Harvest.....

Yesterday we popped down to school for Isaac to have his weekly piano lesson. Afterwards it was lunch break and so the children spent time playing with their friends and I sat in the staff room and basically had a good old chin-wag!

However, I heard a little knock at the staff room window and turned to see my boy with his arms full of fresh veggies......

He'd been into the sanctuary, a wonderful natural learning environment where he used to love to spend time with his favourite teacher in the world (after me of course!!) Mrs Lisle. They'd gone round the sanctuary veggie patch and he'd been allowed to pick a few bits and pieces to bring home.....

So last night I was busy making yellow zucchini (corgette) and parmesan soup


Potato and Silverbeet soup


and this morning I hand kneaded a loaf of crusty white bread (not because I am into hand kneading bread (however, believe me when I say my arms could use the workout) but because I have lost the paddle for my bread machine....... a new one is on its way as I type thank goodness!!!) which was popped into the oven and voila, lunch was served


This also popped up to say 'hello'...... ah, bliss

The new gardener in charge......

At our home in Bristol one of my joys was to get out into the garden and grow stuff. Over the years we grew heaps of flowers and veggies and some other quite weird stuff!!

Brian did the backbreaking digging, some weeding and kept the compost bin in good working order(!) I got to do all the planting, tending and, in our 7 years there, I built up about 10 raised beds to make it easier for me to keep track of everything and to stop the children walking all over our newly germinating seedlings.

We loved our garden........ we spent hours in it......... we found children sitting under raspberry canes and amongst strawberry bushes guzzling ripe fruit on many occasions..... it was a little piece of heaven.

Since moving to Australia we really haven't done any gardening and, I have to say, we have missed it.

I have attempted some pots this year - tomatoes and capsicums - but haven't had a lot of success....... I feel like I may have lost my gardening mojo.......

However Brian announced to me last week that he was going to 'make a veggie garden'. He felt he needed something to do that wasn't work related, something outdoors, something physical......

Evie was VERY keen to help and so these two have become our new gardening dynamic duo!

After speaking to a lady at work who has just purchased 6 acres of land and intends to be self sufficient in the next couple of years, Brian took a good look at no-dig veggie gardens and decided that this was the way to go.

We have a piece of garden which the owners of this house used as a dog run for their dog so which now lies idle. It gets a good bit of sun each day and seemed the prime spot for Brian and Evie to begin their no-dig gardening adventure.

Well today was start day! Supplies were purchased and the first bed constructed......

Here is Evie elbow deep in mulch......


Layers were added as per the website instructions..... Isaac was a kind of foreman keeping everyone straight about what should come next and how deep the layers should be........


Here they are nearing the completion of the first bed.....



I am very excited to see how this venture goes...... maybe we will have another little slice of heaven.......