Growing.

I hope you all know by now that green is the new black; it’s probably easier these days to recite a list of friends who aren’t growing something edible in their yard or on their balcony than a list of those who are, & I think that is just so great.

We’re getting back to the natural of order of things, connecting with the earth & where our food really comes from.

This is our potato harvest. It’s about 20 kilos… I think I’ll be rationing the spuds from here on in…!

Another thing that’s growing almost all on it’s own is my wall display of random thrifted goodness. I didn’t intend for it to get any bigger when I started with two frames & two plates, but it’s happening anyway.

I found this wonderful little guy fishing yesterday for $1 at the one opshop that was open. From the frame & the picture all I can deduct is “old”; any idea of the era, vintage expert types?

I wonder what the next addition will be…

Zucchini fever.

After The Boy brought in a massive yarrow (look at me with my gardening knowledge… a massive zucchini is called a yarrow & probably tastes just as appetizing as it sounds…) from his garden last night I realised I haven’t shared it with you yet – so here are some pictures of his pride & joy.

Oohparently, zucchinis grow like weeds, & The Boy planted a lot of them. We eat quite a bit of zucchini, but not that much, so his peeps at work have been receiving bagfuls, as as his Mum, there are yellow ones, stripy ones, round ones – it really is zucchini fever over here!

Also thriving are potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, rainbow chard, spinach, silver beet, corn, lettuce, cabbage & probably some other stuff I’ve missed – he’s from the Jackie French school of gardening – throw everything in as close together as you can & see what happens.

I love going outside to the lush greenery of the garden & realising that it’s all for us! We don’t have a single flower-type plant in the garden – there were a few here but The Boy ripped them up quick smart – they were taking up valuable veggie room!

Punky takes great pride in declaring all the produce from the garden “Hers” & greater pleasure in snaffling tomatoes as soon as they’re ready. She also likes the “white butterflies”… Daddy; not so much.

One downside is our water bill has gone up quite a bit – The Boy had the audacity to blame it on Suspence’s lovely nappies!!

Getting started in the garden.

We recently moved to a country town from the city & the house we are currently renting has an ENORMOUS yard - complete with a few lemon trees, olive trees, an apricot tree and a... well... I don't know what it is... I think it's a 'shade house'? Is there such a thing? I'd call it a greenhouse except for the fact that it isn't any warmer in there than outside & the rain can get through the cloth on the roof.

While we were in the city The Boy had started growing a few tomatoes in pots but they were done away with in the move so we're starting again from scratch... why couldn't we have moved in Spring!! I am desperate to plant all sorts of things but am restricted to sowing some boring old winter crops... I say "crops" but I don't know if that is the right word for a few styrofoam boxes filled with potting mix.

These are the "...almost before" photos, as some things have already started to sprout. I think the heatwave we had really helped the seeds to germinate in record time, I just had to make sure I kept the water up to them. I only put the boxes into the shade house a couple of days ago, I was scared of all the spiders & creepy crawlies that I imagined were in there (turns out, actually, that I wasn't just imagining it... *shiver*) but as Punky was wanting to play in the dirt everytime we went out to water, I had to put them up out of her reach anyway.

I keep daydreaming about the day when we have our own little house & yard, it's going to be fence to fence food I tell you!! Until then however I'm going to really try & make the best of what we can do here. I love checking on the progress of my seedlings each morning & Punky loves running around outside & playing in the dog's water.... I want growing food & knowing exactly where it comes from to be a part of her life & hopefully, eventually, come naturally to her, so that she has the knowledge & enthusiasm to sustain herself & her family. That is a gift I wish I had recieved & we all know we want everything for our children that we didn't have ourselves, whether that is a fancy dollhouse with working light fixtures (ah, to dream!) or a healthy connection with our earth.