HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH - APRIL 2016

April has been a beguiling mix of warm, clear (and frustratingly rain-free) days with the occasional sudden dip in temperatures to remind us that winter is just around the corner, and the occasional spike to remind us that summer still wants to play.

IN THE GARDEN:

Last 3 strawberries of the season...

The kale and brocolli are growing like mad (adding composted cow manure seems to have made all the difference here) but cabbages and leeks seem to be flagging. The sun has shifted and the raised brick planter bed I made isn't getting nearly as much sun as it was 4 weeks ago.

According to Gardening Australia, April is Allium month. For a die-hard garlic-lover it's definitely the opportunity to try out a small crop - this is my first try at growing garlic so I'm starting small!

I've switched back over to stocking up on different fruit plants. I sniffed out (literally) some Chilean guavas acting as a sneaky decorative hedging at the local garden centre. I took a few cuttings and crossed my naive fingers, about 2/3 seem to have taken root. Also got myself some feijoa plants and some now-dormant red currants.

IN THE KITCHEN:

It's been a vegetable explosion in my kitchen this month (see below) so I've had to work on a few new recipes to get through the boxload of veg I'm now getting every fortnight. This month's favourite is corn fritters, made from freshly boiled corn and bulked up with some carrot pulp that's left over from my occasional juice fest.

LIVING LOCAL:
I've joined a food co-op! Something I've been wanting to get into for ages and am so happy that I've finally got involved. One of the great things about living in Tassie is how easy it is to get a huge variety of locally grown produce - everything from olives to apples, wine to whiskey and cheese to cherries. The Channel Living co-op sells local produce from around the south-east of Tasmania, and for $100 a month I'm getting fortnightly veg boxes of delicious and super-fresh seasonal produce all grown within a 50km radius of where I live.

TREASURE HUNTING:
Nothing more than the cost of lugging it up a hill off a beach on Bruny Island ( I was out there for a marine debris clean up), this handsome bit of driftwood now sits perfectly in a space where I've been wanting a decorative garden feature for weeks - topped off with an old marble ball that I've had for years.

MVPs:

I rescued a bunch of bedraggled cosmos from the reject table at my local garden centre last month. As they were only a dollar I decided to plant them straight into the ground around the rockery, within a couple of weeks they'd perked up with some showy flowers. A definite pick-me-up for my flower-lacking garden.

WATCHING:
Reuse, because you can't recycle the planet. This was bookmarked in my 'to watch' list last year, but between the move and the delayed internet setup, I'd forgotten about it. A really sweet optimistic and inspiring fun documentary about creative reuse across communities in the USA - would definitely recommend the 10 dollar download.