Sunday, August 17, 2008

Independance Days Update

Planted: Another salad bed: lettuces, rocket, basil, and more, Okra.

Harvest something: Oranges, Herbs

Preserve something: Grandma's Tomato Sauce

Store Something: Rice, Flour, Raw sugar, Oats and Sultanas from Food Co-op.

Manage Reserves: Bought up as rice is getting very hard to purchase, so I am a bit overflowing at the moment. I am gradually getting down to one of everything and using up mu multiples.

Prepped: Saturday I visited a friend's farm. It's organic, natural methods for animal management, and he works with at risk young people at the farm. Amazing. Check out A Taste of Paradise. Anyhow, Francis gave me a few bits of donated timber to take home and start making my chook tractor. I regrettably didn't take my camera, but I did play with horses, chooks and day old baby goats. (Cluckyness for the baby goats was definately going on - although seeing what they're like as teenagers in the next yard helped alleviate that feeling somewhat) I will go back soon and take photos I promise.

Went to the buy back centre at the tip yesterday. Got some bits of Reinforcing mesh for garden trellises, a mower catcher for nesting box - should result in cleaner eggs. and some metal roof ridgeing for the chook tractor.

Spent an hour with my neighbour Sunday pm starting to make the chook tractor, also recycling metal braces for the frame from his in-laws house building.

Worked on Local Food Systems: My old house mates bought their first fruit tree (haha, I would like to take full credit for inspiring that one, but I know her parents are gardeners too. I also did my regular shift at the local organic food co-op.

Reduced Waste: Re-using PET bottles as cloches over the veges. Photos in garden update this week.

Cooked something new: Mushroom Oven Baked Risotto (2 cups rice, 2 stock cubes crumbled, 2 cups mushrooms -I used the chinese dried style which gave it a great flavour and they soaked up well through the process - 2 tbsp butter and 5 cups boiling water. In a casserole dish with the lid on in the oven on med for 1/2 hour. Stir through parmesan cheese and serve.

Learned a new skill: Drilling through metal and cutting corruguted iron with tin snips.

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