It is such a gorgeous autumn day .. the sun is shining, mild temps, butterflies flitting about in the garden, but trust me, winter was flexing its muscles last week. So, with this in mind I hauled out the flannelette sheets and scribbled buy dry firewood on the ‘To Do’ list.
Waiting for their breakfast – the team
Feeding the chooks the other day, I couldn’t help but lean over the fence and admire our raised beds on the hillside. Stuffed with veg, flowers and colour, it is hard not to stare at the zinnias which are so very pink and pretty and are doing a fine job of sprawling over their bed mates, the habanero chillies.
The garden is a total state of disarray, with it seems ‘the biggest wins’. I don’t mind though, the chillies are ripening and those flowers are just heavenly to stare at.
Speaking of those chickens I think they have forgotten how to lay eggs! Given we have 15 of them, I’m lucky if I get an egg a day! How funny … The good news is, those five young hens will be laying soon. Plus we have two new additions to the flock. Two light sussex girls who needed a new home arrived over the weekend.They spent the night locked up away from the others but after brekky I let them out for a look around their new lodgings, which by the way, they seem quite enamoured with. I wonder if they will like the menu in the mornings? Fingers crossed …
Help me think up names for the new girls!
Do you have a worm farm? I’m loving ours. Those slimeys are doing a sterling job of eating all their tucker and producing lots of vermicast. I have even stolen some already and used it in planting holes. I know, have you guessed I’m impatient? A huge thanks to Dan from Vegetablurb .. he is the inspiration behind my worms.
I don’t know about you but I’m not a great fan of plastic … for all the obvious reasons. I’m pretty good at recycling though. So utilising 2 litre milk containers as mini greenhouses seemed like a great idea. A nice warm environ inside, safe from those rotten slugs and white butterflies. I just have to remember to water the Pak choy plants inside.
Our first ever grapefruit …
I have one more bed of spuds that needs to be dug up, truth is I’m a tad worried about what lies below the soil if anything. Ah but in saying that, my salad garden, is a different story. The lettuces are a good size already and it won’t be long before we are enjoying the fennel in salads with slices of orange. Last night we had crumbed chicken breasts with shavings of parmesan (not our chickens by the way!) and a fresh garden salad of (yes you have guessed it) Great Lakes lettuce leaves, self seeded toms, spring onion and parmesan with a good homemade vinaigrette with fresh thyme. Perfect!
My peas are up but at the rate they are growing, it will be Christmas before there are any peas … shame on them! Not through lack of TLC either.
Thanks to our friend Jeff, the plum and peach tree pruning is nearly done plus yours truly has started on those olive trees which as they are devoid of olives are getting an early haircut!
I think I may have mentioned a lemon tree which had been ravaged by citrus borer … the tree was dying as can be expected, so Andrew removed it this weekend and look what we found inside …
Oh not all is doom and gloom, hubby did a stupendous job of picking about 25kg of feijoas! Bill where are you, I need some help in the kitchen!
Not all zinnias are pink!
Happy gardening …
