Sunday morning I awoke to a glorious sound - rain teaming down on the old corrugated iron roof.

If there's a better noise - other than listening to Leonard Cohen's Darkness, Edwards Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros Home or an empty 5ft wave sweeping through Wategos as you paddle out, I've yet to hear it.

However, the girls are not happy.

Image found via google

Breaking into a running start as i open their hutch door that would impress Pharlap, they scurry about eating their breakfast of pancakes (I regularly have friends over for a Sunday brekkie so the gals get the leftovers) and pellets during a break in the rain, they then duck under the hen house when it pelts down.

The sight of their cross little faces never fails to amuse.

However, as soon as the sun comes out, they dash about gobbling down unwary worms and insects.

And as it's Sunday, at 1pm they will be listening to their favourite radio show, Dirty Deeds.

Broad Bean Bonanza

Yesterday I harvested the last of my broad beans. I say ‘harvested’ rather than picked, because I reckon there was a good 10 kilos in the box by the time I’d finished. Not a bad result from around 45 plants. We have been eating and giving away the delish little green things for a couple of months now and I really cannot eat enough of them. After picking the broadbeans I then stripped all the leaves from the stalks and added them to the compost bin underthe fig tree. Now I just have to chop up the stalks and add them to the other six bins. Their garden bed will be gently turned over to ensure the barow-load of chock-full-of-worms compost I added to it is mixed well in the soil – it’s a bit like folding in flour when you bake a sponge cake. Then I will look at planting more basil, lettuce, silverbeet and Asian greens.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying eating broadbean pesto – simply substitute the beans where it says basil in your recipe. Last night my husband made a yummy risotto and used the broad beans instead of celery (I had given the last of it to the chooks, ooops) and it was fantastic! Braodbeans are also wonderful mashed with a little garlic, black pepper and olive oil and spread on hot toasted sourdough.

Open the POD bay doors Hal…

Even better than cult SF film 2001: A Space Odyssey is joining a Sustainable Gardening Australia POD. There are PODs all over the country  chock-full of people looking to share ideas and their passion for growing great food! If there’s not one in your neck of the woods, then take a deep breath, contact SGA and start one. I did, so it must be easy! There are so many advantages to meeting new people and having fun swapping seeds, plants and ideas. I’ve just cycled back with a basket of bok choy and broccoli seeds from one of the Jan Juc gals whose garden is a Monet-like swirl of irises, vegetables, fruit trees and lush vegetables. Live dangerously. Contact Liz and get involved in SGA today.