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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

day by day 21.4.2020

The first job this morning was to mow the top lawn area, it was getting overgrown and messy.

There were not so many clouds today, a lovely 30C {86F}. The mornings are a lot cooler these days, and it stays coolish until around lunchtime. Won't be long and the fire will be lit at night.


I went out to the veggie patch and decided it was time to pull out the tomato plants along the fence. They had plenty of tomatoes on them but because they don't get enough sunlight, they were not ripening properly.  Lesson learned.


I have hung the plants on the fence for now, but will move them to a cooler area tomorrow so the remaining tomatoes will hopefully ripen off.


According to Sophie, if you hang the plants upside down in a cool spot like the garage, the fruit will continue to ripen so you can still save the tomatoes. We will see...


Today's pickings.


I have all these green tomatoes to deal with now and more out in the patch, so there will be some for green tomato pickles, a pie and a cake. I will share the recipes with you soon.


After having leftover pizza for lunch it was time to venture out to the shops. Phil is going to work tonight so we went to get some fresh fruit and veggies plus a few bits and pieces. The shops are starting to stock more basic items now although there are still restrictions on some of them. Because the numbers of Covid-19 have declined significantly we didn't feel the need to wear masks today. We just kept our distance from everyone!


On the way home we passed by a business that had wooden and plastic pallets out the front to give away. Phil dropped me home with the groceries and went back to pick up these two.


So now we have changed our minds again!

The wicking boxes will sit on these for better airflow. I really must source some more of these foam boxes. The pallet is the perfect size to fit five boxes on.


We can get more of the gravy containers from a local business, so will need to pay them a visit soon.


Back inside there is a strong vinegary smell coming from my cupboard and this is why.

The apple scrap vinegar is quite happy brewing away in the darkness. It has formed a nice thick mother on the top.


The second jar is also starting to form a mother.


Fresh greens from the garden {in the bowl} to go into a salad for Phil to take to work. The others are for a green juice.



I watered the lawn tonight just before sundown. This is the area that we are working on.


Phil is starting a new pathway out back along the ridge. We planted trees out there and have wanted to make a path for a few years now. There was the start of one here, but the quandong trees grew all along it so we have had to move it over a bit. I will need to move the succulent plant over to the right. Before that happens I will put some fresh manure and mulch in there. This is the rain water tank that waters the veggie patch.


Unfortunately I didn't get to finish the wicking beds today because of getting sidetracked doing other things. Tomorrow morning I will be dog sitting for my daughter again, so hopefully in the afternoon I will get busy and get it done.

How did you spend this day?

See you soon,
xTania


13 comments:

  1. The pallets looked like a great free find for your poly boxes. Have a good week Tania. Kathy, Brisbane

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    1. Those pallets were a lucky find indeed, I will definitely keep an eye out for more now. I don't like plastic, but the wooden ones would rot or attract termites near to the house, so best to avoid.

      xTania

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  2. I have tomatoes not ripening too Tania. I might try the hanging upside down method too. I almost lit our fire this morning as its a grey foggy damp Waikato day. But I just have the heater on instead ... these are good sewing days.

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    1. Hi Julie,

      There is supposed to be a rainy day here tomorrow {I'll believe it when I see it lol}, and I would have loved to do some sewing, but there is going to be no power for most of the day, so it will need to be hand sewing, or another crafty pursuit like knitting or crochet :-)

      xTania

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  3. So productive Tania! Looking great- and I love a good recycling project.

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  4. I have found that if I pick the tomatoes (mine are Roma) when they are just beginning to have a tinge of red, they ripen quite fast inside on the kitchen bench. I love your garden and can appreciate all the hard work you have put into it.

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    1. Thank you Wendy. For some reason mine are not ripening properly on the window sill. They end up going a darker colour, but still hard and green on the inside, and wrinkly on the stem end. So I don't know. I feel, even the method I am trying is not going to work.

      xTania

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  5. Yesterday, Tuesday, I spent a good deal of time in the garden. I repotted a Durban Plum. This plant has enormous spines on it so by the time I had finished I was a bleeding mess. The back garden is no longer working as a veg planting area in it's current format. The fruit trees have grown and the way the garden is set out no longer works. I have been planning the changes and am working towards them. Just getting some pruning done has helped. I also cut out and made 5 pairs of undies for the youngest Grandie. These have gone in the present cupboard as part of her Christmas present. I am going to give that apple scrap vinegar a try. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You never stop Miss Jane! Wish I had your energy :-)

      You achieve so much in a day. As I have said before you need a blog to record all you do and so we can see lots of pictures and get inspiration :-D

      I add apple cider vinegar with the mother to my apple scrap vinegar, some of recipes out there don't use it, but I think it makes for a better vinegar. I also let mine sit for weeks. The last lot I made was 8 weeks before I bottled it.

      xTania

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    2. I am doing this today. I have some good AC vinegar with a mother in it. Thank you for the tip.

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  6. Hi Tania :) I had to laugh reading your blog as we've been doing the exact same things. This week I started (for the first time) to make apple cider vinegar with apple peel scraps lol and also I've been pulling up tomato plants and today I made Green Tomato Chutney :) see what I mean lol. I read in your comments that you let your vinegar sit 8 weeks. That's good to know. I have no idea if mine will even work. I watched a video on yOuTube by Morag Gamble and she was making it, so I'm just following what she did. Blessings to you ~ Linda

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    1. Lovely to hear from you Linda.

      That is funny how we are doing almost the same things. Great minds think alike ;)

      Re the apple scrap vinegar. I think it depends on how long you want the peels to ferment. The longer you leave it, the stronger the taste. It is up to your taste.

      Hope you are coping okay with the lock down in NZ. It must just about be time to lift the restrictions?

      Australia is doing really well with controlling the virus but we cant take things easy yet. South Australia, where I live has had hardly any cases this past week.

      Take care and be blessed,
      xTania

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