Meet Tipsy the lamb - she's already on the bottle, but thankfully it's only milk
Hinterland Homesteading with Racheal Pascoe
My favourite time of year is just around the corner! In just a few days it will be Spring. I love spring, not just because of the abundance of flowers and the farmyard babies who are born at our place, but for the longer days and warmer weather. To me it signals the beginning of the lead into the Christmas holidays.
Before it gets too hot for growing in the garden, we have a wonderful transition period to enjoy! Spring is a terrific time to expand what you have growing the garden. The focus changes from winter veggies to more of a salad offering. As you are harvesting the final heads of broccoli and digging up the last few potatoes, you can replace them with summer salad goodies!
What to plant
I have just planted a punnet of iceberg lettuce, rocket, green beans, a packet of corn seeds, more tomato varieties and capsicum. I already have some nice carrots coming along, as well as some spring onions. I try to think of a summer salad and all the things I could grow to make it interesting. My radish are looking super, and our chives are doing well.
This weeks’ job is to get some cucumber seeds. I will start them in a tray on the laundry bench and then plant them along an empty trellis in the garden. Sometimes I can plant seeds in the garden bed and never see them again! I think rats or my resident bandicoot enjoys them before I get a chance to! Therefore, starting seeds in a tray inside the house can be safer.
What to buy
When I am at the shops, I try to only buy the Heirloom/Heritage seeds or seedlings. I know it is hard because there is just so much out there, but I like to keep the seeds for next year. It’s important I buy what I know will grow again. Of course I do break my own rules sometimes. The punnet of iceberg lettuce looked so healthy and ready to be planted, so I bought it. We eat iceberg lettuce at home here, so I think it’s sensible to grow what you know your family will enjoy. One year I grew kohl rabi. It looked amazing, the colour of it was incredible, but no one even liked it enough to eat it! Ha. Kohl rabi was quickly crossed off the planting list.
Bean seeds
If you came to the Thursday BBQ recently and collected some Madagascan bean seeds, now is an ideal time to plant them. You can soak them in water overnight and then plant out on the kitchen windowsill. When they are a few inches tall, plant them in the garden along a fence or trellis.
Gardening guru visits Thursday BBQ
I was absolutely chuffed to meet Eric Erbacher last week at our BBQ stall! Eric and his father started the very popular Erbachers Fruit and Vegetable store over 70 years ago. Eric is one of 13 children. He said his mother and father worked very hard raising the family while running the farm and shop.
Eric came into town to collect some seeds and say hi. It was so good chatting about gardening and the challenges that come with beating pests and diseases to enjoy a great crop. Eric said: “The trick to being a good gardener is not using sprays”. I liked his line of thought. More and more gardeners are trying to avoid using harsh chemicals while gardening these days.
I asked how Eric knew about the bean seeds and he say he reads my column! That made my day. So that’s my hubby Gavin, my Mum Iris and now Eric who read it each fortnight. I am doing alright.
Happy homesteading everyone!
