July updates

The capsicum plants are still thriving in the freezing Melbourne winter.  They don't grow very big but they still taste great.  They are in front of the chicken "play area".  We used the "play area" to grow some potatoes, rocket and some Asian green last summer.  The chicken has now prepared the patch for next season.  They managed to dig out some potato that yours truly missed in harvesting. 

At the back, the rocket are growing wild again.  Some has started flowering.  We picked some young ones for consumption, occasionally I picked some and feed my "hardworking" chicken.  We planted our first rocket many years ago, ever since we have supply of rocket throughout the year without doing much.  They taste great in soup, if you get sick of eating rocket salad.

Avocado - I have six of them growing out of my compost.  Would be interesting to see how they go.  A few potato plants growing along side the avocado.  They actually look very green and healthy.  By the way, they grow out of my compost as well.

Tips on composting - just start one!  When I first started, I read books on composting and I suffered from 'information overload'.  To reduce landfill problem, I really feel the need to do my part.  So I started my very own compost - the lazy way.  We have a few empty pots that someone has bought and never do anything with them.  I just throw kitchen waste in them (didn't have chicken to share them at that time), cover up with some soil on weekend when I have time.  No turning of the compost heap, watering etc.  If it started to smell, I do a bit of turning and cover up with more soil.  Sometimes I have tomato, pumpkin growing out of it, then transfer the plants to where I wanted to grow them.  The patch is usually prepared by putting some of the compost from the pots.  The pots are now used to grow chilli, lettuce, coriander and spring onion; ginger was my latest harvest.

I ran out of pots for composting, so I started one on the patch where I want to grow my veges.  This way I don't have to move the compost to where I need them.  (Got to do it the lazy way!)  It won't happen overnight, but it will happen.  Look at my potato and avocado plants in the photos above.  They are from the compost.

These days I have chicken to help me.  They are doing the 'digging' of the patch.  Chicken manure is now added to my patch as well.  Some work involved here, collecting them from the chook house - this is only done when I need them for my plants.