Harvest Time- Reaping What You Sow

Welcome

One tonne Cahllenge update

So far I have harvested 88kg of fruit and vegetables

This month I have been harvesting some yummy vegetables, and it feels great to pick your own vegies. Not only are they fresher and free from chemicals, it is rewarding to wait for something and then finally pick it. A bit like having a layby ( which I absolutely love) working for something and then finally getting it, make it more worthwhile.

I feel like I was playing with my food as I was arranging these

vegetable to make a lovely display and photo.

Would you believe that these Romana and Cherry tomatoes all came from Self sown plants. I have picked about 16kg of produce and I did not even plannt one plant. This is another benefit of having chickens and a compost.

I did however rescue about 20 plants from the compost and replanted them to a position of better soil and water accessability. I unfortuneatley still have to share soem with the chickens as they seem to love them just as much as me!.

The capsican plants were last years. I saved them at the end of summer and replanted them in mid spring.

Good luck with your gardening endevours.

Tip for a contented life.

We only have time in our lives for the things we make time for. Make time for things that will make your life happier and you will be content.

Until next time

Kindest regards

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

A Sight to Behold

Welcome to my Blog

Happy New Year to you all. Hope you had a great Christmas and wonderful new year.

Here is a lovely photo of our frontage lined with these majestic looking Red Hot Pokers. We haven't watered these so it's amazing
to see so many flowers.

One Tonne Challenge Update

Just Updated my One tonne Challenge- Now have harvested 39.4Kg of produce.


Here is Fred the rooster Crowing


Did we all make resolutions?. I made one about consuming less and trying not to rush around so I can enjoy the here and now more. So far I am living up to the consuming less- we bought a soda stream and have saved about 10 plastic bottles already. Also stayed at home ( bliss) for a day or 2 without going anywhere (saved some petrol) and sorted out some stuff and donated some toys , blankets and threw out some rubbish ( old toys broken , missing pieces). It made me think of how wasteful we are.

Do you know that sometimes when we want something, it the conquest in aquiring it and once it is aquired it no longer holds its appeal and soon we are pining after another object of our desires? Does this sound familiar? Do you know if you go to the after christmas sales, you are not really getting a bargain unless it is something that you need or wanted for a long time. Are you buying only because it was reduced to 50% off- in which case you have paid 50% too much.




I just love this time of year and how relaxing it is compared to the end of the year. This January I have been in business for 18months and I use this relaxing part of the year to plan whatI want to achieve for the year ahead. This year I hope to support more charitable causes through my handmade jewellery business and support other handmade artists. If you would like me to come and do a jewellery show at your office, please contact me and we can discuss how we can raise funds for your charity.








My Jewellery Website- http://www.zanildesign.blogspot.com/


Email: zanil.design@bigpond.com



I leave you with some photos of our Vegetables growing in our green house.

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.

Maltese Bread Pudding

Merry Christmas to all.

Today I made a Maltese Bread Pudding for Christmas . I made a few changes to the ingredients to make it more like a traditional Christmas pudding.

I have tasted it and it's yummy. This recipe uses day old bread , so if you have a lot of bread left over it is a good way to use up the bread so there is no waste.

Ingredients.

800 grm bread.
3 eggs
50 gr butter melted
100 grams sugar
1 table spoon Vanila essence
2 table spoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
grated rind of 1 orange
50 grams mixed peel
200grams sultanas
1 1/2 cups milk

Optional extras
Walnuts
glazed cherries
mixed fruit instead of sultanas

Method

Soak bread until all moist and soft - about 1 hour. Drain bread until alomst dry. In another bowl
combine othr ingredients together and add bread graduallt mixing well. Add Walnuts last.
pour into greased and dusted tins ( makes 2 meduim sized puddings) and cook for 1 hour in 180 degree C.

check if cooked by testign with a knife. Insert knife and if it coems out clean then it is cooked.

I decorated the top with walnuts and cherries prior to cooking.

New Baby Chickens

Welcome to my contented life blog .

About 10 days ago we hatched 10 new baby chickens. New life is such a miracle. Baby chickens are so cute. We hatched 3 black , 5 white and 1 brown speckled chick. It is amazing to watch them and how mother hen looks after them and teached them how to find food. She also is very protective of them and will peck you if you come near.

All nine fit under her and she keep them warm under her wings.

If you have a rooster you could hatch your own too.

Hatching your own

Keep fertilized eggs at room temprature. Once you have enough ,about 7 eggs, place them under a broody chicken that has been made comfortable in a cage or another area away from the other chickens. Make sure she has water and food.

After 21 days you should have some baby chicks.

Atfter 10 days we already have lost one. I suppose nine chicks may be too much for one mother hen, or perhaps a cat come and got one.

I hope we end up with a few more hens , loving the free range eggs and making lots of yummy food with them.

cheers happy hatching

Lina

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.