Simply Cute........

The WWF and Greening Australia partnered in putting a few cameras around our local bushland, here is a glimpse of what they found:)
Yet another reason to leave what little natural habitat we have left alone.....

Finally.............some rain!

Not a lot of rain, but a gentle drizzle for most of the night, at least it means a little less water from the mains and of course we all know that the rain will make everything grow sooooo much better than anything from a tap!

Seeds to be collected are everywhere, this lot are from the Rhubarb, which was tender and made delicious pies!

The garden is quite productive at this time of the year. Already I have dehydrated so many goodies for the next 12 months ahead.

From onions to peas, some early carrots and a boatload of silverbeet.
Fruits are arriving and it is a race to protect it from those bloody birds who like to peck a bit and then jump to the next, rendering most of the fruit useless. Some netting around those have slowed them right down!
The Yellow Cherry Guava to the left is covered with an incredible amount of budding fruit, one of our favourite fruits, it is loaded with some real health benefits.

The Dragon Fruits have decided to take off at long last! We have both the Yellow and Pink, I am hoping they will fruit this year, although that may be a little unrealistic, they haven't been in 12 months yet lol.

The chooks are laying so many eggs. I love to be able to share them with the neighbours and family. This weekend I am going to be doing some pickled eggs to enjoy with the salads, yet another great way to extend our supply.

I planted like some possessed maniac this weekend:  Amaranth,Basil,Broccoli,Cabbage,Capsicum,Carrot,Cauliflower, Cucumber,Coriander,Leeks,Lettuce,Luffa,Pumpkin,Rockmelon,Silverbeet,Sunflower,Tomato and Watermelon  all went in:) It is a constant battle to keep the slaters at bay, one of the downsides of so much mulch.....anyone have any ideas other than upturned orange peel halves?

Most of the onions, leeks have been harvested. I still have a large quantity of the Welsh Onions left, it will be interesting to see how they go, first time planting of those!

The beauty of the Welsh Onion is that you never need to replant, just grab what you want over the year, it keeps multiplying via bulb, just be careful to plant where you dont mind it spreading!

The herb garden is the best it has been since we arrived just over 12 months ago. This lot of Evening Primrose has been harvested and dried 3 times and still has a mountain of leaves. This weekend I will do the flowers.

The herb garden is a mix of those herbs I use continuously for cooking and those I require for herbal remedies.  I make mostly tinctures for medicinal purposes........much easier for the inexperienced hand like mine:)



In going through the store room yesterday I noticed I still had dried chillies there from 2 years ago so last night I utilised them in the dinner......you would never know they hadn't been added fresh!

How much do you process and store of your own garden produce? How long a shelf life do you expect to get from most produce?