Lost Most of our Girls

We lost 3 delightful chickens and a duck last night to a fox.  I'll be back when I am feeling a little happier with the world.

Mud Brick Palace Back To Basics - Week 40, Year 2

Sowing seed or Planting -
Sowing

• 5 Tomato Roma
• 5 Tomato San Marzarno
• 5 Tomato Napoli Paste
• 5 Tomoto Deutscher Fleiss
• 5 Tomato Siberian
• 5 Tomato Break o Day
• 5 Tomato Snow White
• 5 Tomato Thai Pink Egg
• 5 Tomato Amish Paste
• 5 Tomato Rouge De Marmande
• 5 Tomato Yellow Roma
• 5 Eggplant Florida Market
• 5 Eggplant Rosa Bianca
• 5 Eggplant Black Beauty
• 2 Cucumber Armenian
• 2 Cucumber True Lemon
• 2 Zucchini Black Beauty
• 2 Zucchini Round
• 2 Zucchini Romanesque
• 2 Zucchini Golden Arch Crookneck
• 2 Zucchini Mideast
• 2 Pumpkin Turkish Turban

Potting Up

• All the C.S.A. Curcubits, they out grew the cell trays so are going into newpaper pots to ensure they have enough room to move
• The rest of the C.S.A. Seedlings are in the process of being moved into the cell trays.

Observing

• Giving up on the Red Maraconi Capsicum, it looks like a bad batch of seed as all the Yellow Banana have germinated without issue
• The turnip patch is coming along quite well
• Looking at how they are going it is becoming clear that cut leaf lettuce want to be planted out much earlier than I previously ever expected, they are doing well this year

Harvesting

• 200g radishes
• 50g loose leaf lettuce

Maintenance 

• Weeding
• Pulled out all the brassicas, sprouts and sugar loaf cabbage, that were bolting to seed

Planning for The Future -

• Weekly work plan
• Menu Plan 
• Got realistic and cut the amount of markets I was attempting from 2 down to 1
• Bought new lids for preserving 

Working for the Future -

• Caring for the seeds planted out for C.S.A. orders
• Made Blood Orange Cordial

Building Community -

• Attended BEC Meeting
• Attended R.O.G.A Meeting (Ranges Organic Growers Association)

Learn a new Skill -

• Created recipe for Blood Orange Cordial

Participant Posts

Caitlyn Nicholas - Sunday 26th September
Balancing the school holiday family life with prime planting time in her region means right now Cait is a busy, busy lady.  Thankfully her thoughts that she might have poisoned an inlaw seem totally unfounded at this point but there are some southern gardeners that are pining for the time for planting that envy her abilty to plant out already.. it's all swings and roundabouts but at this end of the year "IT'S JUST NOT FAIR" *foot stomp*  :-D


Linda at Remote Treechanger - Friday 24th September
Linda's school holiday fun has included lots of trips backward and forward to the regional center in her area.  I don't envy her the dental appointments and the mechanic trips but boy does the op shopping sound fun,


Tracy @ Sunny Corner Farm - Tuesday 21st September
Lots of seed finding dirt out at Tracy's place.  The spring energy also seems to have hit culminating in an extremely impressive list of planting out of perennial trees and bushes this week.  To balance that all out their next holiday is being booked which is a feat in itself when you own livestock.

Planning ahead: Jars, Jars and More Jars

Blood Orange Cordial

It's Citrus season.  While I am enjoying our cool, damp spring my planning thoughts are moving toward summer.  In this household there is nothing that says summer quite like cordial and sorbet.  Luckily both cordial and sorbet both start in the same place juice and sugar syrup so I can make up batches now and they will get used over the summer for whatever purpose strikes.

The first time I made cordial it was a rather challenging experience.  Thankfully I learned a couple of things.  The first, mentally process any recipe and use common sense before actually breaking out the cookware.  The second was to keep the amounts small.

We are a family of two adults with infrequent visitors.  With items such as cordial that are not shelf stable I need to be mindful of ensuring the bottled product ends up in appropriately sized containers.

Last time I used a 700ml Passata Bottle, this amount would be great for a family as you probably would go through it in close to a week.  In this household it took close to a month for each bottle to end up empty.  Even thought I actually waterbath canned the end product to keep things safe, that length of time in the fridge is just asking for trouble.

This time I am using some 250ml bottles.  Even for us this amount should never need to last more than a week, after it's defrosted, and in a lot of cases a matter of days.  This is particularly important as we really don't like things super sweet, that means I am more often than not going to short the sugar on a recipe (and one of the main reasons you will probably never see a recipe for cordial up here).  In some types of preservation that might not be so much of a problem but as sugar is the major bug suppression tool in a recipe like this it means I am trading off our personal taste against the amount of time it will stay good.

These small amounts also work well for us as A really likes a change more often than not. Rather than staring at the bottle wishing it to end after 250ml he can go shopping in the freezer and decide if it's lemon, lime or blood orange that tickles his fancy this round.

Preserving for a small household,  where I have them available, I tend to stick with smaller jars for everything, except pasta sauce.  It reduces our waste considerably as it allows us to get to the bottom of a jar before things go moldy or turn due to passion turning to disinterest.

What are your considerations when you are rummaging through your stash of jars?

Come along to Birdsland Reserve

MORNING TEA WITH B.E.C. 


We will meet in the Birdsland Environmental Education Centre at 9:30am  on Sunday the 26th September.
 
Drop in for a chat, cake and a cuppa.


Learn about what is happening within the Reserve and as well as the wider Southern Dandenongs.   

Birdsland Environment Collective Vision
Transition Towns Sherbrooke
Birdsland Reserve Draft Master Plan
Southern Dandenongs Landcare
Friends of Hazelvale Valley
and lots more


The Birdsland Environment Collective
RSVP Brad Curtis  0417 545 227 

Use The Food: Lime Curd

What happens when you find limes at $3.00/kg?

Um... well, Curd happens.

Lime Curd
12 Limes, juiced
1 Kg Sugar
500g Butter
10 eggs, well beaten

Chop the butter into the stockpot of juice and over a low heat watch until the butter is fully melted.

Vigorously whisk while adding in small amounts of the well beaten egg mixture.

Once it is all successfully added raise the heat of the pot to medium and with a spatula keep things moving.  The mixture will thicken, test how thick it will turn out by dribbling a small amount on a cold plate and pushing your finger through it.  As it is not jam you won't see the "jell wrinkle" you are simply looking for it not to close back in on itself easily.

When it has reached your desired consistency use sterile utensils to spoon the curd into pre-sterilised jars and cap with sterile lids.  In this case you don't want to waterbath as the mix will continue to cook and it will continue to get thicker and gloopier.

Public Transport Forums - State Election

Mud Brick Palace Back To Basics - Week 39, Year 2

Sowing seed or Planting -
Sowing

• Sunflowers, Sunflowers and more Sunflowers

Potting Up

• More Capsicums (Mixed Italian Fryer and Yellow Banana)

Observing

• All of the C.S.A. Varieties are up and running apart from the Marconi Red Capsicum, it seems they want a hotter germination environment from the one I was providing.
• Radishes are ready for harvest
• Cut leaf lettuces have provided with a couple of side dishes this week
• The Brussel Sprout isn't going to get to give us sprouts (it's going to seed), much to Andrew's delight
• The increasing sun arc is making growing on the south side of the house again a viable option.

Planning for The Future -

• Weekly work plan
• Menu Plan
• Wrote down planting schedule to ensure I have product for the markets

Working for the Future -

• Caring for the seeds planted out for C.S.A. orders
• Made Lime Curd from some cheap limes grown up in Monbulk
• Made Lemon Cordial and froze for warmer weather

Building Community -

• Attended Mt Districts permaculture where we viewed a video on the basics of Biodynamics
• Supported a local community business when I had a GTG and working session with S
• Touched base with the Spring C.S.A. members to give them info on how the season is shaping up.

Learn a new Skill -

• Created recipe for Lime Curd

Participant Posts

Caitlyn Nicholas - Saturday September 18th
Caits home is being overrun by people, food and laughter this week.  It seems that planning ahead has taken much of the stress out of having so many people under one roof.

See You Monday

Too few hands, too many balls.

Hope you have a great weekend.

November, She's A Commin'

Why is November so important in my garden plans?

Well it's the first time I can safely plant out tomatoes, along with the other warm soil plants.

So now it's time to dream and plan whilst sowing to reap.  It's time to start taking the growing season by it's tail and directing it in the direction we need it to go.

It's Time....

Mud Brick Palace Back To Basics - Week 38, Year 2

Ahh yes, what can I say.  It's been a long challenging week and sometimes life takes precedence.  I hope everyone else is doing well.

Sowing seed or Planting -
Sowing

• Extra Lettuce, Asian Greens, etc for the markets I expect to attend in October and November

Potting Up

• More Capsicums (Mixed Italian Fryer and Yellow Banana)

Observing

• Many of the C.S.A. Orders have been sprouting away
• I bought my Non Astringent Persimmon after 2 years of wanting
• Harvested the First lot of lettuce to go along with meals
• Ohhh found a Saffron Crocus, now I just need to find the best spot to put it

Planning for The Future -

• Weekly work plan
• Menu Plan
• Wrote down planting schedule to ensure I have product for the markets

Working for the Future -

• Caring for the seeds planted out for C.S.A. orders
• Bought a home grains book
• looking at the pile of lemons and deciding what lemony goodness will result

Building Community -

• Attended a GTG of the 2010 PDC group 
• Sent off various emails
• Attended the TT Sherbrooke Presentation Evening
• Caught up with a good friend I never see often enough

Learn a new Skill -

• BREATHING, even when the world seems overwhelming

Participant Posts

Caitlyn Nicholas - Saturday September 11th

Cait's week was one of challenges and successes.  If she ever catches those snails I don't think any of us are going to be able to hold her back but on the other side she is just reached a significant goal in her wellness pursuit.  She also showed admirable restraint in the Learning a new Skill section and I am sure her DH was extremely grateful.

Tracy at Sunny Corner Farm - Wednesday September 8th  

Tracy has the Spring doing bug and has come back to the challenge for a second year.  With a large property come the hard decisions about which spring lambs will be kept along with deciding on the garden plan for the Spring/Summer season.  Best of luck for the dishcloth swap, I hope it feeds your creativity.

At Times Even A Push And A Shove,

Still Doesn't Get it Done..

Not sure if it's the end of winter, true disinterest by the community or that the energy is supposed to be going somewhere else but at this point our local Transition Towns group feels like pushing uphill, without even cheers of support.

The latest event had been organised over months.  The steering committee had worked hard on both it and the Soup Social, I had been to one meeting but was not deeply involved, to try and reconnect to the energy in the community displayed last year.  They had put together a really considered  and well thought out set of powerpoint slides.  The call had gone out through the local community house network as well as other avenues and at 7:30 we all reluctantly accepted that this was it.  Thus they got the opportunity to present hours worth of work to 7 people, 3 of which are the main members of the steering committee.

Honestly, between the presentation attendance and the relative lack of attendance for the Soup Social,  if it wasn't for the reasonable success of the food swaps I just might have despaired. It seems our community isn't ready to engage just yet.  We haven't found the correct way to support them or they simply don't want to take the role of leaders in shaping what we want for our region.  Maybe they are happy with the vision they are currently being given, or maybe they have been so dis-empowered in the past that the idea of truly taking control of our future is inconceivable.

At this point it's truly hard to tell.  All I know is that we will do our best to be there and capable of response if the community starts singing our song.

Mud Brick Palace Back To Basics - Week 38, Year 2

Sowing seed or Planting -
Sowing

• All Seedling C.S.A. orders are in the dirt

Potting Up

• 7 Eggplant Mini Lebanese (seed saved)
  
• 6 Red Leprechaun Lettuce
• 3 Caraway
  
• 4 Borage
• 9 Eggplant - Early Purple Long
• 3 Chilli - Red Box Manzano
• 2 Artichoke - Purple
• 3 Eggplant - Casper
• 5 Luffa
• 2 Coriander
• 13 Capsicum - Red Fryer (seed saved)
  

Observing

• the nectarine is slowing blossom colour, we haven't got flowers yet but it's nearly there
• Brussel Sprouts are starting to form
• The Broad beens are more consistently flowering
• Transplanted lettuce seems to have recovered and is going well
  

Planning for The Future -

• Weekly work plan
• Menu Plan
• Worked through a short term priorities list
  

Working for the Future -

• Caring for the seeds planted out for C.S.A. orders
• 
  

Building Community -

• attended Community Harvest dinner
• Caught up with a lovely lady I did my PDC with, who recently moved to my street
  

Learn a new Skill -

• keeping focused on priorities even when I am not at all sure I am going to have the opportunity to see them to fruition.
  

Participant Posts

Caitlyn Nicholas - Saturday September 4th
It sounds like Cait's garden is doing extremely well for this early in the season, as long as you don't count the potatoes. It seems like us, that keeping the dogs from the eggs is a priority if only due to the digestive upsets you need to cope with later.
Again she is doing a great job of community building both online and in real life, with onion soup to boot.

All Through the Hills Darkness Fell Quickly

Into the slumber of a morn', early, came the crack and a bang of a light bulb exploding.

No one, it seems, roused for many an hour. Though, 4 am brought reports of a house cloaked in silence. A place where the flicking of switches was a profitless pursuit. With a mumble of acceptance, swept away by the winds, sleep again stole away all wits and cares.

After dawn broke (many hours after) the slumbering pair woke to silence, continued. The damage as surveyed(1 shattered and blackened light bulb, found at the opposite end of the room, and one blackened switch) was determined to be a fatal leaking of magic smoke, that occurred before the electrons had fled the hills.

Our slumbering pair noted when travelling the country, within their petrol carriage, the silence showed in their path. It wasn't until the hill leveled flat, and the going was easy that light again shone on their travels.

T'was another day before the electrons returned to those cosy homes up in the hills. As they swept up and along well worn paths they were greeted with cheers and relief.

**Thus candles continue but the hum of the freezer has it's welcome return

Community Supported Agriculture

-It's Not Just A Box of Veggies-

Although it has only been sold that way the idea of community supported agriculture has a much larger potential scope than the concept of a “box scheme”. Agriculture is a very diverse activity. It's about certainly about production of crops but it's also about the steps coming up to harvest and the breeding of animals that are a large part of the farming process. If you are willing to stretch the concept just a bit, products created from the harvest reaped from a farmers soil could also be included . It's this that means that every single product traditionally sold at a farm gate or farmers market has the potential for adaptation to a Community Supported Agriculture model.

There is nothing that says that the farmer needs to supply a weekly box of product or even that it has to be subscription based, where the customer doesn't know what they are going to receive. It has evolved that way with produce because there is such a small window when produce is at it's best and that window is basically impossible to predict at the point when the customer is paying. That and only that is the reason that in most C.S.A. Schemes the customers are buying a “filled box” made available weekly rather than prepaying for something specific, available on a defined date.

For those practising Permaculture diversifying expressions of the Community Supported Agriculture model could be key to finding a space within the small business community. This model with it's potentially low start up costs, readily supports way we prefer to do business. It reduces financial risk to the producer along with the potential for massive waste,of both of time and physical resources. The opportunity is there for those of us with smaller spaces to choose a part of the growing cycle that doesn't require acres of land.

These important features along with the fact that we are generally dealing with products that are only at their best for a short period of time before sale ensures that to work efficiently your customers need to be quite local. This of course gives us, within the Permaculture Community, the flexibility do business in a co-operative, not competitive, fashion allowing us to share ideas and resources without undermining another's interests. It gives us the space to build relationships with customers who find value in knowing their producer and their methods. Along with allowing us to service niches within markets ensuring we don't have to go into direct competition with the mainstream.

Very importantly depending on the magnitude and focus your C.S.A. Scheme the space required could be as little as a standard suburban yard. As the producer we get choice about what we offer and how many orders you accept into the scheme per ordering cycle. This then allows you the opportunity to grow your business in a controlled and resilient manner giving time to get infrustructure in place before any large changes in volume are expected. This in turn allows us the opportunity to organise our workflow, giving greater potential to balance both our financial and life goals.

Do you have a C.S.A. in you?