Vale Philly

Philly in the foregorund, looking for a tasty cricket.

This morning I buried Philly.

She was really Philly II, her predecessor was named after Australia’s first world champion surfer, Phillyis O’Donnell winner of the 1964 Women’s World Surfing title.

Poor little hen, she had been looking very  tired the past few weeks, so when I found her lifeless body, still warm, in the chook shack this morning, I felt sad but relived she was out of pain,

But as a friend reminded me, since she had been rescued from one of those horrible caged chicken farms a couple of years ago, she has led a pretty good free-range life.

Her galpals Ledger and Layne were pretty distressed, clucking as I removed her.

She is now buried between compost bins two and three, with a pumpkin seedling planted om her mound.

But after work tonight I went by a chook supplier my great girlfriend Madeleine recommended and bought four point of lay Rhode Island Reds.

Now I hope Layne and Ledger are far too busy dealing with the invasion of Philly III, Gidget III, Laura and Hilda to mourn their little mate.

Comfrey and Joy

Rich in nitrogen and potassium, comfrey is a great herb to grow as it's a proven compost activator.

Not only will it enrich your compost heap by breaking down the ingredients, it’s also a great mulch as containing so much nitrogen, when decomposing it will not leach it from the soil as does high-carbon mulches like straw and leaves.

Comfrey’s high potassium content helps to increase flower and fruit production making it especially beneficial for flowers (attracting those fabulous bees), fruiting vegetables (such as beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers), berries, and fruit trees. 

I’ve heard anecdotally from other greenthumbs using comfrey to mulch root crops such as parsnips and carrots or leafy greens like lettuce, tatsoi and spinach may encourage them to go to seed prematurely.

Hens like it too! I also pick fresh bunches for my chooks who enjoy the occasional peck.

It does die back in winter but will zip back into life come spring.

Beware, it can take over so I try to keep it in the areas when I ave my compost bins. Everytime I add some vegies, paper or green waste to one of my seven compost bins, a few comfrey leaves are added. 

Poultry Patrol

A great article about the feathered army of sentinel chickens that alert health authorities to the presence of mosquito-borne diseases could go on an extended tour of duty after last week's record rainfalls.
Stationed at Victoria's northern border towns, the front-line flocks help scientists detect diseases such as Barmah Forest virus, Ross River virus and the potentially fatal Murray Valley encephalitis.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/sentinel-chooks-our-virus-guardians-20120306-1uiap.html#ixzz1oMbSE6wP

Winter on the Farm

This is a lovely cookbook that reads like a memoir.

A rare combination of a love letter to cooking, family and farm.

Evans most recent cookbook (July 2011) gently showcases the food he cooks for his family at Puggle Farm in Tasmania, also the setting for his popular TV series 'The Gourmet Farmer'.

When it’s time to swap cotton sheets for flannelette, thongs for boots and your straw gardening hat for a beanie, you can’t but help thinking of hearty soups, slow braised casseroles, yummy puddings, velvety roasted vegetables… and treats to eat while drinking hot tea.

I for one have become addicted the delicious, healthy and dead-easy-to-cook Paprika Braised Chickpeas with Kale - a single great reason to grow this vegie. 

Another cook book you will actually use, again and again.

You say tomato...

Making your tomato sauce out of ingredients you picked a few moments earlier is one of life’s heady pleasures. In fact it’s so damn good it’s a wonder the club of Rome haven’t put out an edict banning the activity.

After all the rain, Sunday's sunshine was bliss.

So I spent most of the day harvesting some of the nine varieties of tomatoes I grew over summer – as you can see this batch was mostly cherry and Tommy Toe.

It’s great as a pasta sauce base, or as a pizza spread or to enjoy on home made bread fresh out of the oven - Alas, I gave the chooks the leftover bread before I remembered to photograph it for the blog.

This time I used an adaptation of a Stephanie Alexander recipe From The Cook's Companion – it works a treat.

And the photo? It has not been digitally altered, this is a the colour of the tomatoes and they smell and taste amazing.

Ingredients

2 kg ripe tomatoes, roughly sliced

4 brown onions, sliced

10 garlic cloves, crushed then sliced

1 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil - check out olive oil via consumer watchdog CHOICE 

Salt and black pepper, freshly ground

A large handful fresh basil or oregano leaves torn into small pieces – I like to add both

Method

Heat oven to 180c

Tumble tomato, onion and garlic with oil and put into a casserole dish with lid

Bake at 180C for at least one hour until the tomatoes have collapsed, their skins are wrinkled and golden-brown, and juices are flowing – it will smell divine.

When tomato and onion are soft, press everything through the coarsest disc of a food mill. If I am making a pasta sauce straight away then I’ll add the skins to give some more texture…

Season to taste and add the herbs.

This freezes well.

Shake it up baby!

Shaking your passionfruit vine, fruit tree or other plants will release insects off the leaves, stems and branches, straight to the feet of your hungry chooks.

So assemble the gals and give the plant a good but not too vigerous shake.

This means you’ll have less invasive insects eating the fruits of your labours, your chooks will get a yummy treat and you can avoid using any pesticides – and save money.

It’s also a good idea to do this regualry to fruit trees so any apples, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, etc that you can’t reach will fall off and your gals can have a lovely time eating then all up – this also helps prevent nasty problems like fruit fly.

Also, any invasive insects that are eating your previous harvest will get consumed by our feathered, composting friends.

Below is an image of Layne, Ledgergrrl and Philly enjoying some insects shaken from my whopping great passionfruit vine - lots of flowers but alas, too many insects and not enough fruit.

 

Shop savvy, smart and sustainably

The latest newsletter from ETHICAL CONSUMER GROUP is now out and online. It's chock-full of interesting items on how you can be a more savvy and responsible shopper.

In these budget consciousness days, purchasing home-brands can seem like a good idea.

However, I urge you to check out the segment on Supermarket house-brands.

According to the ECG, “We’ve just added a comparison page for House-brands and Supermarkets. Generally we don't recommend house-brands as (1) it is extremely difficult to discover who manufactures the product - you don't know 'where your dollar is going', and (2) they channel money to the big supermarket chains. We encourage supporting local manufacturers and shopping beyond the supermarket where possible. >> see our FAQ page for more, and the excellent Four Corners 'Price that we pay' (2008)."