How to grow : Onions

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At Franger Farm, we firmly believe that almost every dish tastes better with an onion or two in it. We have a number of things that we just can’t grow enough of, and onions are well and truly on the list. Home grown onions are so full of flavour when compared to shop bought ones and can be grown in available spaces in sunny borders around the garden.

Onions need to grow in full sun in well drained soil.

Onions need to grow in full sun in well drained soil.

Onions are a cold weather crop, they can be grown in three different ways, from ‘sets’ (bulbs available from garden centres) from seed or from seedlings. We grow our onions from seed and occasionally, seedlings. Sow your seed about 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) apart, the same for seedlings, if you’re using sets, space them 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) apart. Ensure that your soil is weed free as onions are slow growing and can be quickly overwhelmed by fast growing weeds. Don’t bury your sets or seedlings too deeply or their growth will be restricted. Don’t bury your onions as they grow, the bulbs should sit proud of the soil.

The tops of your onions will fall over as the onions mature.

The tops of your onions will fall over as the onions mature.

The tops of the onions will begin to die back and fall over as they mature. Once the bulbs have swelled nicely and the tops have died back, you can harvest your onions.

Dry your onions on a wire rack or shelf.

Dry your onions on a wire rack or shelf.

If you want to store your onions for use throughout the year, they need to be dried first. Spread them out on a wire rack or shelf so they have good airflow around each bulb. The onions are ready to store once the skins have become dry and papery. The onions will need to be stored in a cool dry area to prolong their storage life.
I hope we’ve inspired you to give growing your own onions a go, but be careful, you may end up like us, chasing the holy grail of growing enough onions for your family for the entire year!

How to grow : Garlic.

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Garlic is an essential ingredient in so many of the meals we cook here on Franger Farm. Every year, we try to plant enough to see us through to the following year, and if I’m honest, we don’t always get it right. The good news is that it’s really simple to grow and we’ll tell you how.

Separate your cloves for planting.

Separate your cloves for planting.

Garlic takes quite a few months to grow, it’s planted in the Autumn/Fall and harvested in late spring or early summer. You can grow an entirely new bulb of garlic from a single clove, simply separate your cloves to get them ready for planting.

plant pointed end up.

plant pointed end up.

Garlic likes a sunny position in well drained soil, you should plant the cloves pointed end up about 15cm/3ins apart. It doesn’t like competition from weeds, so make sure that you keep the area around your garlic nice and weed free.

The garlic will send up shoots quickly.

The garlic will send up shoots quickly.

It won’t take long for your planted cloves to send up shoots and the bulb development to begin.
It’s time to harvest in the late spring or early summer when the foliage has died back. It’s fairly easy to loosen the bulbs with a small hand fork to harvest them, simply brush of the dirt, allow to dry a little and store until needed.

Brush of the dirt and allow to dry before storing.

Brush of the dirt and allow to dry before storing.

It doesn’t take a lot a room to grow quite a large crop of garlic and the flavour is far superior to shop bought garlic. Find yourself a nice little sunny spot and get growing.

Space savers : growing lettuce in hanging baskets.

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Here at Franger Farm, we are lucky to have a very large suburban block of an acre in size. A large amount of it, however, can’t be easily cultivated because it’s steeply sloping or covered in bush, we are also very enthusiastic veg growers and still find ourselves running out of space. Many of you will have much less space than us, but you can make use of the space under your eaves by planting hanging baskets with lettuce.

Water storage crystals will stop your basket drying out.

Water storage crystals will stop your basket drying out.

First, select a large hanging basket with a liner, the larger the basket, the better, as it won’t dry out as quickly, always a potential problem for pots and baskets. To help your basket retain water even more efficiently, you can add some water storage crystals. These swell up with water when they are wet and then release it into soil if it starts to dry out.

Plant with a mixture of seedlings and seeds.

Plant with a mixture of seedlings and seeds.

Your baskets will be more productive if you add a pelletized manure to the potting mix, along with the crystals, when you plant them up. To give your baskets a really long productive time, you can plant them with a mixture of seedlings and seeds. As your seedlings are nearly used up, your grown from seed lettuce should be ready to harvest.

Hang close to the kitchen.

Hang close to the kitchen.

Once your basket is planted, water in well and then hang on a sturdy hook. You could make life really easy for yourself and hang the basket right outside your kitchen so that you can grab lettuce quickly, whenever you need it.

Fresh lettuce.

Fresh lettuce.

Give this simple idea a go, you’ll love having fresh lettuce right outside your door without having to find any extra space for it.

How to freeze fresh peas and beans.

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It’s so easy to freeze your home grown peas and beans to use all year round. So, if you have a glut, or even if you’ve bought a large amount of fresh peas and beans, here’s how to deal with them.

Wash and shell your peas.

Wash and shell your peas.

Begin by first washing and then shelling your peas, don’t freeze any that are not perfect. It’s best to begin this process as soon as you pick your peas to make sure that you freeze them when their flavour is at it’s best.

Peas ready for blanching.

Peas ready for blanching.

Once you have shelled all your peas, you need to prepare a pan of boiling water and a bowl with ice water in it. Put the peas into the boiling water and blanch for no longer than two minutes. Drain the peas and immediately transfer into the bowl of ice water. This cools them quickly and stops them from cooking any further. You should leave them in the ice water for a further two minutes.

Bag the peas for freezing.

Bag the peas for freezing.

Drain the peas again and put them in sealable or zip lock freezer bags. Don’t be tempted to over fill the bags, they will freeze better if they can be spread out flat in the freezer with the peas separated. If possible, use the quick freeze function on your freezer, the faster they are frozen, the better they will taste when they are cooked. Once they are completely frozen, they no longer need to lay flat and can be stored in your freezer as normal, ready for use throughout the year, as tasty as the day they were picked!

Growing veg in bales

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Ever wanted to give a bale garden a go? Don’t know where to start? It’s easy, we’ll show you how.

Select the bales, uses as few or as many as you like.

Select the bales, uses as few or as many as you like.

The first step is to purchase the bales you’ll be using, straw is best as there are fewer weed seeds in it, it is possible to use hay, just be prepared to pull out the grass as it grows. You can use as many bales as you wish, use just one if you don’t have the space for more.

Condition your bales to get them ready for planting.

Condition your bales to get them ready for planting.

Once you have arranged your bales on a firm bit of ground, they need to be ‘conditioned’ ready for planting. In order for your veg to grow, the bales need to begin breaking down so that the nutrients in them are available for the plants to take up. Conditioning your bales can be a lengthy process of watering your bales, adding manure and waiting until they start to break down, however, we have a super fast, Franger Farm, cheaty method that works just as well.

Thoroughly soak the bales, then add a good amount of chicken manure to the top of the bales and water in well. Next, add at least an inch thick layer of potting compost to the top of the bales and water again. You are now ready to plant your seeds.

Seeds germinating on the bales.

Seeds germinating on the bales.

Using the potting compost means that the seeds have something to get started in while the chicken manure aids the breakdown of the bales as the plants mature. It’s essential that you don’t let your bales dry out, they need to be kept wet so that the breakdown continues inside. After a few weeks, the bales will begin to feel soft and you will be able to push your hand into them easily.

A few weeks later.

A few weeks later.

All you need to do from now on is keep your bales well watered and they will provide you with a wonderful harvest of veg.

Fantastic harvest from our bale garden.

Fantastic harvest from our bale garden.

We have been able to get a second harvest from our bales, although here in Australia, we have very mild winters and a long growing season, if your bales are covered in several feet of snow over the winter, you probably won’t be able to use them again.
Once you have finished planting in your bales, you can use them as mulch on your garden or add them to your compost.
You can get so much out of a few bales of straw, why not experiment with this instant garden bed in your backyard.

Rhubarb Crumble, the ultimate comfort food!

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We had a serious Rhubarb glut the other week, this is never a problem here because Mr Franger Farm swings into action to make us a delicious Rhubarb Crumble. Served with custard, this really is great comfort food, here’s the tried and tested recipe from Delia Smith, you’re going to love it!

Chop your Rhubarb into chunks.

Chop your Rhubarb into chunks.

Ingredients.
900g (2lb) Rhubarb
75g (3oz) soft brown sugar to cook with Rhubarb
225g (8oz) flour
75g (3oz) butter
75-110g (3-4oz) brown sugar to make the crumble

Method.
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). To make the Rhubarb for your crumble, first, cut the Rhubarb into chunks, then place in a saucepan with the sugar. Make sure that you cook it over a gentle heat, and keep it covered, for about 15 mins. be sure to stir it every so often so that it cooks evenly.

Transfer your cooked Rhubarb to a pie dish.

Transfer your cooked Rhubarb to a pie dish.

When your Rhubarb is cooked, transfer it to a pie dish. It’s now time to make your crumble topping.

put your crumble ingredients into the food processor.

put your crumble ingredients into the food processor.

Place the flour, butter and sugar into the food processor and whizz until combined and crumbly.

Whizz until combined.

Whizz until combined.

Spread the crumble mixture over the Rhubarb mixture in the pie dish and bake in the oven for 30-40 mins, or until browned on top.
Serve with custard and enjoy the feeling that all is well with the world!

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A simple guide to caring for chicks.

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Here’s our quick, simple and straightforward guide to caring for chicks from just hatched until they’re ready to move outside.

Newly hatched chicks drying out in the incubator

Newly hatched chicks drying out in the incubator

After your chicks have hatched, they need to be left in the incubator until they have dried out and fluffed up, at this point, they can be transferred to the brooder.
There’s no need to buy an expensive brooder, it’s easy to make one yourself. Ours is made from a plastic storage container with a heat lamp suspended above it. You can use any type of container that will hold some sawdust and your chicks safely.

Once the chicks have fluffed up, they are ready to put in the brooder.

Once the chicks have fluffed up, they are ready to put in the brooder.

The chicks also need a container of water that is not too deep, to avoid drowning accidents, and another container for food.Your chicks will require “starter feed” for at least the first four weeks, then they can be move on to “grower feed”.

The brooder, with heat lamp and food and water containers.

The brooder, with heat lamp and food and water containers.

You will need to check on your chicks several times a day for the first week or so, it’s also important that they be kept very warm. observe the behaviour of your chicks, if they’re all huddled together under the heat lamp, they are too cold, if they’re spread out away from the lamp, the brooder is probably too hot.
You can gradually reduce the temperature of the brooder over the next few weeks as they begin to develop feathers.

Your chicks may need some more space as they grow.

Your chicks may need some more space as they grow.

Your chicks may need some extra space as they grow, we usually move our chicks into a bigger cage after a few weeks when they need less heat.

Spend time getting to know your chicks.

Spend time getting to know your chicks.

One advantage of raising your chicks yourself versus using a broody hen, is that you can get to know your chicks, they can become quite used to you, given the right attention. The chicks will still need checking regularly, even when they’re several weeks old, they will kick bedding into their food and water and this needs to be cleaned up quite often.

Spend time with your chicks as they grow

Spend time with your chicks as they grow

Before you move your chicks outside permanently, it’s a good idea to let them spend short periods outdoors in a secure cage or run, this will help them get used to the sounds and smells of the big wide world.

Getting used to the big outdoors.

Getting used to the big outdoors.

Once your chicks are nearly fully feathered, they’re able to be moved outside with the other chooks. How you go about this transition is entirely up to you. We keep our young chooks in a nursery run, separate from our rooster and laying hens. As they grow and become fully fledged laying hens, we move them in with the rooster, who greets them with an enthusiastic dance….!
raising your own chooks can be so much fun, especially for kids, give it a go, you can’t go wrong. Get some fertile eggs from your local breeder and give it a go!

Raising your own chooks is simple.

Raising your own chooks is simple.



Mr Franger Farm’s Guide to making perfect pizza.

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Mr Franger Farm makes a mean pizza, his pride and joy is his self built wood fired pizza oven. He only uses one recipe for pizza base and it’s always a great success.
Follow his guide to the perfect pizza and you can’t go wrong.

Divide the dough and let it double in size.

Divide the dough and let it double in size.

Mr Franger Farm uses this dough recipe by Curtis Stone, and it works every time.

Ingredients.
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons dry yeast
3 cups unbleached plain flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method.
In a small bowl, whisk the warm water, honey and yeast to blend. Set aside for about 5 minutes, or until foamy. Stir to dissolve the yeast.
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. With the machine running, pour the yeast mixture an olive oil and process until the dough forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for about 3 minutes, or until it’s smooth and elastic. Do not add too much flour. The dough will be tacky but should release cleanly from your hands.
Divide the dough in half and firm into a ball. Place on a baking tray and cover with cling wrap. Let it stand until it doubles in size.

roll out the dough

roll out the dough

Once the dough has doubled in size, you can take one ball and roll it into a circle with a rollng pin.

place your dough on the pizza tray

place your dough on the pizza tray

You can then place your dough on your pizza tray.
It’s now time to add your toppings. Spread pizza sauce over the base and then add toppings of your choice.

Spread pizza sauce on the base.

Spread pizza sauce on the base.

You can cook your finished pizza in a wood fired pizza oven for best results, but we have also used a conventional oven to bake these pizzas and it has worked well.

Cook your finished pizza in a wood fired oven for best results

Cook your finished pizza in a wood fired oven for best results

enjoy!

enjoy!

Enjoy withy a friends and family and a glass or three of wine!


Top five tips for getting your kids into the garden.

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Here are our top five tips for getting your kids outside and turning them into happy little gardeners.

Give them their own garden bed.

Give them their own garden bed.

Give your kids their own area to grow things in, make it their responsibility to look after it, give them their own garden tools.

Choose something cool to grow.

Choose something cool to grow.

choose something they can get excited about growing, this year we are growing giant sunflowers and the world’s largest pumpkin!

Helping out is fun.

Helping out is fun.

Get them to help out with the jobs in the garden, most kids think that shovelling mulch is great fun!

Helping with the chickens.

Helping with the chickens.

Spending time with the rabbits.

Spending time with the rabbits.


If you have animals, get the kids to help out with their care, taking on some of the daily chores.

helping with the harvest.

helping with the harvest.


Most important of all, get them involved with the harvest and use your fruit and veg to make food that they love.
Happy gardening!

How to have hippity-hoppity happy bunnies.

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We keep two rabbits on Franger Farm, they are kept as pets, but they play an important part in our permaculture system, disposing of kitchen scraps and giving us plenty of rabbit poo in return, that we can then use on our veggie beds. Here is our guide to keeping your bunnies happy and healthy.

Our Franger Farm bunnies, Mushroom and Garlic.

Our Franger Farm bunnies, Mushroom and Garlic.

The most important thing to purchase is some secure and safe housing for your rabbit. It must be warm, dry and predator proof, you can find ready-made hutches in your local pet shop or you could purchase on-line, http://www.Amazon.com has a great selection for all sizes of rabbit.

secure and predator proof housing is essential

secure and predator proof housing is essential

It’s a good idea to do some extra escape proofing of your cage or run if it sits directly on the ground. Rabbits love to dig and can quickly dig a tunnel out of their accommodation and disappear. We solved this problem by nailing aviary wire to the underside of the hutch and run so that our bunnies couldn’t dig out.

It’s very important to feed your rabbit the correct diet. In the wild, rabbit’s eat mainly grass and they grass for at least six to eight hours a day. It’s essential that you provide the correct types of food at the right time to keep their gut healthy. We give our rabbits both fresh grass and hay, we put the hay in a hanging basket suspended from the top of the run, this provides them with a bit of a challenge and entertainment which stops them getting bored. You can also try stuffing the cardboard tube from a toilet roll with hay, so your rabbit can have fun rolling the tube around and chewing the cardboard to get at the hay.

commercially available pellets will help to ensure that your rabbit has a balanced diet.

commercially available pellets will help to ensure that your rabbit has a balanced diet.

We feed our rabbits commercial rabbit pellets to ensure that they are getting enough fibre for their digestive health. Make sure that your rabbits have clean water available at all times.

We supplement their diet with plenty of vegetable scraps, which they get very excited about, and the occasional commercial treat bar specially formulated for rabbits.

It’s important to play with your rabbits regularly to make sure that they are tame and friendly and don’t mind being handled.

Play with your rabbits regularly to make sure that they are used to being handled

Play with your rabbits regularly to make sure that they are used to being handled

If you invest some time in caring for your rabbits they will reward you with entertainment and fun times, and did I mention the poo?

Check out these links for fantastic accommodation for your bunnies.