Category Archives: Sustainable Back Yard

12 Square Meters of GARDEN for FREE

BEFORE                                                         AFTER

The previous owners thought it good to plant grass, flax, ferns, etc in a premium sunny corner of the garden – all covered with plastic sheeting and the plants peeping through the holes in the sheet. Not only was it ugly, untidy, unproductive and impossible to work because of all the plastic, but also messy. I have at long last plugged up the courage to remove all the plants and sheeting, dig it over and now have a beautiful 12 meter square bed where I have already planted two olive trees and many vegetables to come. The next few weeks will see a lot of compost going in and hopefully soon it will be very productive as it is probably the sunniest spot in the garden. I just cannot understand people wanting to have a “garden” then cover it in plastic and pebbles as this property was two years ago.

Duck Hunting in Middlemarch

I was very fortunate to be invited for my first New Zealand duck hunt last Saturday. We prepared our Maimais on Friday and was out before light on Saturday. Even if there were to be no ducks, the shear beauty and pleasure of being out in the wild was adequate compensation. We were fortunate to get our share of ducks early on Saturday and enjoyed the views, walks along the streams and fresh air for the rest of the day. Sunday was duck cleaning day and after a few technical hitches, everything went smoothly and soon we had enough duck meat to last a long time. I was fortunate as nobody was interested in the offal and had it all to myself. As soon as got home I made it all into coratella, ate some and packed the rest into about 30 portions for the freezer – wonderful. The ducks were cut into portions, vacuum packed and frozen. I gave some meat to a few close friends and my neighbor across the road tried it the very next day and gave me the recipe for slow basted duck breast with dried figs, a recipe she created herself, which apparently was absolutely delicious.

RECIPE

Braise some onion and garlic in olive oil in a oven proof pot. Dust the duck breasts in flour and brown in a separate pan in olive oil. Now put the duck in with the onion and garlic and ad passata (tomato sauce) wine, chicken stock, dried figs, salt and pepper and bake in the oven for four to five hours at 120C. Turn and baste every so often.

Duck breasts and figs are on the menu for later in the week!

There were various hunting groups in the area and Saturday evening we all congregated to discuss the day and watch rugby together. I was disappointed to learn that many hunters would take breasts only and a few groups even discarding up to 60 entire ducks unused to only go out the next morning and kill some more. I am used to harvest for the pot only, waste nothing, and leave some for next year.

Coturnix coturnix Breeding Progress

When selecting for multiple characters in a single breed, progress is slower the more characters that are selected for simultaneously and vice versa. I have four breeds of Coturnx coturnix for which color is one of the selection parameters. I have therefor decided to have a breed of birds where color does not matter and I am selecting for functional efficiency only. It is remarkable and exiting that in only two years, with relatively small numbers of birds, this new breed (call them BYF Specials) are slowly, but definitely, outperforming the other four breeds. At present most of the birds are dark brown with patches of white. Interesting times ahead!

Golden Italian Quails

Coturnix coturnix

Two years after engaging in this breeding program to improve quails in New Zealand we are starting to see results.  Golden Italians, one of the five breeds we are breeding, are 250 – 300 gram live mass for the females and 230 – 250 for the males. Many of the hereditary defects were eliminated and birds have excellent fecundity and vitality. Egg production is constantly in excess of 90%. One of the traits we also select for is temperament and my birds at present are very calm, docile and happy, a trait that is essential for Coturnix coturnix as they are, and always will be, cage birds in New Zealand.

It may be that in the nearby future we may shelve some of the breeds for which progress seems to be slower than for others. Being a small time breeder, numbers are always important and the less breeds you keep, the more you could keep of the remaining breeds and hopefully will make selection and progress more effectively.

002 - Vitamins

Fiori di Zucchini (Fried Zucchini Flowers)

2016-03-30 - Fiori di Zucchini 3

If one has space to grow pumpkins (I dug up some of the front lawn to plant mine), gorgeous, fresh, yellow flowers are a great perk this time of the year. Fried simply they are spectacular on the plate and the crispness of the batter and tasty flower make them the best starter for any meal.

Fried Pumpkin Flowers 

Luke warm water

salt to taste

white flour

vegetable oil

Method

Use a whisk to mix the salt and flour well. Add small amounts of water and keep whisking until a batter forms that is the consistency of cream. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, the oil should be about 3 cm deep and very hot. Dip each flower in the batter, top and bottom, shake off excess batter and slip the flower into the oil. When crisp and slightly coloured remove an drain on kitchen paper. Do not overcrowd the pan. When done arrange all the flowers on a serving platter, serve hot.

ENJOY with a glass of home made wine!