Almost all the food eaten here has been grown in the garden and orchard, as well as eggs from the chickens and milk from the goats. Currently we are eating – zucchinis, eggplants, tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, potatoes, cucumbers, beans, spring onions, carrots, corn and salad greens (purslane, borage, lettuce, tatsoi, mustard greens). Also grapes, apples, [...]
The toilet here is the best I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t use any water, produces no pollution unlike flush toilets, and provides fantastic compost for the garden. It’s also inexpensive as it’s homemade and simple to build, there’s no need to buy a composting toilet. Although these are also great as they save water use [...]
Here’s what I’ve learnt about fire retardant/drought hardy/weed suppressant/soil building plants for Hepburn. My understanding of a fire retardant plant or tree is one which resists burning, and if hit by fire will tend to steam rather than burn, slowing or stopping the fire at that point. They are often evergreen, with leaves which have [...]
There were fires yesterday South of Daylesford, they started late in the afternoon. With a change predicted later on bringing SW winds, there was the danger of the fire front being pushed towards Daylesford. That meant there was a risk fire, not a high one up here in Hepburn, but enough to be a concern [...]
I got to do some preserving today, the plums we had picked off the neighbour’s tree yesterday. There was roughly one polystyrene box full. I picked the stems off the plums, put them whole into a saucepan, added boiling water to about 1/4 of the way up, and brought them to simmering point. No need [...]