One thing this property has is lots of grass. It grows very thick and long, and we don’t have livestock yet to keep it mown. We need to keep it down, so a week ago we got our new tractor, which is a beauty. It has a ‘four in one’ bucket at the front for moving stuff and a slasher at the back for mowing. So we have been out learning to slash the grass. The sun has shone the whole week too, with the result that there is a lot…
Read MoreFirst processing of home grown coffee berries Coffee processing at home takes a little practice. I ventured into the old ‘food forest’ this morning. It’s a little way from the house so I’ve only now got far enough down the list of to-dos to consider cleaning it up. There’s a lot of weeds to clear up and a good amount of tree maintenance. It was good timing, though, because the coffee is just beginning to ripen. There are a few coffee trees, but the best ones are growing under a…
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Before we moved here I only knew lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) from powdered leaves I bought at the supermarket, but here we have a few trees, so I’ve been using the fresh herb.
Read MoreBy all accounts the Winters here in northern NSW are too warm for standard bulbing onions, but the good news is there are other types we can grow, namely the bunching onions and shallots. That’s extra good news since I preferred to cook with shallots in Sydney, but they came at a premium price compared to ordinary brown onions, and of course here I can buy brown onions cheaply anytime. So to clarify, as there’s some confusion in terms used, shallots are the long bulbs, either golden or red, that…
Read MoreWe are lucky to have two stands of bamboo; a huge one with thick canes, and a more modest one. Here’s a photo of some of the canes I cut from the big one, with the stand in the distance. I’m no judge of height but some of the canes are taller than many trees, and that’s actually a problem as the big stand is now shading an old ‘fruit forest’, with the result that the fruit trees are tall and spindly instead of pick-able. So I don’t feel at…
Read MoreIt rained on Saturday night, not a lot, but a heavy thunderstorm that got the ground moist again. So I got into the new beds and sowed a new lot of seeds. In this pair of steep narrow terraces I put in a repeat crop of brassicas; radish champion, radish early scarlet globe, daikon, and turnip gold ball. In the rich looking level bed next to it I put a second sowing of some of the salad greens that have poor shows from the May sowing; mustard osaka purple, endive…
Read MoreMy first orchid to flower in the new place. The yellow and burgundy Oncimiums have been gracing (and perfuming) the living room since we moved, but they were already in flower. This one has gone from spike to inflorescence, and survived the possibility of being chewed by whatever lurks under the house at night, although it did lose a terminal bud or two. Until I can secure my greenhouse, I’m glad to get any flowers. This is the lesser, Winter flowering, so I hope to get more in late Spring. I…
Read MoreThese beds will be a change. Flat land is not a feature of this property, and here I’ve tried making two small terraces with a goat track in between. This is the last of the beds made by the previous owner, which have sat covered in black plastic and cardboard for some time. Mum and Dad helped me pull that off, exposing this sloping plot beneath a corrugated metal retaining wall, but inside the old fenced area. There was at least one big ants’ nest underneath, so we pretty much…
Read MoreIt’s four weeks today since my first vegetable sowing, and there are some standout early starters. Choi sum is up and going; it’s used as flowering stems. Bok choi is looking good too; it’s used as little cabbages. Behind it is Wom bok, the tall chinese cabbage. And also a Brassica, Mibuna is looking like it will be ready to pick for salads in a couple more weeks. Some vegetables that I expected to be quicker, particularly the radishes, are still coming along, although looking good. The bed was very…
Read MoreIt’s been a week of plant nursery visits, and fortunately there are a lot to choose from around here. We took my parents to Kingscliff, a beach town, on Saturday, because the markets were on and it’s just a nice place for coffee anyway. The markets were true to form and we picked up some shade-loving plants for the South-facing front of the house where we will make a formal entrance. At the moment it’s a bit wet underfoot as it sits at the base of a cutting and is…
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