What new on Haven Farm

As I take my seat at the rear of the plane, heading back to Brisbane I plan, plot and anticipate all of the new arrivals and establishments on Haven Farm since Christmas.

We have seen dramatic growth in our permaculture patch, the introduction of two new bee hives, a season of growth in the vegie patch, and the prospect of collecting a Dexter cow and her calf later in the week. Exciting times!!

When I reflect over the past few months and look at what I have enjoyed the most I would have to say gathering food from the garden or through the drop offs by generous neighbours and friends. Heading down to the patch after work, before dinner, picking and planning meals around each discovery has been an absolute joy. I have loved sourcing recipes to make the best use of our products. From a hoard of corn, abundance of cucumbers and zucchinis to two generous bags of mangos - fun times. Doesn't food you produce yourself taste expediently better than store bought?

 

I cubed and froze majority of the mangos which make the base of daily smoothies, tried my hand at mango salsa (delicious!) and a fabulous mango chutney (thanks to the guiding hand of a fabulous Australian book called Practical Self Sufficiency (Dick and James Strawbridge). I have never made chutney before and found the process almost therapeutic.

Another unexpected treasure has been a love of sharing discovered recipes, accompanied by at least one key ingredient, with my friends and family and the redistribution of produce. In a short period of time we have shared glut from our garden and been recipients of many herbs, plant cuttings, recipes and fruit in return. The sense of community 'ripe' (pardon the pun') at Haven.

Other recipes which have graced the table have included zucchini and corn fritters, zucchini chips, silverbeet with pine nuts and garlic, tzatziki along with using baby bok choy and zucchini flowers in a salad to accompanying Jamie Oliver's lamb burgers cooked on the weber BBQ. It has prompted many a dish to be served outdoors with garden inspired table decor - the flow on effect permeating much of our daily routines.

I anticipate with great excitement trialing my cheese making kit (a wonderful Christmas gift from my family) with fresh milk from the newest editions to Haven and harvesting delectable honey from our hives.

Stay tuned.

The vegie garden...update

The first seeds we planted in October into our permaculture vegie garden were corn and beans. We were so excited to see these little guys spring forth from the ground shortly after. Our first crops.

We were then fortunate in the weeks to follow to be blessed with sufficient rain and warm steamy days. All favourable conditions for a quick growth spurt.

I can not believe how much they have grown. I can almost taste them...

Coming to fruition ... the vegie garden

I mentioned in my previous post that our vegie garden had been a long time in the making. Well in recent weeks it has been coming together in leaps and bounds. Thanks in most part to my husband and his determination to get our first crops planted.

Our property sees a multitude of visitors, from little bandicoots, native quails, wild hares and livestock from neighbouring farms who clearly see our paddock as being the greener pastures. A couple of weeks’ back I arrived home to find 4 steers munching happily on our grass. It was an amusing sight until one snapped off the branch of a soon to be fruiting mango. They were quickly herded back through the fence. Mind you I took the organic matter they left behind as a form of compensation and promptly shovelled it into the compost.  

So fencing around the vegie patch had to be a priority. To limit some of the back breaking work required to dig the 10 post holes needed to fence our large vegie area, we decided to hire a post hole digger. It took a few hours to dig the holes which included a few extras (a few meaning 25) around the property where we are planning to create wind breaks and a small water tank stand (more on that to come).

I wanted an old style ‘post’ fence to surround the garden and we had been looking at our options. A neighbouring farm had split posts for sale for $10 each. But I had my mind on something a little more well- worn. We checked with our local recycle centre and managed to uncover very old hardwood posts that were approximately 5.2m long. The guys at the centre cut them up for us into 1.5m lengths. In the end we had 12 posts plus 4 smaller offcuts which would make the basis for the water tank stand. In total the posts cost us $70 which was a saving of at least $50 if we had gone with the first option. I love a bargain.

 

We had already created a timber gate using old fence palings which we used to separate an area behind the shed. It was always left open so we decided to repurpose it and I think it fits in beautifully.

I had to chuckle though when my son kept taking the time to open and close the gate as he was coming and going. Despite the fact that we hadn’t put up the chicken wire towards the right of the gate and he could freely walk in when he chose. I took it as a quality assurance measure - him testing the gate’s durability.

So with the fencing near complete and housing a sturdy gate, the next step will be to:

·         build up the garden beds with organic matter;

·         plant out the first crops; and

·         lay the saw dust paths around the garden beds.

What are your gardening plans this weekend?

Vegie garden with a chicken dome

After longer planning than I care to admit we have started on a permaculture vegie garden. Inspired by Linda Woodrow author of the book The Permaculture Home Garden we have identified a suitable plot of land which seems to have good drainage, a north-easterly facing aspect and will be in close proximity to the new house when built. So we set about plotting and planning our 7 circle garden. We had decided on a single mandala system.

The theory behind the circle style garden is having the opportunity to place the moveable ‘chicken dome’ over the garden beds. Initially the chickens will scratch and clear the beds of any grass and weeds and also supply a thick layer of organic matter to fertilise the plants. Later, once the beds have been established the chickens can eat the remaining glut and those plants gone to seed, devour any chicken fodder planted and start the process again.

Wanting to re-use and recycle as much as we could, we fashioned the base of the chicken dome out of an old trampoline base. We had quickly learnt after moving the trampoline onto the property, to secure objects firmly to the ground during the windy season. This happened after arriving one weekend to find the old trampoline a twisted mess of its former self lodged squarely in the creek some 100 metres away. Using electrical conduit, shade cloth, a tarp, chicken wire and timber batons we were able to create a sturdy and extremely functional dome. One which could be moved around by one person.

The roost was secured from the roof. This design provides the chickens a level of safety from predators as does the double layering of chicken wire around the base. Linda Woodrow recommends using an old grass catcher from a lawn-mower as the laying box and to date it has worked a treat.

        

At the moment the girls (chickens) are rotated around the property in the chicken dome and free range during the afternoons and weekends. Their food sources are kitchen scraps, layer mash and whatever they can scratch out. I am looking forward to reducing the layer mash with our own vegie glut and purposely grown chicken fodder.

I can hardly contain my excitement about the prospect of selecting and picking our own produce.