I had a really fascinating day yesterday.

A couple of weeks ago I signed up to go and do a workshop on sustainable land use or organic gardening on a lifestyle block.

I'm trying to get ready for moving out to our 10 acres next year, and I've been inspired by many people to give serious vegetable gardening a go. I am not a gardening person. I was raised in the town and city and am basically a city gal, but this is something I really want to try my hand at. Christina, the instructor, pretty much had to explain everything to me from scratch.

When I arrived she was milking the goats, which I tried later on at lunchtime. Unpasteurized fresh goats milk - and I actually liked it! It didn't have any goat smell, and it actually tasted really good - a bit like cow's milk, only not as fatty. After reading in the Old Testament (Proverbs, I think) about giving 'goats milk for the maintenance of thy maidens," I've always thought it sounded like a good idea.

The rest of the day was spent in the vegetable garden, or 'the allotment' as Christina called it (she is from the UK). She basically uses chicken and goat manure to fertilize the garden and grows just about every vegetable possible. The amazing thing is that she said she only has to buy vegetables from the store for about 2 weeks of the year! What a saving that would be! And so much more healthier and tastier. The beds are planted in their families and she uses small bushes and trees to shelter and add protection from birds. The garden is on a five year rotation, so she divided it up into 5 sections, planted in the vegetable families and moves it one section on, every year.

By the end of the day she had drawn up a plan for me to use, and in the meantime she told me to note down every day for a month what vegetables we use, eg, 4 carrots a day, 1 lettuce, etc, and at the end of the month I'll be able to figure out how many vegetables I'll need in a year.

Christina and her husband also eat their own chickens and they grow fruit as well. It was an amazing place and so well set up - orderly and neat and tidy - very inspiring! Here's a link to her website:

http://inscape.orcon.net.nz/ogrod/index.html