glorious, isn't it?
coming back to our rental property i was invigorated ... to plant. whether it be here at the house, or having seedlings ready for the property. i was motivated.
i realised too, in a very pleasant way that my perspective on land and our earth has changed dramatically. almost a year ago now i took my Intro to Permaculture Course from Milkwood Permaculture. I still clearly remember going outside and our instructor, Nick, getting us to pick up a handful of dirt and to look at it and think about it. about the life and the things that were living in that soil and how important it is to our very lives each day. it wasn't icky dirt. it was earth ... GOOD EARTH. what our beloved planet uses to grow the good stuff we eat. and we need to care for it.
how funny today when i was planting some seeds that i looked at the soil and saw all these bugs running through and around it. realising these were just the ones i could see! the microscopic organisms in the soil that is well cared for and nutrient dense is amazing! our God is one amazing Creator to have done this. and it is a wonderful thing.
yeah .... my perspective has done a 180!
so what did i plant today ... well! we are challenging the boundaries of what is known and normal. to see what can be done. we are in the sub tropics now! we can grow year round .... well, just about! <g>
i had been remiss in putting in some sunflowers in. i just love the colour. but hadn't put them in here. but i have now. too late in the year? maybe! but with all the wet they wouldn't have done well anyway, and we do live where the winters are barely long sleeve weather so i figure we'll have some great late autumn flowers mixed in with the beans and tomato's! i have also put in the standard start of the winter fare .... broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower and cabbage seeds. we'll see how they go. i am expecting a u-beaut crop!
leeks..... <sigh>. i never seem to get this right .... but am loathe to give up because i love them so much! so i am trying to do them the Allsun Farm way. it is outlined here at the Milkwood Market Garden blog. onions and leeks are in the same family .... so i figure it can't go too wrong! <g>
and last but certainly not least. tomato's. what a rotten year to try and grow heaps! the wet muggy weather has caused all sorts of problems and i've barely been able to keep ahead of the moldy mildewy leaves. as a result .... no real tomato's to show so far. but i hold out hope! i was talking to a grower at a market recently and asked what was the growing time for up here in the northern rivers and they indicated that if you are ok with them growing more slowly in the cold weather .... that unless we get a frost .... we could pretty much grow year round. so i'm gonna give it a go. i bought some seedlings from an organic grower at the kyogle markets recently that she said were hardy .... put a few in the aquaponics, but have planted out the left overs in the ground. i have also planted some seeds for some purple calabash. these are mid to late season heirloom variety that i have hopes will give us tomato's well into the mid fall season and on!
march will be time to plant broad beans, peas, garlic and snow peas up here ...some will be for here, and some will be for the school our kids go to. but i can't help but wonder if some of the crops that i might even have planted today will go into the ground at JustEarth.
time will tell!
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