Update overdue

I just realised I had this blog, which has been very neglected :(
So here is an update on whats been going on around here.

A few weekends ago we started on our raised garden beds.
Hubby build a huge bed and we filled it with a mixture of composted chicken manure and a vegie mix bough from the local garden supply place.
We planted carrots,cabbages,corn,capsicum,zucchinis,onions,lettuce and marigolds(to bring the bees in).






I also planted some heirloom tomato seeds,leeks,silverbeet and butternut pumpkins in pots to get started while the soil warms up.
I have an old reptile enclosure that i use to start plants, as its warm and i have fitted a UV globe which help the plants grow strong and healthy.

Our Hyline chicks from January are now hens and are laying like champions.
We also added some younger hylines a few weeks ago.
We bought a lovely Speckled Sussex rooster, who has been dubbed "Stuart" and he has proved to be very fertile as every egg I have put into the incubator has developed.
We currently have 8 chicks in the brooder hubby made for me and more eggs in the incubator as well as 4 dz Japanese quail eggs.

The little Brinsea oct10 incubator is cracking along with more of our eggs too.
It had a less than average hatch a few weeks ago, producing only 5 live chicks from 19 eggs (fertility was not great from these eggs so another supplier has been found)

Out of the 5 chick 3 are still going with the other 2 being put down with very straddled legs.

Plans for the next few weeks include adding some duck eggs to the incubator and some bantam call ducks and bantam chickens to a new pen yet to be built.
More and more vegies to plant.

Oh and i have taught myself to sew (kind of) :)
I made skirts for the girls and shorts for the boys.
Going to attempt making dresses and possibly shirts next time i get the chance to break out the machine.
my crocheting is coming along great, i have made beanies and scarves and even attempted booties 9i made one).

Hopefully i will keep the blog updated from now on :)

Planting has started

Today we made a start on planting.
We purchased some pots from the local recycling depot.
Got heaps and some awesome wooden crates for my strawberries.
The we went to bunnings and bought some plants and seeds and potting mix.
Ive decided to grow what we can in pots

Rain beautiful rain!

It rained yesterday!
Lovely rain always is always welcome.
I never complain when it rains i guess that comes from my upbringing on the farm.
Rain out there means everything looks fresh and hydrated and clean and in a week or
so everythings green.

I love the smell of rain and the sound it makes as it falls.

The rain yesterday wasnt very much but it was enough to loosen the dirt so i can weed another patch for gardens, ive decided to use all the areas in te yard that arent used by playing children to grow vegies and herbs.

Had a thought today that i might have a crack at growing chook feed.
Wouldnt be hard but the girls would love it.

Also might try sunflowers that would certainlly brighten things up.

I spent yesterdat scouring the net for ideas and seeds.
I found a blog that deals with saving seeds from vegies to plant the following season, now that i found brilliant!
So I currently have some tomato seeds fermenting and i will do some pumpkin seeds today.

I also sent some messages to some lovely fellow chook lovers,who had offered some seeds/cutting to swap or donate.

So on the way i have some garlic chives lemongrass,parsley,coriander,motherwort,
Gerbera (singles),Italian and curled parsley,cosmos two types,a couple of different sorts of chillies,Red and green leaf amaranth,Ashwaganda,Pomegranite,Rue,
and whatever else can be salvaged in another garden (thanks ladies).
Im also picking up some lovely free strawberry plants from yet another chookie person.

They also put me onto a site that tells you when to plant things for your area its great
Just put which climate area you are in and it tells you what to plant each month and even tells you when to harvest.

I have a lot to learn to make this work but im dedicated!

A start made

Yesterday 5 kids and myself ade a start in the garden.

We moved a huge pile of rocks and bricks (these will be used later to make a rock wall), we weeded,raked and relocated a conifer shrub.Im absolutly sunburnt and i was throughly exhusted last night and sore this morning but very happy.

I have started chasing seeds now with lemongrass,garlic chives and a curry leaf plant ordered thru my favourite chicken keeping site Backyard Poultry.

We also secured our chook pen as we seemed to have a few girls who prefered laying their eggs in a old drum in the backyard instead of their nice laying boxes.

Hubby has some great ideas for the beds, we are going with raised beds with soil bought in and mmixed with our composted material.

The chooks loved the weeds that Miss 6 was pulling out and feeding to them.

All round a good day with much achieved.

Now onto today im doing the usual washing,cleaning yadda yadda then clearing another section of the yard for a lemon tree and maybe another fruit tree havent decided what yet.

The kids were a huge help and they seem excited about the whole project too.

Welcome

Welcome to my blogsite!
This is very exciting as im embarking on a project to grow our own vegies, eggs and meat.
With 6 children it makes sense to grow our own.
Not only is it cheaper but it also gives me peace of mind that what my family is eating is chemical free and tastes awesome.

Im also a bit of a greenie (only just) as believe in sustainability and reducing our impact on natural resources.

I grew up on a small property in the Riverina NSW and we grew all our own meat,eggs,fruit and vegetables.
Water was precious as it recieves very low rainfall and very high summer temps.

Ok so what am I starting with??

My hubby is a builder so he will be making me some raised garden beds as the soil here is well just plain dirt and rocks and could be described as concrete dust.

5 of 6 children to help with the planting and weeding and harvesting of crops (should everything go to to plan) and their bathwater to water the crops.

5 Hyline commerical hens,3 ISA Brown commerical hens,11 Hyline chicks (hens),1 Campine chick(hopefully a hen), and 3 crossbred chicks (also hoping they are hens maybe 1 rooster).Lots of chicken poo and compost soil from previous chicken keeping attempts.

Plenty of space and sun.

So fingers crossed the beds will take shape soon and we can begin!!!