WORM WICKING BEDS

Ever wonder why some of us prefer wicking beds to grow our veggies?
The answer is simple....they make sense!

Although initially you will have some set up costs, not many if you recycle where you can, in the long term this method of gardening will save you both time and money.

Time because you tend to plant closer (similar to square foot gardening) so you tend not to get the weeds you would in the backyard and money because you utilise a lot less water, AND if you include the worms, no fertiliser costs!

The principle is for the plants to wick the water up from the "pool" in the bottom, rather than watering overhead and losing some of it in evaporation. You will water a lot less in peak summer, and lets face it, in Aussie water is a scarce and precious commodity!

If you include an additional piece of pipe that has holes drilled in about half the length, you can use that to feed the worms you bury in there, no mess, cap it and no flies either, just free ongoing little workers feeding your soil.

The link to check out plans is HERE. It's a PDF file so may take a little longer to download, the wait is worth it I promise!

Enjoy the gardening and take care of you and yours:)

WTG BUNDANOON

A town in the New South Wales southern highlands of Australia hopes to become the first community in Australia to ban the sale of bottled water.

Bundanoon businessman Huw Kingston suggested the ban after a company applied to pump water out of a local aquifer to supply the bottled market.

"I put a little article - 'Does Bundanoon have the bottle to go bottled water free?' - in our local newsletter. I guess we have gone on from there," he said.

The suggestion won the support of local businesses. They are proposing to replace plastic bottles of water on their shop shelves with reusable’s and then offer directions to filtered water fountains that will be installed on the main street.

"I think there is an overwhelming opposition to the marketing scam that is stilled bottled water," he said.

Around the world other cities have taxed bottled water - in some places, local officials have been banned from using taxpayers funds to buy it.

Environmentalist Jon Dee from activist group Do Something believes Bundanoon could be the first town to ban it entirely.

"Huge amounts of resources are used to extract, bottle and transport that bottled water, and much of the package ends up as litter or landfill," he said.

"So environmentally it makes no sense and that is what we are trying to do in Bundanoon, is show that a community can live without single use bottled water."

Mr Dee, who was behind the campaign that saw plastic bags banned in the Tasmanian town of Coles Bay, says other towns around the country would not find it hard to follow Bundanoon's lead.

"If Bundanoon can ban bottled water, well many other towns and communities around Australia will also consider their usage of bottled water," he said.

"And at the very least, if they don't ban it then at least they will reduce their usage of it and in doing so reduce the half a billion dollars a year that Australians are spending on bottled water and not just save money but save the environment too." Now if only we would all do that!

FULL STORY

Take care of you and yours:)

THIS AND THAT!

A mixed bag of info tonight. First of all an announcement. Australian Preppers network are looking for someone to manage the aussie blog for them, sites set up and ready to go. If you are interested leave a message on the SITE.

A report from OXFAM is raising eyebrows. The synopsis from the ABC news reads as follows:

Act now to avoid climate poverty: Oxfam

Oxfam says climate-related hunger will become a problem around the world if there is not immediate work to deal with environmental issues. The report found that in some regions, seasons have changed and generations of people with farming experience are facing failed harvests.

Oxfam spokeswoman Julianne Richards says climate change is adding to poverty.

"Without urgent action, climate change could reverse 50 years of work to end poverty," she said.

"Without urgent action to reduce our emissions, climate-related hunger could be the defining human tragedy of this century."

Ms Richards says farmers in many poor communities can no longer trust the weather. "They don't know when to plant their crops, or what crops to plant, and they're losing crop after crop," she said.

"As a result, thousands of communities are facing hunger and destitution already."

Oxfam Australia executive director Andrew Hewett called climate change the "central poverty issue of our time".

"Climate change is happening today and the world's poorest people, who already face a daily struggle to survive, are being hit hardest," he said in a statement.

"The evidence is clear - the human cost of climate change is as real as any redundancy or repossession notice."

Mr Hewett called for the Federal Government to show leadership in delivering a "fair and safe global deal" to tackle climate change.

"Australia must show leadership at the UN climate negotiations and contribute to a global climate deal which has the needs of the world's poorest people at its heart," he said.

FULL REPORT HERE

And to the left some of the drying!

I still have more leeks on the go and another 2 loads yet of mushrooms to do!

Hope your week ahead is a good one!
Take care of you and yours:)

FOOD STORAGE

This weekend I spent catching up around the house and the garden. I love the time to just wander, ponder and re-arrange lol. First the inside where rooms got a little revamp, and the dehydrator got a work out.

I don't know about you, but we love onions in our food, and given they don't grow 12 months of the year dehydrating is a great way to store, and to do it in a very efficient manner!


The mushrooms are mostly water, so you can imagine how many it takes to get a full jar!

We love these in soups and casseroles, great for adding to sauces too, and GOOD for you!

I can't wait to get my sheep manure! Put that stuff around your garden and you will have mushrooms for life...at least if the manure was from paddock sheep.


The centre garden in the drive way was given a good covering of pea straw and some chook manure. I am hoping the worms will get in there soon as this is where I planted the guavas. I will also be planting the ice cream trees and others in here as it gets a lot of the sun during the day.

You can make out the ongoing chook pen project, next job...sides of tin up and a paint job.


The work is ongoing as it always is when you move house. I love this place, the space, the quiet........ and the challenges lol.

I am waiting on my order from DALEYS, there are some wonderful goodies ordered, and of course more to come when it is the right season, ready to arrive soon are:

Midyim Berry
Cedar Bay Cherry
Yacon - Apple of the Earth
Pepino - Kendall Gold
White Sapote - Hawaiian Supreme
Peanut Butter Tree - Bunchosia
Feijoa - Mammoth
Guava Yellow Cherry
Pomegranate - Rosavaya
Black Sapote - Bernicker

Heres to happy gardening!
Take care of you and yours:)

LIFE CAN BE HARD SOMETIMES

Yesterday a good friend lost her wee baby boy at 19 weeks into the pregnancy. This post is to let her know we share some of her grief with her and remind her that her friends, in real and online are there for her.

The world may never notice
If a Snowdrop doesn't bloom,
Or even pause to wonder
If the petals fall too soon.

But every life that ever forms,
Or ever comes to be,
Touches the world in some small way

............................For all eternity.

May the Creator keep you and yours in his arms L
God Bless

SNUGGLE UP...IT'S WINTER!

It's that time of the year here in Aussie....Winter! I really love this season, the smell of the rain, the damp earth producing new plant growth, watching the flames dance in the fire...

Time to think about how we stay warm and the best eco ways of doing that. Here’s a few tips on what we need to think about:

Thermo insulated blinds and drapes guard against heat loss in winter, or use old blankets. There are fewer drafts and heating bills are lower. Energy efficiency reduces emissions contributing to global warming.

Save on water heating costs with an insulation blanket on the hot water tank and insulation tubes on hot water pipes. Keep it hot and use less energy!

Buying new windows? Ask about air leakage and glazing systems with special low-e coatings and gas fill between the panes. There's less heat loss, and less heat cost! If you aren’t replacing windows or find coatings too expensive, get that bubble wrap out and cover the glass.

Seal gaps under doors with weather strips or door snakes

Seal fireplaces when not in use.

Consider using ceiling fans (low speed and on winter setting) rather than air conditioners to make your house more comfortable in cold weather.

Close ducted air conditioner vents in winter to prevent heat loss in the house

Let in some light. Open blinds on south-facing windows during the day to let in the sun. Close them in the evening to add a bit more insulation. This provides just enough mid-day warmth that we don’t need the heater.

Use rugs on bare floors. We have hardwood floors above a poorly-insulated basement. These floors are cold in the morning and the late afternoon. An area rug does a fine job of keeping my feet warmer.

Use space heaters. They take a while to get warm, but once they’re going, the can heat a small space cheaply.

Bundle up. I love cold-weather clothes: long underwear, sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves. And don’t forget: house slippers go a long way to keeping you warm!

Install a programmable thermostat. They’re easy to install and an excellent way to cut your heating costs.

Use a hot water bottle in bed. There’s no need to heat the entire house when you’re asleep. There’s no need to even heat the bedroom.

Caulk up cracks in your walls, both inside and out, and especially around windows, and replace any missing or cracked tiles from the roof.

Thermal underwear gives you extra warmth. Enclosed shoes and wearing tights or socks are a must to keep your feet warm. Slippers are great. Layer those clothes for greater warmth.

Rugs, carpet and mats are warm under foot. Mats are great for kitchen and bathroom sinks and places where you might stand for a long time. Take advantage of solar energy. Put a dark rug in sunny areas of your house to absorb the sun's heat.

Chilli, hot soups, stews and casseroles will do the trick. Leave the oven open once you've finished baking for extra heat.

Fill in the gaps between skirting boards and floor boards (put your hand near one and you'll feel how much air comes through on ground floors)

Keep wool or fleece blankets around. Great when you want to read or watch TV, this then removes the need to crank up the heat.

Close off any unused rooms. The closed door makes that room another barrier between you and the winter weather. It also stops air from circulating as much, which reduces heat loss.

Make your own solar window heaters simply, cheaply and easily, see HERE

Light candles. Candles can produce a lot of heat, but be mindful of where they are placed and do not leave them unattended. If you look in the right places you can find candles at very reasonable prices.

So there are a few ideas, I'm sure you can think of others...
stay warm and take care of you and yours:)

RAINY DAYS AND CONTEMPLATIVE WEEKENDS!

This weekend has been wonderful. Perth yesterday which normally I cannot stand, (I'm not one for shopping), however this was a case of having to, the last of my decent workwear was ready to be re-classified as yard clothes and in my role I'm expected to look the professional. Myers had a huge sale so I purchased my next year or twos winter wardrobe!

I truly don't know how the city slickers live in that environment, the noise and masses alone was deafening & crowding to me, however having a good friend for company made it fun!

See the river to the left? That flows through our region and empties itself into the Swan River in Perth, pretty?

Taken just for my readers this morning:)




And heres a sample of the wildlife you can expect to see around the area, quite a variety.

I noticed not all I have seen were listed though, shame really because there is a massive variety to find if you spend the time.



Today was a time for family. I went down to spend the morning with my parents, caught up with an Aunt and sister too.

There is nothing better than just sitting shooting the breeze with family in my books, I'm only 45 minutes from them but it seems like thousands of miles if I don't get home at least every fortnight lol.


We have had some wonderful rainy days here (about 2 inches of rain over the last couple of weeks), the cockies (farmers) will be complaining there is too much soon, you never can please them LOL.

The rain has allowed my newly planted out shrubs & trees to settle in well and they are all looking happy outside of their pots. I have an order from Daleys coming next month so will need to get some new ground ready next weekend for the plant out.

The paddocks are greening beautifully as you can see by the pictures I took as I travelled (Yes, I did pull over and stop the car LOL). I am hoping the water along the sides of the roads will be soon filled with tadpoles, this new pond of ours when finished will need some occupants to start it off!

The remainder of the day is going to be spent helping hubby remove some horrid looking home made copper rangehood and plastering up the hole to ready for the painter, a job I can't wait to have finished...talk about a monstrosity!

Hope you all have a super week ahead, will post some of the garden pics during the week

Take care of you and yours:)

MONSANTO YET AGAIN

You all know how I feel about Monsanto and what I perceive to be the dishonest tactics they use to try and gain control of food supplies and make money at the expense of human health...well whilst surving the blogs I regularly read I came across this one from MAYBERRY, one I hadn't seen before.

Another disturbing window on just how far this company will go to make money, watch it! And then try to find a milk supplier who doesn't use anything on his cows.

Thankfully we have a supplier who doesn't use growth hormones to increase milk production in his cows in the town next door to us. I will be buying their products in the future!

For more info, try HERE or HERE.

Hope your day is a great one
Take care of you and yours:)

ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY!

Hope your day/night is going well, mines going swimmingly! Hubby & son completed the herb garden for me on the weekend, so I took a day off to plant out!

I have planted out both medicinal and cooking herbs, and there's some wonderful things in there, including my all time favourite the Mushroom Plant -HERE for more info.

And here is the semi-finished product. Unfortunately many I wanted they didn't have in stock so have to wait until they all come in, however here is what I managed to plant:
Mushroom Plants, Marigolds, Lemon Balm, Borage, Rosemary, Onion Chives, Thyme, Sag, Parsley Leaf (Celeriac), Pennyroyal, Coriander, Majorum, Basil and Camomile.

I have yet to spread more straw and plant the ordered ones as they arrive, however it feels great to have got moving on yet another project on the list! I miss eating all those fresh fruit & veggies from the old house, I want everything to grow yesterday!

The weather here has been cold, a couple of frosts, -1.5C the other morning and some much needed rain for the cockies (Aussie slang for farmers). We could still do with another couple of inches but the half inch we recieved will do for starters, more planned for the middle of the week.

Hope the week ahead is a good one for you
Take care of you and yours:)

AND THE REAL WORK BEGINS...

Monday & Tuesday we had the bathroom, one bedroom and the shed painted. The shed looks almost new! There's some finishing work to be done over the top of the door on the right just to neaten it up and its done.




Wednesday I took the day off to work with the earthworks man...and look what we got done!

The yard has been levelled out, an old concrete retainer wall that appeared to be sitting like a frog on a rock was gone, the fruit and nut trees were removed and replanted in the chook pen.



Now this truly is what you call a blank canvas! I will be putting in the round about for the cars, planting both in the middle and around the outside with a variety of fruits, nuts and native ground covers.

Along the fence you can see presently covered with a vine will go the shadehouse where all the wicking beds will live, summers here have changed enough that you need some shade mid summer or you lose half your crops to the heat!

I was amazed at the soil here. I was expecting the worst, however dig down just an inch or so and there is some gorgeous loam. Water starved though it is (given there has been no-one living here for some time), it won't take long to get it back in shape!

All in all a very productive few days, now the real work of planting begins! I am looking forward to the day where once again we can walk outside and pick our dinner, the ultimate long term goal being food self-sufficiency...except for the meat & milk of course lol.

Hope your week is being kind to you
Take care of you and yours:)