My week up till now.

Over the last week we have had the lovely Joe from Germany working in our garden. She has helped transform it from a paddock, back to a garden! After all the rain the weeds and grass had just taken over so when Joe contacted me about doing some WWOOFing at our place I couldnt say no! So she has pulled out all the weeds and picked the tomatoes, ready for chutney and helped us cut down some rather dead banana trees too.

The Canteloupe has two melons on it which I am watching like a hawk and now we really can keep an eye on the two bunches of bananas in the tree tops as we have a clear view. They are tiny but fat
 which I think is a good thing!

 The front garden is all but transformed too with the couch grass all gone and some weed mat down with some ground cover hebes planted awaiting a load of mulch to finish it off.

The sun flowers are on their last legs and I will go about collecting the seeds soon to keep for next year. I have been lucky enough to be contacted by a local seed production company, "Mr Fothergills",  to trial some seeds and seedling products for them. I am awaiting a small parcel of seeds and my garden is pretty much ready for them!

The banana trees which we cut down have been chopped up and i'm hoping to get hold of some horse poo to add to it and will leave it all to break down for a while. before adding it to the soil somewhere. I've been told they will make great mulch/compost  so we shall see.

Also this week I have started up my environmentally friendly cleaning business The Domestic Dragon and have put together a website so please feel free to have a look: http://thedomesticdragon.webs.com/ let me know what you think and if you need a cleaner in the Melbourne area let me know!

Comments are always welcome so feel free to leave some. I hope you have a lovely week .

Small Projects can have a Big Impact!

As I write this our new friends from France, who are Wwoofers, are working away in the garden preparing it for winter and helping get the weeds under control for the new crop. We have discovered pumpkins, and potatoes in the veggie patch and this weekend will be planting out veggies for the coming winter. It was sadly neglected but now our veggies will be planted and our compost is being turned. Currently we have pumpkins and potates and tomatoes in the garden, and the Feijowa has just starting fruiting for the first time.

This may seem like a small thing but if everyone was doing the same and we all were growing some fruit and veggies in our back yards can you imagine the impact this would have on our environment.

When we buy our fruit and veggies from the supermarket often they come from overseas or interstate, they are brought to a central holding warehouse where they are then packaged and refrigerated ready for re-distribution around the country. All this involves an incredible amount of food miles, and adds to our carbon footprint on the planet. Remember when you grow ,your own or buy local produce you are not only guaranteed to purchase better quality fruit and veggies, but you are also helping reduce our impact on the environment.

If everyone in our street was growing their fruit and veggies and in the next street and on balconies and in backyards all around the suburbs imagine the impact this would have on not only the environment, but also our health.

Sure its hard work and requires effort and planning, but the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Home grown veggies provide more nutrients, it will reduce your food bill in this tough ecnomic climate and it means we are outside working in the fresh air, and they the taste bears of the supermarket fruit and veggies bears absolutely no comparison.

So get involved in growing your own. Get the kids involved and reap the benefits. The satisfaction alone is worth the trouble!!!! Maybe I am preaching to the converted, I suspect so! But i am passionate and enthusiastic and just cant help myself.