Hunter Gatherer Forager in Judbury, Tasmania, Australia | Personal blog

Hunter Gatherer Forager

Locality: Judbury, Tasmania, Australia

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Shopping & retail
• Farm
• Personal blog

24.01.2022 Propolis and Lemon balm healing I created this lip balm for my daughter who's suffered from cold sores since she was very little. Before we had bees we discovered the healing power of propolis ointment to help her get through outbreaks and I'm excited to now have this amazing balm available in our online store. ... I have harvested and infused Lemon balm grown on our farm with coconut oil then combined with Propolis oil, beeswax and Shea butter another little bit of herbal bee magic

24.01.2022 First crop of garlic harvested and some of these bulbs are the biggest I've ever seen! The cloves are monsters so we did something right this time. This is our early crop and we have a second later crop that won't be ready for a while. We will dry these out for a few days or longer and then braid them. We are debating if we sell any this year or save more for seed next year and do a bigger crop. Decisions decisions! ... #Garlic #homegrowngarlic #growyourown

22.01.2022 Salisfy flower These have been relocated to the house garden area after I pulled them from the garden and was repulsed by the oyster smell decided they weren't a vegetable I really wanted to eat and would instead use them as a ornamental that doubled as a 'desperate times' plant. Dane always rolls his eyes at my desire to grow weird vegetables so he wins this round and at least the flowers are pretty! ... #gardeningtasmania #australiangardeners

19.01.2022 Busy busy here after lots of lovely days spent catching up with friends and socialising we are now rushing to tie up loose ends before Dane starts his new job this week. I've done a shop update and added our newest Jersey Milk and Honey soap this one has the loveliest creamy lather! Natural Deodorant has been restocked too and I've added the bi-carb free option for those with more sensitive skin. ... They'll be new products coming weekly so be sure to check in #tasmanianhandmade #tassiemade #supportsmallbusinessaustralia #shoplocalhobart #buytasmanianmade #smallfarmaustralia #huonvalley #Judbury

18.01.2022 Capturing the seasons with my Forsythia flower soap which is now available in the website. When I look at this soap I'm reminded of those first bursts of colour in early spring after a long dark winter. The forsythia flowers follow the daffodils closely and the flowering time is short so it's important to preserve the petals while I can. I always take a modest amount ensuring the bees have plenty for themselves. This soap is pretty lush using Forsythia tea, caster oil, Forsythia infused olive oil ,coconut oil, Mango butter and mustard seeds to lightly exfoliate then oloured naturally with tumeric & Annato

17.01.2022 Broad bean harvest time What are your favourite recipes? #broadbeans... #gardeningtasmania #growfood #growyourown #eatwhatyougrow #growfood #permaculturegarden #organicgardeningaustralia #eatmoreveggies See more

16.01.2022 Our lovely new laying Araucanas are spoiling us with gorgeous blue eggs! If anyone is after eggs we have our eggstamp and are approved sellers. They are $7 a doz pick up at the farm gate Judbury by appointment inbox to check availability

15.01.2022 Wow what a eventful afternoon! Just when we had decided we wouldn't go chasing swarms and would just work with what we have Dane got a call from Bio security tasmania that they'd been notified of a swarm 15 minutes from us and did we want to collect them. It was dinner and usual afternoon chaos when Dane rushed out while I got the kids fed, did the evening chicken chores and put our littlest to bed. ... He brought the swarm back and together with me in my pajamas we very slowly got them into a box. It was the perfect afternoon with the sun setting , Black cockatoos flying overhead and the elder kids laughter as they played at the other side of the property. These are the loveliest sweetest bees and I hope they choose to stay and join our apairy. The original hive they swarmed from is in a old tree and had been there for years. The gentleman who lived on the property was worried he was loosing the bees as he has enjoyed speaking to them and sharing there company for years. Dane explained how swarming worked and promised to bring him a jar of honey from this hive when they have some to spare. #beekeepingtasmania #beekeeping #swarm #bees #homesteading #farmlife

14.01.2022 This is Daisy one of our Blue laced red Wyandottes. She's not a very good example of the breed in terms of her lacing but is a lovely hen and a great mother. There's just something extra delightful about a broody hen hatching eggs from her own breed some of which would have been her own. Daisy will be leaving our flock with her daughter hawk which I have mixed feelings about but we can only keep so many breeders and need to remove the ones that aren't giving us the right ...colours. I estimate it will take us 10 years to get the breeding program where we want it at this rate it's definitely a labour of love and patience. We've hatched nearly 100 chicks and so far there are only 3 that have the colouring and shape we am looking for. We won't know until next year how that will play out either. After 7 years of breeding chooks we are still beginners in terms of genetics something we will work on but for now I'm happy playing the long game. #chickens #wyandotte #homesteading #permacultureaustralia #backyardchooks #backyardchickens

14.01.2022 We've recently passed another hurdle with our house cow. Coinciding with Dane starting back at off farm work. Whitney decided she wanted to wean us and keep all the milk for her calf this meant she'd give us a tiny amount while 'holding up' the rest of the milk for Fritters. . Dane was trying to milk at 5am before work and it was getting to be pretty dissapointing to go through the whole milking process and come back with so little so I hunted around for some solutions. At... first Dane would do one milking go to work then I'd come out two hours later and do a second milking this worked a bit but she was still holding back a lot of milk (meanwhile fritters the calf is getting VERY fat ) It was suggested to me I bring fritters into the milking yard get him to latch on and drink for 1 minute then move her into the milking stall with her feed and then milk her out and today was a great success happy cows and happy us! This means I'm taking over the milking which less pressure on Dane before work. #housecow #Jerseycow #homesteadingaustralia #homesteading #smallfarmaustralia #tasmanianfarm #selfsufficientliving #growyourownfood #farmlifestyle

12.01.2022 The Russian giant Sunflowers are taking off!! I wonder if it will be higher than me next. Two weeks ago it was only as tall as our youngest now it's as tall as our eldest. This is our first year growing this variety. In the past we have grown multi-headed sunflowers but we wanted bigger seeds this year so tried a different variety. It's a nice peaceful time in the garden at the moment. Everything is in the ground and there's a wee window before we start the next lot of see...dlings so I'm looking forward to a nice slow few weeks. #gardeningtasmania #australiangarden #sunflowers #permaculteraustralia #permaculturefamily #homesteadfamily #unschoolers #lifelearners

12.01.2022 The young Wyandottes are coming into the gawky teenage phase and I'm really pleased to see that my plan of developing Blue laced silver Wyandottes is paying off. Once we can tell the hens from roosters in Autumn we'll be selecting about 5 girls from the young ones to keep for the breeding program and there's a couple of 2 year old hens I've decided to part with as the colours aren't quite what I'm going for. I find it hard selling hens because I get attached but we are real...ly reaching capacity with the chooks so I've got to be a bit ruthless. Anyone within Tasmania wanting Wyandottes I'm taking emails for a wait list and will contact when they are ready to go.

11.01.2022 Friday Flower Wiltshire Ripple Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)... These beauties were planted by little hands in our bee garden and forgotten about until they surprised us with their burst of colour. I think this variety is one of my favourite sweet peas. It still is highly fragment which is a trait some of the newer varieties loose. Did you know sweet peas are native to Sicily, Cyprus and Southern Italy. A Sicilian monk is said to have sent the first sweet pea seeds to England in the 17th century and they became popular in the late-Victorian era. They member of the legume family so plant them as a green manure crop and enjoy the flowers while helping improve the quality of your soil by increasing its nitrogen content then save the seed for next year. Sweet peas’ scent, although greatly enjoyed by humans, is hugely offensive to flies so try planting them in pots by your door as a repellent. The flowers and pods are not edible and are toxic so make sure little people know they aren't for eating. #gardening #gardeningtasmania #flowers #cottagegarden #gardeningaustralia #australiangarden #flowersaustralia #sweetpea #tassiegardens #aussiegarden

11.01.2022 The kids went out and picked this stunning bouquet from our garden. It's a beautiful little reminder of our progress here. When we moved here it was waist high with thistles but slowly we've added flowers and rescued plants that we're struggling and overgrown and now we are rewarded with these simple little pleasure's. #flowersofinstagram ... #simplepleasure #theartofslowliving #bouquetofflowers #gardensofaustralia #gardeningaustralia See more

09.01.2022 Our first hard cheese is ready to eat. I followed a recipe for Havarti but I was a bit late opening it and when we first took the wax off and cut into it we were disgusted by a sharp bitterness. I wasn't about to let that stop me after so much hard work and waiting ao I researched ways to cut through the bitterness as there was no way my first cheese wheel was going to the chickens! I salted the rind and popped it into a airtight box in the fridge. Day by day the flavour ha...s improved and we've now melted it on homemade bagels, eaten it in sourdough crackers and put it in cherry Danish. It's become such a versatile cheese we've been eating it daily. After advice from a friend who is a amazing cheese maker I've made a cave out of a old fridge in the shed that isn't on but I switch out frozen water bottles daily. It's keeping the fridge at perfect temperature for maturing and is fast filling up with home made camembert, Gouda, cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gorgonzola #cheesemaking #homesteading #homedairy #housecow #homemadecheese #selfsufficiency #permacultureaustralia #theartofslowliving #feedfeed #gourmetathome

09.01.2022 New babies and they are growing at great speed! This litter is from our new Flemish buck over our British Giant doe and they are the biggest fattest babies we've ever had! This will be our last bunny litter until late Autumn when it cools down as rabbits struggle with heat so I don't like to over stress them and I think it's good to give the mother's a good break. In other bunny news we sadly moved our last Angora buck to a new home it was a very hard decision as I really l...oved him but I don't have the time to spin much yarn these days and his grooming was very time consuming. We are taking small steps to simplify our systems so we can actually get off the farm and take the kids on little adventures sometimes next year. #homesteading #rabbitraising

07.01.2022 It's worth getting up early to catch these moments in the garden. #bees #poppies #gardensoftasmania ... #gardensofaustralia See more

07.01.2022 In case you missed it in my stories Plantain -Cleavers and purple clay shampoo bars have been added to the website. Wonderfully soothing for those like myself with scalp issues. Since switching to shampoo bars I no longer suffer from dry itchy scalps and my hair is the healthiest it's ever been (after 15 years with dreadlocks and bieng a loctician this was a huge test) Just a reminder that we won't have our stall at Judbury markets this weekend but I'll be there from 10-11 to support my fellow stall holders and can meet anyone wanting to pick up orders. Just type HUONLOCAL into the coupon box at checkout

06.01.2022 I love this zone of our garden it's where we kept the pigs a few years ago and now is so fertile and full of life. The area is fenced with a floppy top and electric fence line. This year a small possum figured it's way in and stripped the young fruit trees of leaves and demolished the strawberries We think we found its entry point and have put up preventative measures but still it's dissapointing whenever this happens. Our other garden area is in a enclosed net and Danes joked one day we'll have a that is property completely netted in so we don't have to compete with wildlife

05.01.2022 Healing Honey Balm Honey healing balm is great for those suffering itchy skin conditions. This balm provides a moisturizing and protective barrier on skin, and is typically used to alleviate conditions such as dry, irritated, flaky or cracked skin or aid in healing minor scratches, cuts and soothing eczema. To make this balm I have gathered skin healing herbs of red clover, Lavender, Calendula and chickweed grown organically in our garden then slowly infused with olive oi...l before bieng blended with our gently harvested beeswax , honey and locally produced manuka essential oil DM to learn more or purchase through our website

05.01.2022 More cow photos because our life has been consumed by Whitney and Fritters these last two weeks. We've dropped down to milking once a day in the early morning calf sharing, her udder has greatly improved and she's passed her retained placenta and is back to her spritely self chasing me and trying to eat my basket when I come into the paddock to check on her. Already we've made Haloumi, Feta, Butter, ice cream, farmers cheese, ricotta and Milk and honey soap that will hit th...e website once cured! I am planning on making all our dairy products and although our workload has greatly increased things seem a lot more manageable now. #housecow #homedairy #jerseycow

03.01.2022 Yesterday we harvested our potatoes. We had four different types planted from the seed we saved from last year's crop. Burgandy blush, saphire, Dutch cream and Bismark. Dane estimates all together we got about 50kg which is more than last year. We will do a second crop this year but perhaps try another higher cropping variety as the burgandy blush and saphire which I love aren't very high producers.

01.01.2022 Dandelion Honey and Activated Charcoal soap is in store now! I really love how this soap turned out I was going for a bee striped pattern but I much prefer the funky waves that materialized. The olive oil and Shea butter give this soap a rich skin nourishing lather. This soap is unscented for those with sensitive skin and noses but it does have a very faint natural honey and floral scent. ... We won't be at Judbury market tomorrow but if you'd like to pick up your order rather than have it posted I can organise it at the farm gate just pop the code HUONLOCAL in the coupon area of checkout or DM me #naturalskincareaustralia #australiansoapmaker #buylocalhobart #judburymarket #huonvalley #smallfarmaustralia #Tassielife #tasmanianbusiness #tasmanianhandmade #australianfarm #buyfromabushbusiness #dandelion

01.01.2022 Crown Daisy - Shungiku - Edible chrysanthemum A beautiful edition to our medicinal herb and bee flower bed. Petals are edible and can be used fresh or dried, sprinkled over souls and salads or as a garnish. ... I've not eaten ours yet but I might try making Kikumi a Japanese pickle that uses the flower petals. I have read they have a slightly bitter taste and succulent texture in a stir fry. I've started lots of different flower seeds this season to build on our bee sanctuary project. This one has been the first to flower and is such a happy little fella I'm glad I chose it. What have you added to your garden this year?