Transmissions Will Resume Shortly

Our computer has been on the blink and in the middle we have also been on a trip to Melbourne.

I will be back shortly.

Garlic Dilemas

I have not had a lot of success with last years garlic.  But I am not really sure why.

The year before I got a lot of large bulbs and they lasted really well.

Last year I planted out some of the good ones I had grown the year before and I got only small bulbs.  They are still really tasty and pack a punch compared to their supermarket counterparts.

And now I am finding that many of the bulbs have gone soft and the individual cloves have become dry and hollow.  I am not sure if our long dry spell has anything to do with it but thankfully it has nor affected all of them.  I will not have enough to last me till this years are ready so I think I will buy some new stock and see if I have better results.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips?

Back to the Garden

The rain finally seems like it is easing off.  We are still getting showers everyday but I decided it was time to get some more seeds sown and plants in the garden.
I planted some seeds a few weeks ago but most of them rotted in the rain so I am having another go.
I planted out some seeds directly and others in seed raising mix.  I am giving brassicas one more go after ending up feeding the to the cows last year when they refused to form heads.
I think that we are just too far north to grow them and even though we get cold winters and heavy frosts the just do not last long enough.

I am hoping that I will have them in early enough this year to get better results.

Last week during a break in the weather I had prepared the 2 raised beds behind the garage.

I dug in the last of the old sugar cane mulch and added cow manure, blood and bone and then topped it all off with a new layer of mulch.

The soil in these beds is really good after 2 years of nurturing it.    It started of as about 50% clay and now with all the organic matter we have added there are worms galore and they have broken down most of the clay so that we have lovely rich soil.

I am also having a last ditch effort at growing some beans and cucumbers.  But I may have left them a little too late.

Banana & Berry Bread - Using Up The Stockpile

While doing my stockpile challenge I thought I had better start using up some of the 30 odd frozen bananas gracing my freezer.  I do not like bananas except in cake, yes I know I'm weird.  Anyway this is such an easy recipe that I got from a book from the library and I make 2 at a time as it freezes well so is great to have on hand.

Banana & Berry Bread

4 Egg Whites
4 Large Ripe Bananas
1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Cups Plain Flour
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 1/2 Cups of Frozen Berries (Raspberries, Blueberries or Mixed Berries)

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and line 2 loaf tins and set aside.
Lightly beat the egg whites and mash in the bananas.  Mix in the sugar and oil.
Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Fold through the frozen berries and then spoon the mix into the two loaf tins.
Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.

A Sea Of Grass

I know many people out there are just praying for some rain but here we are praying the rain will stop.  To give you an idea of how wet it has been since the start of the year (65 days) we have had 47 inches/770mls of rain.  And most of that fell since January 24th (the last 41 days).
All that rain combined with the warm summer temperatures has meant the grass has gone crazy.

In the paddock the cows are up to their chests in grass.

The grass is thick and lush.  When the win blows and the sun is shinning it is like a sea of green with waves moving across the land.

 And our lawn that was mowed 10 days ago during a break in the weather is threatening to swallow up the pets.  The toys are long gone which should make mowing interesting on the weekend (if it is fine enough).