Kamis, 03 Oktober 2013

October Garden Share

 
I'm joining up with a few other gardeners again this month in the Garden Share Collective. September appears to be a good time for gardening for me here in the north west of NSW at least. Not too hot, not too cold... Goldilocks conditions... just right.
 

 The garden and everywhere in fact is green. It's those little showers of rain here and there that are keeping things looking so fresh. Not soaking rain unfortunately but very much welcome.

September was a good month harvest wise as well. Given that there are none of those hefty crops like pumpkin or melons to tip the scales, 8.6 kilograms/ 19.3 lb isn't too bad a haul.

The harvest for September was made up of asparagus, rocket, turnip, silverbeet, carrots, lemonades, celery, snap peas, snow peas, peas, spring onions, herbs , lettuce, Brussels sprouts, broccoli,  beetroot, limes, leek and cabbage. I think I only visited the greengrocer twice in the whole month and that was for apples, potatoes and mushrooms.

And something that is really only of interest to me and perhaps Tim, we had 40mm of rain for the month and our temperature maximum and minimum were 33degC and 3.4 degC respectively. The temperature is measured on the verandah which is a sheltered position so not entirely indicative of what it is like for the poor plants that have to deal with the extremes.

I'm really hoping that I can better my tally as the weather warms up. I'm resigned to the fact that I will always have to buy some sort of fruit but I think I could almost take up the challenge right now and not buy vegetables. I just might.


 The bees are getting a real treat with the number and variety of flowers around. After last summers harsh conditions they deserve it. It is hard to believe that we harvested honey this time last year because this year the bees really only have enough for themselves at this stage. Things are looking good though for a harvest a little later in the season.



On my to-do list last month that I didn't get done was label the fruit trees. It's definitely not a pressing task so it just didn't get done. I know what they all are anyway. What did get done though was netting. I'm all for sharing my fruit but unfortunately the local bird life doesn't know the meaning of the word share. I'm fairly certain they are of the opinion that I planted those trees for their benefit alone. Sorry birds.

Plans for October:
  • sow more seeds
  • make more compost
  • cross fingers for hatching turkey and duck eggs
  • try to keep on top of the mowing
  • eat from the garden everyday
  • remove the 'winter' vegetables to make room for summery things
  • plant said summery things
  • spend a few minutes a day under the jasmine before it is gone for the year
Lizzie had the idea of a seed exchange this month too. I have already popped some snake bean seeds in the post for her but I could probably spare another packet or two. I also have some spare Climbing Princess bean seeds and some Bhut jolokia chilli seeds. I can only post these within Australia and not to Tasmania or Western Australia and my supplies are limited to what I collected last year. Just email me if you are interested: sunnycornerfarm (at) hotmail (dot) com

I would really like to get my hands on some Cinnamon myrtle and Aniseed myrtle plants/ seeds after having  the pleasure of seeing/ smelling them a while ago at the Mt Annan Botanical gardens. I think they are few and far between though particularly the cinnamon.

Now I am off to make a boring old dinner of spaghetti bolognaise which apparently my girls don't like (I thought all children were supposed to like bolognaise). They do however enjoy my pasta bake which is the same spaghetti bolognaise baked in the oven with cheese on top just don't tell them that.

And one of the perquisites of school holidays is girls who like to cook have time to make dessert. Panna cotta for us tonight. Thanks Grace.

Tracy

Rabu, 02 Oktober 2013

A day in Murrurundi

 On Tuesday Tim worked six hours overtime in Murrurundi so we decided to have a day out. If he works away from home during the school holidays we will often go with him if the hours are right. Tuesday's hours were a respectable 7am to 1pm. That meant leaving home at about 5:15am which at this time of year is quite nice (when the clocks have to be changed on the weekend it will be a different story). We dropped him off at work and had a nice day in Murrurundi.

We know the town fairly well now and usually like to head off to the local park which is like a little hideaway and aptly named Paradise Park. However Tuesday was so windy that it was scary (for me) so we stuck to safer indoor pursuits.




Browsing the charity shop which always has something to offer. We didn't spend much, $1 on a mixed bag of greeting cards, $1 on some books for Hope, a little plate for me and a sweet Holly Hobbie plate which I might give to my sister... maybe.


We also kicked back at the library. It is a tiny library but the selection of books is quite good. I usually just stick to the magazines or browse the cookbooks for interesting recipes. I can't borrow from this library because it is out of my area so I just make the most of the latest copies of Country Style and Better Homes and Gardens. Hope can usually get through a short book in the while we spend there.

 Grace checks out the jigsaw puzzles. My guess is she is probably the oldest 'kid' to open those jigsaw boxes and complete the puzzles. She could also very well be the only person to have opened them up in quite a while. Happily every puzzle she has done there has been complete without a piece missing which is quite surprising.


I also took advantage of the sitting time to do some crochet. I joined a swap quite some time back and I haven't been motivated to get it finished. But  Christmas apparently being only 12 weeks away  is motivation aplenty to get this job done. I just have to bring all of the squares up to equal size (they were supposed to be 4" squares) which I am doing in black and then join them up. Easier said than done just like most things. It was a black, grey and white swap so the colour palette is not the most exciting but hopefully it will look good or at least presentable when I finish. We'll see.

Are you thinking about Christmas gifts? I still have a few birthdays to organise first.

Tracy