Waste Not, Want Not...

It was pouring with rain when we woke up this morning so after a cup of tea we all snuggled back up and had a sleep in. Not wanting to get soaked to the skin meant finding inside jobs to do today and there are always plenty of those. I did prick out some seedlings I am growing for my Grandads garden, vanilla ice sunflowers and mixed carnations but there wasn't much dry space under the veranda and I ended up as wet as a shag anyway.

One thing I needed to do was make some hardy name tags for in the garden so I grabbed some of the pieces from the old trellis that had fallen apart and cut them to size. Ideally I would have liked to use paint but I keep forgetting to buy a small pot for it so I settled for a vivid marker instead (sharpie pen). The few I did at the beginning of the year are still clearly visible so I am happy that they will do the job until I remember to stop at the paint shop. Best of all, they didn't cost anything...

Garden Love...

Over the last couple of days I have been digging over the smaller raised garden. The soil had compacted so much it was as hard as the hobs of hell, no wonder the onions and garlic I had planted couldn't grow. Because I had been spending so much time on the other garden and all the seedlings Ive been growing, I just hadn't had the time to get into it.

I didnt want to waste the plants so I decided to carefully dig them up and replant in the new garden, hoping that they would flourish and not curl their toes up...and I also found this lovely big beet but that made its way to the kitchen. Today I finished digging it over and planted purple beans around the edge and some Urenika potatoes (that i had completely forgotten about) in the rest of it...hopefully I will get a good crop of yummy spuds from them.

Last week I removed the soil from an old concrete tub, put some drainage in, added some compost and planted the first of the pumpkin plants. These three are butter pumpkins, I haven't grown them before so I am looking forward to seeing what they turn out like. They seem to have settled in there despite the chooks having a scratch around which sent me running across the lawn waving my arms like a mad woman, they now have a plastic sheet fencing them off.

A trade of blackberry jam for grapefruit put me on a marmalade mission earlier on in the week. I added some oranges and lemons, finely sliced a mix of rind and wallah...nineteen jars of a semi bitter-sweet marmalade.

Months ago I planted the last luffa seeds and was disappointed nothing ever grew from them...until a few weeks ago when up popped four luffa seedlings out of the blue. I waited for them to get a teeny bit bigger before putting them into their own pots and so far they are happily growing in full sun under the veranda...maybe I will get some loofah's this year?

Petunia and Lola...double trouble!

One of the cape gooseberry plants in the new garden. I can't wait to see them covered in those lovely little paper lanterns with the golden orange berry inside, so delicious and apparently make very nice jam though my berries wouldn't make it out of the garden. The coriander I planted has gone nuts so I need to give it a trim and dry some out...I haven't dried many fresh herbs before so it will be interesting but the smell of it is divine and coupled with the cumin I am growing it will be a delicious addition to the pantry.

Here is another pic of the Takahue garlic, it has grown so big that if it wasn't in my garden I wouldn't believe it. The strawberries are growing very happily next to it too. The rhubarb on the right is looking so healthy in its new spot, I can't help but wonder if its the garlic nearby that it likes.

While hunting through my seed box recently I found my last packet of Austrian oil seed pumpkin seeds so yesterday I planted them. They are the hull less pumpkin seeds that you eat but I had no luck with the other seeds I planted last year so fingers crossed this year they will grow for me. There was ten seeds in the packet but even if only one grew I would be completely ecstatic!

Little Mama Update...

Alfie and her eggs are doing well, I have to lift her out 3-4 times a day to have something to eat, drink and have a poop or she would just sit there. Bev the egg lady did warn me that some hens will sit so diligently that they will end up sick or dying because they won't leave the nest so I am removing her (under protest I might add) so she can have a stretch and shake.

Last night I went out and quietly removed her eggs so I could try candling them. After watching a few tutorials I am confident there are a few chicks, the others I am not so sure about just yet. Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to hold an egg, a torch and a camera all at the same time so I couldn't take any pics.

Peas In A Pod...

Considering they havent been in very long, I was quite surprised to see a couple of these lovely little pea blooms a couple of days ago. What I wasn't expecting so soon was this gorgeous little pea pod that I found today...ooh the anticipation!

All Jammed Out...

I decided to make up the last of the Blackberries into jam the other day, the result...eighteen jars of sweet gold. All set and sealed beautifully, three jars gone already and a few I will pop in the post this week. Now all I need is a fresh loaf of home baked bread and I will be a very contented soul. 

Little Miss Broody...

Alfie is broody. 
Such is her dedication to being a good mama that I caved in and brought her some eggs. She is now sitting on ten little eggs, all mixed breeds and thankfully different colours than her own so I can remove hers out of the nest easily. I have used the big cat carrier for a nesting box and made a separate pen for her so she will be protected from the weather and feel safe. I'm going to be a grandma!

Days In The Garden...

Every day is bringing new life to the gardens now. The broad beans have lovely black and white flowers on them now and the peas have cute little white ones. The borage despite its small stature have all bloomed and they are already attracting the bumbles, one who was sheltering (or hanging on for dear life) the other day in our windy weather. 

Yesterday I planted some cucumber, marigolds, beans and fordhook beets. Today I put in all the sunflowers, some basil, Amish paste tomatoes and a few other bits...day by day it is starting to take shape and I can see how beautiful everything will look once we get some more sunshine and things start to get bigger.

Being sick on and off the last couple of months really set back my “Food Is Free” project so I decided a couple of weeks ago to offer my spare seeds and seedlings on a “Pay it forward” group to those who wanted to have a garden but may not have the resources to get started and what a success! I had so many people reply to my post it took me for a six. Some wanted to save money by growing their own, some wanted to make a family garden with their children and would share the extra yummies with others which is always a good thing. 

Heirloom seed meant they could save seed from this years yield for next year, for themselves and to share with others as well. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting such a large response but it gave me warm fuzzies that so many people were interested in feeding themselves and others. I still have a ton of seedlings and more to plant so it will spread even further over the next few weeks. I even got gifted a bag of seed mix as a thank you from one person which I will use for the next lot I plant. The back porch is chocka full of punnets and pots but as I plant or give away it gives me more room for more seedlings. 

 The next job I need to get onto is putting netting over the pipe frame I was given. I decided to use it for growing my pumpkins on this year and see how it works. If all goes to plan they will scramble over the frame instead of sprawling over the lawn and will make a nice cool place underneath for the shade loving plants.

The Next Project...

This gorgeous gal is the newest addition to the family. She will one day be our home. 

Despite being in very good condition and an easy diy for a gal like me with no experience in caravans, she does need a few tidy ups. Today I went and brought some bog, sandpaper in different grades and three tins of primer, just what I need to get started for a tad of cosmetic surgery. 

There She Blows...

The last few days brought winds up to 155km across our little country with disastrous results in many places. People lost lives, homes, vehicles, personal effects...many places without power for hours and days, the clean up will be quite a mission. I was fortunate in that the only damage I had was waking up to the rubbish bin blowing over and spreading the contents across the lawn and bags of recycling taking a tour around the yard...I feel rather lucky considering what some people have lost, I sincerely hope life gets back to normal for them soon.

One thing I have noticed from my garden groups is the amount of lost seedlings due to cheap mini greenhouses getting blown away or toppling over in low winds...if you are considering buying one of these, please anchor it down, stabilise to lessen the chances of hours of green fingering being wasted. I had moved all my seedlings to the back veranda for protection and didn’t lose any thankfully.