Life At Wattle Tree Hill

15/05/2026

With hop-along Farmer Ricky out of action it’s my job to bring the ladies in for milking!

18/04/2026

This looks like a few jars of rosella chutney to me! 😋

18/04/2026

What’s happening in the Wattle Tree Hill kitchen this week?

🥬 I had a successful two days of sauerkraut workshops then made an extra four jars!

🍋 I made a fresh batch of fire cider which will infuse in the cool darkness of the pantry for the next six weeks; ready for winter coughs and colds.

🐄 Ricky has been milking daily so we’ve had excess raw milk.

🧀 He made a nice batch of feta cheese. It’s a long process, not easy to teach. We’ve left a little bit in the fridge and the rest went into the freezer.

🧈 And lots of salted butter. 😋

🧀 Someone suggested I try making quark which is a fermented cheese.

Maybe the fermentation process will reduce the lactose and be alright for my gut.

The cheese is made and in the fridge; I just haven’t been game to try it yet.

22/03/2026

What’s cooking at Wattle Tree Hill today?

Savoury Mince

With homegrown
🎃 Pumpkin
🍆 Zucchini
🍅 Tomato
🌺 Cauliflower
🍃 Spinach
🍃 Herbs
🐄 Mince

And local:
🧅 Shallots
🧄 Garlic
🌽 Corn

With home made:
🐄 Beef stock

This will be a big batch which I’ll make into a lasagne type dish, a spag bol of sorts and a cottage pie.

15/03/2026

What’s happening at Wattle Tree Hill this weekend?

Farming is an occupation that inherently involves risk. You either succeed or face setbacks.

Following the substantial 238mm rainfall last week, my espalier blood orange has shed its leaves, and the lavender and rosemary plants are struggling. To mitigate the damage, I've rearranged the mulch to facilitate better airflow and sunlight pe*******on.

On a brighter note, we planted three new caper plants, cleared spent summer crops, and mulched the garden beds. We also divided lemongrass and vetiver grass, with some set aside for donation and future sharing.

Furthermore, the chook pen floor received a fresh layer of mulch, the lawn was mown, and garden produce was harvested.

A productive weekend that should ensure a restful night's sleep.

11/03/2026

We are reviewing the implementation of garden mulch in our food forest, which is nearly 12 months old. For each fruit tree planted, we selected specific plants for ‘chop and drop’ mulch or biomass, namely lemongrass, pigeon pea, Qld Arrowroot, and sambung. This month, we undertook our first ‘chopping and dropping’ exercise, which, despite being labour-intensive and monotonous, enabled us to replenish our gardens with a couple of cubic metres of organic matter. The removal of biomass allowed more winter sunlight to reach the fruit trees. Notably, the lemongrass grew 8 inches between pruning and the recent rain event, which commenced after we started this task! In addition to recycling leaves and small branches, we utilised two Ute loads of Qld arrowroot as cattle feed, ultimately destined to become nutrient-rich garden manure.

18/02/2026

Wattle Tree Hill Garden Update…

We had a very welcome 16mm of rain last week (wish it were 60mm but it must be our turn next time). 🌧️

I got around to finishing the sheet mulching around the lavender and rosemary and put some markers in the ground for the holes to be dug for the caper plants which will form part of the Medeterranian Garden surrounding the fire pit area.

I’ve contemplated over several glasses of wine, the position of my espalier blood orange (also in the Medeterranian Garden) and decided on a suitable position (and decided I’d add another one on the opposite side for balance (or to appease my OCD). 🍷🍷🍷

I’ve decided on the location of my future berry trellis (alongside the dragonfruit posts) which my favourite carpenter is making for me. 😊

Our passionfruit vine has gone mad, it’s like ‘Day of the Triffids’ at that end of the food forest!

The pumpkin, rockmelon and watermelon vines are nearing their expiry not before gifting us with more fruit than we could possibly eat.

The asparagus is loving its location with many lush green fronds swaying in the breeze (I do need another three plants to complete the row, if you have any spare).

It is recommended not to harvest the spears for the first three years.

I can tell you, it’s a hard thing to do - to walk past a fat, homegrown, nutrient dense, chemical free spear of deliciousness. 😋

The Sacred Women’s Circle is looking lush complete with sitting stones and bird bath. 🐦

Windbreaks along the southern fence lines of vetiver and tiger grass are coming along nicely. These serve as a windbreak, chop and drop mulch and cattle fodder.

The humanure composting system is going gang busters with the first wheelie bin used on the fruit trees in the food forest and on the bananas in the banana swales.

And super exciting news; we have our first bunch of bananas and two more trees with flowers. 👏

Ricky has worked super hard to get the brick garden and path edges concreted in and the paths filled and packed with decomposed granite. 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

The annual and perennial veggies have been abundant with several kilos of cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, rockmelon, watermelon, herbs, and eggplant being donated locally.

We are proud of our achievements and look forward to sharing the abundance of what weve created and welcoming others into our blessed space.

16/02/2026

What’s cooking in the Wattle Tree Hill Kitchen Today?

🍌 Banana Bread

I scored a bag of (out of date) LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal) last week, so decided to make banana bread with a few overripe bananas I had in the bottom of the freezer.

This recipe turned out yummy but I would add some extra sweetener; maybe some honey or maple syrup next time.

Into the freezer it goes for healthy smoko treats.

Gluten free, paleo banana bread with no added sugar or sweeteners.

16/02/2026

What’s cooking at Wattle Tree Hill Today?

🍆 Baba Ganoush

For those of you ‘not fond of eggplant’ (which includes me 🙋‍♀️), this recipe is for you!

Baba Ganoush is an Eastern Mediterranean dip you would use like hummus, with fresh veg sticks or crackers.

I’m actually going to slather it on a slice of toasted sourdough for lunch. 😋

This baba ganoush recipe is the best! It's easy to make, too (no food processor required). You'll need eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.

11/02/2026

The new sign is ready for installation by my hardworking offsider handy husband. 😊