Granny Smiths in my garden

Maybe it'll turn into a coach??

The self-seeded pumpkin vine has taken over the pool fence.

Our million billion leeks in the garden behind,
and our pink christmas trampoline, being steadfastly ignored by the kids

You wouldn't have thought it was still summer with this autumnal scene...

That one is 5.6kgs

Methinks its going to be a very early autumn in these parts (in fact you could say its started already).

Face-down on the Couch

The kids went back to school a week ago.

Since then I've pretty much done this...

Until someone set the dog on me, anyway

Owing to all the rain we've had, I haven't set foot in the garden (yeah, that's my excuse).  But don't worry, its been growing away without me.  This is the view out the front door...

I call it The Thicket

Yes the guard cat is in there....

Or a Panther, prowling through the rainforest

See, here is a close-up...

Seriously.

Summer Peaches

WOW, its been an amazing start to the year!  I had so much fun with the giveaway contest and still can't believe I had so many entries.  Thank you again to everyone.

Its full swing summer holidays at the moment, and days are spent at the beach or playing (well supervising from under the gazebo) in the garden.

The vegie garden is looking very scrappy, I tend not to grow stuff over summer, as it only takes one 40 degree day with a westerly gale and I lose everything. So I'm harvesting what we've got (leeks, so many leeks!) until its time to start the winter planting at the end of February.

Today we ate the first of our peaches.

They are white peaches and tasted utterly divine

Well, if you don't mind about the wretched fruit fly larve!

New Look & The Great Tomato Caper

Do you like my new look? Its courtesy of Nuffnang and Sass at Moozoodesign, and I'd like to thank them both immensely.

So tomatoes.  The garden is starting to stir, well, the weeds are starting to stir, the rest of it, the interesting bits, are all quite happy to keep napping thankyouverymuchindeed.  After two months of being ignored, its looking a lot like a barnyard out there. So yesterday, as it was a heavenly day, I finished flinging the fertiliser about the place and got stuck into the Great Tomato Caper.

Garden architecture

The Great Tomato Caper (whereby I planted all the self seeded Tomatoes last May to see if anyone survived the winter) has had mixed results.  After our first big wet spell in June the seedlings all developed Septoria blight.  Rather over it all, I threw my organic principals out the window (gasp, yes) and treated them all with Yates Tomato dust - horrible stuff it is too.  I was disappointed to go that route, but I am so OVER being virtuously organic and ending up with a fat lot of nothing for it.

Anyhoo, there were a few casualties, but a couple of (probably cherry) tomatoes put on good growth and mostly everyone hung in there over the short days of June and July.

THEN we had our second wet spell in July and yes, the Septoria blight is back again, sigh.  There are going to be a couple of casualties, but most plants are putting on new growth and even a few baby tomatoes are appearing.  I've started on the trellises for them, and will be reluctantly dragging out the tomato dust again when it stops raining.

The caper continues.

:)

Happy Imbolc

The pagan festival of Imbolc is around about now (usually 1 or 2 August).  As festivals go, its one of the most delightful.  Its about hearth and home, a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of Spring.  Its about fire and food and wriggling out from under the grip of Winter - well, actually, tradition has it that if Cailleach (a divine gaelic hag - basically the Winter Goddess) intends to make winter last longer before giving it up to Brighde (the Summer Goddess), she tricks everyone by making Imbolc a warm and sunny day.  Given that today has been unseasonably hot, methinks it was a wise decision to go the two pallets of firewood and not one.

Here at Chez Nicholas the signs of spring are in the air, mostly because I have flung about 40kgs of dynamic lifter over the garden in the last 24 hours - this is causing the kids playing out in the street to scream 'don't go near the STINKY HOUSE' at each other whenever they get downwind of the place.

Happy Imbolc.  Spring is on its way :)

Small signs that I'm feeling better....

Was utterly thrilled to discover a local has started a seedling and organic veg business, and yesterday I rocked up at the monthly market to scare her with my enthusiasms say hi.  It was only 11am and she'd already sold out of most of her produce, but I was still able to grab a few veg for us.

It is not the size of your carrot, but what you do with it that matters.

I'm getting my bounce back, can you tell?

:)

June Vege Garden

Bed 1: Root vegetables

• Turnips, beetroots, carrots
• Yes, they got dug up by wretched escaping chickens  - broccoli did not fare well, why can they not dig up weeds??

Bed 1

Bed 2: Legumes

• Broad beans coming along
• Peas just sprouted

Bed 2

Bed 3: Onions

• Growing slowly, oh so very very slowly

Bed 3

Bed 4: Tomatoes

• Growing, but slowly, a few have flowers on them, but am not holding out hope for anything setting fruit or ripening

Bed 4

Bed 5: Sweetcorn/Pumpkins

• Growing green manure, that's about to be dug in (at some point, in the future).
• Might try and fling in some lettuces before the sweetcorn and pumpkins go in in August

Bed 5

Bed 6: Potatoes

• Chickens again.
• Also, local nursery has not got spuds in yet, so not much planted.
• Should probably do something about this bed as well :)

Bed 6

Winter Garden

Busy week this week, hard work too with a visit to the Max Brenner chocolate cafe and the kids athletics carnival (yes, picture me in my knee high ug boots holding Miss 6 by the hand as we sprint the 25m to the finishing line, in between sitting in the bleachers, sipping hot chocolate and chatting with all the other mums).

We're also into the first week of winter (in Australian terms anyway), so I thought I'd share a few pics of what's going on in the garden, and surviving temperatures that go BELOW ten degrees (celsius).

Our single mandarin, nearly ripe

Heirloom beans, on bean teepees in the front garden

Turnips 

Rhubarb, just planted and settling in very nicely

The cherry tree has lost its leaves, the apricot and the crab apple are thinking about it, and the apples are showing no interest so far.  They're saying we're in for a really cold winter this year, so it'll be interesting to see how everything goes over the next few months.  I kind-of want it to be cold to keep the apples happy, but at the same time I'm actively growing a lot of stuff over the cold months this year, so I'm hoping it doesn't freeze the bejeesus out of them.

So I'd like it to be very cold but not that cold at all, if that could be arranged.

:)

Apple pickin

It was the annual family trip to go apple picking in Bilpin on the weekend...

OMG We're going to pick apples, OMG let's run up and down and fall over

Why yes, I would love to pick all the apples for you and put them in your bag

Beautiful Sundowners

Yep, that'd be around 20kgs of apples just there

First kilo got dried

So now I have 30kgs of apples scattered around my house.  In hindsight maybe 30kgs was a little excessive, I've got one hell of a lot of peeling to do.

We've split them up as follows...

• Blackberry and apple jam (lots, its our family fave)
• Pie filling for x12 pies
• Eating
• Drying 
• Apple puree for muffins etc
• Bottling - ie, preserving whole apple slices

We went to Shields Orchard - a wonderful pick your own orchard, they're nearly at the end of their season now though, check their website for details

:)

The Great Tomato Caper - Part 2

So I have been waiting for the Second Pumpkin-of-Hope to ripen before I could get on with The Great Tomato Caper. Part 1 is here.  Long story short; am planting self-seeded tomatoes as my main crop of tomatoes, and doing it months earlier than I usually would. (Wacky and radical me, sometimes I can barely stand it).

Second Pumpkin of Hope has ripened - Princess Zuzu is still not amused
Called Pumpkin of Hope because after garden annihilated by weather in late Jan, pumpkin sprang up on its own and produced two pumpkins

I moved the self-seeded tomatoes from their various locations, stuck them in the end of one of the veggie beds, and left them to see who survived (everybody).

Getting somewhat crowded

My tomato bed is actually two beds.  In the left one I cleared out the tatty remains of the pumpkin and dug it over.  In the right one I dug in the green manure that was growing there, with a few handfuls of leaves.  It'll be interesting to see the difference between the bed with the extra 'nutrition' and the one that just got replanted.

Why yes, the swimming pool is bright green again

Then I planted out my overcrowded tomatoes and mulched (yes it keeps the soil temperature low, but its so dry/windy at the moment that I chose mulch to try and keep in some moisture - also hides weeds)

Now to see if they survive the winter

So that's the tomatoes sorted out.  Tick.

:)

Afternoon in the garden :)

Stunning day today at Chez Nicholas...

Yep, imagine all the dog crap under those leaves

 After sleeping in until lunchtime (due to late night at Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers launch - vote for meeee) got busy in the garden.

Mulching around the spuds (dog is talking to next door's dog)

 Harvesting the last of the basil, for pesto tonight

Princess Zuzu not overly-whelmed by it all

 And getting Bed 2, the legumes bed organised.

Presently  it contains Broad Beans.

• Earthed up around the base of the broad beans
• Put in stakes and strung bailing twine between them to support the beans if we get another southerly gale like we did last night (crap it was cold, and there was me prancing around Oxford street in cocktail garb)
• Put in a row of golden podded peas to grow up the fence at the back

• Tossed some dead palm fronds down in-between the rows
• Sprinkled with wood ash from the fire

• Mulched, watered and ticked off the list

:)

The Slime

I hate snails.  I really really hate them.  Time and again they have reduced an abundant crop of seedlings to nothing in the space of a few dark hours.  I detest snails so much that I can even bring myself to squish them with my fingers; well, the teeny weeny baby ones and with gardening gloves on. I am not the Bear Gryllis of the Upper North Shore Urban Farming set.  No siree.

But yes, I do slaughter baby snails with my gloved hands.  You read that right.

So imagine, if you will, my joy, my unfettered delight, when my children, eyes alight with excitement come tearing inside yesterday waving a tupperware container.
"We caught a snail."
"Its our new pet."
"We love it."
"How can you tell if snails are boys or girls?"

I rolled my eyes and promptly forgot about it until this morning, at around 6.30am when there were cries of horror from the playroom.
The snail had escaped.
Not a moment could be lost, Mummy AND Daddy must immediately IMMEDIATELY commence a search and rescue mission.
What if the dog had eaten it??
(The dog gets sniffy about eating gourmet dog food, so there wasn't much chance).

You interrupted my nap to ask if I ate a what??
And get that camera out of my face, my ears are all messy

Anyhoo, after a brief struggle the snail was recaptured.  It was making a bid for freedom across the kitchen bench (yes, ewwww), and had made pretty impressive progress from its container in the playroom.

After being christened The Slime, our snail was then re-incarcerated in its container, this time with a lid and a few leaves for company.

The newest family member

And now I find myself in the awkward position of having responsibility for my arch enemy.  Maybe I'll get stockholm syndrome and start to relate to snails and even love them.  Maybe I'll become The Mad Snail Lady.

Or maybe The Slime will escape again tonight from its sealed container and find itself having a new life in the garden of that neighbour with the wretched endlessly yapping Pomeranian.

Maybe.

:)

Updated to add:  My husband read this post and said, "What about the slug?"
"The slug???"
"Yes there was a slug in there.  It escaped too."
"But you found it?"
"Not exactly."

The Great Tomato Caper

Took the kids to Woy Woy for fishnchips yesterday, its a beautiful trip on the train from here, through Brisbane Water and past all the oyster farms.  Highlight of the day was when we found the children lurking on the farside of the playground we had lunch near, begging for food from complete strangers.  Sigh.  I relayed this tale to my mother when we got home, and she immediately launched into the story of how, at around Miss 5s age, she used to go door to door in her neighborhood, asking for biscuits for 'her sick mother.' 

Hubs is thrilled we have evidence its from My side of the family.

So, Tomatoes.

In the front garden I've got self-seeded plants coming up all over the place.  Which I love.

Heaps of coriander seedlings coming up amongst the strawberries

Chrysanthemum

Slightly nibbled basil - please excuse the blood and bone everywhere

Amongst these self-seeders we've had loads of tomato seedlings.  I was going to pull them out, but then I was reading in Diggers that the best time for planting tomatoes in a sub-tropical climate is March - June.
Because we hover in between sub-tropical and temperate here, I usually get my tomato seeds going around the end of July. 
But, in a moment of dizzying realisation, I wondered WHAT IF I planted out the self-seeded tomatoes, and had a go at getting them through the winter - if they survive, we might get more tomatoes early on, especially if we lose them all to mid-summer wilt like we did last year.
I was so thrilled by this idea I woke hubs up to tell him.
He was not quite as impressed.
So, to start with, I've moved the self-seeders from the front garden and put them temporarily in one of the raised vege beds (to see who survives, and to give me time to clear the current occupants out of the Tomato beds).

A few of my self-seeded tomatoes - this was the only shot I could get with no weeds in it :)

Who knows what will happen next???
Its exciting times here at Chez Nicholas, exciting times indeed.

Autumn Planting: Bed 3 Onions/Alliums

Wretched chicken got out yesterday and wreaked havoc amongst my seedlings. Not. Happy. Jan.

Well, at least it wasn't all four of them. sigh.

Bed 3 is my alliums bed; 2sqm onions, 1sqm spring onions, few random shallots, 1sqm garlic and 1sqm leeks.

Lovely garlic just coming up; yes raised beds are falling to bits

 I got the garlic I planted here from the organic produce stall at Hornsby farmers market.  Not sure what sort it is, but I wasn't too fussed.  Given last years garlic disaster I didn't want to spend a heap on garlic from Diggers or somewhere.

Some red spring onions are in there somewhere - also some basil, eggplant and capsicum from this being the tomato bed last year.  They'll come out in the next few weeks.

1sqm spring onions + other stuff

 Here is my poor poor onion patch - big hole in the middle courtesy of damn chook.  Have a few onion seedlings hanging about, so shall replant, sigh.

Chook damaged onion patch - note lame chook defences

So really the alliums bed is pretty much done - just watering and TLC from now own (and laser heat seeking missile chook defence system).  I've got to put in a square meter of leek seeds, which are going in a bit late for around here, but leeks usually do okay regardless. 

:)

Autumn Colour in the Garden: or Things that are actually alive...

Gave the strawberries in the front garden a drink of seaweed tea about three weeks ago, and now we have a few very late season fruit.  The flavour isn't anything like the pre-christmas lot, but its strawberry-ish enough to be lovely.

Strawberry

I love these Fairy Tale eggplants.  I thought this one had died in our Disaster Of Late January - when everything got cooked by a week of 40+ temps, westerly gales and UV levels that were off the scale - but its bounced back.

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Shall be including this one in dinner :)

Capsicum; Zodiac Capricorn

And that's a sweetcorn seedling coming up next to it on the left - not grass, I think...

:)

Autumn Planting: Bed 1

In the vege plot I work on a six bed rotation system; Bed 1 is root vegetables/leafy greens.  A couple of weeks ago I put in some carrot, beetroot, turnips and swede seeds.

Thus far the weather has been kind and the chickens and the dog have, by some miracle, not destroyed the lot of them.

Here we have, from left to right; turnips (purple top white globe), swede (best of all), beetroot (monorubra) and carrots (purple haze).

Next door we have carrot (topweight), beetroot (crimson globe), swede (best of all) and Japanese turnip (Hakurei) - and, erm, some violets down there on the bottom right, must weed more :)

Up the back of the bed there are some silverbeet seedlings and broccoli seedlings (below), also weeds - is it wrong to crop photos so that there are no weeds??

:)