Ooooh, winter is officially getting closer...
Garden:
Have dug over a patch of garden the chickens vacated a few weeks back, sprinkled it with fireplace ash, and dug up the few weeds left over (fortunately the chooks aren't too heavy and the soil remains fairly undisturbed from what it had in it previously and I make sure I don't stand on it). This patch will have garlic cloves put into it in a few weeks (need to get onto sourcing my cloves - the organic supermarket ones I have are really small, and I was hoping for larger cloves) and is on higher ground than some of the others that ended up under water last spring!
Received some more discarded herbs from yippee-I-have-relatives-who-own-a-herb-nursery that needed putting into the ground. A few are double ups on ones I already have, but I also received Bronze Fennel, Myrtle, Lemon Grass and Peppermint (will need to investigate on how they can be used). After visiting a friend last week I grabbed from her garden some nasturtium and sweet violet that I will see if I manage to get to take off.
Looked in my compost bins for the first time in ages (Simon usually empties the scraps from the house). Ewwww, it was slimy, wet and gross so very lacking in brown waste. So I piled in a heap of fallen leaves and branches, scrapped up some of the straw from the chickens coop and will add some paper when I next remember. Dug it all over (once I found my buried fork in the overgrown grass) - the soil looked lovely under the slime and plenty of lovely wormies in there. The rat *shudder* that vacated it must have found it to its liking though!
Harvesting - silverbeet, spinach and herbs (using a lot of herbs lately!).
Keeping warm:
Have discovered that the apple tree that fell down last winter and was chopped into logs burns really hot and slow. So it's nice to have some slow burners to put on once the fire is roaring.
We have a couple of skylights in our lounge which, although are double-glazed, I suspect let a lot of heat out (the ceiling is a cathedral ceiling). So yesterday decided to do something about creating an extra insulation layer and inserted some bubble wrap into them with an air pocket between the plastic and the window. Last winter I investigated into buying a similar product that was specially created for doing just that. Fortunately being on the ceiling, it doesn't look too bad and still lets in a lot of light.
Dinner:
A beef and lentil casserole is in the crockpot. Have been using the crockpot about 3 times a week lately and loving it.
Home sweet home:
Did some major deep-cleaning of the kitchen, laundry and our bedroom over the weekend. Boy did those areas need it and I was on such a roll that it was very satisfying. Was pretty disgusting down under the fridge and oven and everything had a good wipe down including all the cupboards and drawers.
Herbal Medicine study:
Well, still no further in the official study side of things, but have continued on with reading through my books and about to make up a chart of herbs, when to harvest, what parts to use, when to propagate etc - I'm sure I could buy one or download one off the net, but I know if I put in the research myself it'll be more likely to stick.
May 27, 2009
May 23, 2009
Doing
Well, not a lot really lol!
I have tidied the herb garden some more, shook a few of the seeded heads around the place to see if I can get as much self seeding as possible (I'd just like bushy close together plants to overtake the weeds and make it all look lush and full).
Inspected my old vegetable garden beds and discovered quite a few self seeded veges down there - kale, lettuce, potatoes (a lot are dying off again though with the cold weather we've been having) and a mass of carrots (they came up where I put seeds back in Spring - no idea why they are only up now though).
Made up my soap last weekend and just waiting for it to dry for another few weeks. Was an interesting process, but took ages for the lye and the oils to soponify. Can't wait to use it.
Collected the rest of the scarlett runner beans from the vines that I had decided not to do anything with and opened them up and scattered over a bare/weedy area of soil at the back of my section. I'm hoping some with germinate and therefore add nitrogen to the soil. I went to a Transition Towns meeting/movie night on Tuesday and have a semi-plan for growing a food forest down in the lower area where I can put fruiting trees, herbs and whatever else insires me where it becomes self sufficient and requiring little input from me (and using the chopped off tops from support plants as mulch). So the first plan is to rebuilt up the soil with legumes (probably need to get some lupin seeds) and see how that goes.
After reading one of my herbal books, I collected some rose geranium from the garden, chopped it up, put it in a jar and covered with olive oil and will leave to soak for a few weeks before straining. It will be a nice body/bath oil once finished.
Mostly...due to the freezing cold weather that's hit over the past week or so, we've changed pace and been hibernating inside with the fire roaring and keeping warm.
I have tidied the herb garden some more, shook a few of the seeded heads around the place to see if I can get as much self seeding as possible (I'd just like bushy close together plants to overtake the weeds and make it all look lush and full).
Inspected my old vegetable garden beds and discovered quite a few self seeded veges down there - kale, lettuce, potatoes (a lot are dying off again though with the cold weather we've been having) and a mass of carrots (they came up where I put seeds back in Spring - no idea why they are only up now though).
Made up my soap last weekend and just waiting for it to dry for another few weeks. Was an interesting process, but took ages for the lye and the oils to soponify. Can't wait to use it.
Collected the rest of the scarlett runner beans from the vines that I had decided not to do anything with and opened them up and scattered over a bare/weedy area of soil at the back of my section. I'm hoping some with germinate and therefore add nitrogen to the soil. I went to a Transition Towns meeting/movie night on Tuesday and have a semi-plan for growing a food forest down in the lower area where I can put fruiting trees, herbs and whatever else insires me where it becomes self sufficient and requiring little input from me (and using the chopped off tops from support plants as mulch). So the first plan is to rebuilt up the soil with legumes (probably need to get some lupin seeds) and see how that goes.
After reading one of my herbal books, I collected some rose geranium from the garden, chopped it up, put it in a jar and covered with olive oil and will leave to soak for a few weeks before straining. It will be a nice body/bath oil once finished.
Mostly...due to the freezing cold weather that's hit over the past week or so, we've changed pace and been hibernating inside with the fire roaring and keeping warm.
May 14, 2009
Independence Days update
After sowing a bunch of seeds a few weeks back, I hadn't yet spotted any sign of any sprouting above the surface. But today I noticed some broccoli's had made their way through the soil. No sign of any of the others yet.
Worked on tidying my herb garden this afternoon - did a bit of pruning and weeding. Transplanted my lime geranium since it's taken over the garden and was crowding out a smaller lavender and majoram that were just behind it. Not sure if it liked being moved as it's roots were fairly far down. But it really wasn't suitable where it was. Have been busy reading my way through my herbal books.
Went for a walk with the kids this morning and spotted a heap of wild weeds in our neighbourhood - had a nibble of some wood sorrel on the way. Was inspired to use some chickweed in our dinner tonight. It is running rampant around the backyard like a thick lush mat, so I grabbed a large handful and sauteed it up with some silverbeet and added it to our frittata for dinner.
Attempted a new skill - distilling dirty water. Will need to work on the technique and equipment, but a fun activity to do with the kids.
Have bought a soap making kit which works out better value than buying my usual soaps and something fun to do too (although the whole lye process seems a bit daunting, so the kids will be watching from afar!).
Worked on tidying my herb garden this afternoon - did a bit of pruning and weeding. Transplanted my lime geranium since it's taken over the garden and was crowding out a smaller lavender and majoram that were just behind it. Not sure if it liked being moved as it's roots were fairly far down. But it really wasn't suitable where it was. Have been busy reading my way through my herbal books.
Went for a walk with the kids this morning and spotted a heap of wild weeds in our neighbourhood - had a nibble of some wood sorrel on the way. Was inspired to use some chickweed in our dinner tonight. It is running rampant around the backyard like a thick lush mat, so I grabbed a large handful and sauteed it up with some silverbeet and added it to our frittata for dinner.
Attempted a new skill - distilling dirty water. Will need to work on the technique and equipment, but a fun activity to do with the kids.
Have bought a soap making kit which works out better value than buying my usual soaps and something fun to do too (although the whole lye process seems a bit daunting, so the kids will be watching from afar!).
May 09, 2009
I'm still in the process of deciding which herbal medicine course to do. I'm fairly certain I just want to know enough for treating my family rather than becoming a practitioner, so that cuts me down to courses that run for about 12mths. That's a commitment I can deal with.
In the meantime, I pulled out all my herbal books and decided to actually have a decent read of them rather than just buying them and then filing them away for another day! I didn't realise I had as many as I do.
I also picked up four large folders of aromatherapy fortnightly-mailout-magazine-subscription things (what are those things called?) from my mum today. They cover a range of topics on natural health including herbal medicine, so thought I'd start making my way through them as well.
Interestingly, as I was about to write this post I checked my blog reader and found two blogs I regularly read had a post on herbal medicine. Sara at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and Sharon at Casaubon's Book.
May 07, 2009
The Winter Garden
This is the current state of my little garden. Not a lot of action really, but at least I'm getting lot of silverbeet and spinach which is lovely.
The bare bed in the distance has a heap of seeds in it but as yet nothing has sprouted.
May 01, 2009
My home is my haven
I've just been so in love with my house lately. I just love arriving home and stepping inside. It warms my heart and I feel wrapped in its security and comfort (helps if we've left it in a tidy state and the kitchen bench not being cluttered with dirty dishes since it's the first thing you see as you walk in the door).
I think I appreciate it so much more than ever with Nathan's health issues, with the state of the economy, the potential flu pandemic and it's a place where I can mostly forget about all of that (well, providing I don't turn on my computer lol) and just live in the moment.
Despite all the doom and gloom and the need to really not spend unnecessary money at the moment - we (well, I) decided to update the colour schemes of all our bedrooms. It has been 6yrs since we last painted when we first moved in here and now with the kids being a bit older, it felt right to update things. Danielle's room is now a lovely warm but dark lime/wasabi green type colour. Ours is a yummy light chocolate brown and Nathan's will be a very pale grey with a metallic pewter colour for his furniture (will be painted this weekend).
A few weeks ago I did a little home blessing as a spontaneous thing after reading one of my books. It just felt the right thing to do. After honing in on the hearth of my home, I bought up all the warm, safe feelings that our home provides and let that wash over me as I blessed it (it sounds all a bit odd writing it down, but there you have it lol).
I think I appreciate it so much more than ever with Nathan's health issues, with the state of the economy, the potential flu pandemic and it's a place where I can mostly forget about all of that (well, providing I don't turn on my computer lol) and just live in the moment.
Despite all the doom and gloom and the need to really not spend unnecessary money at the moment - we (well, I) decided to update the colour schemes of all our bedrooms. It has been 6yrs since we last painted when we first moved in here and now with the kids being a bit older, it felt right to update things. Danielle's room is now a lovely warm but dark lime/wasabi green type colour. Ours is a yummy light chocolate brown and Nathan's will be a very pale grey with a metallic pewter colour for his furniture (will be painted this weekend).
A few weeks ago I did a little home blessing as a spontaneous thing after reading one of my books. It just felt the right thing to do. After honing in on the hearth of my home, I bought up all the warm, safe feelings that our home provides and let that wash over me as I blessed it (it sounds all a bit odd writing it down, but there you have it lol).
Independence Days
Well, today was another lovely sunny day after all that rain we'd had. We went for a long walk this morning, home for lunch then down into the garden about 2pm. The garden is booming and the silverbeet and spinach has really taken off. My other little brassica seedlings seem to be showing some progress too.
Now that the soil has had a wonderful soak, I dug over a bed that the chickens had vacated a couple of weeks back and sowed some seeds - spring onions, kale, carrots and cabbage.
After weeding the other two beds, I transplanted one of my perpetual spinach plants that seemed to be crowded out by a few of the other plants and just wasn't growing.
I've allocated my next plot for all my garlic cloves to be sowed into later in May/June.
The chickens were happy to have us down in the garden and hung out with us while we worked. While they've been out roaming most days, we really haven't kept them company a lot, so it was nice to hear their gentle, friendly, bok boking as I worked. I loaded up their nesting box with fresh straw and they checked it out and put themselves to bed at 3pm. Peach who has been roosting on top of the box at nights was first in the box, so will be interesting to see who puts themselves where with the icy southerly making it's way through the country this afternoon.
Now that the soil has had a wonderful soak, I dug over a bed that the chickens had vacated a couple of weeks back and sowed some seeds - spring onions, kale, carrots and cabbage.
After weeding the other two beds, I transplanted one of my perpetual spinach plants that seemed to be crowded out by a few of the other plants and just wasn't growing.
I've allocated my next plot for all my garlic cloves to be sowed into later in May/June.
The chickens were happy to have us down in the garden and hung out with us while we worked. While they've been out roaming most days, we really haven't kept them company a lot, so it was nice to hear their gentle, friendly, bok boking as I worked. I loaded up their nesting box with fresh straw and they checked it out and put themselves to bed at 3pm. Peach who has been roosting on top of the box at nights was first in the box, so will be interesting to see who puts themselves where with the icy southerly making it's way through the country this afternoon.
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