May in my garden

The autumn light is a delight for photography and I have been spending a bit more time in the garden again, since the weather has been so wonderfully cool and sunny. What happens is that, by the end of an afternoon in the garden, I have made all sorts of plans for what I will do the next day.

Then, the next day comes. I saunter out into the garden, grab my tools bag on the way and before I know it I have ditched yesterday’s wonderful plans and am launching into another, never-before-even-considered project. With gusto and enthusiasm I work away, searching out the bits and pieces needed, from every nook and cranny of my fabulous acre.

Today I took to the area under the oak tree. For 3 years I have tried to improve the soil and tried to grow various tough vegetables such as broad beans and then sunchokes. All have more or less failed to thrive. The soil remains dry, hard and barren, even after applications of compost and straw as well as constant summer watering. I wish I had a ‘before’ photo but it was never worthy of any photos and I did not expect today to bring such satisfaction that I would look back and wish for such a photo.

But one thing leads to another and it happened that the beautiful terracotta pots I brought from Adelaide a couple of years ago, which had been stacked in a corner until I had decided how to use them or sell them, were shifted yesterday, to make way for something else. As I came outside this morning they immediately caught my eye and thoughts swirled around until one took root. So obvious, in retrospect. Where the soil is hopeless, put pots.

In the back of my mind I have wanted to have somewhere in my vegetable garden to sit and look out over it…… a sunny, winter coffee corner….. out of the wind…. and it all gelled today, under the oak tree.

I removed everything that was there…. which wasn’t much…. wheelbarrowed in some poplar mulch and a few stepping stones (both from the tree I had removed last week)…. dotted the pots about…. installed a bench from elsewhere in the garden…. made a little table (also from the poplar) and I thought it looked quite nice…..

I went back to my proper Tuesday plan which was to dig up and transplant dozens of self-sown leeks…

Then, part way through that job, I had an urge to go back to the oak tree and use the seat for my coffee break….

Looking at those pretty pots was nice but they needed filling with plants….. hmmmm…. two parts of my brain collided as I remembered I had some seedlings ready to go, in my hot house.

 

So, I planted them all into the pots…. lovely winter things like coriander, chervil, garlic chives, bok choy, frilly mustard and shungiku.

Liz came around to collect her milk and I showed her, as I knew she’d love it too, but she was way more ecstatic than I even imagined. Isn’t it lovely when someone else sees things the way you do!

 

 

Leeks, from tiny bulbils in the soil	I dug up the clumps and washed all the soil off, trimmed the leaves and roots and separated them out…
… then wrapped the bundles in damp newspaper, ready to give away.	Tray of winter seedlings needing a home!

Buying Meat in Tasmania

I hesitate, with my fingers hovering above the keyboard, thinking how to launch into this post about meat. You see, meat is a very emotive topic, worldwide, these days. Animal welfare, human health, peak oil, river contamination, water usage etc etc etc etc, are all hot topics. There is not just one answer; there are complexities, often not realised and sometimes misunderstood, by people in different countries and even within countries.
In South Australia I ate only feral meat. There are a lot of non-native animals there, that have become established in the wild. They cause massive erosion, eat vegetation down to the bare, hot, dry, rocky soil and destroy food and habitat for wild animals. So, shooters were allowed licenses to hunt them. The animals included goats, deer, rabbits, pigs and even camel. When a shop started up selling this feral meat, shot on the hoof, I was probably their first customer and shopped there exclusively from then on. In doing so, I was saving the terribly fragile, semi-arid landscape (mostly of the Flinders Ranges and north) and the native animals that call it home.
Here, in rural, southern Tasmania there are wild rabbits and that’s about all. Neither of the butchers in Cygnet sell local or organic meat!!! So, a quandary existed for me when I moved here and I mostly ate locally shot wallaby because at least it was local and wasn’t from a an animal factory. Since then I have met some wonderful people who raise meat for eating and I am comfortable saying that for this part of Australia, where pasture, water and space are plentiful and the farms and abattoir close by, that this is how I now choose to eat meat. Let me introduce you….
Beef…


Gerard and Deb produce everything organically. Here, this means REAL organics and includes care of the land that is not farmed, as well as the land that is. You won’t find their cattle in feed lots; they live their lives entirely on the farm. These are REAL people, with a passion for excellent quality, organic food, whether it be meat or vegetables.

Gerard has sown his pastures with herbs and grasses and all things that keep his cattle healthy. When other farms in the area have short, dry grass, Nicholls Rivulet Organic Farm still has knee high, green pasture.
The rest of the world would die for meat like this at the prices that Gerard sells it for. You can contact him direct or find him at the Cygnet Market, 1st and 3rd Sundays.

Check them out on Facebook too.

Hogget, Mutton and Some Piglets
Next is man who raises a few animals, usually sheep and pigs, for his own meat and to sell to locals. His name is Bud and he was originally from Texas, about a million years ago.
We are incredibly lucky to have him in our community, offering us free range, ethically reared meat with old fashioned flavour. Slaughtered at the Cradoc Abattoir, only minutes from Bud’s home, these animals have had no stress. There they are hung for 1 – 2 weeks. Bud will provide you with any cuts you desire and his meat is available most of the year.
If you have only eaten shop bought lamb until now, you are in for a real treat. I eat Bud’s meat with my eyes closed, savouring the wonderful flavour and texture. Not just for the slow cooker, the loin chops grill beautifully too and you’ll get all the bones, for stock, as well as any offal.
Right now he also has a family of piglets for sale, the likes of which you probably won’t have seen before as they are striped. Ready to go straight away, to be further raised or eaten as suckling pig, don’t miss out!!
Give Bud a call any time on (03)6295 1580 or send him an email: driver.bud@gmail.com
The thing about Gerard and Bud is that they use the land they have in the old fashioned way; no over-grazing, no artificial feeding, no irrigation, no chemicals, just living off the land and sharing the proceeds.
I am so lucky to be able to call these farmers and their families, my friends. This is how life is meant to be.

The TV segment and my interview with Gavin

It was great to talk with Gavin from the Greening of Gavin. Gavin is a star of sustainability and has written various ebooks about cheese making, cob oven building  and all sorts of green and wonderful projects and ideas. He lives by his words and manages to have chooks, fruit trees and vegetables as well as an impressive solar power station on his tiny suburban block in Melton, Vic.

Here is the interview with Gavin, with all the stuff that they didn't show on the ABC Gardening Australia TV segment.

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.....and here is the Gardening Australia segment, which I was happy with but a little disappointed they didn't show at least a little bit of the deep and meaningful.

Vegetable Vagabond on TV

Do you remember Tino Carnevale and the Gardening Australia team came and filmed at my place back in October?

Well the screening is going to be this coming Sat. May 4th, 6.30pm, ABC1.

I am sooooo nervous! I wonder what they will have made of all those hours of footage they took. Will they make me look like a pathetic old woman who’s crazy about seeds or worse….. only show the fluffy, light bits and not the nitty gritty discussion we had about the demise of the earth’s biodiversity and hence humanity, if we don’t save seeds?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was pretty hard work and there were lots of instructions but soon I forgot I was wired for sound because Tino and I had so much in common…… I bet they don’t show all the food I fed them in my kitchen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if they will show some footage from on top of my hill, where you can see the whole of Cygnet….

 

One thing is for sure, my herb and vegetable gardens looked fantastic, thanks to all my great friends who rallied around, the weekend before, and tidied it all up for me… I wonder how I can get them to come back and do that again soon!!?

Daniele Mazet Delpeuch

I have just listened to an interview with this wonderful woman. Down to earth and hailing from her ancestors’ country home in the Perigord she still cooks on an open fire one day, with her grandmother's pots and pans, and in top kitchens the next. Always her food reflects the seasons, the markets and her love for excellent ingredients, cooked simply.

She spent 2 years cooking for the French President and another year cooking for scientists in Antarctica. She uses cooking as an avenue to adventure. There is now a movie about her, called Haute Cuisine. I can’t wait to see it but it could not be better than this interview with the real woman.

Do listen here; its a real treat. Thanks Theresa for the link.

Our Seeds - Seeds Blong Yu,mi

I can watch this hour long video over and over. It gives me such joy to see the joy it gives others, from near and far and even further, to be in charge of their seeds, the seeds of life and culture.

Sharon and Scott’s Garden

Our April SeedSaveUs get together was like being in a dream, where the setting and the food gardens combined to produce a paradise that a dozen or so avid gardeners drooled over and investigated, right down to the last worm.

It seems to me that this fruit and veg garden is powered not only by enthusiasm and knowledge but by alpaca poo too. How convenient that alpacas poo in neat piles so collecting it in a wheelbarrow, to make a new compost heap, is a breeze.

Sharon dyed some of the alpaca wool, using totally natural dyes made from  various native plants, after it had been spun and turned into skeins. These are for sale, so if you’d like her to send you some, leave a comment below and I will put you in touch.

 

Scott runs the compost zone and makes enough rich compost to feed the 800 sq. m. garden, plus he uses Steve Solomon’s recipe to make a COF mixture (complete, organic fertiliser) and the system is obviously working.

Sharon’s favourite tomato from the Botanic Gardens selection was Aunt Gertie’s Gold, an enormous and very flavoursome tomato which is still producing its bountiful crop.

As usual the table was laden with goodies brought and shared by the members, including magnificent cakes, a delicious garden veg frittata, fresh sourdough bread and olives, South African rusk (a kind of spiced biscuit, with a texture a bit like violet crumble), apples freshly juiced that morning, a beautiful quiche and more…..

We shared seeds, plants and produce, all of which I forgot to photograph in my excitement to look through them all and hear the stories about them!

A family new to Tasmania joined us today and I look forward to getting to know them better and helping them get started on their adventures in food growing.