Summer

Wow, it seems Tassie has become the tropics! We have had lots of unusually hot, still weather and some great storms this year. I'm hoping this means that we have a good season for things that are normally fickle in Tassie - tomatoes, capsicums, corn, etc. Since I've been so slack with this blog, I'll have to compartmentalise this post...

Garden:
We had 3 apricots from our tree this year, the first ones to survive to adulthood! They were gorgeous, so I'm hoping for more next year. We got lots of blackcurants and I made the best jelly with them, using the super duper machine to get rid of the pips and skins. I also used less sugar so you could really taste the fruit. I also discovered rhubarb and strawberry jam this year and if I didn't have over 20 jars of jam left over from last year (oops) I would make more this season!
I am successfully growing rhubarb for the first time ever. It is MASSIVE and has taken over its entire corner of the world, obliterating all the other plants there. I will forgive it when I can start harvesting rhubarb - apparently you're not supposed to in the first year. Our blueberries were smothered by broad bean plants I stupidly placed in the blueberry section, so we didn't get as many as I hoped. Lesson learned!!! We also had a few raspberries, and they were so fresh and perfect, I'll plant more of them for next year too.

As for the vegies, I impulse bought 3 punnets of onions over winter and they took up so much room we couldn't plant much this summer. I still have a lot to learn with planning and planting what we need - not too much of one thing. I only had a few peas and corn (our favourites) as a result, and the onions went to seed which means there was a lot of stem and not much actual onion, so again I learnt my lesson.
I found an amazing companion plant - calendula. They're pretty flowers and don't take up much room (they grow up, not out) and I've picked some for inside and found the stems absolutely covered in bugs - little flies, aphids, whatever, and they're all dead! The stems are sticky and I think the bugs are attracted to the flowers, then get stuck and that's it. I've planted the flowers in the tomato bed and they're a sort of living sticky fly paper which is great.
I'm experimenting with borlotti beans this year, I use dried beans a lot, although when reading about how to dry them I've discovered that using them fresh is much easier and tastier. I haven't tried any yet, need some spare time.
We got a zillion potatoes this year after planting more than 3 times what we could realistically eat. We've given more than half away and eat potatoes every day, and we still have a third of them to dig up! We've experimented with freezing home-made gnocchi and were successful, so we can stock pile one day when we have time and use up some more. The up-side is that I found Nicola potatoes are much more prolific in our garden than pinkeyes and they are also very tasty and versatile - I'll stick to them next year. The pinkeyes are nice too, of course, and we are yet to taste our King Edwards.

The 'baby'
Well the baby is now two and a half, and really more of a child than a toddler now. He was obsessed with picking broad beans for a few weeks and was very disappointed when they finished. I personally don't like broad beans but will keep growing them for his sake. It kept him entertained for hours, trying to get them off the bush (which is twice his size) then bringing the pod to me to split open, then he'd get the beans out, comment on their size, and either eat them or put them in a container. They finished about a month ago and he still asks for them. He's also really getting into camping and the beach this year, which is fun. He potters with buckets and toy trucks and loads and unloads them for ages. He still has no interest in cooking, but loves food so there's hope.

The chickens
Our chickens have been broody on and off (mainly on) since September. At the moment, all 3 of them are broody, so they sit around all day, barely touch the kitchen scraps and certianly don't lay any eggs. I've tried everything and am told that it should have worked, but they're very determined! I've decided to buy more chickens. White leghorns are apparently good layers and tend not to go broody, so I'm waiting on 3 of them to come of age. If that stirs up our chickens then great, and if it doesn't, ours will get the chop! I love Australorps, for a few months they were very good layers and they're docile and beautiful birds, but I'm very frustrated with the lack of eggs so I wouldn't get them again.

We have lost our next door neighbours who were very experienced with gardening, cooking and keeping chooks. They have moved to the next suburb so not lost and gone forever, but it was handy having them around. Fortunately, they have been replaced - on the other side - by new neighbours who also have children, chickens, and are making a start on a fantastic vegie patch, so it looks like we'll still have someone to share ideas with!

I'm off to buy tomatoes now, we found some very cheap ones and have a year's worth of tomato sauce, relish and pasta sauce to make - I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but it's soooo yummy.

Happy living everyone, and if you need potatoes, you know where to come.
xx