Matilda woke up VERY early this morning, and I tried to explain to her that it wasn't yet time to get up. She was still asleep really, but mumbled. "Are the stars still in the sky, or have they been put in the grass yet?" It was such a beautiful piece of imagery, from the subconscious of an almost three year old.

She was referring to the cracking frosts we've been having over the past few weeks- up to minus 6 degrees Celsius (21 Fahrenheit). I'm forever trying to remind myself of the benefits of frosts- they condition the soil, get rid of leftover pests and diseases from the last growing season and ensure enough chill for the fruit trees that like it, such as apples. Often they also mean beautiful sunny days here because there is no cloud cover.

The frosts also mean ice- ice in the puddles, ice in the water troughs and buckets of the animals and ice in the goose pond. In terms of toughness ducks get my vote. From before the sun is up they are busy free-ranging in the vege garden, finding slugs and snails. I realise they have duck down and feathers, but what about those orange legs and webbed feet? They wade through puddles on purpose acting like great white icebreakers, surely they get cold toes!!?

Well, here it is. The first ever post on The Food Farm blog!

It seemed like an appropriate time to start.
It's winter, but the seed catalogues have arrived which always heralds the beginning of a new growing season.
It's our big time for planning- when we feel there is a little more space in our heads to try and have a longer term view of the property. It's also time to plant the bare root trees and to order any for springtime planting.
This year we're only going to increase the number of trees a small amount after 4 years of mass plantings.
We've worked out it's important to plant only what we can ensure we will looked after. For us this means irrigation, protection from stock, frost and wind and our ability to create a weeding regime for that area.
This planning week has even delivered a couple of milder days, bringing with them the anticipation and suggestion of spring- most appropriate. No doubt mother nature is just teasing!