While my back was turned...

I got home last night from a week away with friends ( and yes, I do feel fantastic and refreshed-thankyou for asking! :-) ) and went to bed wondering how the seeds I planted last week were going.

This morning I couldn't wait to get outside and check. I'm pleased to announce that the corn has sprouted, the beans are bursting through and lettuces are springing up too! The potatoes are at the point where I will have to start hilling up some soil around them soon. Tall strong spears of asparagus were reaching for the sun ( not anymore-I picked those babies!) and the cabbages have headed beautifully.

Ah, Mother Nature-you are simply wonderful!

In the cabbage patch....

A few months back I decided to raise a few garden beds for vegies...being in a country area I found a supply of sheep manure close by and layered it with straw scattered with Seamungus pellets. After a few weeks I planyted various seedlings of cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. We have been eating cauliflower & broccoli for a little while now. Tonight I harvested a cabbage and decided to make a version of my Mum's chowmein-yummy!

Bev's Chowmein ( Dee's version)
500g mince
1 onion- sliced
celery stick-sliced.
2 minute noodles-chicken (crushed)
Curry powder to taste
pinch of chilli powder
hoisin sauce.
1 cabbage-shredded

Brown mince, celery & onion together. Add shredded cabbage, two minute noodles ( include seasoming from pack) and stir until combined. Pour in around half a cup of water and cover until noodles are cooked. Remove lid, allow most of water to dehydrate, then stir in Hoisin sauce.

Mad day away from home!

I've just finished one of the longest days I've had at work in quite a while! Tired much? :D

Although not being home for more than 10 hours I still had the enjoyment of letting the hens out this morning, then collecting their eggs when I put them into the henhouse tonight! I also took one of my flatbreads filled with homemade rhubard chutney, homegrown spinach and cheese. Tasty and satisfying!

Warming the cockles....

In my ever so humble opinion there's nothing to warm the cockles of your heart more than the sense of satisfaction when a job's well done! This morning I felt the buzz of achievement as I walked through the vegie garden to let the girls out of their pen-the beds planted out yesterday were glistening with the last beads of rain from the overnight drizzle, there were a few spears of asparagus to be harvested and I cut the first cabbage head.
Then this afternoon I tried my hand at making some simple flatbreads with the assistance of our 3 yr old grandson. Angus took great pleasure in helping roll the breads out thinly; although I think he enjoyed it even more when I sprinkled a freshly cooked one with cheese, rolled it and handed it to him! He immediately went to his Dad and requested that they make them at home! :-)

 Above: The potatoes make their appearance

 Above: The teepees on the left are for beans and the drink bottles are mini cloches for tomato seedlings. On the right of the pic you can see one of the potato strips. This set up is mirrored on the other side of the block.

 Above: Raspberry beds on the left, vegies on the right.

Above: The girls doing what they do!

Plant the seed...

The husband & I have spent the afternoon in the garden ( the term loosely applied to the area out the back! ;-) )...all the grass paths in the orchard area are nicely mown due to his diligence!

I spent the time planting 2 varieties of corn, broccoli,3 types of beans, spaghetti squash, 3 varieties of pumpkins and I also threw down some more lettuce seeds. I'm kind of following a moon planting guide-and today was supposed to be good for plants producing crops above the ground..ergo the varieties above!

After planting I collected a couple of handful of snails ( which seem to congregate on the sides of our water tanks) and threw them to the hens-much to their delight! It seemed a small payback for their efforts in supplying our lunch today-frittata made with our eggs and every vegie in it was from our back yard...ah, bliss!

I really must dig out the camera and post some shots!

The potatoes are sprouting nicely. I don't bother chitting ours ( chitting is the process of letting the seed potatoes sprout from the eyes prior to planting). All the fruit trees look incredibly healthy-except for the nectarine which has leaf curl...grrrr.

Our septic dispersion lines run the length of the three apple beds and the trees look exceptional at the moment-covered in buds and the leaves are a vivid green. Let's hope we can get a few pieces of fruit this year!

On my mind......

This morning for some reason I bought the AWW- a magazine I purchase rarely! The story which caught my eye was about Rhonda Hetzel and her husband-people who has chosen a frugal way of life; people after my own heart!

There was a link to Rhonda's blog  http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/ and I immediately went over for a looksee! I can see that I'll be popping in there more often! :-)

Sweet,sweet corn...

I finally managed to get outside and do something other than mow or spray weeds today-YAY!

 Planted the first tomato seedling from the seeds I'd sprouted on our kitchen window sill. The variety is "Santorini" and came free with the Burke's Backyard magazine last month-be interesting to see how they go as they are meant to be able to survive on natural rainfall once established. I've used a 2 litre soft drink bottle as a "cloche" to give it a bit of a head start-will plant out more next week when they are a tad stronger.

I also planted 40+ sweet corn seeds...next week I'll plant some pumpkin seeds to grow through the corn to keep the roots cool. American Indians used to plant what they called  the "Three Sisters"together....corn, squash and beans.......I might add some beans too and see how they all get on!