Planting Plans.

I've not done anything that I planned to, not sure why.  I hurt but I always hurt so shouldn't be using that as an excuse and it's really not a good reason.  Afterall, it's not hard to stick a seed into the ground.

I have cleaned up an area where I can put some seedtrays and the chooks can't get to it as long as I keep their gate shut properly.  It's a good area as it is walked through every day.  It has water, shade during summer, a high area for putting the trays on up out of the way of anything.  I used to use it for growing seedlings but stopped as I was letting the chickens into this area but I've decided not to do that again so it will be just right. 

I have more than enough seeds to plant but will call into Mitre 10 tomorrow and see if they have any Spinach seedlings.  That's about all I will need to buy. 

I'm not home tomorrow but Friday will be a nice day to get some things in.  I'm busy with the Really Really Free Markets on Saturday but Sunday might get some more done.

Off to sort some more seeds.

Get Some Seeds In...

We are nearly halfway through April and I have not put anything new in the ground for weeks, probably closer to months...This will change as from this weekend.  I know, it should be from today but today I have other stuff to do.  Yep that's right, I can't even manage 10minutes to bung in a few seeds...
What a load of ****   Of course I have 10 spare minutes.  I've been on this thing for nearly an hour already, that would have seen a lot of seeds planted...if it wasn't too dark outside to see...

Today I plan on getting a seed planting area sorted.  Somewhere that the chooks and chickens can't get to that is close to where I am passing so it doesn't get forgotton as has happened too often up to now.   I will get the seeds sorted and work out what I need...I know I have another heap of seeds somewhere but cannot find them so will have a proper look for them.   I'm not sure if I have any seedraising mix left so might have to put something together as I am too tight to go and buy anything.   Hmmm  Tight is such a negative word and as I want to be sustainable in how I plant and grow things buying stuff in is not in my plans.  It's not that I am *tight* as such, it's that I want to be self sufficient with the gardens.   I want everything to stay here and come from here, I don't want to buy fertilizers or soil or compost etc.  It all has to come from this place not some place miles and miles away.

Ten things planted by the end of the month sounds good but I can't think of 10 things that I have or want...so I'll say 6.  I will get at least 6 different things in the ground or in seedtrays by the end of the month.  That sounds more doable for me.  I hope I can find 6 things that we like to eat...

I will buy in seedlings if I have to ...I'm thinking I don't have any Spinach seeds left so I won't feel too bad about buying seedlings if I need to but don't know where from as I have no plans on going to any shops.  Might have to call in somewhere next Thursday.

So there's the plan.  What have you, or will you, plant this month?

Eat From Here Challenge. Day 2.

8AM.
Day 2 and I'm confident that I will get through again without eating or drinking anything from any shop.
I do need to decide what to have for lunch and tonights tea before it actually gets to be lunch or tea time.

Lunchtime and I was going to cook some vegies up in the chicken stock that I took out of the freezer...turns out the stock was actually lentil mush so I didn't use it.  I used the leftover blended veg from yesterday, added some water and cooked the veg in that..  It could have been improved with chutney from last year but that had bought vinegar in it so I went without.

Today's Food:
Orange.
Egg slice.
Figs.  A few, they were quite dry so maybe need more watering...
Grapes, small bunch.
Apple.  While waiting for vegies for lunch to cook.
Assorted vegies, bowl of.
Frozen fruit mush, bowl of.  This lot has cucumber in it.  Taste good.
Grapes.
Vegies and an egg.
There might be a bowl of fruit before bed, depends on how I feel.

So where's the iron, the calcium, the caffeine...the stuff we need to grow big and strong...Might be some in there but not enough.  I usually have Milo from the spoon to add iron.  Mollasses the same way for the same thing.  I have low Iron and am suposed to take tablets but have run out of them so shouldn't eat like this long term anyway but I will have a plate of liver and onions for my lunch on the day I finish this challenge.  Tomorrow?  Or should I go the whole 3 days like I said I would?   Hmmm, decisions decisions...

Eat From Here Challenge. Day 1.

I like to get up early, let the chooks out, have a coffee while I go on here for a bit, outside to start the day, in for breakfast then outside again...

This morning the chooks were out by 5.30 so I then picked some sprigs of Chocolate Mint for my morning drink.  It was OKish.  I do like this drink on a hot Summers day but it's a long way from the strong, white coffee I like first thing.  Really, it was not OK and I tipped half into the chook bucket.

I think for this challenge to succeed I am going to have to be organised so I plan on making some food up in the mornings so that it is handy and easy to grab from the fridge.  If it is already made up I will not have to think and will be less likely to wonder what is in the cupboard or freezer.  There are drumsticks in the freezer.  Husband bought them but will be leaving them here with me for a couple of days.  Alone.  There was cheesecake in there too but I'm hoping he ate that!

So this morning I made  up an egg slice thingy.  Seven small eggs and heaps of onion, tomato, capsicum.  Cooked and divided into 3.   That was breakfast and a snack.   I cut up some fruit and made a slushie type drink, froze that in a couple of small bowls to snack on if I felt *deprived*  I had the first one after lunch, it was really nice and there are a few more still in the freezer.

I stick blendered up a whole pile of vegies, added an egg and made patties for lunch.  Well, they were suposed to be patties but some broke and ended up all mushed up.  They still tasted fine.  Could have done with a bit of salt but still...

I have taken stock out, was going to chop up a pile of vegies and make soup/mush for tomorrows lunch but haven't so will do that tomorrow.

Today I have had:
ChocMint Tea.  Half a mug.
Egg slice with onion, tomato, capsicum,
Vegie patties/mush.
Frozen fruit slushy
Vegie patties/mush.  Had the rest just after 5pm.
Frozen fruit mush.
Small bunch of grapes.
Heaps of water, that is my drink of choice.  After the coffee.

If I am not careful there will be too many eggs.  How many is too many though...A dozen over three days is probably too many for 1 person...Hmmm, They are a quick, easy, versatile food but with the egg slice I have already had 4 small ones today. 

I'm pretty sure that I can do this quite easily but I don't know if it will be a healthy way of eating.  Definitely not for long term.  As an experiment over a few days I might get away with it but longterm?  I dunno. I think too many eggs.   If the husband was here to do me a rooster that would mean less eggs would be eaten...Same if I was not so SookyLaLa to catch and cook a marron.

So I have had a whole day of eating nothing except what was grown/produced here.  I have egg slice for tomorrows breakfast and lunch is kinda sorted.  No idea what to have tomorrow night.  Eggs? 

Our Challenge...What's the point?

I've been asked this a few times now...and the answer is *there is no *real* point.*

For 2010 I challenged myself not to buy vegetables for a whole year.  Proved to myself that I could even though I had serious doubts about doing it for 12 months.  2011 kinda had the same goal but really wasn't as *into it*

So to keep the fun in being outside digging, planting, mulching, mowing, braving all sorts of weather, picking up snails and squishing smelly bugs I needed something new.  Something harder.  Something that would knock my socks off and make me laugh more...Something that I could do that would make the husband think about what he ate and about all the hard work I put in to feed him these fresh yummy vegies that he doesn't really care about...Something to justify my not looking for another job now that I am on my last week...You know, all the normal reasons that a normal person would not have...

I have asked others to challenge themselves.  To do something that will be hard for them.  For no particular reason except that it will be fun... Kinda...

Sister in Law, who used to have a great veg garden but has since moved and become slack, said she couldn't even grow tomatoes so I said that could be her challenge.  To not buy tomatoes for all of this year, she needs to grow any tomatoes they want to eat.   I had heaps of ideas for her but in the end she kinda agreed to try the tomatoes but I think it was only to shut me up.  And in thinking about it I don't think she will join in the fun at all....
A fiend in Queensland says she'll get something growing but as she lives on rock it will have to be in pots.  That's good, I think she will give it a go.  Again, it might only be to shut me up when I ask about it but it's a start. 
Someone else is not going to drink cooldrinks (softdrink) for 3 months of the year.  She has yet to pick her months though.  I think this will be hard for her but she is willing to give it a go.
Someone said it will be so easy but he wants his bought pasta.  It was suggested that his challenge could be to
not have his pasta but I don't know how that will go...

I know that I can grow our food.  I know that we could eat quite well without going to any shops for a couple of months.  I know I can go weeks on end without spending anything.  I'm not sure though about only eating what we grow here.  That will be hard for me as I like some things that come from a shop.  I can't supply my own coffee (yet) I can't milk a cow or goat for milk.  I can't kill a chook so wont have meat if husband is away.  I don't grow any grains...And there is an idea for next years challenge.

Maybe you choose to eat only what you have on hand.  If you are someone that shops for food each day that might be hard for you.  Maybe you want to eat more vegetables so you challenge yourself to have at least 6 different vegies for your weekend meals.  Maybe you smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much chocolate.  Could you not eat chocolate for a month?  That would be easy for me, no challenge at all but I know people that would find that very hard to do.

So really, there is no particular challenge.  You pick something that you want to do better, do more of, do less of...And then put it out there.  Or not~

Pass Me The Grass Killer.

Or I could order in a truck load of concrete.  I want to do both.

I have been out mowing, the mower is making me cranky as it's not working properly and we have not long ago forked out money on getting it to...I will have to use the smaller *girly* 4stroke but I like, or used to like, this bigger 2stroke as it has a lot more grunt.

I have decided to mow and count it as my moving to get fit as there is so much to do and I feel bad when I walk and then don't mow.  Now I will mow and not walk.  The mowing is a lot harder.  It gets me pushing and using more muscle that the easy walks I was, or wasnt, doing.

I give the grass to the chooks, they eat the seeds, scratch around in it, poop in it, I rake it up and feed the gardens with it.  It is a never ending circle that goes on and on and on....

The grass here is thick and we never water it but it keeps on growing...and growing.  It never lets up but this time of year it seems to grow twice as fast.  Faster than I can mow.  It is a challenge to keep it under control. And in saying that, I am off to do another 30minutes.  That should get the back area finished.  Then it will be the front, then outside the front fence then the back will be overgrown again...

To Poison or not To Poison...

Ideally this is a no brainer and of course I am not going to use poisons, of any kind...

So I spend my days mowing, weeding, trying to keep the grass under control and most of the gardens free of it.   I spend hours trapping bugs, squishing bugs, complaining about bugs.

Hubby says I should spray the grass and if I don't he will.  He says I need to put poison down for the slaters and if I don't he will.  So far I haven't and he has had other stuff to do.

So I am putting seeds in, watching them grow, putting them out into the gardens...and going out in the mornings to see a few more gone, eaten by the slaters.  This morning I go out and see that I have 1 broccoli left out there.  A few peas are gone, strawberries are being munched on, tomatoes have holes.

I have been setting up areas away from the plants with leaves and *food* for the slaters and a lot are going there and I can pick them up and give them to the chooks or pour boiling water on them and killing them that way.  I have removed mulch from the worst beds and no longer have it around the plants as the slaters were using it as a haven.   But there are so many and it seems that they like my food better than the stuff I put out for them.   The poison option is looking better with every missing seedling, half eaten strawberry and slater that I see on my food.  With Summer coming I will need to start mulching again but know that will just hide them and make it harder to see them.  Last year we used lime in a few beds and that seemed to work for awhile but there are now more than ever out there.

I have been battling these slaters for a few years now and I think they are now worse than they have ever been.  Hubby says to put poison down and get them back to a manageable level. 

A few people have mentioned to us that they use Snail pellets and that it kills the slaters. 

Hubby has bought a box.  It is tempting.  Very tempting.

August, We Bought...

I bought carrots this month.  A 5kg bag for $1.99.  I like carrots with my salads but as I cannot grow them and I was over at Spud Shed getting stuff for the daughter and I saw these...They are quite nice too, small and sweet.
No other vegetables were bought during August.

I did buy some bananas while I was there but no other fruit. 
We are still getting Oranges so they were our fruit of choice this month.  Those and the Passionfruit and we had a few Indian Guava ready to eat as well.

We are getting plenty of eggs and once again the son has brought out a few feeds of meat.  He is a butcher at the local supermarket and sometimes brings out stuff that is too near to its use by date to sell.
This month we scored some lamb chops, a pork roast, sausages and 2 lots of mince. 
He used to take it home and feed it to his dogs but a quick clip under his ear soon stopped that! 
We do buy some meat, I usually get some liver and  twin packs of chicken when we don't have any roosters.  Sausages if they are on special.  I would like to not have to buy any meat and some months I don't but I need the Liver for Iron and we like chicken...
I'm happy with the tiny amount of food that we need to buy but will keep trying to grow all of what we eat.

What To Plant. What Will Grow.

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about what I will be growing over the warmer months.  The 4 year old grandaughter wanted to help so, with help from her mum, she brought out some seeds and some seed trays so she could "plant seeds with Nanny" and a couple of weeks ago when L, T and J were out here they made a start.  They filled and planted the 3 trays, they filled some jiffy pot things for daughter L to take home and they got me motivated to keep planting over the next week.

The seed trays were put on a table and left on the front verandah.  I found an old spray bottle with the idea of giving them a spray when needed but after a couple of days I put each tray into a plastic shopping bag and tied it shut.  Within a few days the seeds were up with no extra mucking around from me and I removed them from the bags.  I now give them a squirt with the hose every couple of days but some of them need to be put out in the ground.  A job for this week.

Going through all my seeds I just pick out things that can be planted now, I never have a plan as such, I just plant what I have and hope enough grows so I don't have to buy anything.  So far that has worked but really, I don't try and do anything too hard.  Apart from the bleedin' carrots.  I'm a pretty SlackA*** gardener and if something doesn't grow I just try again or plant something else.

I've also put other seeds into the bottom half of coke bottles with the lid as a top and more seeds in jiffy pots in a cardboard box with a sheet of glass over it.  One bottle has Rosemary cuttings.







More seeds in this container.  Hubby bought a salad roll while away at work one day and I rescued this from the bin.  He will growl but hey, if it works it will be worth it.

These bottle have cuttings in them.  After a month the Mulberry cuttings are starting to bud up but the Bougainvillea look like they are dead which is a shame as they have come from Doolgunna Station and were a really nice colour but I wanted them as a remembrance thing.




I am trying again with Carrots but not going to hold my breath.  I hardly ever get these up and growing.  I think I have managed to get 2 lots good enough to eat but have had 5 or 6 attempts.  I have read that they need to be kept moist, so they are covered with newspaper.  That will be removed if when the carrots come up..  If When they come up then they should make it to a decent size so here's hoping.

I have put peas in this end as well and it shouldn't be long before they are up.  I put bottles over them as a bit of an experiment.  Any other time that I plant peas I don't worry about covering them but I am hoping this will get them up quicker.

I'm not sure what the girls planted though we did write it on sticks and shoved it in with the seeds. 
I should probably write it all down so I know but I'm not too fussed.  I'll know soon enough when they start producing!
I think I've made a decent start but come September I will need to get a lot more stuff in.

Under Water.

It rained last night, most of the night I think.  I knew it was wet outside this morning when the trough in the bathroom gurgled at me.  Not a cute little baby gurgle but a *everything is under water and the septic and leachdrain is full* gurgle.  Went out to let the chooks out and yep!  Had to walk through the gulf of Barbs Backyard to get there.

The wishing well hole is overflowing, the duckpond sump hole is overflowing, the driveway is under water as it everywhere else.  And it's still raining!

Luckily Hubby is home today so he may be able to get the bigger pump going and get some of it diverted  out into the old irrigation drain out the back

We have already pumped away more water than some people use all year and it was bothering me that we weren't keeping the water on our land but I am thinking differently this morning.  I want it all pumped away and I want it all pumped away NOW!!

I m not sure if that will even be possible but if we don't get rid of some of it I don't fancy the chances of  me getting my car out tomorrow.  And toilet flushing will be a no goer...showering tonight...nowhere for that water to go either...Bugger!  No point in doing all of yesterdays dishes now,  Hmmm, maybe there is some good to it all

Potatoes and Roundup?

Husband was speaking to a bloke yesterday and the talk got onto diseases and how chemicals and crap in the food supply could be contributing.  I agree with this, I think it is more than likely that people, kids too, are sicker now because we are being slowly poisoned.  Anyway, This bloke said that his neighbour, in our town,  grows potatoes, commercially, and when they are ready he sprays the whole crop with Roundup!!  WTF!!!!   I'm not sure if it is true but this bloke has no reason to lie about it.  He sprays the plant and it apparently goes down into the spud and it hardens the skin on the spud and saves the growers 4 to 5 weeks.  Or so he says  Unfortunately, I believe that it is very probable.  This bloke says that he has been growing his own potatoes since he found this out.  ...

Now I'm not fussed on spuds, I could easily live without them.  Not so husband.  I grow a few, enough to have fresh when he wants them but I have bought a big bag when I know he is going to be home more often than usual but hearing this has made me think about growing heaps more.l He will continue eating bought ones but as I probably won't be buying them anymore...I'll need to dig up a big patch of ground somewhere and see if I can get a *proper* supply.  It will be my next big challenge.

Has anyone heard of this.  What do you think the chances of it being true are?

Our *Don't Buy Vegetables In 2010* Challenge.

So the year 2010 is over, how did we do with our challenge?  I am very pleased to say that we succeeded.

During the year Hubby bought a small bag of onions so I had some to take to a family gathering and I bought a 10kilo bag of potatoes from Spud Shed to use as seed potatoes.  That is all the vegetable stuff that we bought during 2010.

Just about all the vegetables that we ate here were grown here but there were a few exceptions as in stuff from the pig food crates and stuff that people gave us.  Daughter L gave us a few bags of onions, for example.

Will I do the same challenge next year?  No.

I will definitely grow most of our vegetables but I will also not feel too bad if I buy a bag of carrots.  I have had a lot of trouble growing enough carrots so as to not have to skimp on using them and as I can buy big bags quite cheaply I will do that if I need to.  I don't have many out there now and we are going without them with roasts and a lot of salads because of this.

I don't think we missed out on too much.  Hubby would have liked more fresh tomatoes during Winter but he understood why there weren't many there.  I could do with more, bigger lettuce now, and the above mentioned carrots.

We had a lot of stuff not come up, Slater's ate a lot, cows got in and ate stuff, chooks got out and ate stuff.
A lot of failures along the way...nothing too bad though and I suppose I have learnt heaps throughout the year.

I'm glad we tried.  I class it as being successful.  It was sometimes fun, it got me out in the fresh air more than I might otherwise have done.  There were times that I swore, times that I wondered whose *stupid* idea it was, times that I was pretty proud of myself. 

I think it was a very good result to what was a pretty challenging challenge.  Yay Me, Yay Hubby for his support and garden building skills. Yay to us!

What's Growing, What's Not.

The last couple of nights we have had some really strong Easterlies (winds)  A couple of branches came down, stuff blew off the verandah, a tarp nearly ended up down the back paddock...No bad damage here but a lot of trees down in town.

The bloke next door is growing corn and it is so close to being ready to pick and the wind has flattened it.  One day it was standing tall and the next it was lying flat.  It should be OK but does look strange.

I planted corn, bought seeds, at the same time as this bloke planted this lot of his.  Mine didn't grow so I planted more and then more again when they didn't come up.  That didn't grow either.  In the mean time the bloke next door had planted 2 more lots.  That grew. A few weeks ago I rescued a cob from pig food, forgot about it for awhile, found it all dried up and manky looking but planted it anyway... and that is growing.  It is now around 2inches high so has a long way to go before it will be ready.  But it seems that the bought seed is not as good as manky, dried up kernels.  It's a pity though that the first lot didn't grow as every time I see the corn next door I want some.  I could see if he wants to do a swap with some honey but we see him out there spraying stuff all the time and it puts me off.  I may just have to wait until our chemical free stuff is ready.

I have been to other peoples places and seen Sunflowers blooming and looking gorgeous as they raise their heads to the sky, not in my backyard though.  None of my seeds came up.  I love these flowers and am a bit sad that I have none out there.  I'm going to put more seeds in and hope that some make it.  I want these flowers on my coffin when I die and it would be nice if I could get a paddock full growing...just in case.  

Watermelons are another thing that didn't grow.  I should have these out there getting bigger by the day but there are none.  I have put more seeds in and will hope for a few.  Same with Pumpkin, None survived.  I have a few seeds coming up now and once again it is seeds from an old pumpkin, not bought seeds, that are growing.   When I think about it there is a lot of stuff missing from the garden, there are no flowers from any seed that I planted, not as much Garlic as last season...

There is still plenty to eat out there though.  We had our first cucumber yesterday and will be getting lots of them from now on.  Still heaps of tomatoes, the new chillies are ready to pick, Capsicum are doing well and there are more than enough for what we need.  The Silverbeet is pickable, still have plenty of Sweet Potatoes, potatoes as we want them, lettuce is small but added with other leafy stuff there is enough for salads for a few weeks and by then the next lot should be big enough.  Zucchinis are piling up on the bench...Onions are overflowing out of the bowl.  Beans are ready, I plan on having a few straight from the bush tomorrow.
There aren't many carrots left but enough to last a couple of weeks.

Apricots are finished.  We are picking grapes now and had our first apple last week and a couple more since then.  Strawberries still but not a lot.  There are a couple of Pepenos ready to pick and we get a few Passionfruit each week

That all sounds pretty good doesn't it?  I think I did well over the year and will continue growing most of the same next year.  Anyone want to join me?


.

No Buy Veg Challenge, November.

Eleven months now and we haven't bought any vegetables for us to eat.  I think that is pretty good

We are picking Tomatoes now and the Zucchini is giving me so many, I love that plant.  We only have 2 and one of those is not very big but does have a couple of flowers, the other one is huge and could feed us for the rest of the challenge if we needed it to.

So we are eating Potatoes, Onions, Tomatoes, Carrots, Sweet Potato, Lettuce, Beetroot,  Zucchini.  All fresh from our garden.  Not a great variety but it is all fresh and you can't get any more local than your own backyard..
We still have pumpkin from last season and just as well because none of mine survived.  I have some Butternut seedlings in now and they look like they should make it.  Most of the Garlic has fallen over and we have had some of that.  Small but still good.

Fruit wise we are getting Strawberries, Pepenos, Passionfruit, the occasional Orange.   Still getting Lemons.
Apricots are nearly there too but that will be December fruit.

Free food that I *stole* from the pig...Pumpkin, potatoes, apricots, apples, bananas.  Not fresh and I don't know where it was grown but it's what the people in town were buying the day before.  There was plenty left for the pig

Some people are a bit disgusted when I say I eat the pig food but it is all still good and sometimes we wonder why the shop isn't selling it.  We have had crates of Bananas that were still yellow and firm.  Apples with a couple of marks but they were still good eating.   Son says that when the new stuff comes in they just empty the shelf of the old even if it is still good.   We don't mind, the chooks don't mind and the pig doesn't mind.

Don't Buy Veg Challenge. October

We have successfully passed through October without buying any vegetabels so that leaves us only 2 months to go before the end of the year and the end of the challenge.

We had plenty to eat even though I have too many bare patches out there and so much stuff either didn't grow or did grow but got eaten before it was ready for us.

We didn't get as many peas as other years, they are something that I need to work on as I really like fresh peas.  I won't worry about growing Broad Beans again.  Not sure why I bothered as we don't eat them and just use them as a *giveaway* crop.  I think I grow them because they are easy and look impressive when in flower and fruiting.  But no more.

Our cucumbers aren't doing much.  They don't seem to be growing as quickly as last seasons but this is my third lot of seeds so maybe it just seems like they are taking for ever.  Slaters ate the other two lots of seeds that I put in.    We need the cukes though as Hubby likes them in his summer salads.  I still have enough jars of Bread and Butter Pickles from last seasons crop but some fresh ones will be nice too.

We're getting plenty of Strawberries and Pepinos and the Grapevines have fruit on them but are still a while away from being ready.  There are still Oranges out there too.  I'm thinking about if it would be possible to to do a No Buy Fruit year.  I kinda think it would be easy enough as I am only buying Bananas anyway.  I do like Bananas though and we have no plants that look like they will fruit any time soon.  We got quite a few bunches last year but I can't see any out there yet. 

I need to get heaps more lettuce growing and am working on getting a tank garden cleared out and free of slaters, then manured and mulched.  We still have some growing but with the warmer weather most of the hearting ones have started to bolt.  I cannot gow hearting lettuce during the warm weather.

I think there is enough food out there so we won't starve over the next couple of months but I could be doing better and there are lots of things I need to work on if I plan on doing the same challenge next year.

Does anyone want to join me in 2011?  We need to get stuff in now if we're going to try it again.

P.S.E.D. Challenge. 26th to 30th Sept.

Day 26.****  Hmmm. I was home and outside but nothing...Mustn't let that happen again.
       27. Beetroot, seeds. Driveway drums.
             Giant Garlic?  From L.
             Pumpkin seeds, Kent.
       28. ****  Home again, not sure what I was doing.   Not planting though!
       29. ****
       30. ****
September is finished and I managed to get 39 things planted.  More than if I hadn't of set myself the challenge to plant something every day and even though I didn't plant something *every* day I planted more things than the amount of days.  So challenge accepted and accomplished.  Go me!!
Didn't get to the 50 but you get that.

Did you all get stuff planted too?  Leave a comment and let me know what you have planted.
Why not join me in the same challenge for October?

Don't Buy Veg Challenge.

Another month finished and another month of not buying any vegetables. 
Nine months of eating what we grow and not going to the shop to buy any veg.
I think that's pretty cool.
Three months to go and the 'Don't Buy Veg In 2010" challenge is still looking doable despite the cows attempt at sabotage.

This month we've been eating assorted lettuce, carrots, asparagus, peas, capsicum, sweet potato, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli,  the occasional tomato, onion...
.
I still seem to pick and eat the same old stuff and there is stuff growing that we don't eat.  We have celery and broad beans but as I don't like them much I tend to use them  more for giveaways.
I lost the spinach under some nasturtiums...

We are still getting oranges, some strawberries, pepinos.   Lemons are falling from the tree and need to be picked up.

We have been eating beetroot and bread and butter pickle from last season.

I have a fridge full of eggs. 
Heaps of bananas that Son brought out as "pig food" but they didn't get them when they were here so they aren't going to get them when they're not!  Most will need to be put in the freezer.
More roosters need culling and we still have a couple of rooster meals in the freezer.

I have a fridge full of food and nothing to eat.  Well, nothing to just grab and snack on, it all need preparing in some way first.  'Cept the bananas...I might go have one of them.

P.S.E.D. Challenge. 19th to 25 Sept.

Day 19. Watermelon, seeds, hothouse.
       20. Tomatoes x 2, from pig pen into back garden.     
       21. ****
       22. Banana suckers x 3, chookpen fence.
       23. ****
       24. Tomatoes x 3, from pig pen into back garden.
       25. ****

What a slack week. Surely I planted more than that.  Just as well I was ahead otherwise I'd be way behind!
So 4 things over the last 6 days making the total so far 36.
Five days left in the month, let's step it up and get stuff planted.  Can I get to 50 things planted for September?

P.S.E.D. Challenge. 11th to 18th Sept.

Second week of planting stuff  and I can see that this needs to be an ongoing thing.  Not everything will germinate or make it to eating stage so the more stuff I can get in then the better chance of finishing the *don't buy veg* challenge without going without too much.  If I want to do the same challenge next year then the time to start is now.  Anyone here want to join me next year?  

This weeks planting:

Day 11.  Grapevine.  Rooted cutting transplanted.
              Boysenberry x 2,  in food orchard, roadside fence.
        12. Cucumber, seeds, hothouse.
        13. Peas, tank garden.
              Beetroot.  driveway drums.  
        14. ****
        15. Figtree, from T's place, in food orchard.
        16. ****
        17. Pepino, buried branches, front garden.
        18. Pumpkin, seed, hothouse.
             Sunflowers, seed. hothouse.
             Rockmelon, seed, hothouse
             Custard Apple, seeds hothouse.
             Cannas, plants, around tank. 
             Daisy things, plants, around tank.   C & D's moved from front garden.

 Thirteen things planted over the last 8 days so that makes 32 things planted so far this month.  That means that I am ahead but I will still try and plant something each day I am home.

P.S.E.D. Challenge. 1st to 10th Sept.

 I am doing OK with this challenge and am ahead of the one thing a day plan but probably could do better.  there are days when I haven't planted anything but there has also been stuff that has not be recorded.  Like the half empty pack of old seed and a few straggly things from pots.  Below is what I have planted so far.

Wed. 1st September
Day 1.Tomato, Grosse Lisse seeds.  Hot house.  
          Marigold. seeds.   Hot house.
       2. ****
       3. ****
       4. Sunflower seeds, Front Garden.
           Cucumber seed.  Big tank garden.
           Carrots.  Driveway Drum.
           Marigold seeds.  Front garden.
          Capsicum, seeds, hothouse.
          Chilly seeds.  Around tank.
          Celery seeds, sprinkled in a few garden beds.
          Marigold seeds, around tank.
       5.Strawberries, baskets.
          Chokos x 2. Orchard, southside.
          Misc shade plants x4. Around tree.
          Capsicum seeds, hothouse. (14)
       6. Sunflower seeds.  Garden.
       7.****
       8.Strawberries, 10 plants into hanging baskets.
         Some succulent things, under the tree.
       9.
      10. Potatoes, in foam boxes.
         Cucumber seeds, hothouse
.
Total -  10days.   19 things planted so on track.