The Long Paddock with

Gerard Walsh

If you want to plant some trees around a house or on a driveway, get in and do it. Don’t wait around, I waited around for 40 years and now the new trees are less than a metre high.

Early on, the trees were short of water but we did put a poly pipe to two trees on the hill on our driveway so we can water them now when needed.

The past two years have been pretty good from a weather perspective, we even got 4.4mm on Saturday night.

I saw someone ploughing on Sunday morning and thought it might have been a bit more rain but that is enough to make a better job of cultivation.

I can’t really remember what our house paddock was like when I got John Loy Snr in with his dozer to clear it for cultivation. Perhaps I could have asked him to leave a few more trees.

I do know my mother saved one tree near the house, John was asked to clear the Windmill Paddock but when Mum saw the biggest tree in the paddock was down for demolition, she got me to stop the dozer man.

To this day, that tree has a few dead limbs from when it was ripped before I said to leave it.

Mum’s idea to leave it was a good one as the cattle often use it for shade.

The only downside is that every tree that is left in a cultiva- and marinades I make an even greater depth of flavour and fragrance.

Chipotle vinegar is ideal for adding to slow-cooked meats to make them extra tender, tarragon oil is lovely drizzled over pan-fried fish, and garlic oil is good with nearly everything.

I also like to use the infused vinegar to make quick fridge pickles with extra root veggies like carrots, beetroot, and rad- ishes or to add a delectable kick to pickled cherries or a fruit-filled chutney. And, frankly, I like them because they’re beautiful. It gives me a happy little thrill to see glistening glass bottles of deliciousness lined up on my pantry shelves, filled with fresh herbs, colourful peppers, and whole spices. tion paddock takes some moisture from the crop.

At present, we are not doing any cultivation due to the number of marsupials in the area.

The option is to put up some exclusion fencing or an electric fence so the cultivation is just for the cattle and sheep.

As for planting trees near the end of the drought, we planted seven and five survived.

A couple of times, they nearly died.

We also put some netting around the trees, we have some Friesian dairy steers and they are particularly good at eating the trees.

So if you are wanting to plant some trees, do it in a wet season like this one as it will take a while to get them established and useful for shade.

None of ours after three years are any good yet to shade a car or even a buggy.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh or dried chipotle peppers

2 cups vinegar

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a sterilised glass bottle, seal, and set in a dark, cool place for 1-2 weeks until it reaches the flavour you like. Strain and use.