Nasturtiums in my Gumboots

We’ve had a lot of rain in the last few days – so much so that the track leading to the garden became very muddy and Anita got bogged.  I thought I’d better take my gumboots – but in the end didn’t need them – at least not for that.  You'll see why in the photos below - very handy receptacles.

In the boot of my car are the boots full of nasturtiums.  A cheerful reminder of a happy day.

What a joy nasturtiums are – colourful, cheerful and infinitely varied.  Useful too.  You can eat the leaves and flowers (great in salads), you can put the flowers in a vase and they have a wonderful, subtle perfume and you can use the seeds like capers (if you pickle them first).

Spring, as you can imagine, is a busy time in the garden.  Everything is gowing quickly – almost as we watch.  The beetroot are springing out of the ground.  The coriander is going to seed (again) and the zuccini are finally emerging from their mounds.  The leeks are ready to harvest, some of the kale is finished, the mustard greens have been resown and are springing out of the ground, the mint is flourishing in its bathtub (turns out it is spearmint) and even the chooks are laying furiously.  Amarooster is just being a rooster – especially so now that it is spring.

It was also John’s birthday on Saturday.  So Janet improvised a cake.  Picture a sponge from a floor mop (sponge cake) decorated with lantana flowers, whole walnuts (Anita’s gift to John), orange segments from the orchard, a large piece of chalk as a candle and surrounded by a piece of shade cloth as ribbon.  We sang happy birthday too.  Unfortunately, none of us had a camera.

Lantana flowers as cake decorations

 The most exciting thing to happen in the next couple of weeks will be the potato harvest.  Pictures of harvest soon.  However, just to see how things were growing, Anita harvested a few spuds.  Some biggies, some littlies – they taste good whatever their size. 

Lovely Desiree potatoes - coming soon.

PS  When we get to 1000 hits on this blog, we’ll have a surprise for you all (for one week only though) so tell all your friends to have a look.  We’re around 800 hits now, so not long to go. 

Cheers for now,
Norid

The Orchard

I'm going to keep it really simple today.  This is a photo essay of the orchard so you can see what's actually happening now that it's spring.  The only thing I can't show you is how good it smells!  The fragrance of the citrus and the bauhinia is heady - to say the least.  "Divine" is what I really want to say, but that sounds so over the top!

The bauhinia tree just near the orchard.  The blossoms are beautiful and the whole tree looks like a shower of butterflies.

A closer up of the bauhinia

And the fragrance .... !

Last year's crop - we're still picking ... and picking .... and picking ....

Last year's crop - and this year's crop emerging.

The trees are laden!

Gathering up the fallen fruit before it rots.

Although we call these "weeds", this particular stinging nettle has medicinal properties for arthritis cures.  Organically grown arthritis cure ...... hmmmmm!

Weed or not, nature is amazing.

More "weeds".

And finally - goodbye from Malvolio Amarooster.  Trust a bloke to get in the last word!

Check out our recipes too (see menu bar at top of blog).

cheers
Norid.

Peace Day = Busy Day @ the Farm

Picking vegies, tying them into bunches, making up signs for the stall - deciding whether or not the leeks or the beetroots are ready to harvest - these regular tasks of volunteering at the Farm were compressed into a shorter time slot today as we prepared the stall for passers-by - attending a Peace Day meeting at the conference hall.

While Anita took up the first stocks to our roadside stall, Norid and I were busy picking and packing. When Anita returned, she came to replenish the stocks! The vegies were selling like - well, the proverbial hot cakes - if you'll excuse the mixing of culinary metaphors...

One funny moment occurred when we came up to do the final delivery of the fresh produce and tweaking of the presentation. We had to move the whole kit and caboodle from its usual location because the route to the conference hall had been redirected. We enlisted the help of a couple of people and moved an enormous flat table top laden with jams, herbs and veg to a spot quite a few metres away.

I felt like someone carrying a palanquin or some gypsy trader hawking their goods in spectacular fashion! Stepping and swaying in tandem, our colourful plastic table cloth flapping in the breeze...(see artist's rendition below)






Just another couple of things...someone asked me about the origin of the name The Thousand Dollar Zucchini. They thought it might have been the cost of the zucchini by the time it was ready to harvest - if you take into account the time, 'person hours', energy and preparation it takes to get anything 'off the ground'. I think getting something 'out of the ground' may be a little cheaper, but I do suggest you read the first post of this blog if you are ever wondering what the origin of our blog title is!



And one more thing, (you're going to think we're mad old biddies with a thing for chooks and pumpkins - well, perhaps we are!) but I've created a bit more 'farm-inspired' art in the shape of this little felt chook and accompanying eggs (see above). You're just going to have to wait and see how they will feature in further episodes and activities of The Farm!



See ya,
Janet

Bye bye Pumpkins & G'day Rusty!

A small sample of the pumpkin stocks

A few months ago, after many hours of picking, there were several hundred pumpkins at the Farm.

It was hard to imagine how we were ever going to move all of them. But, by various means, they have all been purchased, gifted - even sold as artworks!

Where have all the pumpkins gone?

On the day the pumpkins left, the first rooster arrived! A teenager (at 12 weeks old) named Malvolio Amarooster (Rusty for short) he spent the morning familiarising himself with his new home, his new harem and testing out his vocal cords. I have to say Rusty's Cockdoodle doo! was a little bit tentative and unpredictable...

Rusty takes stock of his surroundings

...but after all, he is a teenager. Guess his voice is breaking. We all called out encouragingly Go Rusty! when he attempted another feeble crow.

I've got how many girlfriends?

Guess I'll get the hang of it soon...

Spring in the Garden

Here we are in September already. The weather has warmed up and we've had some really good rain so things are growing like mad - including the weeds. Today we finally managed to plant some seeds of cucumbers - ready for our summer cropping.

Pretty soon the potatoes will be ready for harvest and the garlic is only a few weeks away. Last year Anita and Jenny made little fabric bags to put the garlic in. It can't go into plastic because it would go mouldy.

We're still harvesting kale and silverbeet, coriander, parsely and peas. Have you ever picked peas? Back breaking. We had some help today from two lovely blokes who picked for a couple of hours. Funny thing about those peas - we swear they grow immediately after picking because no matter how many pods you pick, and no matter how carefully you harvest, as soon as your back is turned there are more pods you didn't see!

The mint is growing well in its bathtub and next to it is aloe vera. We're not really sure what to do with it, but its growing, interspersed now with nasturtiums. The nasturtiums at least are edible as well lovely.

The mint in its tub. It has to be contained or it would take over the garden.

Oh yes. The mustard greens. They just keep on growing. The big leaves are great for stir fries and the young leaves are good in a salad. We have some purple mustard greens too (!) At least we think its purple mustard greens - if you know differently, let us know.

Purple mustard greens!

We're also growing some things in pots to sell at the honesty stall. Some Italian Basil, some curry bush and a few mock oranges, which are not edible but do have a lovely aroma.

Speaking of oranges - the citrus orchard has just about run out of fruit. However, our wonderful Indian cooks have made salted lemons to extend the season. Very yummy on just about anything.

Finally, the ginger. Beautiful plump roots of ginger - for cooking or for using in tea to give it a lift. Great for the digestion too.

cheers for now
Norid

Aloe Vera in (her?) tub

Introducing Opal

As you may know, there have been major changes in the chook yard recently. All 16 chickens have been endowed with names and had various personalities projected onto them!

The most famous of these has of course been the glamorous and spotted Cordelia Spandangle so named by Kiwi chick, June Marryat.

But what of the other hens, their lives, their hopes and aspirations? We decided to interview a certain Opal Escence - the biggest of the black chooks - to find out what things were like from her Bird's Eye View of the Farm.

Me: Opal - that's an interesting name...how did you come by it?

OE: Well, it was

gifted to me in the recent international naming contest but the funny thing was - I already knew it.

Me: Could you tell us what you mean by that?

OE: Well, my colouring is like that of the famous Australian Black Opal - it shines gold, green and red in the sun - and this is something I've always been very proud of. To have this beautiful attribute of my feathers - shall we say - highlighted - is a thrill and something of a completion for me. The name expresses the essence....the opalescence!

Me: So have things changed for you at the Farm - since the competition?

OE: No, it's pretty much business as usual with us...the chook yard politics, the pecking order and so on..The predictable thrill of expectation whenever a new car draws up Will they have some new gourmet treat for us? The frequent letdown when they pass you by...you know the usual ups and downs of the yard. Our benefactor Joe aka Daddy Warbucks is the most reliable source of food and affection and there's no doubt we have become rather attached to him. And he to me as a matter of fact - as you can see in the photo below.

Me: And how are things outside the chookyard gate?

OE: With the people? All I can say is it must be the tourist season. Tourists - lots of them! Laughing, enjoying, cups of tea...throwing scraps across the fence to us or collecting the eggs some of them - like it's a game! A farm adventure tour. Mind you, if it brings us a few more treats, I don't object.