Getting ready for Summer

We're only 30 days into the Australian Spring and I'm pretty confident that this is the most prepared I've every been for a summer harvest!  The chooks have settled into their chicken pen, and one has started to lay eggs already.  I suspect it is one of the Leghorns or Isa Browns, but haven't yet caught them in the act.

Chooks lined up ready for the kids to feed them weeds.

Our chook egg on left, shop bought on right.

The kid's patch is coming along nicely.  A few radishes have been picked already, with a bonus that the kids actually like them!  The cherry tomato has had a few flowers blossom, but I doubt that they'll really turn into anything at this early stage.  While the beetroot and strawberries are progressing, the sunflowers have basically just been snail food, and they never get to actually shoot very far before the snails get to them.

Half of the main bed has been set aside for tomato and related plants in a semi-rotational system.  In the photo below are blueberry, blackberry and black currant plants in pots, with tomatoes immediately behind (on the right of photo), and eggplant and chilli behind on left.  The bare dirt between the eggplant and brickwork will be for some Roma tomatoes.  The tomatoes on the right are various heirloom varieties -I figure that we'll end up with cherry tomatoes (from kids and one of my heirlooms), salad tomatoes, saucing/sundried tomatoes (from the Romas) and some green tomatoes (green zebras).  My sister's favourite movie for a while was Fried Green Tomatoes, so I've always wanted to grow green tomatoes just so I can make her one!

The three plants at the back of the garden bed are three of my propogated grape vines.  While I'm not sure which variety they are, a friend works for a liquor wholesaler and he's pretty confident that he'll be able to pick the variety.  Around three quarters of the propogated vines have established themselves, and I've been able to transplant 6 in total to our new house here (another three in pots elsewhere in the garden).  This will be their second season, so hopefully with the warmer weather we will get some fruit this time around!

Time to add a room!

One of the problems with renting a house is that you're firstly stuck with the layout as it comes, and secondly there is not much you can really do about it.

Take this house we've just started renting.  Because of it's age (1930's - 1950's at a guess) it has good features such as high ceilings, a lot of land, great storage in the kitchen and a good number of rooms (especially with the extension of a new master bedroom, second bathroom and another living area.

On the downside, the laundry wasn't built for washing machines the size of the modern era machine.  Not that ours is particularly large, but the placement of the laundry trough doesn't allow us to actually use the laundry as a laundry! So our laundry is outside on the back veranda, but this then leaves it exposed to full sun for most of the day.  And we're not even in summer yet.

The hoses etc are connected OK through the window, which unfortunately is always (locked) open.  Over the fence at the end are the rubbish (trash) bins, with a couple of ropes tied to the bins and the fence so that you can open the lids from over the fence.

We've then tied a tarpaulin to the beams in the roof, which stretches the tarpaulin across most of the back.  There's still a gap on the right to make it easier when you're walking out of the house into the backyard.

The end result is a new laundry (of sorts).  Cost all of about $10, and won't be an issue when the landlord makes their next inspection!

On the move...

With a recent promotion at work, we're no longer based in Gippsland!  I'll keep the name of the blog, since we're expecting to move back eventually, and while in the sunny Wimmera (Western Victoria) I'll keep gardening, preserving and budgeting!

Our new home is a rental but with quite a large backyard.  Most of it is grassed, then there's the old pool area that is now a sandpit and paved area so the kids have got a lot of space to keep them occupied. There are also two largish areas that will make nice vegetable gardens.  Eventually.

The first area is by the clothesline, and with a path down the middle, already divided into three larger beds. This first bed, the largest, will be for carrots, leeks and parsnip on the left, grapevines along the back, and then tomatoes, capsicums and chili toward the right.

The second bed in this section will be for the kids - sunflowers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, beetroot and strawberries. An eclectic mix of foods and flowers they enjoy and smaller produce they'll at least have fun picking!  The third bed is a work in progress and will likely be the herb bed.  Still close to the house so we'll be able to pick fresh herbs to add to our cooking.

The other main area is an unused section at the back of the block.  Under true permaculture guidelines this normally wouldn't be for vegetables, since it isn't near the house.  It is however relatively clear from weeds and in full sun.  As a result I've started planting out potatoes, and will use this for corn and other plants as well that can mostly be left for long growing periods.  The walk to the back isn't a huge burden anyway and I can certainly do with the extra steps!

We are also very fortunate that there was already a chicken run in place, plus a very accommodating landlord that was happy for us to keep chickens.  We've bought 6 in total - 2 Isa Browns, 2 Leghorns and 2 Australorps (only one pictured).  The kids love them, the chooks love the weeds the kids feed them and we should start getting eggs within a few weeks.

Happy days ahead in the Wimmera!