Three ways to test your soil and ensure successful vegetable growing

There are three simple tests you can do a home to find out more about your garden and increase your chances of successfully growing food.  These tests can be done anytime but tests 2 and 3 are great winter jobs as you have time to make changes before the spring and summer growing season.

Test number 1: temperature


A simple soil thermometer is a helpful tool to have in your garden kit if you, like me, grow vegetables. You will find many guides to growing vegetables will give you a temperature range to follow for each plant.  Soil thermometers are easy to find at garden centres or hardware stores. Insert the thermometer well down into the soil. You want it to measure the soil temperature not the air. Its winter here, 12 degrees Celsius in the air, 10 degrees in the soil.

Test number 2: soil type


Do you know what type of soil you have? The soil in Robertson is a lovely rich red and friable. Over the years I have added lots of compost and mulch to my beds and the soil has loosed up.  But how do I know if its clay or a sandy loam?

Take a clean, clear glass jar and fill with water to approximately the 3/4 mark. Take a handfull of dry soil and add to the jar. Shake well to break up any lumps.  Set aside to settle, this might take 10 minutes or so.  When completely settled have a look at the layers that have formed in your jar. Any soil that has settled to the bottom is sand, soil floating at the top is clay. The middle is silt. Which layer is the biggest? That's your soil type.

If you have a high proportion of clay you can break it up by adding gypsum.

Test number 3: soil pH


The pH of your soil is very important, especially for growing vegetables. You can buy a simple testing kit from a garden centre or hardware store. The one I have can be used many times. Your kit should come with easy to follow instructions. Essentially you mix a little of your soil with barium sulphate, the test solution and water.  The mix in your test tube will turn green or orange/red.  Compare the colour against the chart in your kit to find out if your soil is alkaline (green) or acidic (orange/red).  Now you know your soil pH. My booklet has a comprehensive list of the preferred pH for flowers, vegetables and fruit trees" they can vary a lot in preference.

The rule of thumb is that most vegetables prefer an acidic soil between 5.5 and 6.5 pH. Most nutrients can be absorbed at this level.  Now that you know your soil's pH you can either choose plants that suit or change your pH levels. Acidic soils have a low pH which can be raised by adding lime. Alkaline soils have a high pH which can be decreased by adding sulphur. How much you add depends on your soil type and how many points you want to raise or lower the pH. Formulas are easy to find so I'm not going to repeat them here.

Here's a tip that might help you test your vegetable garden effectively. Take an egg carton and mark out by number or description each garden bed on the inside of the lid. You should be able to just make that out in the photo above.  Dig a hole in each garden bed and take a soil sample from 10-15cms down. This should be truer to type that near the top where you will have a mix of mulch and potting mix from seedlings. Your soil needs to be dry before you test it so set your carton aside for a few days, taking care not to tip it and mix your samples.  When you run your test you can take a small sample from a specific bed, test it, record your results, wash out your test tube and move on to the next sample.

I made some interesting discoveries: the soil in my potato beds is completely natural for this area, as in no compost, and tested at 6.5pH. The soil in my other beds has been topped up with compost and tested between 7 and 7.5pH, far too alkaline for vegetables.  I worked out why: my compost had too much wood ash in it. I need to add a whole lot more manure to the compost and add some sulphur to the beds. I will add a little to the potato beds too as I suspect the soil may be a little depleted there anyway. I am glad I tested now so I can adjust the levels before the main planting season comes on.

So there you go, testing your soil is simple. I hope my explanations take out some of the mystique and help you feel confident to do it yourself. Happy gardening.

Home from hospital and adjusting to my latest experience of life

I'm home and recuperating from my experience of hospital. I am very fortunate that I was able to come home the same day and did not have to stay over.  I am sore and terribly tired but grateful to be home and well. I have the luxury of time to sleep as I am on sick leave from work, not that I would be of much use to them.  My powers of concentration escape me still.

Last week I wrote of my terrible fear of the ordeal ahead of me. I almost ran away when the orderly came for me, only the sense of manners instilled in me by my mother prevented me. Actually my manners were tested a few times, by nurses who didn't explain what was happening, by an anesthetist who asked questions but didn't listen to my answer, by the complete disregard for dignity that the whole process demonstrated.

It would be easy to criticise myself for my fear, dismiss myself as paranoid but I am glad I accepted my feelings and proactively prepared for the experience.  I am healing slowly but solidly and feel comfortable with myself and my emotions. I would highly recommend if you are faced with something that frightens you, as this did me, that you prepare slowly and diligently so that you may face it as best you can. It will help you on the other side.

I chose the above quote to say that I have embraced the experience as an opportunity to show others greater empathy through understanding.  Not that its an experience I want to repeat ...

Going into hospital tomorrow and feeling anxious

Its a big day for me tomorrow. I'm going into hospital for the first time since I was born. I'm trying and failing to see it as one of life's experiences that contribute to my wholeness as a person.


I have gone through a range of emotions since I found out I had to have surgery: fear and anxiety topped the list. Convinced I could not possibly survive I have sorted bills, super, lodged my tax return, sorted cupboards and generally kept very very busy making sure I would not leave a mess. I just couldn't contemplate going into hospital without my affairs in order.

Now on the eve of surgery I feel sad and quietly resigned.  I don't know whether my sorting has contributed to lowering my fatalistic anxiety or if is just the result of time. Time to consider, time to get more used to the idea.

This journey started months ago. Feeling quite unwell I went to the Doctor for tests, was given a referral to a surgeon whom I saw just for an estimate. He was ready for me and regaled me with a litany of horror scenarios, finishing with a story about people who cancel their admission appointments at the last minute. It was one of those, "you wouldn't be so stupid, would you" moments.

My appointment letter arrived, I notified work, family, friends and set about the business of coming to grips with the idea. In hindsight I wished they had whipped me in to surgery when I was feeling crook 'cos right now I feel well. I don't want to get cut into for no reason. Now it is more about preventing future sickness than dealing with a current problem. That is hard to deal with.

My surgery is really considered minor. Keyhole, although that is rather dismissive of the reality of four holes. People have been very kind and encouraging, although at least some must think me paranoid. No one has said so.

Well tomorrow is the big day.  I will hold my chin up high and try to be dignified about the whole thing. Wish me luck.  When its over I'll be forced to chalk it up to experience.

At last peace in our times, cats and dogs can be friends

Lily (cat) and Harvey (dog) called a truce at long last in order to warm up in front of the fire. Its taken 3 and a half months! Winter always sorts cross species relations: its too cold to keep at war. Is there a lesson for world peace here?

Hunting award winning black truffles in Robertson with Yelverton Truffles and FoodPath Culinary Tours

Its freezing today in Robertson. We are only at 740m above sea level but the wind is coming straight off the Australian Alps about 4 hours drive away.  The snow feels closer. The day is an illusion, from inside it looks stunning out, sunny and bright but far from warm. When us Southern Highlanders feel its cold be sure to wear your warmest clothes.

Out we trekked though this morning for an outdoorsy tour with a difference.  Howard didn't actually know where we were going as I arranged it as a surprise. The lovely Jill from FoodPath Culinary Tours with a Difference had arranged a great treat for us, other Highlanders, a few people from Canberra and a small crowd from Sydney. This region is well known for wine, lovely cool climate wines and Jill is working hard to put the area on the foodie map as well. A couple of months ago you might remember I went on a fascinating mushroom tunnel tour with Jill.

If you've been watching the foodie media in the past week you may have read about Australia's largest truffle being unearthed near Robertson.  Ted and Barbara Smith from Yelverton Truffles and their truffle dog, Jet the Wonder dog, dug up the huge 1.172 kilo Perigord black truffle and unleashed a week long media storm, which you can read about online. This tour of their Truffiere was booked in long before this special find so they had an unexpectedly busy week before we arrived but were still the most gracious hosts.
Following a talk about what truffles are and the history of truffle growing in Australia we headed out in the fields.

The trees are a mix of Quercus Ilex and Quercus Robur inoculated as seedlings with truffle spores.

We had to wear booties over our shoes to protect the biosecuirty of the farm and prevent foreign spores or bacteria being walked in.

Robertson naturally had many of the necessary features for truffle growing: friable soil, warm summers and cold winters with frosts.  The one feature that was contrary was our volcanic soil is highly acidic rather than alkaline so 50 tons per hectare of lime was added.

"We don't care to eat toadstools that think they are truffles" Mark Twain 

Hard to believe this black splat is a prized truffle selling for more than $2000 per kilo! Round here there are plenty of wombat poos that look much the same.

Watch Jet the wonder dog go through his truffle hunting paces by clicking on the photo below:
 

After a good look around the Truffiere we were treated to shaved truffle slices on hors d'oeuvres of bread and egg or bread and camembert. Then a lovely bowl of potato soup with truffle infused butter. Warming and tasty.

As this is not my first foodie tour of late you might be wondering why I go along. A couple of reasons, meeting lovely people, seeing new places and learning about food, history and taste in a way you can''t in a supermarket.  We spent a very enjoyable morning on this tour.

And the verdict? Are truffles worth the cost and challenge of growing them? No, not to me. I must either be a philistine or have no palate because I could not taste a thing and in truth neither could anyone else I asked. I still have fun and am very glad to have expanded my knowledge. I recommend you go and find out for yourself. 

Eggplant in pyjamas - eggplant parmagiana

One of my favourite meals, but I don't make it very often. We had this for dinner last night and I had left overs for lunch, which was even better.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
Pureed tomatoes
Ricotta
Mozarella or boccocini cheese
Oregano and basil
Breadcrumbs

Method
Slice the eggplant into scant 1cm slices. Cut ends off zucchini, cut in half. Cut each half into thin slices lengthwise until you have thin strips. Steam both vegetables until soft.

Mix ricotta, breadcrumbs and herbs together in a bowl and set aside.

Spray shallow baking tray with cooking oil. Pour in a small amount of tomato puree. Place the largest eggplant slices in the bottom of the tray - 1 slice per serve being prepared.

Top eggplant slice with ricotta mix, zucchini slices, tomato and a small amount of mozzarella. Repeat until all finished. Gently push down on top slice to compact.

Add more mozzarella to the top of the stack. Back in a moderate oven all vegetables are cooked through and the cheese is bubbling on top. This may take longer than you expect, and depends on how long you have pre-steamed the vegies for.

Serve with fresh basil.  Yummy!!!

Divine sweet potato peanut soup

I made the most divine soup tonight. 

This is superb, every one will think it came from a very classy restaurant.  

The recipe is adjusted from something I found on pinterest: 

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup roast unsalted peanuts

1 small can coconut milk

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

juice of 1 fresh lime

Saute chopped garlic and onion briefly to release flavours. Toss in sweet potato and top up with enough water to just cover.  Bring to the boil, then simmer until sweet potatoes are soft.

Puree with a blender. Return to pan.  Puree peanuts and coconut milk, add to sweet potato puree and return pot to low heat. Add lime juice and stir through well.

Warm up the soup but don't let it boil. 

Serve and eat, eat, eat. You might like coriander on top. I scooped up with a bread roll, but could have skipped it without feeling deprived. 

This recipe has lots of flavour, you don't need all the salt in stock!

Thank goodness there are left overs for tomorrow, and next week. Oh man this soup is good and so simple, homespun simple. Definitely quick enough to make after work!

How do winter mornings surprise with their bare branches and white frost?

Its two months into winter yet its funny how some mornings I am surprised by how bare the trees are. I woke up this morning to a golden glow in the sky and a thick white frost.  Its only the second frost I have seen this winter and the thickest so far.  We live only a short distance from the edge of the mountain, so the sun hits here first and any light frost burns off quickly.  Today the frost was deep enough to stick around. This is the view from our back verandah through the elm tree. 

I love how our summer and winter view is so different. In summer the elm tree completely blocks our view of the paddocks.  It keeps the house cool and the yard shady.  Walk down the stairs and across the garden and the open grass land opens up in front of you. The trees are full of crimson rosellas summer and winter but in winter the birds are a vibrant and rare shot of colour instead of a mere hint of red glinting through lush greenery. 

Gardening with an audience

I love my garden, love growing food. It is astonishing though how quickly it all goes to pot and gets overgrown. Nature: ie grass takes over completely in the blink of an eye. Over the past two weekends I have dug and mulched and the beds are all looking beautiful and fertile.

The paths and open areas are still a disaster but I will fix that next weekend. My lower back has had enough today and my hands feel like sandpaper.

I worked one bed at a time - weeded, then mulched. The asparagus bed got an extra treatment with a mix of homespun compost and horse manure.

I discovered kale and red spinach in this bed that self-seeded from last season. 

I'm back inside in front of a fire. The cute thing though is that I had an audience today when I worked.

The cows who live over the fence came to look so I threw them the grass I pulled out. It feels good to reconnect with the earth to dig and nurture and grow.

Road trip from Robertson - Crookwell and Taralga

OMG this weekend we bought our first brand new car. We collected it last night and went on a road trip today to the small country NSW towns of Crookwell, Laggan, Roslyn and Taralga. Taralga as my favourite. I have a mission this year to visit places I have never been before and there are many within a 2 hour radius.

I love old signage!!

Our new car!

Down town Crookwell, Busy little town until noon Saturday then deathly quiet. We went to the pub bistro for which the only vegetarian option was an olive, onion and capsicum melt- yuck! - me asking for my own avo, tomato and cheese version caused a fuss.  It was freezing there yet no locals seem to have heard of a coat - so Australian! We drove through several localities: Laggan, Roslyn and finally to Taralga which is gorgeous. 

A walk around Robertson on a winter Sunday

Sydney Harbour, the MCA Zine Fair

I spent a long creative day with friends in Sydney yesterday. Here are some pics from my day. Hard to believe it is so close to the start of Winter. Many people turned out for a stunning day.

Marcelo and Rachael Baez. Marcelo is a great illustrator and Rachael a wonderful Polaroid photographer.

 Stallholders' view of the crowds.

Rachael selling her zine and postcards.

It was great to be surrounded by creativity and beauty.

Last week I promised I'd share how I am re-grouping and re-energising: I haven't delivered yet. I am still working on it and will soon :)

Creating a new rockery in my vegetable patch

I have created a rockery in one corner of my vegie patch. I read that rockeries attract lizards and lizards eat snails and slugs so that's perfect!

I started with some broken pavers.

Poured on mushroom compost and added stones around the outside. I didn't want to waste good rocks in constructing the interior of the rockery but they look great on the outside.

I have planted Cretan Savoury, a Mediterranean herb that loves dry feet. It felt ironic to be planting this in light sleet. Its a nice sunny corner so it should be fine.

It looks a bit messy at the moment as the compost has spread but it will bed down. I'll keep you updated as it grows.

A winter weekend of gardening

I've really been connecting with the soil lately and loving in. I wonder how I ever let life get so busy that I forget how important it is.

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

I am doing lots of weeding in the vegie patch. I have beds but also some open areas. Its the open areas I am concentrating on. I have weeded and mulched with mushroom compost and lucerne. I have added new paths through these areas too.  Today Howard helped me by whipper snippering. It makes such a difference and makes it all feel a whole lot less hopeless.

The first area will be my berry patch. I have plants that I ordered from The Diggers Club. Lots of different varieties of berries. I am very excited and also very nervous that they will fail. Well, I can but do my best.

The other will be a pumpkin patch.

I planted out some white onion seedlings today too.

So in total I have celery, beetroot, garlic, cauliflower, onions and strawberries in my winter garden.

How does your garden grow?

Air NZ photo competition

I just entered a photo competition with Air New Zealand to win a trip. All I had to do was enter my best winter photo and hope (fingers and toes crossed) that people vote for it.

Last year I posted about a beautiful frosty morning in Robertson. I woke just as the sun was coming up and got outside just in time to snap some misty photos. The colour was gone from the sky within moments.

Check out this link to the original post. To see the competition link click on my facebook page below or click on the photo.

My MG hits the big time with Zensu shoes

My car, my darling Queenie, has hit the big time. She is listed with a talent agency for cars and last year she was booked for a modelling shoot for Zensu shoes for their winter catalogue. Log onto http://www.zensu.com.au/ to see Queenie in all her glory! I'm so proud.

Frost turns Robertson white

I was met with a divine sight this morning as I awoke. I sat up in bed and looked out to discover that the world had turned white overnight.

I rushed out to take some photos before getting ready for work.

It was literally freezing as we set off in our cars.  It I had slept in I would have missed the spectacle so there was a blessing to going to work today. The fog and frost burnt off so quickly, I could have easily missed the beauty of it all.

Its the little things that make the day.  Hope tomorrow brings beauty to you all.