It's hot enough to dehydrate ....apricots!

With the temperature in the high 30s (in the shade!!) it's time to get out the solar dryer and start drying! Today it's apricots and apples. Can't wait to get some tomatoes on the go as well.



Jerry has also been busy doing some DIY - moving out the dog kennel (was only big enough for one dog anyway) and re-cladding the area outside the laundry with polycarbonate sheets to provide sun and weather protection. Then we moved some shelves that were storing garden stuff around so that I have a place to store all my empty glass jars etc. This in turn gives me more room in the inside pantry to store full jars. The dog kennel has now become our new garden mini-shed!

potatoes and canners

Hurrah! This year we were able to harvest some home grown potatoes for Xmas lunch



And to top it all off, my new toy arrived from the US today! It's a canning unit (basically a big pressure cooker that I can use to make my own canned / bottled veges, sauces etc. Saved about $250 buying it from the US even after taking postage into account, so was pretty happy with that!

mini-wildlife

This morning I saw this little cutie on the pole outside the bedroom window. It's a micro-bat of some type, but I'm not quite sure which variety. Picture 3 below will give you an idea of just how small it is.

December Garden Update

First, a few family photos!


So far the garden is coming along well - with just enough rain to keep it ticking along. I've been really impressed with how well the mulch keeps the water in the beds.

The berries are out of control! So far we have picked about 4 kg of brambleberries (L and centre), and it's promising to be a bumper year for the raspberries too



L to R - Violet Queen bean, Cherry Tree, Rhubarb (rhubarb, rhubarb!)




Some of this years garlic crop hanging up to dry (no vampires at our front door!), and the first of the corn has come up.


I'm hoping for a bumper year for tomatoes - here are just some of the plants we have growing under Jerry's Kew-garden-esque bird netted tomato house