garden notebook

The late Autumn settled weather is just what we have needed to catch up on some of the garden tasks before the wet and cold seriously settle in.  Over the Summer months I tend to be in the garden early, early in the morning, before others are up and late into the evening. These are my very best parts of the day - the quiet, the light, the ability to be single focussed. With Winter Solstice just around the next corner the days are short and I tend to steal short snaps during the warmth in the middle of the day. 

Over the last couple of weeks we have been:
> Doing some serious compost turning and building after picking up some more horse manure from a local riding school. The garlic needs to go in, like yesterday, so I have preparing a bed underneath one of the initial compost heaps. 
>Wondering about where to source some more of the garlic I want to plant since last year's crop suffered due to moving house.
> Brewing batches of mint sauce, similar to these recipes here - a favourite that reminds me of my childhood home.


> We had fun cracking open the pumpkins we had grown for harvesting the seeds - Austrian Hulless from the Koanga Institute.  A couple produced good, plump seed, now drying near the fire to roast up and eat in our muesli. Many of the pumpkins were smaller and the seeds weren't fully mature. A great study in seed collecting (and in using an axe!)
> Sky's fungi documentation grows as we continue to find mushrooms working hard on the wood in our garden. This film talks a little about the importance of fungi for our forests and gardens.
> Tidying up the guttering system so that we are more effectively collecting the water that comes off the roof of the house. Adding another barrel to a corner of the house which will water the nearby garden come Summer.
photo by Sky

We all spent this afternoon in the garden - deep contentment. Each with their own task, the girls coming and then going and returning again. They were experimenting with sifting some soil from one of the messy parts of the garden; shaking, swirling and flicking. It was nice to see the sieve used as it usually hangs on the chicken gate. I like looking at it. I love it's shape and simple, sturdy construction but don't fancy the patience one would need to actually use it.

1 comment:

  1. Congrats! You have a beautiful blog and I enjoy reading your posts. Your kitty picture is adorable.


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