INCREASED WATER COSTS MEANS.........

The WA Farmers Federation says an increase in water tariffs outlined in the state budget will affect fresh food prices.
The government has announced that the cost of water will jump by 17.7 per cent from July 1.

WAFF spokesman Mike Norton says farmers and graziers are not exempt from the price rises.
"Believe me there isn't a lot of money in farming at the moment, and something like this will just mean that the price has to be pushed over to the consumer.  Full story HERE.

Personally I grow our food for reasons other than price. I love the flavour, there is NOTHING good that can be said about the veggies and fruits (that taste like cardboard) you buy from your local supermarket.

I love the fact that I know our food is chemical free in my garden. I enjoy watching it grow, tending it provides relaxation I don't get anywhere else and let's face it, nothing compares to eating sun warmed fruit or crisp veggies just picked and placed on a plate. In addition, there is more nutrient in something picked 30 minutes before eating, you can't beat that.

To my way of thinking, every new home should have to have a large water tank in the plans before approval is given. In addition every existing house should be given 5 years to have one installed. I cannot believe in a country as dry as ours we have swimming pools in every 2nd back yard but few and far between water tanks! Perhaps the unintended benefit of the water costs rising will be the placement of a few more water tanks around homes......one can only hope that a move towards greater self sufficiency is the byproduct.
 

Thankfully, we have had the total of about 1 inch of rain over the last week, still shaping up to be a dry year if things continue as they are. My seedlings are loving it though as you can see.
 

With the reticulation now covering all the gardens, watering is much easier.  I keep a small square I like to hand water, again, that relaxtion thingy, I can dream away and still be doing something LOL.
 
With the cooler weather has come the need to bring out the clothes stand, we put it by the wood fire and let the clothes dry as we  keep warm. Most days clothes will dry completely on the outside clothes line, however there are some days it is just too damp. Strange, I have never owned or used a clothes dryer in my life, there aren't many of us around my age that could say that I suspect lol.

The new laying box is working out well. Will be wonderful for winter, no more wading through muck to gather the eggs!

 

They also seem to keep this box much cleaner than their other....have no idea why they treat it differently lol.

 

The pumpkins are just about finished. We harvested massive amounts of these this year, much of it has been blanched and frozen in thick slices, ready for baking, soups or casseroles......YUM! One of my favourite veggies:)

 

The tomatoes finished last month after fruiting copiously) and were looking ready to pull out, instead I decided to cut them all the way back....not only did they shoot back like crazy they have started fruiting again!

 

And now I am off to do some of that wonderfully exciting (tongue in cheek) domestic engineering......I hope your weekend is a good one, get plenty of rest and take care of you and yours:)

SEEDS, SEEDS AND MORE SEEDS.......

Don't you just love weekends? Time to potter and ponder in the garden.....I love it!

I planted out more seedlings this weekend, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chives, rainbow silverbeet and giant silverbeet (for the chooks), leeks, onions, pak choy, peas, shallots and snow peas. Hopefully I have put enough in of everything to have plenty in the dehydrator too. The beauty of these seeds is that they are they are all my own saved seed from the strongest non-hybrid, heirloom plants.

The soil in the garden is looking gorgeous. The year of adding everything I could lay my hands on, from chook manure, slow release fertiliser, ashes, mulch from pruned trees and pea straw has really paid off. Add the massive amount of worms we brought in and things are really moving.

I have had to borrow Dads tree covers for 3 of my Jacarandas, the cold is already getting to the smaller ones. The two larger seem fine. We get some very cold frosts here, I don't want to lose them, they really are stunning when in full flower.

We have still had very little rain here, about half an inch a couple of days ago after months and months of very hot, dry weather. It is concerning if this is to be the way of the future (which I suspect it is), not so much for us personally, but for the farming community it could spell disaster for many.

Hope your weekend is going well, I'm off to do more in the backyard:)

AT LAST..........

I'm back! Sorry to have been away so long, work has kept me busier than a legless lizard trying to run! Add to that the removal of a skin cancer and a graft and it was all too much for a few weeks lol.
The garden has survived without me of course, there is so much happening out there now the cooler weather is slowly coming in.  

The pond plants are going beserk, these bullrushes have flowered. I always love the look of them, no fancy petals, just a simplistic beauty....

Our visiting friends have found they can sit and watch the world go by safely by spending their time on the top of our chook pen roof!

The Basil is really beginning to move. I much prefer the ruby variety to the standard, the smell is much nicer when dehydrating too, I managed to do another 3 jars, another years supply tucked away.

Speaking of herbs, look at this beauty! The bay leaf tree hubby found for me. Now planted in the back garden it will not only supply us with its leaves for cooking, it will, in years to come, provide shade for visitors cars....have to love dual purpose plants!

Behind the tree you can see the mulch I just tipped out to spread ready for the herb garden plant out.

Amd yet another herb....the Chocolate mint. I love this plant, not only is it pretty, it can be used in a multitude of ways, from teas to painting the leaves with chocolate then using to decorate all sorts of sweets. This was only a couple of inches when I put it by the pond, it oviously is loving where I placed it.

The Pepinos too have really grown. This one is the "Indian Gold" from memory.

Hubby loves them, the kids and I can take them or leave them, we much prefer the starwberry and pineapple ones....

The last of our lettuce. They have done well this year, lasting much longer than ever before because I put them in a garden bed under the patio....less heat to deal with!

And last, but by no means least in our garden....a wee man who comes out singing at the top of his lungs every evening. I do so love listening to the frogs, we have about a dozen of them now, the keep the pests away, love it when I throw snails in and generally are fun to watch. They have moved from being very shy to just plain bolshy, ....have I mentioned how much I love frogs.....lol

I also managed to get another dozen bottles of home made tomato sauce made over the weekend just gone, we now have enough to see us through a year, no mean feat in this house, daughter eats it by the ton!

I hope to be back posting more regularly now work is under control, take care of you and yours:)