It is still winter, right?

I had to check the calendar, because for the last 2 days I've been outside working in the garden in a t-shirt and jeans in gorgeous sunshine. Temps have been up around the 16/17. Crazy! Although (of course) it's predicted to be back to 12-13 and raining in time for the weekend...phew!

Here's a few garden snapshots:
Rooster and hen - why do they always hang out (and poo) on the verandah?! and Yolki hiding amongst the jonquils

Freddie and Lily doing what they do best....sunbaking :-)

The passionfruit has done very well since we extended it's bed - over winter potatoes by the fence and giant red mustard (self seeded) in the foreground. I planted the garlic 7 days ago eh voila! All cloves were grown here last year - it's the first year I haven't bought any garlic to plant...yay me!

I spent quite a bit of time turning garden beds from this.......to this

and then to this.  I'm not going away for 10 weeks again!!  It is too much work  :-)

We've been cooped up this weekend

Well, not literally, but we have been working in the coop quite a bit. With the recent rain we realised that the chickens didn't have enough dry area for dust bathing, and 'hanging out' without being ankle deep in mud. So Jerry built a "porch" extension, and added some guttering and a water collection barrel with a shade cloth filter. We just need to put a tap in the blue barrel, and then we'll have a self-watering system for the chickens. I threw in a few bags of leaves we collected in autumn et voila! I also started putting a wire plant protection system along the fenceline so I can plant herbs and other chicken crops in the coop and let the chickens feed on them, but stop the chickens scratching the plants out.

We also got 2 new point of lay chickens from a friend - although they're not point of lay anymore as they both laid an egg yesterday and today. I guess they like their new home. Some other chooks have started laying again so we're getting about 4 eggs a day now which is great.

Jerry also made a new extended chicken shelter for the main run, where the girls can hang out during the day, but feel secure because it's low to the ground and shady (70% shade cloth covered with clear perspex on a leftover cedar decking frame with a metal base we "rescued" from the tip). The piece of tin at the back is to stop the water running though when it rains and making the area muddy.

Then it was time to clean out the greenhouse and wash seed  pots and the potting bench in preparation for  this year's plantings. I also decided the aloe vera needed repotting - and ended up with 12 separate plants! You can see them in the back of the picture. I also heeled in the yacon, oca, and queensland arrowroot tubers I bought from Green Harvest, and planted some nicola potatoes in a nice frost free bed near the water tank we use for the fire protection system.

Then I decided what the heck I'd plant some capsicum, chilli, tomato, eggplant, basil and zaatar and pop them on the heated seed mat inside.I can keep them frost free and warm in the greenhouse until it's time to plant out in mid November.

And finally I made a loaf of rye/wholemeal spelt/white bread.

Now I think I will have the rest of the afternoon off and take a nice long bath and read a book!

It's finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, unbelievably (and more importantly before the 12 month aniversary) we've finished the new coop and chickn run!

Here's the new "Palais et jardin d'oeufs"  :)

Le Palais: New entrance, and the new perches and nest boxes...but same old chickens!

 

 

Le Jardin:

 

 

All those tyres will have sunflowers and other pretty delights come summer. We will also be gradually working on making covered beds in the actual run to grow thigs for the chooks to nibble on.

I can't tell you how good it feels to wake up on a weekend morning with a new world of possibilties now that coop building isn't on the agenda :)

New coop - the work continues

Now that Jerry is fully recovered, it was time to get back to work on the chicken coop. Friends lent us a powered post hole digger to speed up the process of digging the holes for the support poles.

Unfortunately either the soil was too clay-hard, or we didn't have the technique quire right, as we ended up resorting to the manual auger for most holes ...

On Sunday, it was time to start stringing the wire that will hold the chicken and aviary wire.

The chickens will have some of the best views!

Yesterday's harvest basket

The tomatoes are finally ripening - yesterday we picked 4kg of a mix of amish paste, zebras, purple russians, beefsteak, red fig and tommy toe. Oh, and another 2kg of courgettes....

Of course, when you're taking photos of your harvest you need to keep an eye on your chickens...

or they will just help themselves!!!!!

Do these chicks look ready for eating?

These are our two 5 week old chicks (a pure dorking, and a dorking light sussex cross) with their mum. They're not big enough to eat - not even as a snack. However, if they were commercial intensively reared chickens by now they would be in a supermarket freezer with a 1.6 or 1.8kg label on them. It's a frightening thought.

To learn more about intensively reared chickens take a look at chicken out.

One of my aims for this year is to get to the point that we eat 100% locally grown (and preferably home butchered) meat, raised the "old fashioned" way. We've managed it with lamb, and almost with pork. Next step is expanding our chicken accommodation so we can eat our own chickens, and finding a good beef source. Of course, this means we will be eating less meat, but I'm OK with that - and Jerry is getting used to the idea - particularly as the meat we do eat has such a great flavour.

Oh, and by accident I stumbled upon the new egg hiding spot yesterday - in behind the worm farm! Must be cooler there. I had assumed the chickens had just stopped laying due to the heat :)

Christmas chicks

Both born in the last 36 hours - fingers crossed the other 3 eggs hatch in the next day or so!

Building a new chook shed Part 1

We (well, Jerry mostly) are building a new main chicken coop, with more undercover space for feeding and dustbathing when the weather isn't so good.





Last weekend we 'rescued' 2 sides and half a roof of a shed from the tip, and the rest of the corrugated iron and colourbond was also 'rescued'. It won't be the prettiest, but it ticks the recycling box, and the only things we've had to buy are the pine support posts. Even the hardwood cross beams were 'rescued"!

Random Garden Pics

Lucky chick and Duke enjoying the stones warmed by the sunshine, while Mrs Brown contemplates chicken nirvana (the vege patch) on the other side of the fence.

Cauliflower, and one very long heirloom white carrot (I have size 8.5 (AU) / 6.5 (UK) feet!!)