After deliberating for ages, I have finally plucked up the courage to have a go at establishing a blog! I live in Gippsland which is about 2 hours east of Melbourne Australia and have a hobby of growing, cooking and preserving all kinds of foods and beverages. Many years ago I was a successful home cheesemaker but the family got sick of me taking over the entire kitchen (and sometimes the lounge as well) with my processing equipment. That along with upping my work hours to full-time meant I slowed down on the cheese production (and a lot of other things I really enjoyed!). I am keen to get back into cheesemaking and when we move I will have a dedicated area for my preserving and cheesemaking, this will be called the ‘Fowlers room’ named in honour of the age-old Fowlers Vacola Preserving system. I love growing all kinds of fruit and veg and can’t wait to establish the new produce garden. We have purchased an historical house (1920ish) which needs a major dose of TLC and renovation. The focal point in the backyard of this house is a very old mulberry tree, the aim of this blog is to record and share all that goes on ‘around the mulberry tree’ whether in the garden, in the preserving room or in the renovation of this lovely old property.
Sourdough, Fermenting, Wholegrains, Home Milling, Growing, Sustainable Living
Around The Mulberry Tree 
Hello
I am delighted to have found your blog. I read ones from all over the world but it is especially refreshing to find a like-minded soul close to ‘home’. I have never been to Gippsland, despite travelling to Victoria many times but we will be redressing that in March as we are driving from Melbourne to Canberra and staying at Lakes Entrance for 2 nights along the way.
When I have time I will go back and read the older posts and I am looking forward to following your adventures in the ‘new old house’.
Fairy xxx
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Really lovely blog you have here! I’ve added you to my reader so hope to drop in often – take care, Michael.
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A preserving room! That’s a thing to be jealous of. I’d love to know more about making cheese.
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Thanks, yes once the room is set up properly it will be great! I’m hoping to put up some cheese shortly so stay tuned!
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Can’t wait! Do you make vegetarian? i.e. Non animal rennet?
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I’ll look forward to it.
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Gorgeous blog and photography
Alexa from Sydney, Australia blogging at http://www.Alexa-simplelife.com
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I have followed the link that Tammy, from Gippsland unwrapped, shared on Facebook. It’s great to find you here. I also have a Gippsland connection, we have a property in Wonyip and although we don’t live their full time, we are actively involved in the community.
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Hi Ruth, thanks for visiting. I love South Gippsland, we had a property at Fish Creek for about 15 years and I was heartbroken when we sold it. I read the ‘about’ page of your blog and see you worked at Distance Ed. One of our fellow group members in our trip to Greece also worked there, John & Joanne Lanston I think were their names. He has some lovely stories to tell about his experiences. Cheers, Maree.
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Hi Maree, you never know where you will run into a teacher from the Distance Education Centre! I worked with John on several occasions in supporting students who were struggling. It is a fine place with amazing teachers and students! It’s good to meet up and I look forward to reading more of your posts. Ruth
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Cheers Ruth!
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Hello, I know this may seem like a strange request but I wonder if you would consider giving me permission to use the photo on your site of the newly-hatched earthworms. I work in Canada for a national charitable organization called Let’s Talk Science. We produce STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) resources for educators across the country. These resources are free and are provided online for easy access. I am currently working on an animal life cycles resource and your photo is one of a very few I have been able to find that shows baby earthworms! I want to use images of living things that children across the country can relate to in their local environment. I would, of course, credit the photo in whatever way you would like. Thank you so much for considering this request!
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Hi, sure go ahead but credit and a link back would be appreciated. Thanks for visiting. 🙂
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Ello!
Thanks for an interesting read!
I was interested in how your Sproutwell Greenhouse is fairing over the years. They are expensive and I wonder whether they hold up as they claim
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Hi, sorry I just stumbled across this. To be honest I am not that thrilled with how it has held up long term. Panels have degraded and it is very expensive to replace them and not an easy job. I am actually in the process of investigating alternative options.
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Thanks for your reply. How many years did the panels hold up?
btw Sproutwell are still in business so you might want to try a warranty claim if its not 10 years yet?
I dont think there are ‘better’ options unfortunately. I have looked everywhere for a good solid green house. Maybe a glasshouse is the only longterm option.
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It was around 7 years, no joy with warranty. It is more that panels have filled with mould and are no longer transparent. There are much better options but they are much dearer too. Calculating costing over long term is needed. I’m considering building one using old refrigeration doors or recycled windows, when considering how fiddly it is to put a kit greenhouse together, it probably isn’t much more involved. I will not be responsible for putting more poly back into the waste system. Cheers.
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If you have photos to put up on the green house issues, this will help many people. There are next to no reviews on these very expensive green houses.
One strategy could be to inject bleach or something similar in between the layers to kill the mould.
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I’ve sent you an email. Bleach was tried and didn’t work along with pressure cleaning. Channels should be sealed to prevent this.
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