A little update on what's been happening in my part of the world...
The weather here in Central Victoria has been wonderful for the gardens. Not too hot and the occasional shower. Everything is settling in and preparing for the hot weather to come. I have been planting on those cool, dreary days. One of my favourite things, I have discovered, is to garden in the rain. I don't feel so intrusive on the plant if it is raining...
I've just recently planted two beds with pumpkins, two beds with zucchini, a bed of spinach, a bed of rocket, my strawberry runners are now taking off in another bed, the Clucker Tucker is still going strong, Eden's bed of edible flowers are starting to blossom, Maya's carrots are doing o.k. (not enough watering), Kobi's potatoes are bursting through the pea straw, the herb garden is going crazy with coriander and mint (I planted too much mint) and in the garden shed, the tomatoes are thriving. I am really excited by the tomatoes. I have never grown a tomato before and the garden soil was made using the lasagne method, which I hadn't done before either. I was initially going to put berries in there, so put in a lot of Pattie's poo and pine neddles. When I changed my mind (as you do), I was worried about the PH level for the tomatoes. I treated the area with some lime and the tomatoes are very happy in their little shed.
I found a new garden at the front of the house for the berries this year and they too are very happy. I remember someone once saying to me that the positioning of a plant or tree could come down to centimetres. I always keep that in mind. We currently have raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries in the garden. I dream of an abundance of berries....
There are some old and new fruit trees on the farm. Last winter Ben and I planted about 20 new fruit and nut trees. These trees are planted up near the garden shed. We hope next year to enclose this new orchard, to protect them from birds, and let the chooks run around in there. The older fruit trees, are producing some lovely looking fruit. There are apples, pears, figs, cherries and peaches. I really need to net them up. As soon as the fruit starts to appear, so do the Rosellas!
We currently have about 100 chickens on the farm. The flock that I hatched back in October are coming along beautifully. They are a mix of 40 heritage breeds. Stunning looking. I'm not sure who's who yet. I look at the combs, tails and personality but it's still too early to tell. Once I know exactly what I have, I will then work out what to do with them all.
We decided to buy in some broilers. This is our first time raising meat birds and something we wanted to share with others. We currently have 60 in the brood. Trying to create a balance in growing your own food ethically and affordably is tricky. I am interested to see how this goes. We asked around to see who was interested in being apart of this and everyone we asked wanted to be involved. I am grateful for their support and enthusiasm.
The piggies are loving themselves and Pattie and Lola are still 'visiting' the bull.
So, there's a little update of what's been happening in my world.
I hope everything is wonderful in your world.
Tash xxx