Spring has sprung - more like pole vaulted!

It's been an incredibly dry winter with little rain at Upsidownimal Farm. Spring then lasted about three days and now we're into summer. It's still be very dry but thankfully last week we got some decent rain and everything brown is green again.

My gardens are, well blooming. I'm having to spend at least a few hours every weekend to keep on top of things and if I don't harvest every week, I'll lose things.

Some veges like BokChoy and a few of the lettuces just bolted but I've managed to be really lucky with most things so far. There is plenty of silverbeet, the spinach, pak chop and mizuna were a real success. And the sugar snap peas dwarf beans were devine and plentiful. I've now planted another crop of peas and will drop in a second row soon so that I don't run out (you can never have enough peas in a garden!).

Eggplants galore (and there's about 6 plants - this is only one)

There's lots of mixed salad leaves to harvest from and we are eating fresh salads quite a few times during the week.

I'm hoping to focus pretty heavily this year on three main plants - tomatoes, chilli and basil. I've planted about 40 tomato plants - all of different varieties but mainly heritage ones - and I think we'll have our first harvest in the next week or so. Although I appear to have a bit of competition from possibly a bandicoot so I'll be pulling out the trap in the next few days to convince him to move on. It's a catch and release trap so he'll just be finding a new home - far away from my tomatoes. The chilli and basil has been planted in the bath tubs and I also threw some chilli and basil seeds in the ground a few weeks ago that are starting to pop their wee green heads through the soil.

Chilli and basil in old baths surrounded by bricks

The coffee trees are blooming again and still growing. I'm not sure how big they'll get but they're only two - three years old and a good 4 metres tall. Gonna' need a ladder this year...

Coffee trees flowering

I also recently started bringing home the used coffee grinds from a coffee shop next to my work (thanks to the guys and girls from Tonic). These are really high in nitrogen and grubs hate it so I sprinkle it around the lettuce and, if I ever have another crack at brassicas I'll have it everywhere. I also bring home a big box carrot peelings every Wednesday from a local Vietnamese Deli and that got to the donkeys, a neighbours horse and a friends' two cows (one who was previously called Sirloin - you might remember him, although he's not so miniature now...).

I've got big hopes for these wee beans

The donkeys are still contributing with their contribution to the weed juice container a few years ago. The stuff in that bin is gold!

We've also got ourselves some bee hives, so I'm planting more flowers and flowering herbs like borage amongst the veggies to encourage them. The bees love the water fountain. Everything does seems to be growing better since they arrived.

Wild dogs are a bit of a problem this year again in the area, they seem to surge in numbers every few years and this year they are everywhere. It's not much a problem for us because we no longer have chickens. I really miss not having them but I refuse to feed the local fox and wild dog population. On an upshot, I don't need those ugly fences around my gardens anymore. But I miss the chooker moles...

We'll also be running some more dog fence around another large section of the bottom yard in a few weeks time. This will mean the dogs have more space to run and play. Bella still has to stay inside during the day and be supervised whilst outside - she's little enough to be eagle fodder around here.

I've planted corn too, a couple of varieties including a blue corn (can't wait to see how that comes out). First harvest will be next week.

Seed saving

MOTH is making pesto right now. The basil has been prolific the last two weeks... love it! I'd eat it every day if I could.

There's also been a few introductions and trails that I've always wanted to have a crack at. I bought a pepper vine and, after a bit of a slow start, he's off and running. He will grow along the fence between the top and bottom garden beds. I've also grown my my first pumpkin. It was nice. So, have dropped some more seeds on the far side of the compost to see what we can grow. I'm also planning on trying to grow some loofahs (something different), tamarillos (or tree tomatoes if you're from NZ) and my ultimate  challenge - a vanilla plant.

Pepper vine

I think the garden is finally looking like I'd imagined it to be way back when I first started planting it. It was looking quite destitute about six months ago but there's a wee story about that. In March I injured my ankle and had an ankle reconstruction in May. The garden was suffering from my lack of attention and so I found the most amazing woman to come and help me out. Without Tab's help I wouldn't be writing this blog today, it would have all been made into lawn. She's a breathe of fresh air and has done wonders for the garden. We're back to producing food for the house and plenty of extra for friends - all part of why we do it, right? There is nothing more satisfying than taking a bunch of fresh veggies to a friends place and saying that you grew it.

At the end of the day, I love getting covered in dirt - I think I really am an Earth child...

Top garden

Bottom garden bed

Top 4 garden beds

Bottom garden bed has an urn feature you can look down to from the house 

Alternative view of top garden beds surrounded by bush rocks

Fat fish, coffee beans, lots of lemons and lots of compost

Another weekend ended, another sense of achievement. 

Special thanks to our neighbour, Mitch who popped up on his tractor this morning to do some tractoring (his has a bucket, ours doesn't). Unfortunately he broke when he was helping unload the trailer and has hurt his back. Wishing you a speedy recovery Mitch.

But his handy work was well appreciated. He took out an unsuccessful garden bed to open up the patio outside the downstairs apartment. I'm going to drop some turf on this next weekend.

OK, first dilemma - fat fish. A few years ago I put about 30 fingerlings (the edible kind - sleepy cod, silver perch and eel tail catfish) into our water fountain pond. They were less than 5 cm long. They're now plate sized but, because of too many fish in the pond, general consensus is that they're over nitrogenised and potentially toxic to eat. So... what to do with the fishy wishys. Options are to drain the pond and try and catch them, then relocate them to a neighbours dam where they can live a long and happy life (Lord knows how, our driveway if very very steep). Negotiations will include fishing rights. If we do this, I'll be able to clean out the pond (read cattle trough) and start again with less, ornamental fish. Apart from begin a really nice focal point on our driveway, the bees love it and I'm more than happy to make the bees happy. I would love love love to have some bee hives but am very allergic to  stings.

Harvest time today for the turmeric. I got about 1-2 kilos and several rhizomes for replanting and sharing. That's more than $100 of turmeric. Seriously worth looking at planting, it's a lovely plant with really pretty flowers. We will chop it into 1cm chunks and freeze. 

A bit of planting... (actually, there was a lot of planting)

Some boasting (check out the size of one of my parsley)

And the gum trees are flowering (makes me think of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie - overseas visitors will need to Google this)

Oh, and Lots of Lemons they said... (tick), dwarf tree (not so apparent) 

All this gardening, of course, means excessive compost. Woo hoo!

Exciting news, out first harvest of coffee beans is nearly ready for harvesting. MOTH (man of the house) is very excited about this. Four more coffee trees being planted next weekend.

I previously posted about a couple of old baths that I mounted in old red bricks. The intention was to use them as strawberry beds (which is going really well and am expecting our first crop next season). Have also added some chilli bushes to the baths and, good news, they're going great. Never thought this companion planting combination would be so successful.

Next weekend, I'm harvesting our significant ginger crop (about 2m squared). Keen for ideas of how to preserve ginger.

And, the roses need a good pruning - they're out of control and very unattractive.

Another quiet weekend in the country - can't wait to get back to work tomorrow for a break.

Gardening with donkeys

Apart from the obvious benefit that donkeys provide for the garden, they can actually be a bit of fun while you're gardening if you plan it right (and nothing unplanned happens - like a low flying aeroplane or any sudden noise, really).

For some reason, fresh donkey poo doesn't seed like horse poo does. But I still don't put it directly onto my garden because it's, well, lumpy and doesn't break down well. So I add it to my weed juice container (refer previous post here).

Yesterday, the boys helped out with a few other things.

Firstly Guinness mowed the lawn. Now you have to be careful with this, he loves cooch and will rip it out by the roots, leaving large bald spots on the lawn (we learnt this last winter).

Then they both helped me moving the palm fronds to the compost heap.

I think Caruso thought this was the best part of the day. I'm always careful not to give them too much of anything that's not in their natural diet but they do enjoy a pile of sweet potato leaves, a couple of banana leaves or boysenberry cuttings.

Finally, there was a little unscheduled rosemary hedge pruning.

I was a little over zealous last time I pruned it with the trimmers and it's taking a while to kick back. Might need some weed juice.

Roman was supposed to help but couldn't drag his sorry ass off the day bed (seriously, that Dogue thinks he's a Shitzu!)

MOTH took down #5 of 7 huge palm trees that have been leeching the goodness out of my veggie garden beds. It was HUGE and didn't come down without some effort. Thankfully it landed exactly where it was originally supposed to (we had several contingencies).

And finally, all of the diggy dogs were very excited last Sunday when Colin M Schnauzer, Claudia and their baby brother Zed (a 4 month old Russian Black Terrier who will end up making Roman look like a midget) came over for the afternoon. After initial greetings and bouts of bossiness and jealous from the little one, everyone had a lovely afternoon. It was impossible to get a good photo, they didn't stop moving!

Life is never dull at Upsidownimal Farm...

RIP Irwin as terrorism strikes Clear Mountain

Sad bit first...

After 8 weeks, the neighbours gardner and dog found Irwin while driving down our shared, very long and steep driveway. Actually, the dog noticed him first (or smelled him first). Peter, God bless, went and found him. He had fallen into a deep hole, kinda like a cave about 8 foot deep, and broken his neck during the fall. When I went down and checked on him, he had obviously died instantly, there was no sign of struggling or anything. The ground above the hole was incredible steep and had lots of ruts in it caused by rain over the years, covered by dense grass. It looks like he'd tripped in a rut and fallen to his death. It was incredibly steep above the hole.

We went down there today to try and fence it off and MOTH declare it too unsafe. Guinness had also found him, with a few piles of relatively fresh poo sitting just above where he lay. So, we are confident the risk to the other two is minimal (as long as Guinness is as smart as he makes out).

The support and help from our local community was amazing. Through a couple of Facebook and poster campaigns and signs on local roads, there were quite literally thousands of people looking for him. I received more than 500(!) personal messages, many from strangers, on Facebook when we had found him. In fact even today, I had a man at the hardware store (who I didn't know from a bar of soap) give me his condolences over Irwin. Irwin went missing on 30 November.

RIP Iwrin.

Now, onto the other comings and goings on the mountain. The Terrorist (some call her Bella) has quite simply taken over our lives (cats and dogs included). Who'd thought something so small (1.2kg when we got her, now 3.5kg at 16 weeks) could cause so much havoc! But, we wouldn't have it any other way - she is simply adorable!

Bella helping me garden today - she would dig like a madman and then eat the worms - ew!

Last weekend Bella tried her hand (or should I say jaws) at electrical work (was plugged in)

No trying to kill (sorry - play) with Max the cat

Cleaning Roman's jowels and teeth - again, ew!

House training is 90% there and she is learning some basic commands. Just need to teach her not to touch cane toads or snakes (not sure how to do this but am keen for suggestions). I'm thinking screaming like a banshee might stop her initially and then the fear of hearing another banshee might put her off...

Anyway...

We have also had a new addition to Upsidedownimal Farm. Meet Caruso...

He turned one on 31 January and arrived just days before we found Irwin. Guinness was brave enough to pop into the horse float and travel 2 hours to go meet and bring home Caruso so he wouldn't be too scared alone in the float. They have quickly become BFFs and are inseparable.

Caruso will grow to be much bigger than Guinness so he's very happy to be the boss - for now.

Over the past few months, MOTH has progressed from making chutneys and cider to cheese - yummy cheeses, fresh cheeses and now - smelly cheeses. He has even surrendered the bar fridge from the shed to convert it into a cheese cave (blah blah blah keep cheese at the right temperature) but I know there's Stilton in there so Mum's the word.

Today's freshly made Haloumi and some ready to eat on the plate - it was yummy!

Guess who I got a cuddle from on Australia Day whilst at the neighbours place for a BBQ?

Now called Vege Burger and a little bigger than he used to be

Last weekend we were all battened down for Cyclone Marcia, which ended up being pretty much a non event at our place, except for more than 500mm of rain in two days. Slight landslide (nothing too major and the Great Gabion Wall of C stood up to its reputation).

Rain pouring into the driveway drains

Bella was very keen to help MOTH digging the drains in the lawn (to manage the run off).

The rain was pretty intense and the animals were starting to climb the walls. The donkeys got a little creative with interior decorating their stall...

Lucky for them, the farrier had been only the weekend before so their feet looked fabulous deerrrrlllling...

Guinness has a bit of a crush on Peter the farrier

It's still early days but I think Caruso already likes him too

And yesterday MOTH and I, along with femme mini MOTH (now a learner driver) headed to the vets with all 5 inside animals for their annual vaccinations and checkups. Only took one and a half hours for the consult and it all went off without a hitch. The vet was stoked to see such an integrated "herd" of animals who all get on.

Just remember peeps - what doesn't kills you makes you stronger (except for bears - bears will kill you!)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The poinciana is in full bloom and it's magnificent. Our neighbours have some too and there are a few more on the way up the driveway. Apparently they only flower like this every 10 years - magnificent.

The chilli bushes have their baubles ready and hanging (there is literally hundreds of them)

And my poor poinsettia is even giving it a go. Poor thing was rudely transplanted 5 years ago and hasn't received a skerrick of attention since. I must aim to change this.

Even Russell Crowe (who is looking a little worse for wear) has his little red festive flowers all lined up in bloom.

Inside our home, my contribution continues to be minimal. Even though I had committed to putting up the tree, it's still in it's box somewhere (not quite sure but am sure I will find it when the time comes). I have, however, started on presents and being still November - that might be a record. I'm usually a last minute shopping kinda' girl.

As you may or may not have been aware, Brisbane had a massive hail storm on Thursday. Unfortunately for my new ute, we got stuck in the middle of it and, well, insurance claim for damage is pending. I have to say that the noise of bigger-than-golfball-hail hitting the roof of the car was a little intimidating (I did duck a few times - no idea why).

We are continued to be blessed with a large number of bees at the moment, many of whom visit the garden and stop off at the water fountain for a drink. Am not sure what kind they are - any suggestions?

Ooh, and last night I was once again lucky enough to rescue one of these. Max bought him in as a 'gift'. Its a baby sugar glider and it wasn't hurt from what I could see. I just scooped it up and took it outside. Cuuuute. They only grow a wee bit more when they're full grown and have flaps of skin from their front to rear legs on each side and fly/glide from tree to tree. Lord knows how Max caught one (he's no speedster). Google it - they're interesting little characters.

Luckily Max or Moet are not really hunters and this is probably the 3rd mammal or bird I've had to rescue in as many years. (Previous felines have been a little more active in this space.)

Anyway, happy start of December everyone. I'm off to put up the tree - or at least think about it...