This brand new year

As this is the start of a new year I thought it may be a good idea to write down some of the things I hope to achieve this year. Writing it down also gives me something to go back to when I find I'm am running out of motivation!

I had been working full time for about 10 years before my health forced me to reconsider and now as I only work two days a week I have had to cut back on my spending. Last year was my first year working two days and looking back I can say that I failed to live within my budget.

Soooo this year the first thing I want to achieve is to write a budget and stick to it. It would also be nice to find some money each fortnight to put away for a rainy day but I will just start by not spending more than I receive before I worry to much about saving.

Coming a close second is reviving my soap making and restocking my online shop. It is currently empty because wholesale orders have been quite good and I have been quite lazy! I love working from home but having the motivation to get stuck into the soap is hard. I also want to start doing more Farmer's Markets so I'm hoping for a big year soap wise.

I would also like to continue with building my stockpile of necessities. I know for a lot of you this isn't a big concern but knowing I have enough produce preserved, dried and canned gives me a sense of comfort. I have always had a feeling that a stockpile will be import at some point and I want it to be ready before whatever it is happens. Cans under the bed and in the wardrobe make my family wonder about my sanity sometimes but I bet if food becomes harder to secure they will remember who has a store!

Health is also on the agenda! I have let a lot of weight creep up on me this last year and I'm starting to feel unfit in myself. I find I'm sweating and tired after doing my yard chores in the morning and this isn't good. So I will try to get a bit more exercise (I will......try lol)

I also must get my vegie garden but up and running as I haven't had one this year. I had planned to move all of my back garden around and never got it finished. The plan was to fence of the vegies from the sheep. The Sheep Paul and Kelly, who I keep for their fleece have eaten all of their grass and so I will try to get them secured in the Dog Trial Yards for at least some of this year to try and grow back some green feed for them. I will be looking into trying to find some other areas also that the can forage.

 

2010 WILL be a great year full of many blessings!

Ready for a ride????

Well I have had sometime to do some serious thinking in the last few days and I have had a brainwave! It was not so much my brain wave but a dear friend pointed out to me that the blog is my opportunity to be me, no one telling me what I can post about and I make the rules. I can't believe I had to have it pointed out lol. Sooooo, what next?
The answer is ME.
I don't mean that in a narcissistic way but I will be posting the things that I do, like, enjoy and things that bring happiness into my life.
Those of you who have read the blog for a while will know a bit about me but if you have just come across my blog I will give you a bit of an out line. I am in my mid thirties (I can't believe I just wrote that!) I live in a tiny remote town in the far side of the Wimmera on what I call a micro farm! One acre with 3 turkeys, 20-30 chooks, 3 ducks, 2 sheep, 2 adorable cats and 200 goldfish. Kitty and Harry, the cats, live inside with me to protect the native wildlife.
I work two days a week in the big town down the road and the other days I make and sell my handmade soaps. I also fill my days with tending my vegie garden which is up the back of my block nestled in and around my orchard of 15 3 year old fruit trees. I am in the process of fencing this area off from the rest of the back yard as I have big plans for it.
I also fill my days by baking bread and cooking from scratch (most of the time) Developing my new native garden and working where I can in my community.
I have produced a community newsletter and I want to continue working on this as I believe it is an important part of the community.
I also enjoy sewing and I will explore many projects I am working on here on the blog so maybe we can help keep each other motivated!
As I mentioned earlier I sell my handmade soaps online here and I will be adding further to the shop with the other things I create here. Things like head wraps, hand dyed scarves, cloth pads and other handy things.
Gosh I am really excited so lets get this party started!

I love my life!

I was just out hanging the clothes on the line and looked around. Yes I see it everyday but today it just seemed different....beautiful. I have been working flat out on the soap business and I will continue to work flat knacker for the rest of the year but working like this means you don't get time to really see whats around you. Do you know what I mean? It wasn't just what I saw but the sound track as well. The turkeys were gobbling away up the back, the sheep were talking to me over the fence and the ducks were noisily quacking away! Here are some pictures to give you and idea....and to remind myself how cool it is right out side my door! I wanted to add more photos but blogger isn't playing!

Where have I been?

I'm so sorry I haven't updated for...gosh nearly 4 weeks! Things have been so hectic here. Christmas soap orders are coming in thick and fast so I barely have time to take a breath!

On the garden front I have relented and pulled out the last of the silver beet, the chooks are now every bit as sick of it as I was lol. The potatoes are powering along and I have added zucchini, cucumber, eggplant and corn. The corn is nearly knee high now! The currents and raspberries seem to have decided that they will wait till next year, no sign of fruit as yet.

What about all the animals? Well my sheep, Paul and Kelly have had a rough time. Kelly got fly blown. I can't believe I didn't notice but apparently its harder to see when the sheep are black. I was so distraught when I realised what had happened that I waved down a passing farmer and promptly burst into tears. To my relief the farmer suggested he pop home and bring back a trailer and take Paul and Kelly back to his place to shear them and treat Kelly. They are now fighting fit and racing around like nothing had happened.

A turkey hatched out 4 chickens and a turkey poult which I had to raise in a broody box in the lounge room. This turkey has a habit of squashing her chicks so that's why they had to come inside. One of my silkies has just bought out 11 little chickens and another turkey is sitting on 7 turkey eggs so I imagine there will be another influx of babies soon lol.

Speaking of babies, I went to the vets on Friday and in the foyer was a big box with 4 little kittens in it. I already own Kitty-Anne Maloo who's 6 but I just couldn't resist. Please meet Harry McScally. She is not impressed!

It's damn hot.....already!

It has gotten really hot here really quickly. Everything in the garden has either bolted to seed or drooped beyond recognition! Yes I am including myself in the equation lol. Last weekend I was so ensconced in the gardening I forgot to put on any sunscreen! I am now peeling like a banana! Ouch!

I really don't mind to much about the silverbeet as I have eaten so much damn silverbeet in the last two months that I think I'm turning green!

It won't be long till I transform into a potato! I planted 14kg of seed potatoes this year. I recently read that each potato can produce 12kg OMG! That equals 168kg of spuds.

I suppose I will have to freeze most of the spuds? Will I need to par boil them? May have to look into that.

Some of you know my Mum from Aussies Living Simply . She is studying .....hhmmm I should know shouldn't I ? Experimental Textiles? Anyway she is studying at South West Tafe (see I know where!) Anyway a lady who is studying with Mum has a blog. It is so refreshing to see creative people , well being creative! Leisurely Lesley 's blog is full of really great felt and fibre art along with other bits and bobs (you may catch a glimpse of my mum to) Anyway felting is a skill I desperately want to learn so I will be reading her blog regularly!

Spring is here!

Just a few pics from the garden today...cause I haven't posted anything for a while lol.

Black Current

Swiss chard and onion with some Chinese cabbage I've let go to seed.

Hhmm, more Swiss chard, lucky I like it, and some parsley.

I need a hair cut!!!!!

Whats growing?

Just thought I would list all the food producing plants growing here. Really just so I can see it in front of me because if I wonder out in to the garden to write a list I inevitably get distracted. I wont list all the stuff like Broccoli or peas just the perennial stuff.

Fruit Trees
Pear x 2
Apricot x 6

Apple x 2
Nectarine
Peach
Fig

Orange

Lemon x 2

Berries
Red Current
Black Current
Raspberry x 6
Blackberry
White Muscat table grape x 2

Perennial Vegetables
Globe Artichokes x 16
Rhubarb x 10
Asparagus x 10

Herbs
Mint
Rosemary
Russian Garlic
Garlic Chives
Oregano
Garlic
Thyme
Chives

Hhhmmm that might be it. I will add more if I remember anything I missed. Now just need to work out what else I need.

Vegie garden matters

I was just thinking I haven't written about whats going on in the vegie garden for a while. I have managed to keep the sheep out now which is good but Paul and Kelly aren't to keen LOL. I am almost about to eat some broccoli and I have heaps more plants coming on. I love broccoli!
I also have planted heaps of cauliflowers and cabbages but they are a long way off yet.

The onions are looking good, both red and brown and the spring onions are powering along! The spinach if it all grows will cover the house...I may have over planted. The artichokes are nearly ready and this year will be the first year that I can eat my own asparagus! I can't wait!

I've also just planted an apple tree and a pear tree and will be transferring an apricot tree tomorrow. Currently it is in the paddock with Paul and Kelly and it seems they love apricots.

Nearly Christmas

There isn't much happening on Gobbler's Run at the moment. I have two weeks off work over Christmas so I will be using that time to really get stuck into the jobs that need doing. The three baby turkeys went to their new home last week and yesterday the farmer who took them called in to drop off two bags of wheat screenings as payment. The chooks and turkey's are so excited they are feasting! Due to ridiculously low rain fall Paul and Kelly are eating lucerne hay that I am buying in every couple of days ($19 a bale!), they love it but they did ask if they could please spend the Chrissy holidays at my brothers place cause there is heaps of green grass down there. Just have to work out some way of getting them there?

I have given up the knitting! In fact I have bought a knitting machine and I pick it up on Monday. It knits long tubes like giant french knitting so I will make Jamie some leg warmers! I will post pics, I'm sure he will look adorable!

Due to Paul and Kelly raiding my vegie garden I have planted my summer vegies in the front garden this year. I love the way they look all mixed up together!

I planted mint as a green mulch to try and keep some moisture in the ground. I knew that the mint would take over and I'm happy to keep pulling it out but boy it happened quickly!

Speaking of things that happen quickly, my gold fish have multiplied again...sigh. I have tried to explain family planning options to them but they just ignore me!

This means war!

Paul and Kelly have grown very fond of my front garden. Which would be fine if it wasn't 'out-of-bounds'! They had demolished my vegie garden so now I am planting my vegies in the front garden. They are not hungry, they have heaps to eat on their side of the fence, they just prefer the lush plants over the fence! In fact they didn't even care that I was in the front garden when they jumped the fence that I had erected. I couldn't believe it they just jumped straight over! Well not any more!





The fence was originally just the height of the chicken wire but today after work I set about increasing it so they can't jump over it any more. I wasn't sure how to go about it so I dipped into my stash of bailing twine. I'm pretty sure Jamie will pull it down and redo it on the weekend but boy and I proud of my efforts!

Now remember that chic that I wasn't sure about? Well here is and up date. Check out its tail, it seems to fan out under the wings. The chicken next to it has a very different tail. So.....is it a turkey?
Maybe?

Kindness and the rabbit proof fence.

My big chooks aren't allowed in my veggie garden! My Golden Sebrights are, this is because they are tiny and cute! I was under the belief that because they are so small they couldn't do much damage.......I was wrong! Over the weekend they devoured all my broccoli! I love broccoli so I had to put an end to their feasting. Awhile ago we managed to lug home a huge roll of old chicken wire from the tip. I unrolled a long piece to run around one of the veggie garden and dropped in some star pickets. I'm really hoping that this will keep them out. So far so good!

The little darling also had a pretty good go at my Brussel Sprouts! So I needed to enclose that bed too. About a year ago I tried (unsuccessfully) to build a chook tractor out of very thin poly pipe, I was way to floppy to use and since its creation it's just been sitting up the back of the yard. I thought this may fit as the sprouts are in a round bed.................Ta Dah! I just need to get a bit of bird netting to put across the top and job done! This will keep those chookies out.
The strange thing you can see in the background that looks like a two headed ghost is my 'hot house'. When I bought my new oven it came in a huge plastic bag, I put it away because I thought I might come up with a use for it one day. I t keeps the frosts at bay and folds up when I don't need it! How cool is that!



I've found that seeds planted in this micro environment sprout much faster than seeds sown in the open.At the moment I have Sage, Coriander, Chives and Lucerne all in the 'Hot house'.

An up date on the sheep!!!! My beautiful gobbler Troy, who delights in nothing more than to terrorise me buy chasing me at full pace has developed a fear of sheep! In this photo you can see three turkeys. The one to the right of the photo is Troy fleeing! The second is Brownie1 and the white one is Helen. None of them are at all impressed with Paul and Kelly the sheep.

*How Kind*

I received a beautiful note in the mail today. It was a piece of comfrey carefully packed in damp newspaper in a zip lock bag. Ali from Our Patch had sent it to me as I had mentioned over at ALS that I was having trouble getting any down here. Thank you so much Ali I really appreciate your kindness and I hope one day to find a way to repay you! Thank you

The Good Dirt!

What you are able to produce from your garden is directly related to the soil. If your soil isn't any good your plants will struggle, if you want your plants to strive (and who doesn't?) you need an optimal growing medium. The good news is that even if you have poor soil (sandy, clay etc.) you can improve them! Yay! The dirt here where I live was in such bad shape when I got here that it actually hurt my skin, that's not good.

I am lucky to have access to a number of things I can use to improve my soil.

-Duck poo (I work on an industrial duck farm so there is always lots of poo)
- Horse poo ( My neighbours bred horses!)
-Grass clippings
-Green waste ( the local supermarket gives me 3 larges boxes of spoilt fruit and
veggies every two days. )
-Turkey bedding (my turkeys provide me with heaps of used straw full of beneficial poo)
-Leaf litter


If I added all this poo straight onto my gardens it would burn the plants, so I need to compost it first. My favourite way of doing this is by using my raised garden beds. I just pile everything into my frame work (old tank rings, railway sleepers etc.) directly onto the existing soil. A layer of poo then a layer of grass clippings then a layer of straw then some more poo then fallen leaves then green waste then more poo. Every couple of layers I water it to keep it moist and as if by magic it starts to heat up. This is a good way of killing off weed seeds as the heat makes them un-viable. I love to stick the spade in every few days and really stir it up! This shot shows what the mix looks like after about two or three weeks. Notice that some of the 'ingredients' are starting to brake down, there are still some large particle's like the cabbage leaves.



At this point I sometimes throw in a good few hand fulls of organic canola seed. I sprouts and grows quite quickly and when its about 10cm high or more I just hoe it back in. This adds heaps to the soil and gives me some much needed exercise!

By placing all this good stuff directly on the ground the worms get an opportunity to move in. Worms are a good sign that you are on the right track with your soil. When I moved here I really thought that there were no worms! they had just temporarily moved out, as soon as the soil improved they came back! I love worms! When I was younger I was scared of them but now I wouldn't be with out them. I love this photo ! How good does the dirt look? I just want to eat it. All the large things have been broken down into a fine moist yummy mix (well the worm thinks so). Now my seedlings will grow like mad!

I have found that once a year I just need to top up these beds with a bit more straw, poo and green waste.

I'm lucky that my mum lives by the sea and whenever I visit I try to collect some seaweed to bring home. This is amazing stuff and really gets things moving! With seaweed though I am always careful to wash it thoroughly as it comes with heaps of salt! Salt is excellent on your chips but not on your gardens. My grandmother always used to say "everything in moderation dear" and this is something I try to keep in mind when I'm in the garden!

Rusty Raised Beds

When I bought this house it came with 9 water tanks. Only 1 of them holds water. I have set up the place to run on bore water. I invested in a special hot water service that is designed for hard water so the only tank water I use is for drinking and cooking. As I live by myself that doesn't constitute for much.

One of my rule's is to re~use all I can! So I decided to "recycle" the old leaky tanks. So with the help of my boyfriend Jamie we cut this tank into 4 rings. I then used old garden hose that we split down the side to encase the sharp edges and Waalhaa.....4 new raised free draining garden beds!

I already have 3 beds done this way. The first is a permanent asparagus bed, the second currently has silver beet, Brussels sprouts, garlic chives, lettuce and some rosemary and lavender cuttings. The third bed has giant garlic and an artichoke. The new beds will host spinach, broad beans, corn, zucchini's and carrots. I am building up the soil in the first of the four new beds with straw, horse poo, duck poo and green waste from the local supermarket. The soil here is just a grey sand so all the gardens need to be added to.

Today I have planted lucerne seed, onion seed, tagatesse, pigeon pea and more carrots! I make a beautiful jam out of carrots so I always have plenty on the go. I can't wait for things to start springing up in the new beds so I can show you all. Happy Gardening.