2021 Year in Review
And just like that 2021 is a thing of the past, a mere memory and another stepping stone that has gotten us to where we are today. 2021 will be remembered as a hard year by many. The constant and continuing threat of Coronavirus, the increasing apathy and mandate fatigue. For myself 2021 was overall pretty positive although the year wasn’t without it’s own challenges.
The Roadside Stall -
2021 began with mangoes …. so, so many mangoes …. and a set of shelves . The basic shelves were shortly upgraded to our beloved upcycled fridge. We got the fridge and doors from the nearby tip shop and set to work turning it into a stall. As the year progressed, so too did the range in the stall. It gained a shade roof and there is now fairly consistently and diverse collection of seeds, plants and produce available in the roadside stall all year around. 2021 also involved me boldly going where I never dared tread previously and even attend a few of the Imbil Grower’s Markets at the Bowlsy.
The stall has really been an amazing part of my year and I really am so thankful and amazed by the wonderful support I’ve received from friends, neighbours and visiting tourists. Without you all I’d never have the encouragement to keep going.
My hopes for 2022 is to keep working on the stall and improving what I can provide, whilst also maintaining affordable prices to everyone. I hope to improve the accessibility of fresh, organic, healthy food whilst encouraging everyone to reduce their food miles and buy local.
The Wildlife -
What a year for the wildlife! I discovered a whole range of new critters I’ve never seen before and got to witness several rounds of chicks being born. We watched as our own chicks grew up and became mothers of their own with such innate urges to wander off into the deep wilderness of our grasslands only to return 3 weeks later with 14 baby chicks in tow.
Unfortunately not all the chicks made it which is always a hard lesson to learn. Goannas, Carpet Snakes and Hawks all loved our chickens as much as we did ….
There has been an amazing array of Native Bees, including possibly my favourite of the year, the Neon cuckoo Bee. Who doesn’t love a neon blue and black bee!? Well, I mean probably not the blue banded bees whose nests get usurped … But anyway … :D
We’ve had insects that devoured the plants (or scratched them up … looking at you bandicoot ….) but for the most part we’ve also had loads of predatory insects overwhelm the pests in a relatively short amount of time.
We feel the balance of the wildlife is pretty fair, although we are hoping to tip it more into the chicks favour going forward with their 100% snake proof sleeping quarters!
The Garden and it’s Bounty -
The garden and the plants in it grew so well this year. While the food forest is still a lot in the making, I can see just how much I’ve shaped and worked on, how many new plants have been introduced and how much work I’ve put in with the help of others (particularly my wonderful and understanding husband who has sourced amazing stepping stones, shovelled entire trailers of horse manure and learnt to never weed anything unless under direct instruction XD )
I managed to find several creative uses of Mangoes to help keep our bumper crop manageable and as a result we have spent much of this year eating preserved Mangoes. We also had a delicious bumper crop of Mandarins and Mulberries. The Jackfruit wasn’t as abundant as it has been in years past but it was definitely an amazing amount for us and I tried boiling the seeds as an extra bit of nutrients in our meals. Our tomatoes were once again non-stop all winter and our Pumpkins only had a brief respite before picking up again continuing our harvest into 2022. The turmeric loved getting split and while I left a decent amount of the crop in the ground our harvest was still amazing leaving us with plenty to share.
What more can I say? Thanks again for joining me in my gardening journey in 2021. I hope I continue to offer helpful advice, or at least the support knowing you’re not the only one having garden struggles and that it takes YEARS for gardens to get really established.
