Waste Not!

Nothing gets wasted from the vegie patch! The girls are feasting on some cauliflowers that were ready for the compost! I love the way they were looking for any slugs among the leaves, alas this time there were no tasty treats to be had. Happy Gardening!

Camelias

The Camelia flowers at this time of the year are so beautiful, I just had to share then with everyone! Happy Gardening!

Cauliflower

This is my second year growing cauliflowers, the first year I was clueless when it came to looking after the flower of the plant once it appeared.  I have since done some research and have found that the flower itself is easily damaged.  So this season I am going to try and ensure I have big white cauliflowers.  Now that I have cauliflowers about the size of baseballs I have pulled the leaves surrounding the head all together and tied them with twine (not too tight, but not too loose either). By doing this I am protecting the flower, keeping it nice and white and stopping any bruising that may occur.  My only problem at the moment is a lot of fat caterpillars that has taken a liking to munching their way through the leaves, it may be time for a spraying of Dipel!  Fingers crossed I have some lovely cauliflowers in a few weeks time.  Happy Gardening!

Our New Chickens

A few weeks ago five Barnevelder chickens arrived and they have settled in quite happily. The whole idea of getting chickens has been a very slow process, a lot of deliberating and convincing respective family members! Now that the five girls are here everyone is more than happy except for our cat Milo, he is most upset and quite frightened of the feathered fowl! At this stage they are confined to the large coop and will be some time before they venture outside, so I am hoping this gives a Milo a chance to get used to them! Our Black Lab Mariah is most impressed with them and almost treats them like they are her babies, I am sure the chickens don't think the same way! 

Now I have a little more time on my hands my blog is getting some much needed attention, so stay tuned for future posts! Happy Gardening!

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Broccoli

My first time growing broccoli has proved quite successful! This humble vegetable is actually related to the cauliflower and also comes in a purple variety!  It has been very easy to grow and so far has not been attacked by any bugs or caterpillars! The warm weather is fast approaching so I won't wait too much longer as they will no doubt bolt to seed! Next year I will definitely expand in my planting and try broccolini and the purple variety.  Happy Gardening!

Its about time...

Well what can I say...I have been a little busy of late and have had no time for blogging, the boys have been keeping me on my toes and I have had very little time to stop and smell the roses. Winter is fast approaching and I have been exceptionally slow to get the veggie garden prepped and ready for planting, but this week I have managed to get one bed organised and this is my root vegetables. I have sowed  carrots, beets, radishes and parsnips.  A month ago I made a small start on my Winter Brassicas as we had some unseasonably warm weather, all was looking good, little cabbage seedlings were standing tall and proud for a few days and then overnight they all disappeared! After some careful investigative work I found out that it is the local resident bush turkey who has been helping himself to my seedlings! So my latest bed of root veggies now has a fence around it, I will not be sharing my bounty with the local fauna. Saying that the boys just love spotting the bush turkey when he is visiting our garden, and my gorgeous Leo thought that the fence was a trap to catch the bush turkey and then he was going to take him to preschool for "Show and Tell". If only that bush turkey new what was in store for him!
Happy Gardening!

Tomatoes

This has been my first year of tomato success! Last year was dismal, I can't say I had any decent tomatoes to eat.  So what did I do different?  Firstly I Googled "growing tomatoes" and took lots of notes, I think it is great that everyone can share tips via the net. After raising healthy seedlings I planted out eight plants in two rows with a good sprinkle of tomato dynamic lifter, I then staked each plant with a bamboo stake, after that I hammered in very tall tomato stakes on each side of the plant in rows I drilled holes and then threaded wire in lines from end to end, this allowed the tomatoes to branch out without breaking and it gave extra support to the main trunk. This year I paid special attention to pinching out new growth between the stem and new branch. The biggest decision was to use a herbicide, I used Yates Success and it kept away the caterpillars. So this year I had so many tomatoes I was able to make tomato stock, tomato chutney and semi sun dried tomatoes. My deep freezer is filled to the brim with tomato stock this is great for soups or making a good old spaghetti bolognaise. This year I grew Mini Romas, Green zebras, Cherry and Tommy Toe tomatoes, they were all a success! Happy Gardening!