We went out today and purchased a sausage starter kit containing everything we need to make our first batch of sausages.

It included the sausage gun, nozzles, collagen casings and Italian seasoning to make up 5Kg of sausages.

Our other purchase was a Mad Millies Basic Italian Cheese Kit so we can have a go at making our own cheeses.

I experimented Christmas eve and made these

Stuffed Jalapenoes:
Red jalapenoes that have been stemmed and sliced in 1/2. Add some 'hot' salsa, diced bacon, chopped hot salami, fresh chopped cayenne chilli and grated cheedar cheese. Place under a hot grill until the cheese goes a caramel colour.

Take them out and eat them   they were delicious, not much heat though.

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE  THYME

1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.

I've decided to expand the number of chooks at our place and need more room for them to roost and live in general. So I went out and purchased a cubby house that i'll convert to a big hen house.

This will house between 6 to 8 hens, we have our Austrlorps already looking at adding  Isa browns crossed with wyndotte rose comb bantams.

Have to do a proper run up for them as well.

I ordered my pump today, went for a Hozelock Cascade 4000 Submersible Pond Pump. Just got to wait for it to be posted now.

Buried the conduit last weekend and set up an old space case for the back-up battery, air pump and power points. Also added the drain piping to the bath tubs, another trip to Bunnings is in order for some more bits and pieces.

Hopefully it'll be at cycling stage in a couple of weeks.

Been making some progress over the last week, I got the stands for the grow beds done now.

I've been working on the auto syphons as well, need to experiment a bit to make sure they function correctly.

This weekend I plan to finish the auto syphons and drains. all coming together even if it is a little slow.

Being winter not too much has been happening with my system, growth has slowed as expected the fish seem happy enough though.

The Bok Choi seems to like the AP system.

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Well it is slow going get this system done, I got the steel for the frames this week and a mate from work is going to weld them up.

All going well it'll be cycling in the next month.

Our hens have started laying eggs over the past month and we're averaging around a dozen per week. Very exciting to have fresh eggs from chooks in your own backyard, I must admit I never expected them to start laying through winter.

We're going to build a small run in the backyard for them, they have been roaming freely in the yard in the afternoons. Needless to say they've been making a big mess in the gardens and plants are getting damaged.

I think it's also time to get a bigger coop for them and maybe a couple of more chooks as well. The Silver Laced Wyandottes look pretty good. Not too sure on their egg laying capacity though

As we are approaching spring it's time for me to get my chilli growing season under way.

This season I will be having a go at growing the following:

7 Pod
7 pod 'Jonah'
African Bird
Barrackpore
Bonda Ma Jaques
Bhut Jolokia
Cayenne
Chocolate Habanero
Dorset Naga
Douglah
Fatalli
Orange Habanero
Red Habanero
Trinidad Scorpion

Yesterday I put Dorset Naga and Trinidad Scorpion seeds into seed raising trays, they're now on the heat mat.

This year I'll be patient and not pot up too quick and hopefully not kill them with kindness.