gippslandwildharvest

Most people once the broccoli flowers cut that off, and then cut out the plant. I for one was one was one of them. Recently I have left them grow and once all the little flowers come up from the branches, then I would dig out the whole plant. This year I have left them in and at least once per week I can go out and get 2 handfuls of bits- or broccolini if you like. I will leave them and see what happens. I would say for certain that if you leave it and continually harvest them you will get 3 times the amount than if you only harvesting once.

Hidden Gems

Brocolini

Its nice to have wood at the back door, I have found another use- apart from heating the house, heating the hot water, drying the clothes and cooking my food- the lounge is warm enough to “Brew beer” BOOM!!!!!! The wood is from a couple of farmers properties that I am related to, they dont want the wood lying around and its already dead. Sustainable- well sort of!

Wood is Good

Its been a bit colder than usual this Winter or realistically colder than what we have been used to in the past 10 years. Great for growing broccoli, cauliflower and the rest of the brassicas. Its a nice time of year, lots of hearty food, time to rest the sole. Fruit trees are sleeping, the veggie beds are just chugging along, time to put down some compost into the beds. Time to enjoy the fruits of my labour. Last Seasons preserves, firewood, fruit, pumpkins etc.

Each jar, pumpkin, fruit or packet of meat that I use, I can picture the journey of me collecting them, where it was, what the day was like, who was with me and what the feelings were like. This is the very being of why i do what i do. Thats whats missing at the supermarkets, there is no journey, no connection, no work to gain that meal. If there is no connection its no wonder we waste 40% of all of the food. Which is blasphemy, a disgrace at the highest level.

This is some broccoli that I have grown, blanched then I put it in the freezer on an oven tray till its hard then I put it int he vacuum sealed bags- I am always in two minds about the extra plastic, but the product does last a lot longer and I can reuse the bags.

Humans need to be plugged into our landscape to know where to find stuff, when and how. What happens if there is a failure in our current system? I know that I will be fine.

Though not a very Aussie animal, the humble squirrel turns up in most of our stories and kids cartoons. We soon get the gist of what they are about. For many though it may not hit home till they go on a journey of preserving food, food for later.

What later, how long, when you have squirreled something precious away, when is it ok to open it, cross that one off your list and know that you have one less. I guess its like owning a good wine cellar. I am not one to keep stuff for when the queen might visit, I am the most important person in my life and if my things are not meant for me, then whom for. Mid February, nearly five months ago, I was picking blackberries in a dry creek bed, hearing copper head snakes slither off into the dense growth, my hands picking for all I am worth. The squirrel having possessed my body wants to gather and gather and gather, but I can only get so much.
There is only so much blackberry jam I can eat, though my friends are always happy to see blackberry jam come their way but I only have so many hours in the day. The cherished gold mine lingers heavy in my thoughts, should I pop back and get just a few more, the birds are only eating them and then there will be no more once they have finished for another 12 months.

So it’s Late June, cold outside and yes it’s time to open a jar of preserved blackberries- the smell, heavy in sweet fruit, my dear little purple berries. Cooked in custard- don’t get silly with these, this is no time to be master chef! – This is simple, slow, and sole warming food.

Blackberries & Custard

Thought I had better show you where they are being served

Best Setting

Then for breaky- whom needs to buy yoghurt with blackberries in them. Make your own

Vanilla Yoghurt with Blackberries

Well it’s May and the Garden beds have been cleaned out. All the pumpkins have been stored and I am using them every day- Pumpkin soup for Lunch.
I have planted the Brassica’s and next month start the onion and Garlic train. It’s a great time of year, beds getting some well-deserved rest and time to have a clean out and reassess. Time to find some much needed food- mostly I just use Cow manure found in local paddocks or at some local Cattle yards. It all looks a little bare at the moment- but that is life in the veggie garden- too many beds then not enough beds. Each new season signals a new start, a new beginning and if the last season wasn’t as successful as you had hoped- so what- plant, restart, and go again- that is the thing about Mother Nature, she is really. If your fruit trees don’t bare- next year you get to fix your mistakes and go again- over and over- as long as you’re not exporting more nutrients than you are giving back- it’s all roses.

In between my garden beds is where I throw all the plant matter- I walk over this throughout the year and when it’s ready it goes back into the garden beds. I think of it as a closed loop- the only things I wish to export are the actual vegetables- all of that plan matter needs to stay behind to form compost and nutrients.

New start- empty beds

I ended up with 30 odd pumpkins, already started giving some away- that what food is for to bond relationships and grow new ones. Food is the gift of life and people even today recognise this. I have store some on a roof and some in the wood shed- I have read so much stuff all contradicting each other, so to hedge my bets- some inside and some outside.

Grey Pumpkins

Some of the other great things to do with pumpkins is to cook Scones. I took them into work and supplied morning tea- of course I took in my own Plum Jam, made with Blood Plum (Satsuma) – the only plum!!.

Pumpkin Scones with raisens

Of Course the Season has changed and should be out Deer hunting really, but when little windows open up- well you have to take them. A lovely day out of Lakes Entrance, “Yep”- Snapper in May, also some gurnard. Even tonight while watching a cooking show- I have learnt about Fish Balls- and am so there. I will do some various things with this beautiful meat. Actually today I learned 2 things. Freeze fish with guts and scales still on- cook them that way and it will stay much moister.

In the photo is 25 lovely snapper all up to 38cm, some gurnard which have a poisonous spine but we cut them off when they come into the boat

Snapper, Gurnard and Barracouta

The Smell of wood burning hits my nose every time I open my gate, autumn is here. It’s not super cold but enough to bother the pumpkins busy trying to finish off the seasons fruit, the tomatos are done. I have up to 40 odd jars of passata, they have done their job, I will let them rest! My Little Shed is slowly getting there, its roof is finished, the walls are nearly finished, already it has lots of product sitting inside its walls, ready for use- I have tagged it as the Kitchen, but its seems to be the “Little Shed”.

In the photo is Gold in the form of pumpkin, grey, I have grown about 30 for the season, we will not eat that much, I am happy to feed my neighbours, family and friends, plus good to have spare for some good old produce swapping.

As Far as the Harvesting, I have been feasting on Mushrooms, they are everywhere, pity the poor public whom are all scared in thinking that they are all poisonous, yep there are some but there are so many that are very edible. It’s like focusing on the potato’s, if green they will make us sick otherwise fantastic.

honey- hmm from a friend that lives just down the road- talk about sustainable- Bees busy improving the neighbourhood fruit & Veg supply and for their efforts, we steal their honey. I swapped for some meat that I acquired through my butchering skills.

Meat- a trip to karoonda Park- did some cutting up for them, meat for me, beast cut up for them- win win, that it what makes the world go round, no this crap money stuff that does us no good. I go to the farm for my kids; I want them to experience real life, to know where real food comes from and what it takes to get it to the plate. A large table of mince, chuck bones, rolled beef and some casserole and Vola some into snags as well

King fish- just turns up at the door step, don’t get me wrong would have loved to be the one on the end of the line. Caught out near cliffy island in Bass strait, ethically and sustainably, this fish was not hauled into a net, frozen, trucked to Melbourne fish market, trucked back to the fish shop, is I could buy it use my diesel to take it home and then electricity to freeze it- hmm our way – trying to provide food for the masses is just flawed.

To top things off- was working from home on Friday and fire going, just thought I would cook for free as well. Pumpkin soup with you guessed it, my pumpkin, garlic, onion, herbs and a rolled beef roast done in tomato passata with onion, garlic & carrots. Does life get better?

It’s all about this concept- I do not think the way we do things today is cutting the mustard- we must design and use our appliances for multiple thing. When my fire is going its heating my house, heating my water and cooking my dinner all without an ounce of electricity.

Just some randoms from the garden- I have left the spuds int he ground till I need them, when it looks like the weather might start getting cold and crappy I will dig them all up and store them in the preserving shed

Also I have been very triumph this year int he tomato department, passata is my main option and have some 30 odd jars full. I have also did some sun dried tommie’s and even some skinned and preserved, using my fowler’s jars.

One of the most effective ways to garden is using a diary about the season, what you plant, what bed and the general state of play. How can you become a better gardener if you dont have the mistakes to learn and get better from.

For instance, this year I did not plant and zucchini or squash but planted a lot more tomato’s. This has seemed to suit our family. I have a few capsicums and chillie’s. I did not plant enough beans. What I did late last year was to plant a late flush of broccoli and prospered well from it.

I planted too many pumpkins that have taken over the yard. but thats ok- I also have wild tomato’s coming up all over the place, I just add them in with my tomato’s.

My corn was super this year and could have planted more- its this amounts and when you planted that keeps your garden getting better for your family. Thats the beauty of growing food, grow what you want that your family uses and eats, try new things and if you ended up not eating it then why grow it again. I need to make space for asparagus- that my next venture.

its how history and humans have bettered themselves and the greats of history have succeeded by recording the events and looked for ways to improve. Thats what a diary is, its a recording of your experiment and then you can reflect on what happened and next year you get to try to better what you are doing.

The next steps are Winter Veg! Its on its way and now we get to plant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussel sprouts broad beans and the list goes on. Looking forward to it but ever thankful form the past season

So why stained fingers you ask? Well its blackberry picking time and that means stained fingers and prickled hands.

Its been a very different season, we have had some real luck with rain coming through and not overly hot days- well actually last week I lit the fire- now before i get accosted with being quite thin on my tolerance scale! tis a double edged sword. My great solar hotwater/ wetback system has done wonders, but I have chosen to not have it connected to electricity for a backup booster and the spate of unusually hot weather has seen my hot water now being not very hot- so a cold night was the answer to light the fire to give it a boost, we are now heading back into a supposed normal summer and should be fine.

We as a family found a spot not more than 2 km from home to pick some blackberries- we got through it- not everyone has my ZEST for wild harvesting- I hope it will instill in my kids how it was instilled by my parents. I get so excited to pick them for free- blackberry Jam, Pies, blackberries in custard, ice cream- my list grows each time I get my hand son the little blighters. I dont actually want to go home but just keep on picking, there is literally bucket loads there- I will return to get enough to preserve for a later date.

Blackberries & stained fingers

Tommies- ox heart, gross lisse, Roma and some wild truss throw ins- these all add to a great season for Tomatos. I have bucket loads but thats always the plan- make sun while it shines, next season may not be so kind. I will try to preserve in some shape or form about 20 jars of either passata jars or fowlers jars of Passata, skinned and maybe some sun dried.
I have not seen anybody help themselves out the front- i think I need a better sign.
Now you might see some not so ripe tomatoes in the bottom dish- this is my system- when they are nearly red pick them and ripen them off in the dark shed- Tomatoes need warmth, not light, to ripen, so there’s no need to put them on a sunny windowsill. Place them out of direct sunlight — even in a dark cupboard — where the temperature is 18 to 20c degrees. By doing this I am removing the tomatoes from pests whom love to attack them at their weakest- Yep- when they are at their prime RED!!!
I will collect them for a about 1 week then get all the bottles ready and do a batch- this saves me form cleaning the mincer machine too much and the mess is the same whether I do 1 jar or 15- so I wait usually I will try to involve another person and share the love or teach someone else how I do tomato’s- nothing new in fact by listening, watching, learning- anyone can grow & preserve tomatos. But it still amazes me that people buy herbs!

Wow its already January- this are really pushing along in the garden, I have harvested, blanched and frozen the corn, harvested beans, started on the tomato passata sauce train. The tomato’s are really going well. The Pumpkin have decided that they want the whole backyard and I am happy for them to roam, and roam they will. Things that I am missing from the garden are chilies- I thin I planted them but they are now buried under the tomatos. oh well- I will swap with someone somehow. I will be looking for them later as I make my famous Tomato sauce with chilli- its delightful.

What I will be searching for at the moment is blackberries- not too difficult. Satsuma plums to make the best plum jam and sauce ever. Apricots for some jam and maybe even make some apricot turnovers. Roadside apples are a plenty, but I still have some apple puree in the fowlers jars.

One of the most important things to do with produce is to share- this is a goodies basket that I made up when visiting friends.

Project wise: My preserving shed is coming along well- so far I dont think I have bought anything for it- all recycled material- pallets for the outside walls, insulation that I had left over and some old foam mattress in the shed. The outside I will clad like weatherboards and corrugated iron round the back. Its mostly set up inside- just need to install the sink and some more shelving and I think I am set.

Wow- its crazy this time of year and dang hard to be a sustainable person at this time of year. It bad enough thinking of all the STUFF we buy that we dont need- I think Christmas is being downgraded- we have all let big business bring us down and forget the real value of this time of year- Nothing is being saved for a special time!. Our kids get stuff at anytime throughout the year- I am not sure they actually get special. Growing up on the farm it was our birthday or Christmas and mum & dad could only afford 1 of us kids to get a larger more expensive present- so each year it was someone else turn!. Imagine that today- it would be on A current affair for being bad parents.

I am no way in the slightest bit religious- and would be happy for people to stop referring to them selves as 1 or the other- People are not a religion they are from that country- simple- be proud of your heritage. There are no races of people- there are only geographical differences because of where we originated from- white skin- from the cold, hot from the warmer- its called adaptation.

Without sounding like the Grinch- what a footprint Christmas has become- think of this- when you die and someone is reading your eulogy- do you think for once they will mention anything about the stuff you bought, the presents, the gifts, the money. It will only be about the human emotions- that all we care about- you were kind, loving, family originated or they might refer the holidays that you took the family on- its still referring to memories.

So whats going on in my little world- I have been nominated for a local food champion with a local community Health service- I am chuffed-

The garden is crazy good- I need more acres to work, grow and share. I am still waiting to see if my community orchard grant gets up- it about planting up to 50 trees near the recreation reserve for the whole town to have access to fresh fruit.

The photos are self explanatory, the last photos are Yabbies from a friends dam- this make sit even more special- I went with another friend and his 3 boys, I had Mason with me- they 4 boys were ecstatic- running back and forth with yabbies in their nets- even squealing as they ran around- now thats special- memories!!! having fun, getting food from the wild- it does not get better than that as a man or young boys- hunting with their fathers. All men should practice this with their kids- its not all about meat- hunting nuts, berries, mushrooms plants- its being out collecting that’s the important bit- so…

and now today- Christmas- we are eating the little blighters- together with the family that helped me gather them- its the circle of life these kids need to experience- the yabbies are getting some R & R in my bath tub- cleaning them out- just because we are going to kill an animal and eat it does not mean we disrespect that animal- infact its even more of a reason to take care of them- you cant be happy & healthy eating unhappy and uncared for animals. If you dont know about the life of the animal or even food that you are eating them maybe its time to have a look- is what you are eating- happy, healthy, sustainable?

Garlic Platt

Yabbie

Yabbies in Bath tub

It’s only the start of December but I have already been harvesting onions- they have done really well planted in the dead of winter, they have slowly grown and then hit their straps once the soil has warmed. I ended up putting in 3 full beds- the good old onion seems to find its way into almost every meal- the only time it gets left out is meat and veg nights- else it’s in all casseroles, soups, BBQs, Stir fry’s, spaghetti, pasta bakes, and the list keeps going.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=45

Looks like

the poor little old humble onion is actually a super food- which all “NEW” Super foods are about $$$$- For me its the tried and tested Veg already that are the Super Foods

Another snap shot of the garden- growing

Also a really close friend to the onion, which also seems to be a staple in this house hold is the Garlic- my plats are a bit rough- but that’s part of me- near enough is good enough- depending on what it is- don’t sweat the little stuff

Some other randoms is my 8 year old making naan & chapatti bread

There are lots of other things happening- mostly its camping, fishing and living in the outdoors- the more I can the better- we all under estimate how connected we are spiritually to the land, our whole life, jobs, family- everything we have we get it from the land and for that I am grateful.