Seedlings update

I thought I would put a quick update in here of the seedlings I started - (read about them here).

Out of the nearly 30 I sowed, I now have 11 healthy baby seedlings, which I have transplanted now directly into their vegetable bed. I am quite pleased and watching them very closely adapt to their new home.

I have since started some new seedlings and am learning more each time. One seemingly obvious point i have picked up, but really neglected in my first lot - is some advice I found online. One gentleman said that he finds 'watering' the seedlings from below in the tray rather than spraying them from top nearly always works so much better. So I have placed an egg carton inside a shallow metal tray, (you can use the lid of the egg carton, but mine had holes) and filled that with water. I also put a small hole in the bottom of the egg carton sections before putting the soil in so the water could go directly in. The egg carton itself is cardboard and will act as a wick soaking up the water. I then just loosely placed plastic wrap over the top. Already I can see the difference in two days. The soil has not yet dried out, the carton is soaked. Before the soil was drying out in a matter of hours. I am also having some success with my heirloom beetroot and cucumber, each with a new seedling appearing. I am loving this. !

From various for blog

From various for blog

Verge side Vegetable Garden

I built a verge side raised garden bed this weekend. We have a very wide verge and it gets sun most of the day, so I decided last summer that I would take advantage of that space and plant a raised garden bed there for this season. We needed to take into account a few things, including it's council land. We had a 'dial before you dig' plan but couldn't quite tell where the various pipes etc were so decided to put the bed above ground. We also live just across from a very old quarry site (around 100 years ago!), which has since been turned into a cricket oval, but this has resulted in quite a lot of rock under our earth out the front.

I am inspired by the verge side gardens in Sydney inner city, where the residents have little land to work with so use the verge to grow gardens. We have a lot of land compared to them, but I really like the idea of growing vege's out on community land, for locals to help themselves to if they like. It's my small contribution to sustainable living. We ordered a couple of tonnes of vege soil (mixed with mushroom compost) to fill it in. I will be successive planting beetroot, NZ spinach and silver beet over the next few months.

From various for blog

From various for blog

On another note, while we were working away yesterday, we noticed the dogs agitated with something in our lane way next to the side fence. At some point during the day, our chooks had escaped and we found them enjoying a lovely time in the afternoon sun out and about.

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Springtime #3 begins

Well today I planted the first of the spring crops. It will be our third springtime here in Katoomba and I feel as each season passes I am learning more and more. My new favourite things are garden glass cloches. Not that I have any - but instead have used plastic drink bottles cut in half. I can only dream about owning my own vintage French glass cloche.

My garden beds have been prepared over the winter with compost from our bin, along with the odd sprinkle of manure. The soil looks great. It's been turned over a few times as well. I am experimenting with starting off my heritage seeds both indoors and in situ in the garden. I have read both work - so am keen to see what suits our soil/ lifestyle! I am also growing some lettuce seedlings indoors. So today I planted
INDOORS - toms, cucumber, beetroot (with lettuce already as seedlings, having been planted a few weeks ago.
OUTDOORS - tomes, lettuce, beans

I still have my corn, silverbeet and spinach to grow.

I have placed my recycled cloches over the areas of each planting (some with two or three seeds).

Will post some photos soon.

Insect Hotel

With snow only days ago, today I am in a T-Shirt. I had planned to begin my spring planting this weekend - but have resolved to start in a couple of weekends time. Just letting everything warm up a bit. I have planted some basic herbs in the herb garden however (this time with herbs we will use!) basil, oregano, parsley, thyme and lemongrass. Our lush herb garden, while bountiful wasn't used much and was pruned during winter to get ready for our 3rd spring here. Looking forward to renewing this area, now we have a better rhythm to the seasons (and to our cooking pleasure!).

But the big news around here today is that with the able assistance of A's 8 year old girl and 10 year old boy we built an Insect Hotel. [ You can view some stunning ones here ] An insect hotel is a place where all types of insects and critters can hang out and hibernate during winter and provide safe haven until emergence in next spring. Things like ladybugs, solitary bees, etc but even frogs if near a pond. (which ours kind of is). The insects will hopefully then ward of unwanted pests around the vege patch and help pollinate our plants (and fruit trees). You build it with a steady foundation, then adding recycled materials like old pipes, logs with different sized drill holes, straw and hay, things where things can hide basically! The only thing left to do for this one is to add some succulent plants to add some living matter.

Here it is!

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It snowed today....

It's so cold in Katoomba today it briefly snowed! With wind chill factor the Katoomba weather station is reading sub zero temperatures. Somehow I don't think I will be starting my Spring planting this weekend. Maybe next!

Banana Bread (take 2!)

With more overripe bananas lurking on our kitchen bench I dived in for my second attempt at Banana bread in as many weeks. Again using duck eggs this time I used a different recipe than previously - this one being far yummier than last weeks. The recipe is below (i think it has been adapted from the 'Joy of Cooking'). I baked in a loaf tin and did as the recipe suggested and placed sliced bananas on top.
Here is the result - (half eaten!)

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BANANA BREAD 
Adapted from Joy of Cooking

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish: (Optional)
A few slices of banana

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to around 180c (350f) . Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
   
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
   
3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
   
4. With a rubber spatula, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)
   
5. Scrape batter into prepared pan and place the slices of banana on top of the batter for garnish.
   
6. Bake until bread is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   
   Makes 1 – 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf of banana bread / banana cake.

The Lost Seed - my spring seeds have arrived

My first lot of spring seeds have arrived. I ordered them from The Lost Seed (www.thelostseed.com.au) which specialise in old heirloom and heritage varieties of seeds and seedlings. To start with:
CUCUMBER - BOSTON PICKLING - dates back to 1880
CORN - GOLDEN BANTAM - dates back to 1898 - American
TOMATO BUSH - NAPOLI PASTE - Italian heirloom
TOMATO BUSH - CHERRY MIX - mix of cherry type toms. (Cherry toms grow much better in The Blue Mountains.
BEETROOT - CHIOGGIA - Italian heirloom dates prior to 1840
BEAN RUNNER - SCARLET EMPEROR - Heiroom dating back to 1633.(in UK_) - and introduced into America in 1800s - and used by the native americans. Have a look at this beautiful old illustration of the scarlet emperor

From various for blog

This time last year (this weekend) I planted my spring crop. I will try and do the same this year - I will also be planting my corn (and more of it) a lot earlier than last year probably late September. Although it's not high yielding - it's just so wonderful picking fresh corn!