Go Get Grubby!

This afternoon Little Lady and I were watching my favourite kids show on ABC- “Dirt Girl World”. I really love this program. The general opinion of most people I know is that this show is “really weird and freaky”, because the characters bodies are actors, but their heads are animated and quite large. Ok, so they do look a little strange, but I think if those people were to look past the characters “freaky” appearance, then they would see that this is an absolute gem of a show.

Dirt Girl lives in her own little world where she and her friends; Grubby the grub, Ken the weevil, Hayman the scarecrow and Scrap Boy, teach children about caring for the environment and encourage them to get outside and “Go get grubby!”. They grow vegetables, make compost, invent things using recycled materials, save water and care for all the creatures in the giant garden that is “Dirt Girl World”. Created by musicians Cate McQuilan and Hewey Eustace, every episode also has an original song. I love it for the music and for it’s focus on educating kids about sustainable living.

Sustainable living tends to go hand in hand with frugal living. Growing vegetables, saving water and electricity, reducing your carbon footprint, recycling and reusing materials are all great for the environment. And they’re also very nice on the hip pocket! I do have to admit that my frugal living experiment came more from a financial motive than an environmental one. But, it is nice to know that while I’m living frugally, I’m also helping the environment.

Anyway, it was while LL and I were watching “Dirt Girl World” that I remembered that we have a long weekend in Melbourne this weekend. Thanks to the Melbourne Racing Carnival, LL, Hubby and I have four lovely days to spend however we wish! And, after being inspired by Dirt Girl, who happened to be growing mushrooms and making compost in that particular episode, I have decided that it is time to get the veggie garden back on track! This will be my project for the long weekend.

Earlier this year I cleared a corner of our garden and started a veggie patch. I planted tomatoes, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, carrots, parsnip and beetroot. My intentions were good. My knowledge was not. To begin with our soil is extremely sandy. I also chose to plant my vegetables where we used to have a large bed of agapanthas, so the soil was completely stripped of nutrients and I neglected to fertilize or compost. Add to that, an infestation of cabbage moths and my total lack of motivation when it comes to weeding and we ended up with two bunches of spinach, some very sad, severely undersized carrots and a whole lot of weeds.

This time will be better. After seeking advice from an avid gardener friend of mine I feel that I am ready for success! This weekend will be the first stage- weeding and preparing the soil. Saturday morning will be spent buying manure, seaweed solution, top soil and some organic fertilizer. I also want to price some compost bins. Then, with Hubby’s assistance, we will weed, and dig all that lovely goodness into the soil. By next weekend, we should be ready for planting!

Veggie gardens are not expensive to start. Growing from seeds is the cheapest way, but seedlings are not overly expensive, particularly if you can buy them from a farmers market. You don’t even have to have a large garden. Plenty of vegetables can be grown in tubs on a balcony or deck. Just make sure you ask the advice of a knowledgable person before you start. Otherwise you’ll be wasting your time.

There is nothing better than freshly picked, organic vegetables from your own garden. And you’ll save more money at the supermarket! So, what are you waiting for? Head outside and “Go get grubby!”.