HAZELNUTS! yes, we have hazelnuts 🙂

We planted three hazelnut plants last year and it looked like we were going to get a nice crop, so excited! But, the cockatoos discovered them,  and then there were none 🙁

But, while chasing one of the chooks away from a rogue piece of packing foam, I discovered these hiding in the mulch.

Three! Count them, one, two, three!

AH, AH, AH, three little hazelnuts!

And very nice they were too 😀

Next year I will make sure they are properly netted and protected.

We also harvested the last of the grapes and the figs.

Only the quinces are left and I have to get them indoors pretty quickly because the birds have started on those, since there is nothing else around.

How is your harvest going?

A little bit late to be sure but…

The December 2015 edition of The Good Earth podcast is available on the WWMN website

Click on the link, turn up the sound and re-live the madness

http://www.wwmn.net/2016/02/permaculture-on-the-peninsula/

Remember you can find all the previous Podcasts at

(http://www.wwmn.net/category/the-good-earth/)

Hooray, we have our first Peppino of the Season YUM! 🙂

What’s a Peppino, I hear you ask? Well, it’s a great little fruit, twice the size of a chicken egg, that does well in both warm and cold climates provided it has protection from the worst of the frosts.

The peppino (pepino dulce) fruit resembles a melon (Cucumis melo) in color, and its flavor is similar to a mixture of honeydew or rockmelon and cucumber. It is sometimes called pepino melon or melon pear. Its botanical name is Solanum muricatum.

It doesn’t matter how you describe it, it tastes great and it is easy to grow. It has a partially upright, sprawling habit and can be treated similarly to a Tomato. Although the seeds are tough and viable it is mostly propagated by cuttings.

It is well worth trying if you like the flavour of melons.

The August 2015 edition of The Good Earth podcast is available on the WWMN website

Click on the link, turn up the sound and re-live the madness

http://www.wwmn.net/2015/08/transition-towns-permaculture-and-other-interesting-things/

Remember you can find all the previous Podcasts at

(http://www.wwmn.net/category/the-good-earth/)

I’ve also copied all the links from the podcast here for easy reference.

• Transition Hobsons Bay, http://transitionhb.weebly.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/transitionhb/
• Transition Town Maribyrnong, https://www.facebook.com/groups/transitionmaribyrnong/
• (To find your local transition town, go to Transition Network, https://www.transitionnetwork.org/)

• Inner West Commons (Local Exchange Trading System), http://innerwestcommons.weebly.com/
• (For LETS systems across Austraila, see Community Exchange Server, https://www.communityexchange.net.au/ )

• Footscray Makers Lab, http://footscraymakerlab.com/
• Bike repair sheds in Maribyrnong, https://cyclesaloon.wordpress.com/,
  and at CERES, http://www.thebikeshed.org.au/
• Repair cafe – idea in progress,
  see http://theconversation.com/repair-cafes-are-about-fixing-things-including-the-economy-26244

• Veggie swaps and other local food in and around Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong,
  http://transitionhb.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/1/1/26119777/monthlylocalfoodeventsinmelbourneaug2014.pdf
• (To locate other swaps, see the map via http://www.localharvest.org.au/learn/introduction-to-food-swaps/ )
• Wicking bed project – in progress, see https://www.facebook.com/events/383650795157225/
• Community gardens in and around Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay,
  see http://www.mysmartgarden.org.au/Resources/Smart-Garden-Communities.aspx
• Open Food Network, https://openfoodnetwork.org.au/
  – search for your local food buyers groups and producers at https://openfoodnetwork.org.au/shops#/

• Spotswood Railway Workshops community space project, http://spotswoodrailwayworkshops.weebly.com/ and
• 3000 acres, http://www.3000acres.org/