Grow your own!

As the years have gone by, we became increasingly aware of how additives and pesticides have an impact on our bodies, and have an increasing desire be in more control over what we put into the bodies or our children and ourselves.

So how do we prevent this? Well the answer is to buy certified organic, (unless you know the grower and then just organic is fine) and making as much of your own food as possible that includes baked goods, bread, canned foods etc.

For many on a low income or those with many mouths to feed, buying everything organic is not always an option. So being the warrior that I am, I started to think about ways that we can do the best we can with what we have and said,

“right we can’t buy it, but I have dirt, I have hands, and the ability to learn!”, “I can grow my own!”

So that’s our goal!

Last year was the first time we had a real veggie garden. We had dabbled a few times in the past, but this year we where making a real effort to see what we can do. Like any new and old gardener we had some successes and some failures. We had great Tomatoes, I rarely brought tomatoes from the store last year, and the ones I did, where not great, so gave up on that idea. Which was better for our health anyway. Carrots on the other hand where over taken with weeds and we ended up loosing most of them. One of the things I love about gardening is that everything is a learning experience,

“If something doesn’t go well this year, it’s a lesson for next year.”

The other things that is really great is the ability to put food in front of my family to eat and know that I am giving them the best that I can. It makes me want to honour the work and effort that was put into growing that food, so when it comes to the kitchen I don’t want to waste it. Everything get used or it goes into the compost to make more soil and nutritional compost for the garden, ready for next year.

So my goal is a long range goal.

I’m not silly enough to think that I can do it all in the first year.

I aim to grow as much of our family food supply as we can, and each year adding more and more. SO in saying that, we live in a suburban rental property, we are lucky enough to have a veggie garden, and fruit trees now. However when we first started this journey our land lord was letting us have a veggie patch which is about all up 8×8 metres maybe more here and there. But that garden bed was not the only thing we are using to grow food. I tried to use up every available space.  We grew Zucchini plants in the flower beds, worked well and you don’t have to have many plants to get a good crop. This years goal for us to work on using the available space effectively.

If you are a renter and you think “Oh I would like to grow my own but I don’t know how long we will be at this house”, and don’t want to invest in making a garden only to leave it behind. You are not along. I started my gardening journey with container gardening, and to this day I still find some of my crops grow better in containers like Lettuce.

For many years I have grown several different variety’s of lettuce in containers on my balcony. Cut and come again lettuces variety’s and spinach work great. When you look at the money you can save by just growing your families need for leafy greens, it is well worth you time to at least think about.

We have also started many of dwarf fruit trees in containers, and have several crops from them before having the opportunity to plant them in the ground.

Now I realise that we will never be able to have everything, we can’t grow our own meat, (yet! I have my think cap on about that one) but we can’t grow wheat, or enough to feed us anyway, currently we don’t have a goat to milk, BUT we have chickens for eggs. But what I am finding is that the more of our fruit and vegy that we can grow, save us money that we can then spend of good quality foods,  grass fed meat, and other staples in our diet. It’s one step at a time.

Go Organic!

~ Christina Mathewson

Pumpkins

We are growing Pumpkins at the moment. We have several different types small ones, big ones and some in between. I'm hoping we get lots because pumpkins are one of veggies that sort well, most of the time. However in hoping that we get lots, I actually don't have that many uses for them. My family are not real fans of Baked Pumpkin, they will eat some pumpkin soup. Although there is a limit to how much pumpkin soup you can eat. I have recently discovered pumpkin and Feta Risotto which I love. I also enjoy a roast pumpkin salad. So I'm on a mission to find pumpkin recipes that my family will enjoy. I don't want it to be a vegetable that my just endures but one they actually enjoy and ask for. So I would love to hear your favorite recipes.

Thanks Christina

Busy Mum.

In keeping with my last blog about eating your own harvest, I thought today would be a great day to do a few things in the garden. SO with the helps of some of my children I have added a corn field to the garden. We LOVE corn in our house and while we have some already growing in the garden, we have never had enough. So I went a head and put 2 metre square patch of the them in. Oh I can't wait to be harvesting those!

I can't speak for you, but in our yard there always seems to be lots of little or big jobs that need doing and may have been on the list of jobs for a while. One of those jobs was creating a new garden bed around the side of the balcony. So I can now half check that one off my list. The job is half done, but it's an exciting half. What is done is now planted with about 100 mixed lettuce seeds. Hopefully most of them will take and turn into plants for us.

Oh the excitement of the expectation of what might come.

Eating your own Harvest!

One of my families main goals for 2012 is try to grow 50% of our the organic food we eat. There really is nothing like serving a meal to your family when you know that you all had a part in putting that food on the plate.

Now 50% for a family of 8 is a lot of produce and we are not fully expecting to be able to do that right away, maybe not even this year, but we are working towards that goal. There are things that we will never be able to produce like rice, wheat, or of course things that don't grow in our climate. In saying that our goal is the try and change our eating habits, so we eat less of what we can't grow and more of what we can grow, when we can grow it.

We are starting a new habit in our house at the moment, were the children, my husband or myself, take a bowl, bucket, basket into the yard in the morning and see what is growing and ready to pick. Then we take it inside and start to plan what we can make for the days meals. The children are loving it, as am I. Today for example we found that our chickens had laid 16 eggs! (We have twenty chickens). Which was Great! So the children and I started planning what can we make with those eggs. My children always want boiled eggs, but I managed to convince them to try something else. We were given a leg of ham for Christmas, so decided to make a double recipe quiche with ham and other veggies that we found growing in the garden, such as silver beet, onions, purple dragon carrots, and add some corn from the freezer.

Then they found some butter beans and I had broccoli in the freezer, so we make and butter bean and broccoli salad, which is always a favourite in our house. It went down a treat! Everyone was satisfied and so were our spirits knowing that most of that food was grown or given to us. What a feeling!

Now not everyday can be like this. Tomorrow there will be no butter beans because they were all picked today, but there will be beetroots, and the tomatoes are starting to grow and even a few are ripening, the corn is growing so fast, and soon we will be eating that.

Also with all this harvesting go on, we must remember to aim for planting at least one thing a day, so that in months to come there will be other things in the garden ready to harvest.

What an exciting journey we are on. I totally love that idea of getting more and more away from the supermarket. If only I didn't need to buy toilet paper. Oh well, maybe if I order that online and get it delivered I can skip that stop on shopping day.

Happy Gardening, and I would love to hear your food or gardening goals.

Tomatoes!

Well this year in our Garden we are doing Tomatoes Galore! We have over twenty different variety's to try. So we are preparing our soil, and have started some of our seeds in the green houses. Must admit that I am most excited to see the heaps of them have popped there heads out of the soil to say Hello!

The children Love watching seedlings grow, as do I! It makes eating the end product so much more rewarding. Putting that food on the table and knowing that I am giving my family the best that I can. Also knowing how packed with flavour and goodness, makes me smile inside and out.

The blossoms are starting on the trees to show that winter is nearly over, and there is work to be done. Our garden walls still need finishing and bed's need organising, where are we going go to grow all this food?, and how? is the questions that we are working out now. Our aim is to grow as much of our own food as we can. So the Raspberry canes are in and starting to sprout, Strawberry are settling in to their new home near the front gate. Blueberries, pineapple Guava, Mulberry tree, Apple trees, Pear, Peach, Lemon, Lime, if only we have apricots....are still a few years away from reaping the fruits of those harvests. So looking forward to it!

How are things working out at your place?

Have you started your seeds or still waiting for a few more weeks?

Spring is nearly here and I can't wait!

Happy Growing!

What we are ordering from Digger's This Winter.

This year is hopefully going to a a big/Good year in our garden so here is a list of some of things that we are hoping to grow in our Garden. All available to use in Tasmania from the Diggers Club.


Pumpkin Heirloom Mix.
Pumpkin Anna Swartz
Butter Nut Pumpkin

Pennsylvania Dutch Crook neck

Fat Bastard Asparagus

Artichoke

3 colour Bean Mix
-Blue Lake
- Rattle Snake
-Purple King

Cooks Dried Bean Mix
-Red Kidney
- Cherokee Wax
- Borlotti
- Red Yin Yang
- French Flagolot

Romanesco Broccoli
Waltham Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts Ruby

Carrot Heirloom mix
-Red, white,Purple, and yellow Carrots.

Corn
-Honey and Cream, F1
White Corn F1

Cumcubers
-Lemon
-Spacemaster
-Japanese Climbing

Tuscan Kale

Lettuce and Leaf Vegies
- Australian Yellow Leaf
- Mesclum mix
- Crispmint
- Great Lakes
- Edive Natacha

Rock melons
- Ananas
- French Charentais

Water Melon
- Black mountain
- Sweet Siberia
- Golden Midget

Green Feast Peas

Five Colour Mix Beets.
Bloomsdale Spinach
Red Malabar Spinach

Black Krim Tomato
Black Russian Tomato
Riesentraube Tomato

Zucchini Three colour Mix
Zucchini Tromboncino

So this is just the Beginning. We still need to decide on All the Tomato Varieties, Capsicum varieties, Eggplant varieties, and a few other bits and pieces for this years garden that we can't get from Diggers. Which is where Lost seeds comes into it. Can't wait to get started.

Potatoes

The Food Stable of the Table

Two more months of winter to go... I'm itching to getting the garden ready for this years harvest! Last week we received our Diggers club seed Catalogue. Which got me thinking about what we want to grow in the coming season. Last year, we were a bit slow getting started and some of the seeds that we purchased arrived mid spring and didn't seed until summer, buy which time it was a little late to get a big harvest for our tomatoes and Caps, and eggplants, they really need the whole spring and summer for produce a good harvest. So having learnt my lesson from last year, I want to be on the ball this year.

So while flicking through the Catalogue I can across potatoes. For us it's a staple at our family table, not every night but at least once a week, and can be used in so many ways, mashed (of course), Baked, soups, Quiches, Casserole and many, many, more ways. SO that got me thinking, how many potatoes do we need for the whole year!

Well after some simple calculations we worked out that we will probably go through about 120kg of Potatoes, that's 10kg month. So the next questions was, can we grow that much?, and how many seed potatoes do we for that?

The Diggers Club, some years ago did a trail to see on average how many potatoes are harvested for 8 Tubers (seed potatoes) of 8 different varieties.
There Findings:
King Edward 11.86kg
Dutch Cream 14.14kg
Desiree 10.8kg
Spunta 13.2kg
Kipfler 5.81kg
Bintje 8.93kg
Pink Eye 11.6kg
Nicola 5.9kg

http://www.diggers.com.au/

So each different variety has it's different benefits, some of good for salads, others for baking, and others more for mashing, and some a mix of all. Also they each have a slightly different nutrients available for the eater.

so on average each variety listed would give us the 10kg for a month that we want from 8 seeds. Do we have that much space? Well yes! but I don't really want to take up the whole garden bed growing potatoes.

However potatoes are the perfect veg's to grow in containers! So here's what I have figured. I can Grow 12 different varieties or more if we like in Large containers, which the children can paint and place the pots around the garden as decorations. Making our garden interesting to look at and at the same time, growing what we need, and not taking up the garden space.

So what varieties are we going to grow? Well while I got the idea from Diggers, being in Tasmania, with all the quarantine laws, can't actually buy seed potatoes from them. But The Lost Seed company can sell to us,

http://www.thelostseed.com.au/USERIMAGES/procart77.htm

So Have really enjoyed looking through all the different variety's that I can choose from. Plus I really like the unusual, and have this sense of adventure about trying new things, so we are planning to try all 19 different varieties that they have to offer. For me I see it as an investment, because we get the chance to see what grows well for us, and what we enjoy eating, plus, if we collect our own seed potatoes from them we don't need to buy them again, in the years to come.

Why Bother?
You might say "Why bother?", "That seems like a lot of effort for Potatoes, that don't cost me that much anyway?"

Very True potatoes can be brought, just about anywhere very Cheaply. However Commercially grown Potatoes are drenched in chemicals. While they are growing, and then again when they are harvested. Potatoes like onions and Garlic, after a while will sprout ready to grow and reproduce itself, to stop this happening and getting as much longevity out of there product they are sprayed with Growth retardant. Now those of us with children, babies, including anyone we love, don't want to be feeding them chemicals that retard there growth. Yes some of that comes off when you peel the potato, but just think how long has the potato been sitting with it on it's skin? and just how long the has it been sitting in storage before it has gotten to you? You don't know because it's nature sights of showing it's old have been "Retarded".

So for me I See growing me own, the best that "I" can provide for my family. Now that maybe not be something that you can do for your family, so what then. Well the next best thing is to buy from someone you know, Or a small producer that sell at farmers markets, where you can ask the questions about what they have use to grow them and the like.

Growing Your Own. How Too!

Potatoes are really very easy to grow. Last year we used the no dig method of laying newspaper down, over the weeds and Grass, watering it down, and then a thin layer of straw, then simply placing our seed potatoes on top, then covering them with compost/soil mix. Then as they grow, "Hill" them up, which simple means adding more soil around the plant, the more you do the more potatoes you can grow. Water regularly and harvest when the flowers have died.

So this year we are growing in Containers. Several ways you can go, with the container. So far the cheapest that we can find to buy are at Bunnings, 13.00 for each pot, same pots I'm using for my fruit trees. Other wise you can use pretty much any container, just make sure that it has enough drainage. Potatoes are not fussy about soil types but really like good drainage.

So once you have your pot, and your seed Potatoes (you want to buy good quality seeds to start with), You ready to begin. Simply put some dirt/compost in the bottom of your container, only about a finger deep, then place you seed potatoes on top, cover with more soil, water and wait for them to grow. Once the sprouts start coming up add more soil, you need to leave some of the top leaves above the soil. As they grow keep adding until you fill the whole container with soil. Then Continue to water regularly, and enjoy the flowers! (they show that the plants are working on growing big potatoes) Once the flowers have died down you are ready for a treasure hunt! This is the fun part, our children really love getting in the dirt and seeing what they can find and discovering what you have grown! Treasure Hunt!

Some special Notes: While potatoes are not fussy about there soil, they will grow bigger, if you use good quality compost in your soil mix. Also when growing in pots it can be good idea to add a few worms to your pot, to help with aeration of the soil. Crop rotation is important with potatoes, you shouldn't grow them in the same soil for three years.

So on a positive note I will leave you with a recipe that we enjoy!
Jacket Potatoes!
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/21892/stuffed+jacket+potatoes

Grow your own!

So spring last year, we became increasingly aware of how additives and pesticides have an impact on our bodies. So how do we prevent this? Well the answer is to buy certified organic, (unless you know the grower then just organic is fine) and making as much of our own food as possible that include baked good, bread, canned food.

So for us being on a low income we can't afford to buy only organic food, so the warrior in me said "right we can't buy it, but I have dirt, I have hands, and the ability to learn!", "I can grow my own!" So that's our goal.

Last year was the first time we had a real vegy garden, we had dabbled a few times in the past, but this year we where making a real effort to see what we can do. Like any new and old gardener we had some successes and some failures. We had great Tomatoes, I rarely brought tomatoes from the store last year, and the ones I did, where not great, so gave up on that idea. Which was better for our health anyway. Carrots on the other hand where over taken with weeds and we ended up loosing most of them. One of the things I love about gardening is that everything is a learning experience, if something doesn't work this year, it teaches you about what to try next year.

The other things that is really great is the ability to put food in front of my family to eat and know that I am giving them the best that I can. It also really make we what to honour the work and effort that was put into growing that food, so when it comes to the kitchen I don't want to waste it. Everything get used or it goes into the compost to make more soil and nutritional compost for the garden, ready for next year.

So my goal is a long range goal, I'm not silly enough to think that I can do it all in the first year. I aim to grow as much of our family food supply as we can, so each year adding more and more. SO in saying that, we live in a suburban rental property, Our land lord is letting us have a vegy patch which is about all up 8x8 metres maybe more here and there. But that garden bed is not the only thing we are using to grow food, I'm trying to use up every available space. Last year we grew Zucchini plants in the flower beds, worked well and you don't have to have many plants to get a good crop. This year, I am aiming at seeing how many strawberry plants we need for our family of 7 so far, to have enough strawberries to eat, jam and freeze, or can. So I'm use strawberry plants as edible ground covers, putting the under trees, and around other plants.

Container gardening is a big thing for me. Because we rent we don't know how long we will be at this house. So we want to be able to take at least some of our crop with us when we leave. Hence container Gardening. Last year I grew 4 different variety's in containers on my balcony, as well as cut and come again lettuces variety's and spinach, raspberry plants in old draws from a fridge, and plenty of herbs, chocolate mint, sage, chives, rosemary, thyme, etc. This year we are adding more to our container garden including fruit trees, I have recently purchased two dwarf apple trees, and a dwarf cherry tree, a dwarf lime, and our lemon tree, which all can be grown happily in pots.


We don't have money but we do have time. That's my moto at the moment, I don't feel comfortable for example paying $100.00 for a already fruiting lemon tree, but I do feel fine about buying a small lemon tree for 15.00 and waiting 2 years for it to grow. I can be patient, until the tree grows I am happy get lemons from those that have a tree and and happy to share.

Also I realise that we will never be able to have everything, we can't grow our own meat, (yet, I have my think cap on about that one) but we can't grow wheat, or enough to feed us anyway, currently we don't have a goat to milk, or chickens for eggs, but we will get there and we have to live within the confines of our rental. But what I am finding is that the more of our fruit and vegy that we can grow, save us money that we can then spend of good quality flour, and grass fed meat, and free range eggs. It's one step at a time.

Go Organic!