WA: Heatwave sets all-time records in the south. The heatwave that has beset southern WA reached new heights today, toppling all-time records at a dozen centres in the Central Wheat Belt and Great Southern districts. Cunderdin, Northam, Brookton, Corrigin, Lake Grace, Narembeen and Narrogin experienced their hottest day in over 40 years with Northam knocking a remarkable 2.3C off its previous all-time record.

Top temperatures reached the mid to high 40s across an unusually large area of the state, with Hyden, Northam and Cunderdin topping 48C. See records and hottest for details. Maximum temperatures have been 10C or more above normal somewhere in southern WA every day for the past 10 days.
Now you know why I haven't posted much, this heat just drains the life from me lol. Hopefully the week ahead will begin to cool, these temps are too much, I don't think our aircon has been off for weeks!

FINALLY...............

I can say I have finished the planting of all my fruits and berries. My recent delivery from Daleys completed my list of required foods.

Four trees  and a good watering later:

2 Ice Cream Bean Trees: Large attractive trees with spreading branches and lovely white and yellow pompom type flowers. The pods look similar to a tamarind pod. Surrounding the inedible black seeds is a thick white juicy pulp that tastes very much like vanilla icecream. The tree has the added advantage of being nitrogen fixing and is a good choice as a fast growing shade tree.

According to Garcia-Barriga (1975), nearly all Colombian species of the Ice Cream Bean are used in popular medicine. Decoctions of the leaves and bark are used as astringent in diarrhoea, as a lotion for arthritis and rheumatism.

The root decoction is used for diarrhoea or dysentery, considered more effective if mixed with the rind of pomegranate. Bark and fruit are used for dropsy and irritations of the raucous lining of the intestines. Cuna Indians used the plant as a nervine for headaches (Duke, 1975).

Nutritionally the benefits found are:

100 g, 118 calories

63.3% moisture

10.7 g protein

0.7 g fat

24.0 g total carbohydrate

1.6 g fiber

1.3 g ash

Pulp contains per 100 g

60 calories

83.0% moisture

1.0 g protein

0.1 g fat

15.5 g total carbohydrate

1.2 g fiber

0.4 g ash.

Dried seeds contain per 100 g

339 calories

12.6% moisture

18.9 g protein

2.1 g fat

62.9 g total carbohydrate

3.4 g fiber

3.5 g ash.

Seeds of the genus Inga are reported to contain trypsin inhibitors and chymotrypsin inhibitors.

The Sapodilla: Heavy cropper of small-medium sized fruit. Sapodillas are highly prized in Asia with their sweet brown sugar cinnamon flavoured fruit that look like potatoes.

Nutritionally it has the following values:
• Sapodilla is rich in dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps relieve constipation episodes and also helps protect the mucous membrane of the colon from cancer causing toxins by firmly binding to them.
• The fruit is rich in antioxidant poly-phenolic compound tannin. Tannins have shown to have potential antiviral, antibacterial and anti-parasitic effects. Tannins have many useful applications medicinally as anti-diarrheal, hemostatic, and anti-hemorrhoidal remedies.

• It contains good amounts of antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for vision. It is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers. So also, consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.

• Fresh ripen sapodilla are good source of minerals like potassium, copper, iron and vitamins like folate, niacin and pantothenic acid. These compounds are essential for optimal health as they involve in various metabolic processes in the body as cofactors for the enzymes.

Nutritive value per 100 g

Principle Nutritive value Percentage of RDA

Energy 83 Kcal 4%

Carbohydrates 19.9 g 15%

Protein 0.44 g <1%

Total Fat 1.10 g 3.5%

Cholesterol 0 g 0%

Dietary Fiber 5.3 g 14%

Vitamins

Folates 14 mcg 3.5%

Niacin 0.200 mg 1%

Pantothenic acid 0.252 mg 5%

Pyridoxine 0.037 mg 3%

Riboflavin 0.020 mg 1.5%

Thiamin 0.058 mg 5%

Vitamin C 14.7 mg 24.5%

Vitamin A 60 IU 2%

Electrolytes

Sodium 12 mg 1%

Potassium 193 mg 4%

Minerals

Calcium 21 mg 2%

Copper 0.086 mg 9%

Iron 0.80mg 10%

Magnesium 12mg 3%

Phosphorous 12 mg 2%

Zinc 0.10 mg 1%

Along with the two above I have added a Grumichama: The tropical equivalent of the cherry. The purplish-black fruit 2cm diameter are produced in clusters. Flesh white, melting and tasty. Mostly used for fresh eating, but also highly prized for jams, jellies and pies.

Nutritionally it adds up as follows:

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion

    Moisture 84g

      Protein 0.3g

       Fiber 0.6 g

Ash 0.43 g

Calcium 39.5 mg

Phosphorus 13.6 mg

Iron 0.45 mg

Carotene 0.039 mg

Thiamine 0.044 mg

Riboflavin 0.031 mg

Niacin 0.336 mg

Ascorbic Acid 18.8 mg

Carbohydrate 13.4 g

Fat 0.3 g

Vitamin A 67 IU

I have now about 65 fruit & berry plants, about 35 different varieties all together. Now I can concentrate on getting the vegetables set up in the wicking beds, the shade house for them and then move onto the front native garden. Slowly but surely we are getting there!
Hope your weekend is a good one!

MORE HEAT TO COME......

Anyone care to swap some snow for this?

Roll on Autumn is all I have to say LOL!

Hope your week is going well :)

SAUCY SATURDAY......

Well, make that Sunday too lol. I spent the weekend making my delectable tomato sauce. Made with organic tomatoes and spices, this year I added a few extras.

Recently you may remember I purchased some Chia seed. Now one of the bonuses of Chia is that it will thicken food without changing its' taste. Rather than use cornflour to thicken my sauce I added Chia seed. It worked a treat and we now have a gorgeous sauce that is also full of Omega-3!

In addition to the Chia I added Nettles. Ground it wont change the taste of foods it is added to either. Nettles contain the highest plant form of Iron and are full of minerals & vitamins too.

Two dozen bottles were made, but once word gets out amongst friends and family I am making my sauces for the year I will need to do another 4 batches, it goes quickly!

I have to say, I do love the fact it's appreciated and that I can share it, and I love the fact that it is home made, not some store bought poison that is full of chemicals!

Speaking of good, healthy, home made foods, I include this video I found on Kellys blog. Healthy bodies need natural foods, not pre-packaged chemical parcels that poison our bodies.

LOSING LOVED ONES............

This morning I lost a very dear friend.

Joycee was like a second grandmother to my children and I. Mother to a girlfriend I have known for years, Joycee lived just around the corner from us for decades.

Joyces heart was as big as Texas. She loved to laugh and had the most wicked sense of humour. I don't ever recall her saying one bad word about anyone. She had one of the most beautiful natures I think I have ever had the honour of knowing.

When I think back to all the things we did together I cannot help but laugh. I remember one day she had told me she haddn't seen a particular tourist spot that was some way out of town. So in the car we jumped and headed out to Ronans Well.

It was winter time, sunny but cool, and very damp. As we were walking to the well Joycee went head over turtle. Now I should tell you she was in her late sixties then and I should not have been doubled over laughing like crazy at her laying in the mud (she was cracking up too). Here she was, like a magpie on it's back, skinny ol legs stuck up in front of her, granny knickers (long bloomers) on show and all we could do was laugh, thank God she hadn't done her hip in, we were both helpless in our laughter!

I will miss you Joycee, as will the children, it was an honour and a blessing to have known you

God bless and keep you in his arms.

BARTERING.....................................

Have you stopped to think about the importance of bartering when you think about building your family's sustainability?

Bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange (without the use of money).

Many of us rarely stop to think at the time we are bartering, however we are in fact forging strong community networks which are invaluable....and depending on what outlook you have on the future, these links may be your lifelines if the "proverbial hits the fan"!

I stopped to think about our practices. I have friends who produce organic grains, with them I provide advice on business practices and keep an eye on their books (financials). In return they provide us with delicious, healthy wheat, oats & barley.

Another long time friend is an avid reader with very similar tastes in books, we swap books constantly as I also do with my mother, aunt & sister.

Our neighbours produce some of the finest dukkah, seasonal salts, mustards and infused extra virgin olive oils, in return we give them eggs from our girls.

I swap our own garden produce for that of other keen fruit & veggie growers, obtaining what I haven't grown myself.

I swap our preserves for any tailoring on our clothes we may need (the odd hem comes down, things need taking in occasionally, patches on work pants my son uses in his fathers shearing shed etc).

I love honey, but being allergic to bees and not having access to wild bees (no stings) we swap our sauces for delicious all natural honey with my daughters future in-laws.

There are so many more options for each of us, it just takes some time and our effort to build those links. Finding individuals and groups within your community who have the same interests in sustainability is the first step, from then on it's easy!

Most of the world has been caught up in the now infamous "Global Financial Crisis'. Tougher times means we become more innovative in our approach to saving money and utilising any of our own excesses in a profitable manner.

Do you barter without realising it, or do you do it with recognition?

AND THE HEAT KEEPS ON ROLLING IN.........

This summer is still tough. The heatwaves keep on coming and I am doing little in the garden other than sowing seed and keeping the plants hydrated!

If nothing else the water dishes I keep all over the yard keep the birds happy. Here they were eating the fallen seed from the old sunflowers, close by them is a water bowl they all love to visit during the day.

My seeds arrived last week, this weekend early I will be planting out those I can.

I am also going to experiment a little with seeds that should have been sown last month going in this month, our heat appears to be staying a little longer each year....will make for an interesting trial!

Locally there is an ant invasion! Bloody things are everywhere, from the usual ants one gets in the garden to the coastal ants in some houses.

Here we are suffering from the meat ants. There is something in the cocos palm tree they are crazy about and there are a million of the buggers crossing the paths to get to it....makes for an interesting eaves dropping early morning....... you can hear the odd expletive escape when I am bitten whilst trying to water or walk out to the car on the way to work!

There is no doubt in my mind now that growing our vegies in full sun in this area is a thing of the past!  Nothing wants to thrive unless it is under shadecloth. Certainly very different to when I was a child.

Harvesting is still going on, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, and fruits. I've tried replanting the lettuce, this time in full shade, the last lot fried of course!

In terms of the latest news Gav sent this LINK: Our ever brilliant WA Pollies and their approval of transgenic food production. (Throw in a thousand expletives and other curses)......

As fast as we work to preserve our planet and its diversity, these cretins are destroying it!
Notice that ever present company name on the article????  Always near any control of seed.

What was that old quote by Henry Kissinger? "Control the food and you control the masses", not far from the truth and not far from succeeding from all observation to date!