Composting

NOW spring is here I'm ready to get my new compost heaps humming.

So far I have simply been layering green waste such as lawn clippings with food left-overs I can't feed the hens and torn newspapers, etc. Two bins are full and quietly simmering away in it's full position, while the third is about 1/6th complete.

The old garden was much bigger and its unrelenting clay soil meant seven bins were constantly on the go, but now I figure three will do for this smaller plot.

There's also a heap of sawdust left-over form the removal of two old, rotted gum trees which were removed before they fell on the hen-house. As eucalyptus oil is a growth inhibitor, I'm going to run the sawdust through the compost bins to leach it and convert it into something useful.

So this weekend I'll commence turning over the mixture and ensuring the balance is correct - hopefully encountering some worms along the way!

As usual, Gardening Australia have some useful tips - you can never know it all with composting!

Vine awakening

WITH blossom on the fruit trees, pansy, jumping jack and lobelia flowering like mad in the hanging baskets outside the kitchen windows and various bulbs showing their faces all over the garden, it's good to see spring has also woken up the grape vine.

 

The vine is growing up the north-west facing side the deck divide and until a few days ago looked like dead wood. But now it's putting out leaves at a rate of knots to shame to the two passion fruit vines at the other end of the garden.

 

I have no idea what type of grapes this plant will bear or if they are ornamental or edible as the previous owner left no tags on or near any of their plants when they moved out. This is a shame as I always leave tags on my trees.

 

So I hope the new owners of my old home will look at the fruit trees and be excited about the four varieties of apples and realise the enormous New Dawn rose climbing up the deck will soon explode in a mass a scented blooms.

 

What I thought looked like hyacinth bulbs have turned out to be bluebells, which is a nice surprise.

 

But for now, I'm happy to wait and watch and see what the vine produces - gardening is always such an adventure. 

Bulbs bursting out

While removing ivy which was engulfing one of my garden sheds, I discovered a swathe of Hyacinth bulbs about to flower.

 

Emerging from under a pile of dead ivy leaves, these lovely plants which might also have some daffodils in the mix, look sensational despite having been covered for months by leaf debris.

 

Which just goes to show that often it’s the gardens which look as though they are empty often have treasures waiting to be found.

Another example is the fruit tree which I think is a plum of some kind. Again the ivy was doing a take-over bid from the roof around the tree and was stopping the blossoms from getting any sunshine.

Now all I have to do is keep the chooks out of the bulb plantings,

Passion(for)fruit

LAST weekend was so sensational; warm, sunny and bursting with spring energy I was inspired to get a couple of passionfruit vines for my new garden.

 

After having a great deal of frustration and failure at my previous garden, the Jan Juc Surf Farm, I'm very hopeful Geelong's friable soil will be kinder and result in more fruit. Not to mention my own wild-bee hive just a few metres away above the garden shed.

 

However, as the feather riot are often free-ranging, protecting these precious vines is critical if I am able to enjoy Panama Red and Nelly Kelly on my breakfast porridge down the track.

So some of the left-over avian wire form the new Cluckingham palace has been used to create a barrier to keep the hens away.

This time I also skipped the usual bury-the-lamb-heart under the vine strategy and have gone for diluted chook poo instead.

Hopefully this time next year the passionfruit will be falling off the vine buy the bucket-load and the fence will be covered in healthy flowers, fruit and leaves.

Spring sunshine

Today's spring sunshine has been magnificent.

The chooks were allowed out and given the left-over breakfast pancakes and weren't they ecstatic! After this they wandered all over the garden before enjoying a sand and dirt bath, then they did a little judicious scratching about before having a wander about the fruit trees in the glorious sunshine.

After this I herded them back in the run, got out the treddly and did a nice 55km ride down the Great Ocean Road, along Forrest Rd and few back streets then home via the Moriac General Store. Birds were out in great numbers and saw the most cheeky little superb blue wren, numerous parrots, fan tails, honey-eaters, magpies, ravens and many others I could not name while negotiating the hills.

Came home, let the girls out for the second Sunday free-range and finished making the pea and ham soup i started yesterday. Took some over to a friend who's not well and his fabulous wife who has an amazing veggie and herb garden (who also loves the eggs I send her) gave me some cabbage which had gone to seed and the little madams went into another frenzy.

Bees were also out in force today, zipping about the nasturtiums, coriander flowers, roses, passion fruit flowers, apple and peach blossoms and the marigolds.

A bee in my flower bed having a great time...

Rocketing along

Great excitement this morning as I went to feed the gals - the rocket seeds i planted last Sunday have popped up!

Woo hoo!

As you can see, they are coming up thick and fast so I'll thin them out tomorrow if the rain stops (or maybe I'll just pull on my op-shop version of the driasabone) and put some in pots to give to friends.

To the right are a couple of clumps of the ever-useful comfrey which I will add to my fertiliser mix.

Spring really is settling into full gear and it is so exciting to witness those tiny seeds transform into green goodness.

My rocket is up but not the lettuce...

Cosy up to spring

Spring may have sprung but it's still been chilly enough for a fire some evenings.

Nothing like a cuppa by the wood-heater as you catch up with back issues of the New Yorker while toasting your toes.

While I occasionally purchase split logs from the local supplier, I'm fortunate to have some friends with wood piles which could block out the sun, so in return for homemade biscuits or chocolate cakes, they will often pop buy with a few bits of wood.

I'm also an inveterate frugal scrounger, so will stop by the side of the road to collect windfalls of pine cones, branches and twigs to use as kindling. Also any bits of timber on the street or in a skip bin - be careful you are not burning scraps with harmful chemicals which could be released as toxins as they burn - is fair game. It's amazing how much wood which could be used to keep you warm is tossed out as rubbish. And those reliable old pinecones look great piled in a basket by the fireplace.

A good teapot is also essential. The aqua teapot in the photo was purchased locally after a fruitless search through various op-shops. The old bunnykins mug I've had since I was a kid. It has seen my through my various phases of tea - from those heady Earl Grey 80s through Russian Caravan, green, lemon and ginger, Oolong and Gunpowder Green.

Tea by the fire warms the heart as well as the toes.

Soup it up

Spring may have sprung but the sight of a hambone at the deli at 7 o'clock this morning (too wet to cycle so I did the shopping instead and Sunday early is the best time, no children squealing or hung-over tourists blocking the spice rack).
This recipe freezes really well so I often make up a huge batch and freeze single-serves for those times when you feel tired, cross and cold and need an internal hug.

To die for pea and ham soup
1 ham bone (hock's don't cut it, so chat up your local butcher for the real deal)
1 packet split dried peas
3 litres water
handful of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Couple of grinds of fresh ground pepper
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped,
3 cloves garlic, chopped

1. Put everything in a heavy-based pot and simmer for at least one hour.
2. Remove ham bone and any meat which has fallen off and (wearing disposable gloves), remove fatty bits and gently chop or tear apart the meat.
3. Discard hambone - give to the dog or chooks to enjoy.
4. Remove bay leaf and remains of thyme.
5. Place the liquid mixture in a blender and whizz until smooth.
6. Place meat and liquid back in the pot and gently stir.
7. Serve with rye or sourdough bread toasted with oil or garlic or both.

Best enjoyed in front of a roaring fire after a winter / spring surf, cycle or day in the garden.

Pea and ham soup on the stove - mmmm!