you could grow the fruit and Vegies you eat then most of .


I made some wonderful strawberry jam with our own strawberries and lemons ( for pectin). I had some on my pancakes this morning it was delicious. I am going to make some lemon curd with our lemons soon.

Cheers and happy gardening

Lina

Spring is in the Air

Welcome to my blog.

Spring is almost here and there are already early signs that it won't be long before our natural enviroment is bursting with new life.

Spring is my favourite time of year, filled with promise of a garden of beautiful flowers and vegtables for the next few months.

Spring is definitely a great time to start thinking of what you would you like to grow and start planning so that once the frosts stop ( Canberra) you can press ahead to ensure you get a full growing season.

My tip is to make gardening a normal part of your life to enjoy it and to make time for it and that way you won't feel that you have not got the time to invest in it. Also another tip is to add 1 or 2 new things to grow each year and make them part of what you normally grow ( depending on how successful you have been in growing the new plant). this way it won't be long before you are growing quite a large array of what you need to prepare fresh, healthy and tasty food full of flavour all from your own back yard. The hardest part about gardening is in the planning and the sowing of the seeds and seedlings. Once this is done, all you need to do is water and weed, mulch and basically watch the plants grow. The results ( hopefully good ones) will make you want to succeed and do more.

Growing your own fruit and vegetable helps in reducing carbon emissions as the food we buy from supermarkets are very high in food miles and energy per kilo joules of food. Not only do we use fuel to drive there to get it, fuel and energy has been used to grow it as well as transport it to the market place. Buying from a local producer is also a great way to reduce your carbon foot print, if you are unable to grow your own , due to health and space restrictions.

Benefits of growing your own.

• You have more flavoursome and vine ripened vegetables. It is healthier to eat fruit and vegetables that have been sun ripened- have more vitamins.
• Freshness- pick when you need.
• sharing- swaping with friends for things you can't grow.
• sense of satifaction
• saves money
• healthy past time - gardening is a form of excercise
• relaxing when you look at the beautiful fruit forming.
• educational - learn about plant/bugs/ pruning etc
• reduce your carbon foot print.

Disadvantages

• hard work - but who said life was meant to be easy - you reap what you sow in more ways than one.
• time consuming
• plant failure - always learn form mistakes - that's a positive as long as you don't keep making the same mistake.
  
  

Tips to get you started on your very own veggie patch

• Start out small - only grow 4 -5 things and grow them well- your success will feed further successes.

These plants are a good starting point

• Zucchinni's - these are fast growers- you will be amazed.
• Parsley- very useful herb.
• Garlic- plant bulbs in winter .
• Lettuce also very easy to grow
• Beans
• Potatoes - these can be grown in old tyres , just keep adding dirt as the palnt matures.
• sun flowers to attract bees
• Pumpkin vine

Happy gardening, I am sure you will not look back once you have decided to grow a few things.

best regards

from the Bejewelled Gardener

Lina of ZaniL Design Jewellery

Garden's Last Harvest before the Frost

Welcome to my Contented Life Blog.

The aim of my blog is to inspire others with some simple ideas that I have found along lifes wonderful journey. We are all trying to find a balance that works for us and hopefully my tips can help you find some things that will help you achieve this.

As I am aiming to inspire others, I am inspired by others like wise, so if you have any interesting ideas or you think I am way off the mark, please feel free to contructively comment.

A little about myself, I love to garden as you have probably worked out from reading some of my early blogs and from the pictures of some of our produce. We have our own eggs and vegetables and some fruit. We have an aquaponics system ( built by my husband). I love to make my own things and I am often wearing my own hand made jewellery or item of clothing or bags. I love to reuse and recycle anything from egg cartons to water bottles and preloved clothing.

That's enough about me, the point I am trying to make is if I can do it, so can you. You need only to decide to do it. The rest will be history. With gardening you can start by only growning a few herbs and the success of this will make you thirsty for more successes with other vegetables.

If you do not have the space , grown your vegetables in polystyrene boxes (reusing). Join the Diggers Club ( Australia) as it has some great Heirloom vegtables /fruit and great articles that really keep you abreast of what is happening in the world of Gardening and Genetically modified food and its affect on us.

The picture about was harvested on the 1st of June - the first day of winter. I was so pleased with this last harvest. When you grow your own, not only will you be eating more healthy produce, but it will have more flavour. It will also have less food miles ( the amount of energy used to produce food). You will also save some money , but more importantly you are in control of your food , not the supermarket.

Another tip on saving money and the planet- refuse to buy vegtables that are not in season. These vegetables/fruit have travelled long food miles to get to your super market and are generally more expensive.

Now that Winter is here ( Australia)- you should already have Brocolli, Cauliflowers, Cabage, Spinach, lettuce, Broad beans,garlic in your garden.

Until next time happy Gardening- remember you reap what you sow and not only in your garden , but also in your life. Be kind and compassionate - you never know when you will need someone to be kind and compassionate towards you. Do unto others as you will have done unto you.

Please feel free to comment- would love to hear what you you think good or bad- it only takes a minute.

Cheers

Lina

ZaniL Design CEO