Spring is in the Air

SO spring is here. Well, not quite here in my neck of the woods, we have had rain and clouds mainly and I am forever staring out the window waiting for that "change" ....the moment that the "cold" is missing from the air out there and I can head on out and get my fingers dirty.From the window I can see the cucumbers ready to be harvested. The tomato's ripe on the vine, almost bursting with juices. The beans have crawled their way up the lattice and have a slight dew on them making them so tempting to just eat right there off the plant. Ahh the joys....
Hold on...WAIT....... no, sorry I nodded off for a little while there.. THAT is the garden that I have when I picture myself as Mrs Jamie Oliver. Not that I do that often, no, not at all...

HERE is the beauty that I have to work with...

An over flowing, needed to be weeded, unloved spot in the far away section on the garden.... isn't she lovely.



So yes, I am waiting for the day that my pink gloves and I can go out and tackle that mess of a veggie patch. I have the list of veggies & fruit that i am leaning towards. Beans, Broccoli, capsicum, cucumber, watermelon and strawberries are topping the list so far. My herb pot seems to be happy, I may add to the culinary herb pot, some oregano and sage might be joining Mr parsley, coriander and basil.

As we are renting to "test" the lifestyle here by the beach my grand plans to copy Jamie's garden above have been put on hold for now. Also I may need to figure out which child I will need to sell to employ a full time gardener to do it all for me... that will be a hard decision.
HOWEVER i have just learnt of something new and fantastic sounding that I want to introduce you. It does reduce the manliness of the husbands efforts a little. but let me explain!

The magic word is AQUAPONICS. Translation: Grow fish and veggies in your back yard. together. Its an amazing system that can be set up outside, even in a court yard or small garden if you are tight on room. There is a tank for growing the fish and grow beds to grow the veggies. A pump is involved somewhere (dont ask me where) and this allows the water to be pumped including the ammonia generated from the fish poo up to the grow beds where it is converted to nitrates for the veggies and then the water is filtered clean back down to the fish. no cleaning needed...WOW. You can grow Barramundi, silver pearch, Murray cod, and some are even farming claw and cray fish. Its a perfect system. Pictured here is a larger terrace version available from here they even offer finance for this kit. The section at the front houses the fish, here it is shown with a kid safe cover but there are a few different styles to suit you and your house.
So maybe this current renter will be able to have ALL her veggies after all. You would still need to plant your root veggies in the ground but I love this idea and cant wait to learn more about it. You can kinda see how the manliness of "I'm going to go catch you some dinner honey" takes on a new meaning when you are literally "shooting fish in a barrell" Also, I wouldn't be naming the little buggers either as that may cause a problem when "spotty" goes "missing" and the 3 yr old notices it.

Here are some links to learn more about this here in Australia. Check out the forums there are some amazing set ups and also some mega super fruit and veg being grown out there. I think its awesome that there are so many families taking control and growing their own food. This system is chemical & pesticide free. So makes it even more fantastic in my book.

www.aquapoinics.net.au
www.backyardaquaponics.com