House sitting on a farm is quite different to house sitting in suburbia. It is peaceful, no traffic noise, only the sounds of nature. A background hum of insects, calls of the birds, wind rustling through the trees.
Then there is the garden…
No tiny veggie patch here. It is almost the size of a Market Garden…
Looking back towards the house. I have pulled out soooo many weeds, but still they keep coming to haunt me…
Looking in the opposite direction across part of the potatoe patch down to the tomatoes flourishing on their stakes. Notice the plant on the left?
It is producing an embarrassing number of these marrows. Help, anyone out there have any marrow recipes?
To the right of the potatoes is the sweet corn plantation. They are not quite ready yet, but when they are there are hundreds of them…
Did you notice the beans? Well already I have frozen so many and still they keep coming.
We had an “Oops” moment with them last weekend. After a stormy and windy evening, when I checked the garden next morning, I found the middle structure of beans blown over flat…
Can you see that gap and the sad mound of leaves?
Fortunately we had our son staying for the weekend and he helped Jack haul it up and re-stake it.
So they live to produce another day…
Here are more and more…
This is a very dry area as it is situated in the rain shadow of the Blue Mountains. There are 2 large dams on the property to supply abundant water every where. Kim has an ingenious watering system covering all the main areas, worked by timers, and all day they turn sprinklers on different areas in rotation.
The veggie garden has 3 sprinklers that I move around to a different part each night and turn on the timer to water the areas for 5-6 hours during the evening.
I have never tasted such crunchy and delicious vegetables. We are living on the fruits of our labour and feeling so healthy.
I will end this post with the other member of our animal family. Hippy is very ancient in cat years. I think she is in her late teens and spends all her days lazing in shady spots around the garden.
gypsy life 
Pingback: Back Home in the Garden… | gypsy life
So beautiful!
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Thank you.
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Mmmm- wish I could snack on some of this freshness 🌱🌱🌱- glad u saved the beans and sorry – no marrow recipes! And you know – thinking of sprinklers and timers makes me wonder what I am more grateful for – GPS and Google navigation help – as u noted in your other post – or garden sprinklers and a timer – both are amazing gifts 💕❤️
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GPS is my current favourite thing as we drive around the western suburbs of Sydney. But sprinklers come a close second on the farm, it would be so much more work to water by hand.
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😊 and such a wonderful farm – oh my goodness it is a slice of heaven –
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Lovely photos ~ thank you!
Warmest wishes to you & Jack for a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!
🎄⛄️🎄⛄️
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Best wishes to you too, hope it is not too cold outside and warm and cosy inside.
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Thank you! Eastern coast is having a cold-ish weekend, then it warms up again, into the high 60’s F, like last week and the week before. Have been thinking about everyone under the equator during our warm weather. Just doesn’t seem like Christmas!
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I have never adjusted to having Christmas in summer, coming from UK it is not natural.
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Well, you’re never going to go hungry living there, but I think I might be in a permanent state of exhaustion just keeping up with everything! Are you home for Christmas, Pauline? 🙂
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We will be here on the farm, all alone, for Christmas. I am not a big fan of the hype of Christmas so this will be bliss. I will miss the Grandchildren, but we do get to see them at other times, when it is less stressful.
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Sounds like a good place to be. Think of all that chutney you can make 🙂 Have a lovely one, Pauline.
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Haha!!!! Think it might be time spent in the pool Jo.
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That vegie garden is massive, Pauline! I had so many passionfruit this year that I ended up freezing the pulp. I then found a recipe for passionfruit butter and have made a heap. I wonder if you can make marrow chutney or jar some of the vegies to use them up. or maybe take them to the markets or give some of those marrows to st vinnies? My head is spinning just looking at your pictures. Amazing! 😀
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The thing that amazes me is Kim only planted up half his veggie patch. Imagine if I had double that amount to look after!!! Taking to Vinnies is a good idea, I will take some in next time I go to town.
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Oh, it’s so nice to see such a healthy, bountiful vegetable garden in the middle of our winter. Also good timing because I’ve been perusing seed catalogs and picking next year’s varieties and this beauty of a garden is reminding me not to go overboard on ordering! That’s a lot of veggies they are growing.
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That is only half the garden planted up. He held back from planting the full garden and put it into green manure, ie weeds!!! that he turned in just before they went on holiday and plans to plant it all when they get back…
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Gosh that is a lot of veg. What do the owners do with it all? Perhaps you need to set up a stall on the roadway (if there is one) and sell some of it. I never buy big marrows, but you can stuff them and bake them, I rather think these are too big for that though, you’ll be eating them forever! Chutney?
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When they are home they have lots of “helpies” staying to help with the farm work and flower harvesting, so Deidre always has lots of mouths to feed. No roadway near us we are down a long drive down a no exit road. Might look up chutney recipe, but don’t feel like slaving over a hot stove in the 30+ temps we are getting (38 today, going to be hotter tomorrow…)
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Mmm… marrow cocktails???
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Mmmm, Hick, cheers Jude….
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Looks tasty 🙂
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Store bought veggies will never taste so good
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Goodness that’s a lot of veg to deal with!
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It sure is I wish I could send you all over a veggie parcel…
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wow, that’s one big vege garden. I’m currently enjoying lots of golden ripe papaya, and the dragon fruit are beginning to flower in abundance. Can you make marrow spaghetti like you can do with zucchini? Or try a lasagne using slices of marrow instead of pasta sheets? I’ve become quite experimental in using excess veg in inventive ways. Good luck!
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I like the idea of marrow lasagne. I will try it using a tasty vegetable lasagne recipe I like. I popped over and saw your recent post about your garden and your thoughts on your retirement. I knew you would love being a free agent, so much to do out there.
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Looks so green and lush! So wonderful you get to enjoy the fresh produce. Thanks for sharing tour beautiful photos! 😊
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Thanks Jill for dropping by. I will be around to see what you are getting up to with your art soon I did a sketch of the dog today and I thought of you.
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You are so sweet to think of me! 💖💕
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🙂
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You have showen the veggie garden nicely. But did not mention the straw berries and rhubarb.
Straw berries and yogheit or ice cream and some time with rhubarb, desert every every dinner.
We will be fit as bull elephants with the food and playing around on the farm.
Sharing it with you Pauline is the icing on the cake. _/\_
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Thanks Jack, yes I will put the strawberries in next time. There was a small photo of the rhubarb…
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it looks beautiful there, and so very peaceful, as you mentioned. how great it is to peruse the images and picture the smiles as you tend that property! our ‘el nino’ rainy season should start at any time, like waiting for the shoe to drop!
glad to be online and see this post!
z
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G’day Lisa. I did a dog sketch today and thought of you. I will drop by soon. Because we are in a rain shadow the el nino, usually, does not affect this area, but every thing is so unpredictable. Always hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
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Thanks Pauline, we are impressed by the lovely photos, and by the fact that you have a deep understandingnof weeds….that they keep coming and coming!
Regards
d.
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The ideal conditions you have created for the veggies of course the weeds like that too. All that bending and pulling is keeping me supple and fit…
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