OMG I am so sorry about the last DUD post... so so sorry... It just corrupted on an edit. Here is the CORRECT post.
HI folks,
This blog is all about creating an urban garden in a previously grass and concrete lot in suburban Australia.
Basically i'm trying to do a post a week updating the progress. Sometimes a vlog and sometimes text, sometimes both. Basically we are really trying to document our progress.
We started with a dream to grow our own greens,
But setbacks and challenges popped up it seems,
Floods and injuries, they tried to bring us down,
But we're still standing and growing - it's the talk of the town!
Self-sufficient in some, almost there in others,
We'll get there eventually, you just wait and see!
INTRODUCTION TO THE IDEA OF BEING SELF SUFFICENT
in somethings
G'day from Brisbane, well just out to the West. Today we're going to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart - being self-sufficient in vegetables and herbs. Living in Brisbane, Australia, where the weather is sub-tropical and the sun is always shining, we have a unique opportunity to grow some amazing produce right in our own backyards.
We have been trying to become self sufficient in as many things as we can this year. This means we have enough for our needs (and also not to be worried about wasting it) and perhaps some to give to friends.
Every single thing we are self-sufficent in saves us money, food miles, and just.. well... pride.
Now, this past year has been a tough one. Between my recent hand injury, the floods, and a few other setbacks, we haven't been able to achieve everything we wanted to. But that's just life, isn't it? Sometimes things don't go according to plan, and we have to roll with the punches.
Despite all of that, I'm proud to say that we've still managed to make some progress in our goal of becoming more self-sufficient when it comes to our food. In fact, I'm excited to share with you today the things we are self-sufficient in, nearly self sufficient in, and not selfsufficient in.
WHAT ARE WE SELF SUFFICENT IN?
First up, let's talk about the good stuff - the things we're fully self-sufficient in.
- Rosemary - buckets and buckets of this we love it so that is a win
- Thyme - Wish it were Time... but Thyme will do - I use this SOOOO much
- Oregano - Again... fist fills a week
- Sage - We struggled last year and this year 100% enough with spares
- Curry leaves - we don't use these very often, but i have NEVER bought them
- Kaffir lime leaves - these are a new one, i bought these last year
- Chili - This was a bit touch and go last year due to the floods and frost but fingers crossed
- Parsley - Both flat and curled - we all good.
- Lemon grass? ? as i don't often use it fresh. Just pickled - see how we go
- tarragon - Just are
- spring onion - Again - weed - These were growing IN MY GARDEN PATH TODAY
- sorrell - garden salad leaves - we always have this now
- Thai basil?? although we have not got to winter yet...
**look there is probably a few others hiding in there... but i keep forgetting them. Its a nice
--
There's nothing quite like being able to step outside and pick a handful of fresh greens for a salad or some herbs to add to a pasta dish.
WHAT ARE WE NEARLY SELF SUFFICIENT IN?
Next, we have the things we're nearly self-sufficient in.
Zucchini - As long as you count the ones we froze (and use) when we had a glut.-we still need some work here to get consistent supply over summer
Cucumber - Same as above we have a glut or a famine - And we can't freeze these. We need them fresh. So this is a work in progress
Cherry tomato - Ok so we have had a bad season with these... but i think we can figure this one out. Our last house we had buckets and buckets and buckets of these. so... not sure whats happening.
Bay leaves - well the bay tree died... but i have a new one, and i think if i can keep it alive we will be all good. I don't use very many, but will be nice in a year all grown up.
snow peas bit tricky here as these are JUST winter things. But we were a bit short some weeks over winter so will include these here.
We're still working out a few kinks when it comes to growing these veggies, but we're making progress and hope to be able to rely solely on our own garden for these items in the near future.
THINGS WE REALLY ARE NOT GOOD AT YET
Strawberries - epic failure Onions and garlic we EAT THESE SO MUCH - need to get them in the garden for this year The Citrus i am desperate to get these working well. We use so much lemon and lime. Melons and pumpkin. The whole bed died and got eaten. Mostly as i could not hold the hose down that end with my buggered hand.. but..yeah... it all died... most tragic potato - ok so i have planted one tub of sweet potato... but its just one tub and i have not seen any yet... there could be a rats nest in there or anything!!
But hey, we're not giving up! We're constantly experimenting and trying new things to see what works best in our unique climate and soil.
Concluding thoughts:
All in all, while it hasn't been a perfect year, we're still making strides towards our goal of being more self-sufficient in our food. And that's something to be proud of, if you ask me!!! So, let's grab a cold drink,and get out in the garden - there's work to be done!
ok i did that this all ready when i tried to water pressure down the fence one handed... lol lol
So for those of you that don't know.
We have been in this house for 6 years now and it is a concrete wasteland of concrete and grass with a pool. we decided that this needs to change and are creating a little urban farm in.
We had a very GREEN back garden but it was just yukka plants. AND they planted this big rooted trees right on top of retaining walls. They are huge and are pushing on the walls. They needed to come out. Roots and all down into the earth we had to go...
You can see here the view when we moved in.,... green... but not "pretty and productive.." Certainly no biodiversity. Not good for bees. Just green yick.
WHAT ARE WE CREATING?
We are trying to create a little mini urban farm.
- Fruit and vegetables
- Chickens Worms and Mealworms
- flowers
- Bee haven and maybe bees
- biodiversity
- pesticide free where possible
- native plants as well. So not JUST food but also food for the insects that will live in the garden.
So i would love it if you would follow along
CONCLUDING MESSAGES
Just another very busy week all in all. I will now sign off and start the next video.. lol... as its already late as well
talk later
happy gardening
Sarah :-)
Anyway thanks so much for stopping along and reading my posts I am just loving my HIVE experience so far. Such a fun platform for sure.
For those that don't know my i'm currently focusing on Daily painting and somewhat amusing my self and my family with Acrylic pouring.. lol.. i wish i had a separate studio for that as it is so messy.
My other HIVE interests are:
- cooking sunset photography (i take photos of the sky every night) Art Graphic Design Gardening (just a smidgion) Ballet Sewing - I make Tutus and ballet costumes too...
Here are a couple of snaps of some of the stuff i do outside what you see up in the posts above.
Big goals drive progress but can also be discouraging. Self sufficiency is the goal but we are always just happy when we are eating from our own garden, whatever it is and however much we manage to grow 🙂 We are trying to deal with the feast or famine crops by freezing, dehydrating, pickling. I would like to learn canning but that seems too intimidating. Love your garden space and envy your climate. We lived in California for years but life was too busy to take advantage of the nice gardening climate 🙁
Sigh.... well i was trying to change to cover image away from this... which cause the error in the first place... sigh sigh... now it is STILL this image on the fixed post, despite having clicked it to be THIS image... hopefully the blockchain figures it all out
@riverflows and @minismallholding, so sorry for the dud post before this the text and pictures corrupted somehow and it posted CRAZY. I can't delete it now... THIS is the correct post. Hoping the block chain can figure it all out. Will sort it again when i get back from kid pick up... so annoying. so sorry. I don't like to be untidy.
actually this has gone all funny too... who knows whats happening. So annoying. Sorry for messy post. No idea the cause
These were SUPPOSED TO BE IN the post too... like i said , its all crazy...
This was under the section... what i did today.. lol
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