Garlic planting time

I now have 120 cloves of garlic planted, which will hopefully mean 120 head of garlic.

Now is the time to get garlic in the ground to ensure they have enough time to fatten up before it gets too cold. Hopefully we're not already too late, because it has been mighty frosty here lately!

Start by selecting some good eating garlic. You could buy garlic from the nursery for planting or from your local grocer. A nice organic garlic is good, but aim for locally grown garlic. Imported garlic has been sprayed and may not grow as well, if at all.

Carefully separate the garlic cloves, making sure to leave the papery covering in place and not damaging the base of the bulb. Tuck the bulbs into prepared soil leaving just the top pointy bit poking out. You could plant garlic in rows around garden beds or in with your roses (natural protection from aphids for the roses). I prefer to plant a block patch of garlic and rotate the bed that they are in each year.

What to do this weekend in the garden

With only a week till my little boy turns 4, the coming week will mean clearing and tidying the yard for a birthday party.

If you are inclined to do any gardening this weekend, I recommend planting out your garlic. You can also put in seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I'll also be sowing some root veg seeds and some sweet pea seeds that should have gone in ages ago.

Everything slows down in the cooler months, so cloches such as these milk bottles help to provide some extra warmth and protection from the elements.

A pretty display

My daughter's school is having a Market Night tonight. The kitchen garden committee is having a stall showing the plans of the garden, sign up sheets for the upcoming working bee, seedlings for sale and things like that. They also thought a display of veg and herbs that we expect to grow would be inspiring.

I went out to my garden and this photo shows some of the things I collected to add to the display. I think it looks pretty good!

A lasting impression

We have pre-service teachers at my school at the moment which is great for building the profession and inspiring future teachers in their careers as educators. Having finished my Master degree last year, work/study/home life management is still pretty fresh in my mind.

I was talking to one of our mature aged pre-service teachers about all of the juggling that we do. I mentioned my garden and shared patch and a spark of recognition came across her face.

It turns out that her family came to our house when it was open for the sustainable house open day last year. Apparently her husband still talks about things that we have done with our house! That gave me (and my husband when I told him) a little glow of pride. It feels good that the sustainability of our home has made a lasting impression on someone.

Potato farmer

We were out in the garden when my 3 year old asked me how potatoes grow. I was sure that we had explored this multiple times already, but who am I to pass up a learning opportunity?

We yanked out a few potato plants that had come up of their own accord, shaking off the dirt and collecting the tubers. My son carefully placed the potatoes in his 'potato pockets' until he could fit no more.

We then got out a bowl of water and a scourer and sat on the back step while he scrubbed the potatoes ready for dinner. He was so proud of his bowl of freshly picked and scrubbed potatoes that I promised to cook them for dinner.

And that's when I realised, perhaps I'd been had...? Freshly picked potatoes usually means a meal where the potatoes 'shine' in their potatoey-ness; oven baked chips or baked potatoes are favourites. And oven baked chips (a definate favourite of my boy) had been promised for dinner.

I have to give him credit, he did work hard for those chips, but next time I'll know what he's up to when he asks to see how a potato grows.

House work day

I quite enjoy house work day.  It's not that I enjoy the house work, but I do enjoy my house when it is tidied and cleaned.  My children try to help at times and it can mean more work for me in the end (such as when they wash the dishes), but I suppose that is part of the process of kids learning to clean.

What I like most is the day at home.  The time spent pottering.  The weeding or planting between hanging out loads of washing as I contemplate the perennial issue of not having enough pegs.  Singing to my favourite tunes as the stem mop creates a sparking clean floor.  Enjoying the view of the back yard, and often children playing in the garden and/or mud ("wash yourself off before walking on the floor - I just steam mopped it!") as I wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.  Folding washing straight off the line into our own baskets so that I can stay outside just a little longer... I could probably get the house work done in half the time if I didn't potter, but then I wouldn't enjoy the day nearly as much.  My 3 year old son is a real 'home body', so he is quite content to play and potter with me.

It helps to slow down the pace of our lives, in contrast to the days at work and the running around with errands.  It is a selfish day when we aren't very social, instead we take time to be grounded at home, take a breather and then, when we are finished or have run out of time, relax.

Autumn in Canberra

People complain about Canberra weather. I probably do too at times. But mostly I love it. When you know what it is like here and expect it, you learn to enjoy it. I suppose that comes for really loving the city that I live in, and the life that I have made for myself here.

Today is a typical Autumn day here in Canberra. A frost over night and brisk morning air. Already I can feel the warm sun on my shoulders. A five-layer drive to work becomes a two-layer lunch time. Canberra has the climate for layering clothes and I like layering.

It's at this point in the season - the first big frost - that a shift happens. All of the jobs that I should have done, well, it's probably too late. Direct seed sowing now means slow germination and growing. The remaining tomatoes have probably frozen on the plants. Frost tender plants have been exposed to the elements and suffer for it. I know to expect this, as it is part of living here. And I know to do everything I wish I could in the garden, I'd probably have to dedicate many more hours to it every week (and something else would have to give to make that time).

I have a grand vision for my garden, and maybe one day it will be there, and maybe one day the plans will change. But for now, the time that I get out here and the produce that we harvest and eat make my garden my happy place. Especially with my family around me and even in the frosty cold.