A Quick Chat Over the Fence

The cumquat trees that grow in big containers on the side verandah are loaded with fruit. We're not in need of any more marmalade, chutney or sweet things so I put them in the farm gate shop.

For late Spring, we're doing well on beautiful weather that's not frying eggs on the side path. How about this? Perfect one day and beautiful the next.
Cool enough to have the kitchen wood stove alight and cooking up all sorts of useful delicious-ness.

Lamb shanks in red wine, tomatoes, fresh picked garlic, and herbs. With a few other flavorings thrown in for good measure, and into the wood oven to cook slowly for dinner.

I'm starting to prep the food for the Bee-keeping workshop this Sunday. The last for this year.
There's one dietary requirement request of non-dairy, so I made a batch of muesli biscuits. Coconut oil and honey are used instead of butter and sugar. Lots of healthy nuts and seeds in there too, perfect breakfast biscuits for when we leave the house in a hurry and need a snack mid morning.
I've made a list, and another list, ordered the bread rolls, and plan to do the other baking on Saturday.
  Sunday morning will be an early start, making up the lunch baguettes filled with various fillings, so I'm then free to participate in the workshop alongside Brian.

Well.... as the oven is hot, it would be silly not to use up some more of this delicious fresh garlic, with spuds, and cream that was past its use by date.

Why do I always feel so virtuous after I've made up a fresh batch of laundry detergent?
It took thirty minutes, three ingredients and an estimated cost of $2 in total to make. I use generous dollops in our washing so this will probably last a month.

I took a friend to an evening with William McInnes who was loosely (very loosely) talking about his latest book "Full Bore". Actually, I still don't know what the book is about, such is his way of story telling, goes off on tangents. (A bit like me) Oh well, I'm in good company then. ;)
What a hoot! He's a brilliantly funny story teller.
Yes, there we are, I'm on the other side of  lady wearing a green top.  ;)
My friend took a bottle of her home made tomato sauce to give him, as she announced in the car as we were driving there.
She was first in line when he sat down to sign books being purchased, she whipped out the sauce and presented it to him (with no intention of buying a  book that she couldn't afford). He was completely taken aback, grabbed a book from the top of the pile, signed it, and presented it to her.
What a lovely man, and what a thrilled friend.

 Outside activities are no fun with the pesky flies we get out here in the country. My best weapon, this old hat and veil.

The gaggle.

It must be exhausting doing the paddock rounds with me. 

The dinner is cooking, the cows are moved into a new fresh paddock, the eggs have been collected, weeds have been pulled and fed to the piggies...oh the pigs, you'll want to see a recent picture of them won't you??

 Laa la laaa!!

And for Sherri, from Making Haven here is our nettle that grows wild here in South Australia. The holy grail nettle, the nettle of many great things. See here for my post about nettles.

I do hope all is well within your world, as it is in mine. Thanks for visiting, see you again soon. :)

Nettles and Comfrey- Fertilizer

A part of our philosophy is to re-use and make do with what we have here on the property.
Making our own fertilizers is one of the most important things that we do here and are fortunate to have all of the ingredients for the best plant foods that we could ever want.
You will never see bags of manure placed outside our gate for sale. Oh no, the only manure that  leaves this property would be inside a living animal.
But for the home gardener, without cows, horses or chooks, the bags of manure on the side of the road are a necessary purchase to boost your compost heap.

The manure that the cows drop out in the paddocks is quickly broken down by dung beetles which is another advantage of not using chemicals or wormers. The manure that I collect for composting is from around the hay rack.
Any animal manure (cow, chicken, horse, pigeon) can be put into a pile with chopped up garden cuttings, leaves, kitchen scraps, shredded newspaper, lawn clippings etc to make a better compost than money could buy.

 You don't need fancy compost bins; a few pieces of corrugated iron or old pallets, open at the front will do.

  Or a round of wire netting to hold all of the ingredients together is just as good. The pile needs to be at least a metre wide to allow the heat to develop, a bit of moisture to get the action started, a bit of a turn with a fork occasionally  helps it to break down evenly and faster, but is not absolutely essential.
It's always a good idea to add a bit of your compost from a previous batch to the new pile. You can either  spread in a handful as you build up your layers, or poke a few holes into your existing pile and throw some in. There are compost starter preps available to purchase from Bio-dynamics Association of Australia if you really want to get things going cosmically, but the inoculation -just like making yogurt ;-) - works for me.

 Regular additions from your wee bucket is another way of boosting the nutrition level of your compost.
You don't have a wee bucket??
Have you got a semi private area in your back yard? There you can place your wee bucket with a piece of old fabric for a "wee wipe".  Dilute the wee by filling the bucket with water every day before tipping onto the compost heap or pour onto the soil around your plants and fruit trees.
Don't do this if you are taking pharmaceutical medications or anti-biotics though.
Replace your wee wipe daily, popping the used one in the washing cycle, and hang on the line to dry with your washing.

 Liquid compost and weed tea ferments are another wonderful way to feed your garden. You will need a bucket with a loose fitting lid or a bigger barrel with something to cover it, depending on the size of your garden. It's a good idea to have two compost heaps and two liquid compost barrels, so that you can use one for your garden or pots while the other is in it's breaking down or fermenting stage.

 Comfrey leaves are an essential ingredient in both my compost heaps and in my liquid compost tea.

And nettles!! Spring time is when I harvest the nettles growing wild around the garden, for making my brews.
Into this brew I added some chicken manure from the hen's shed, to nettles and comfrey, filled the barrel with rain water and put the lid on. I give it a stir with a long stick every day or whenever I think of it, and it will be ready to use in a month or two.
When it's ready to use, first give it a quick stir, then bucket out a small amount into a watering can, approximately to the ratio of making a glass of cordial, or slightly less. It's quite strong, so always use less rather than too much.
*Brian also uses these brews in his soil activator, adding bio-dynamics (prep500 and 501) to the mix before the stirring phase in the Flow Form but for the small gardener, hand stirring in a barrel is just as effective. This is spread out over our paddocks using the quad bike with a spray system attached, but for our gardens we use a spray pump or a watering can.*
Use the fermented tea brews as a weak mixture in pot plants, around fruit trees, vegetables, flowering plants and vines.
This is also good as a foliage feed, but  I would suggest using a weaker dilution, and don't foliar feed on a day above 23C degrees as the leaves could burn.
If you don't have the biodynamic preps or the stirrers, I'm certain that you would still get very good results from using the brewed liquid compost teas.
I've been foliar feeding the fruit trees that had been attacked by earwigs as the new leaves were forming and I can't believe the difference. New leaves have formed to the point where no earwig damage is evident at all.
Shane Joyce's words are ringing in my ears, "Manage for what you want, not for what you don't want."  Well if ever there is an example of just how that approach does work, this is it.
By building up the strength of the plant, it enables it (the plant) to withstand the attacks of predators.  In previous years I've focused on getting rid of the earwigs and have used up a lot of my energy in doing so, but this is working for me now and I have energy to use in other areas.
Sometimes we need to think outside the square.

To Market To Market

We run a tight ship here, managing our stock numbers according to the seasons and the acreage available.
Recently, another two blocks of grazing land amounting to roughly thirty acres, was offered to us for our use. This is an offer too good to pass up, so we had to go to market to buy more sheep.
The temperature was in the low thirties, the first warm day for us this season, and the flies were out in force. I looked like I was at a funeral with my fly net, but I didn't want to buy a pen of sheep unwittingly with any vigorous fly swatting gestures. :)
Prices are still high, so we picked out a few pens of possibilities, using the plan A, plan B, plan C method.
Plan A was a pen of twenty crossbreed lambs, mostly ewes, which we planned to bid up to $100 each. As the wool clip is not worth much for crossbreeds, we need to have ewes for the view of breeding some lambs to get a return on our investment. The few wethers (castrated males) in the lot, would be grown on and sold at a profit before they became classed as Hogget at one year old.
All of our other ewes at home are Merinos, for the high priced wool clip, plus the lamb they breed each year. We prefer to buy Merinos, but we knew we had to take what was on offer at this market. The grass in the new blocks is high and needs immediate grazing.
If plan A was successful, we didn't need to action plans B or C.

Brian started the bidding at $80 and we got them for $95 each plus GST. They need shearing, and that put many bidders off, as shearers are hard to find lately.  Brian shears our sheep very capably, as he went along to a TAFE course ten years ago, so here's another advantage to being self reliant.
So they will all be shorn this week, a few each evening after work, before being loaded onto the trailer and taken to the one of the new blocks.
As they are this year's lambs, they will grow on for another year before we put them with a ram, and will expect lambs from them in May-June 2018.

This is what our home block looks likes right now.  A little greener than is usual at this time of year due to a wet winter and spring, with occasional showers almost weekly.
The twenty nine large round hay bales have all been brought into the hay storage yard, each one sitting on a plastic pallet to keep the bottoms off the ground and dry.
The regrowth in the hay paddocks is still pushing, so the cows have been allowed access to the delicious new fresh shoots. Our block goes all the way up to the top of the hill.
In the middle of the picture are most of our bee hives on trailers, for ease of moving. As soon as the Salvation Jane in our neighbor's paddock finishes flowering, we will move them to another location to make use of the Red Gum flowers.
We're holding another bee-keeping workshop next weekend and the students will be checking and performing maintenance on the hives under Brian's guidance.
There's never a dull moment around here, the weekend has been full, just the way we like it.
Cheers, X

Tough Love and the Colour Crimson

There's an old Geranium that I've been growing in every garden I've owned in the past sixteen years since settling back here in the Barossa Valley. I took a few cuttings from a very old garden before the old lady's house was demolished, and the rest is history. They bring me joy every day.

 

What great value it is in our hot dry climate with freezing frosty winters. It survives the dry summers with very little water, and withstands the fierce frosts to regain its vibrancy come spring. It's crimson colour is guaranteed to cheer the weariest soul, and alongside the daisy and lavender bushes, creates a welcoming cottage garden.

 Still pumped with motivation and enthusiasm from our intensive Bio-dynamics days last week, and before the weather gets too hot, I'm getting a few little gardening jobs done.
This poor little Washington Navel orange tree has been poorly for all of its life of approximately six years. We've moved it twice and it appeared to be growing strongly in this final resting place, but recently it's lost some leaves and put on lots of flowers in an attempt to save its own life by producing lots of fruit.
Tough love was the order of the day. It was so difficult to do it, but it had to be done.

All of the flowers had to be pulled off. The tree needs to put its energy into growing itself, rather than putting energy into growing fruit.

The hens were allowed to scratch and eat the earwigs for only a few minutes because I didn't want them to disturb the citrus tree's shallow roots.
Then the soil and foliage got a good soaking with bio-dynamic soil activator diluted in water before mulching with a thick layer of rotting pea straw.
As the tree is in one of the yards that the hens can access, the mulch needs to be covered so they don't  immediately scratch it out again.

A few flat rocks does the job perfectly. Now let's wait and see if this little tree starts to put on some healthy growth.
I need to feed the foliage and the soil every week with nettle tea and liquid manure and in true bio-dyamic spirit, I also need to put my good intent into it.
One of the great affirmations spoken by Shane Joyce last week was this simple message that, I think, applies not only to gardening, farming and animal care, but for life in general.
"Manage for the outcome that you want...not for what you don't want."

Blessings to you dear reader.
X :) 

Where to Begin?

Hello dear reader. I have so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin, so this will be a pictorial "slide show" so we can catch up.
Our main focus for this month of November was centered around the Bio-dynamics Field Day that we hosted last Sunday.
As we've been hosting events regularly over the past few months, the farm and garden were pretty much up to scratch, so no real need to spend a lot of extra energy, apart from the regular tasks of grass mowing and maintenance. I need to maintain a certain level of tidiness (control) at all times for my sense of calm and well-being, so I'm always happy to share our surroundings with whoever walks in at any time.
However, the house internal did require some spring cleaning to accommodate two bedrooms for speakers John Hodgkinson from BAA Headquarters in Bellingen NSW,  Shane Joyce and Po Mei from  Queensland who were our house guests for a few nights. I felt like I was vacuuming three years of dust from under the bed in one of the spare rooms/store room, which magically became a very comfy bedroom without any clutter at all. Don't look in the cellar though!
Food preparation was another issue, as our guests were all vegetarians, so the lamb we slaughtered in their honor, looked like remaining in the freezer.  I prepped things like pastry cases, that I froze ahead of time to quickly whip up quiches, and made spinach and feta pasties from the garden and home made cheese, vege dishes and fresh salads. I wanted to spend as much time with our guests, and not get stuck in the kitchen.

When they saw our farm and learned about our ethics for growing animals for food and preparing our meat in a stress free environment, these vegetarians happily decided to eat our meat. I fully understand where they were coming from, as I would also be a vegetarian for ethical reasons if we couldn't grow our own meat. So a huge leg of lamb was enjoyed, as was breakfast of nitrate free bacon with home grown eggs, on fresh baked sourdough.

 They had other Field Days around South Australia to present over the week, so it was business as usual for Brian and I during the days.

 Our piglets were ready for collection at weaning time last Saturday. 

 Three perfect little Landrace / Large White cross breeds from Peggy and John's free range piggery at Saddleworth.

And while we were in the vicinity, we drove a few minutes further up the road to Auburn to collect Mulga Bill from his three month working holiday at Mick and Krystal's beautiful property. It's clearly evident they have looked after him well,  he's looking so healthy and his attitude was relaxed at loading time and when he returned home to his own territory.  Fingers crossed they get lots of top quality calves from their cows, so they will want him back again next year. These are the kind of people who share our thoughts on animal treatment, so we want to remain in touch with them.

Our farm Field Day was on Sunday, and being such an intense and busy day with crowds of people beyond our expectations (38plus), I only got a chance to snap one photo. Po Mei snapped lots of pictures, so I'll post some when she sends them.
What an incredible experience to be surrounded by so many interested people, at our farm, with these two gurus of Bio-dynamics.

Monday morning came around all too fast ad it was time to bid them farewell. This is what I wrote  on Jembella Farm Facebook page about how I was feeling in the hours after they drove away to catch their planes.
"Returning to a normal day on the farm this morning as our most wonderful house guests have departed. Feeling tired from late nights, not wanting to miss a precious moment in their company, but feeling re-energised by their presence. Precious relationships have been formed, there were tears with our goodbyes, but we will meet again."

Love, light and peace. :-) XX
 

Tall Poppies

I'm really lucky to have a paid job that I share with another woman of my vintage. At our age, neither of us has many demanding commitments like children's needs, so we are able to swap our days around and fill in for each other when we need time off.  I generally work two days and she works three days, but our boss is just happy that we get our work done and that one of us turns up for work every day.
We are Courier drivers for a large winery. Our daily tasks include collecting the mail from the Post Office, sorting and delivering mail and packages to various departments, buying the newspapers, taking wine samples or delivering wine to various wineries and restaurants around the Barossa.
We take the banking to the bank, organize the posting of the mail, do the shopping, collect the lunch platters from local restaurants for small catering or work gatherings.... and so many more odd bits and pieces make our days fly past.
It's a dream job, and the folks that I come in contact with are mostly lovely people.
However, my community of like minded people are here in the screen of my laptop.
This is where I talk to people who have similar interests and life values to mine. These are the people who have left the consumer lifestyle and are living lives to suit ourselves and our unique circumstances.
These are the folks who constantly inspire me, and who understand my slightly quirky take on life. They are not proudful or showy people who need to brag about their possessions, or who they are related to, or drop names.
Most of them  have no clue what the celebs are doing or indeed, who the celebs are.
They would understand that my hands, although stained from chopping beetroot or pulling weeds, are actually scrubbed and very clean.
These are my community and I thank them all for being there, for sustaining me and oftentimes, remind me of where I belong in this crazy world.
One of my favorites is Rhonda at Down to Earth and this post is a ripper.
Most of you will be very much aware of Rhonda, and oh my goodness, how grateful we are to have the gift of her wise words.
In this world of Tall Poppies, where so many folks love to criticize or tear down anyone who is cleverer, or prettier, or more popular, or who's bum is smaller, here's a public shout out for one who is genuinely worthy of praise.
You won't see her on a red carpet anywhere, with paparazzi vying for her photo, but you will find her contentedly pottering in her garden, or cooking food from scratch in her simple but practical kitchen, welcoming her family with love, caring for herself and her husband with a pleasure that she writes about so eloquently.

Thank you Rhonda for giving me the gift of realizing that the life I choose to live, and the values that I have, are really not all that unusual. That there are others like me, and that we have a platform to share our thoughts.
Not such a funny fish after all. :)

Our Weekend

We get lots of calls from folks who have a swarm of bees in their garden, and these are easy to collect and relocate into one of our boxes.
There are also lots of calls from people who have bees that have made their way into a cavity in the wall of their home or shed, or have made a home in the chimney. These bees are very difficult, if not impossible to remove, unless we take the chimney or wall apart, and we don't attempt that.
Last week, Brian made a gadget that would enable us to suction the bees from some of those inaccessible places, into a box.
You can see the box that is positioned so the bees are suctioned into it rather than into the vacuum cleaner bag. The box has a plate of mesh at the vacuum cleaner end, and it's a very gentle way of removing the bees.
Last Friday after work we got to try it out, and all of the bees survived.

Saturday was our first day with temperatures in the high twenties, so we visited all of the rented hives across the Barossa.
Here's Dan, recovering from a knee replacement, unable to put boots on, but still keen to get suited up.   No he didn't get stung!

Sheralee and her daughter Callie share a passion for learning all they can during this year of renting a hive. It's great to spend time with such enthusiastic beginner apiarists.
This hive is doing much better than all of the others in different areas. Surrounded by farmland, some weedy paddocks, and lots of flowering trees, the bees are getting plenty of pollen and nectar.
We plan to extract honey from this one in another week or two, if we get enough warm days.

A beautiful old butler's sink has been in the chicken yard as a water container for years. What a waste! So, I hatched a plan, and together we decided where it would look best and be most practical for the use I had in mind.
It was a big job that took up most of Sunday. Brian sourced some old pieces of Jarrah timber, that he made into a bench that attached onto the side of the deck. Then he found an old tap that he plumbed into the timber above the sink.
It's the perfect place to wash and trim the freshly picked vegetables before taking them into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I made this loaf and I can't tell you the sense of achievement this simple loaf has brought me.
How many years have I been struggling to make the perfect sourdough?  Five, six years?
Look at those holes. Oh the texture is perfect and the taste is even better.... with lashings of home made butter.
Thanks to Celia and her wonderful blog  Fig Jam and Lime Cordial I attempted this higher hydration loaf, following it word for word, measuring exactly.
I halved the recipe though because if it was going to fail I didn't want to waste so much ingredient.
I had been baking this loaf following Celia's blog for the past year, but it was time to graduate, and Oh wow, it's a winner.
If you are struggling with your sourdough, go over and have a look, but allow yourself plenty of time because you won't want to leave. Her blog is packed full of the most amazing recipes with wonderful tutorials to help you achieve the perfect result every time.
That was our weekend, how was yours?