Independance Days Challenge Update

Planted: Eggplant, tomatoe, chamomile, oregano, banana passionfruit, lemon grass, strawberries and corn.

Harvested: Broad Beans, spinach, strawberry (just one so far) salad, snowpeas and herbs

Preserved: Lemon Butter, Pasta Sauce.

Stored: Local Cheese - (Disappearing quickly) Seeds, Woodchip mulch

Managed: Spread Woodchip mulch in chook run in anticipation of the return of the chickens

Prepped: Planted more seeds - and potted up volunteer tomatoes seedlings to give away/plant.

Advocated for local food economy: Followed up all the people who signed up for permaculture network, and having our first meeting at the end of October!!!!.

Reduced waste: Compost, church scraps, mum's scraps, Neighbours scraps.

Cooked something new: Broad Beans! Loved them. Steamed then mixed with a little butter with pasta, baby beets and wilted spinach. Mmmm

Independance Days Update

Planted: Daikon Radish, Silverbeet, cucumber, capsicum, eggplant, squash, quince tree (into the ground) cape gooseberry, bay leaf tree, sage, dwarf beans, midgym berry,

Harvested: Snow peas, lettuces, herbs, oranges, eggs

Preserved: Lemon Butter, Tomatoes.

Stored: Cheese, borevos (sp?-south african sausage) Chorizos, dried figs.

Managed: Cleaned out garage somewhat, although it's getting messy again!

Prepped: Picked up four car loads of straw left over after dressage championships. Bought Blueberries and Passionfruit.

Advocated for local food economy: Made contact with local museum which is organising a garden day to go and talk to people about permaculture. Also going to a friend's garden open day and will be signing people up for local permaculture mailing list and talking to people.

Reduced waste: Straw.

Cooked something new: Vege Curry, Banana Bread. (both great but the latter spectacular!)

Growing Challenge / Independance Days Challenge.

Planted: Asian greens, leeks, cucumbers, squash, capsicums and eggplants.

Harvest something: Lettuce, Rocket, Dandelion greens, Snow Peas (First ones) Have been eating Salad from the garden most days now.

Preserve something: Attempted to make lillipilli jelly - dismal faliure. I was using a local variety of lillipilli that's a purply grey, just not the same as the hot pink ones I used in Sydney.

Manage Reserves: Using up more old stock - Brown rice, old tin of tuna, creme caramel packet.

Prepped: Set up the small greenhouse again to start the spring veges in. This time I weighted it down with bricks so I don't worry about it blowing over again.

Worked on Local Food Systems: Have set a date for first Permaculture Network Meeting. Not this weekend but next. If you know any gardeners in the Shoalhaven area, tell them to contact me about it!

Reduced Waste: Using old milk cartons cut up as plant labels. Scraps from church and from neighbours for chickens and compost.

Cooked something new: Creme Caramels. (It was a packet mix I must admit, but it needed using up, and it worked perfectly) I took the leftovers to my morkmate's for dinner last night. Also made a Banana Loaf and a Pear and Lillipilli cake. (It's great too except I'm not happy with the lillipillis, need to use normal variety which is better for eating, leave the local ones to the birds.)

More Info about the Growing Challenge

Independance Days Update

Planted: Another salad bed: lettuces, rocket, basil, and more, Okra.

Harvest something: Oranges, Herbs

Preserve something: Grandma's Tomato Sauce

Store Something: Rice, Flour, Raw sugar, Oats and Sultanas from Food Co-op.

Manage Reserves: Bought up as rice is getting very hard to purchase, so I am a bit overflowing at the moment. I am gradually getting down to one of everything and using up mu multiples.

Prepped: Saturday I visited a friend's farm. It's organic, natural methods for animal management, and he works with at risk young people at the farm. Amazing. Check out A Taste of Paradise. Anyhow, Francis gave me a few bits of donated timber to take home and start making my chook tractor. I regrettably didn't take my camera, but I did play with horses, chooks and day old baby goats. (Cluckyness for the baby goats was definately going on - although seeing what they're like as teenagers in the next yard helped alleviate that feeling somewhat) I will go back soon and take photos I promise.

Went to the buy back centre at the tip yesterday. Got some bits of Reinforcing mesh for garden trellises, a mower catcher for nesting box - should result in cleaner eggs. and some metal roof ridgeing for the chook tractor.

Spent an hour with my neighbour Sunday pm starting to make the chook tractor, also recycling metal braces for the frame from his in-laws house building.

Worked on Local Food Systems: My old house mates bought their first fruit tree (haha, I would like to take full credit for inspiring that one, but I know her parents are gardeners too. I also did my regular shift at the local organic food co-op.

Reduced Waste: Re-using PET bottles as cloches over the veges. Photos in garden update this week.

Cooked something new: Mushroom Oven Baked Risotto (2 cups rice, 2 stock cubes crumbled, 2 cups mushrooms -I used the chinese dried style which gave it a great flavour and they soaked up well through the process - 2 tbsp butter and 5 cups boiling water. In a casserole dish with the lid on in the oven on med for 1/2 hour. Stir through parmesan cheese and serve.

Learned a new skill: Drilling through metal and cutting corruguted iron with tin snips.

Independance Days Update

Plant something: Asparugus, Tamarillo, Raspberries, Apricot, Nectarine, Strawberries, Potatoes

Harvest Something: Lettuce, Pumpkins, Herbs, Brocoletti (My total for 2008 now 8.8kilos or 19.4lbs)

Store Something: Hay and Straw for mulching (although only half left now)

Managed Reserves: I worked on more of my paths, especially the one that goes to my chook run. More to go on it next weekend.

Prepped: Bought Sulfate of Potash (Supposed to be good for producing fruit) Had a look at my almond tree at the nursery. It hasn't produced any leaves or flowers yet, but the buds look good. Went to a garage sale, came home with a sizzle dish (you heat it up in the oven and then put the food on it) a table ironing board and a book on preserving food, complete with solar food dryer design - one of the projects I want to complete before summer.

Worked on Local Food Systems: Helped my mum renovate one of her gardens. Mainly flowers, as it's out the front, but she did agree to putting some strawberries in. The herbs and salad veges she wants to put out the back, that's a bigger job.

Reduced Waste: Collecting Church food scraps now - Chooks love it, and I don't have to buy as much food.

Independance Days Challenge

Planted: Tamarillo Tree, from my old next door neighbours. About 12 Raspberry plants from friends from church. Celery seedlings.

Harvested: Oranges, eggs, salad greens( lettuce, parsley, nasturtium leaves, coriander)

Preserved: No

Stored: Pork. I cooked it last night, hoping to post the recipe today. Went to local bulk food store and got it for about half the price of supermarket pork. Polenta. BBQ Pork buns. Asian noodles.

Managed: I finished building my living area in front courtyard, with cardboard and newspaper laid down wet with brick edges (all recycled) and pebbles that used to be along the side of the driveway spread around. (the raspberries replaced the pebbles) It looks really great now.

Prepped: I bought Asparagus crowns and a sultana grape. Need to plant them.

Advocated for local food economy: Talked to friends about vege gardening. They are keen to start gardens too. One friend has fenced off their area (to protect from their dog) and another will wait til her partner returns from defence posting.

Reduced waste: Helped a friend fix her lawnmower so she didn't need to pay someone to do it.

Cooked something new: Do made up recipes count? Cauliflower curry. Sauteed some onion, then added cauliflower and grated carrot and steamed. Then added curry powder, turmeric, and coriander seeds and a tin of coconut cream. Simmered for 5-10 mins added some broken up chinese egg noodles towards the end. Served with natural yoghurt and coriander leaves. Yum