The Barefoot Gardener

We don't seem to have gorse around here, but sting...

2009-09-27T18:24:37.657+10:00

We don't seem to have gorse around here, but stinging nettles are just beautiful! If you can get past the stinging part, of course ;-D
I am so over heat (even though we have just had winter), I wish for just pleasant days and rain, lots of rain. Enough to fill our dams - to half way at least :-D

I never thought about eating stinging nettles. If ...

2009-09-24T12:34:31.923+10:00

I never thought about eating stinging nettles. If I ever grow them, I'll give them a try!

The problem in our part of the world, plant-wise, is gorse. I don't even want to consider eating that, although apparently you can make wine out of the flowers.

My little potted garden is doing well, and I keep on adding to it, but it is too cold to really get out and get busy. I can't wait for summer to get happening properly - we had enough of a warm weather snippet for a few weeks to make us want it back more than ever now the weather has turned nasty and cold again :-(

Take care, ad I hope your garden grows well, with plenty of sun and rain, in precisely the right amounts!

I'm from Bremen in Northern Germany and I've just ...

2009-05-06T01:24:00.000+10:00

I'm from Bremen in Northern Germany and I've just finished reading the book in roughly 3 hours. It really resonated with me, as I've been concerned for quite a while about what will happen to our planet. This book should become a bestseller. My husband and I are trying to become minimalist, but we have been very moderate in our achievements. Nevertheless we do not own a family car, if possible we go to places by bike (also to my parents who live 20 km away) we've exchanged our light bulbs, try to avoid waste, but still live in a "normal" appartment with a "normal" life. It seems to be quite difficult to escape the lure of advertisement although we don't watch TV any more. This (besides not owning a car) makes us already strange for some people but it has increased my personal sense of freedom. In 2 years we are going on a sabbatical, cycling from Seattle USA to Peru and have to give up a lot of our household before. (We already sold our house, lots of books, and have given away lots of things) I hope after that we can start a new minimalised life.

Alexandra

There's an online letter writing campaign at the m...

2009-03-13T17:13:00.000+11:00

There's an online letter writing campaign at the moment at After The Fires. The predictions for bushfire frequency in years to come in Australia are dire, so please write a letter to tell PM Rudd, Minister Wong and Minister Garrett that you think the government's carbon targets are weak.

I'm so surpirsed solar air con hasn't been done be...

2009-02-05T13:28:00.000+11:00

I'm so surpirsed solar air con hasn't been done before - it is the most logical way to go!

And thank you for your kind comments on my blog :-D

I really sympathise with you Victorians suffering ...

2009-02-05T10:48:00.000+11:00

I really sympathise with you Victorians suffering the heat wave. Here's hoping you get a cooler spell. I shuddered when I read that it only cooled to the 30s at night. Here in Sydney I have problems sleeping if it's above 25 at night. Faced with such a heatwave, I probably would have gone for an all day marathon at the cinema like that clever Melbournite.

Climate experts reckon that these heatwaves will be more frequent in the future, sadly.

Some good news is that an academic at ANU is working on a solar powered airconditioner. In a sunburnt country like ours we really need to tap more of our energy from the sun. Enough energy falls on a roof to power a hot water system and reverse cycle airconditioner. It's infuriating how much energy is literally falling from the sky and yet we burn coal, exacerbating the situation.

PS: Nice garden blog. I'm passing your site URL on to some keen people I know.

Ken,I agree with a lot of what you have said. It w...

2009-01-26T20:51:00.000+11:00

Ken,

I agree with a lot of what you have said. It was a great opportunity to showcase what could happen, but instead it pandered to our very selfish needs to stay exactly the same.

I just had some time to watch it on my recorder. I...

2009-01-24T21:23:00.000+11:00

I just had some time to watch it on my recorder. I felt that it's rather hokey and sentimental. I'm not saying that the issue is not serious; global warming is deadly serious, but film seemed to make AGW look like just personal inconveniences sometimes, like when the baby came to term just as a fierce thunderstorm broke out.

Also does one really believe those Africans would meekly submit to being screened for a work permit to the EU? No, the EU would be fighting them off illegal boats with tear gas and tasers. There's going to be a lot more disaster and violence if the mercury keeps rising.

Some incongruities. They predict more droughts, and yet they say energy will come from hydro, solar and windfarms. Come again? Hydro? What, with the snow cover lost?

Also the doco felt like the makers were pleased as kids in a sweet shop to have a chance to play with computer generated imagery, much to the detriment of the message.

So sorry, it's a lightweight film. It tries to be entertaining, but this detracts from the story. I would be embarrassed to show it in a school.

Hey there Daharja - howe you?My hubby read as many...

2009-01-20T08:48:00.000+11:00

Hey there Daharja - howe you?

My hubby read as many books on the subject as he could find at the library and then designed it himself. I am so proud of him, so many people have asked him who the builder really was - they don;t believe him when he insists it was all his handy work.

If I would reccomend any books though, it would be 'The Backyard Oven Book' by the Earth Garden group for the building stages.

Cool!How did you know how to build the wood fire o...

2009-01-19T16:47:00.000+11:00

Cool!

How did you know how to build the wood fire oven? Did you get a kit form, or a book that you can recommend?

Lol! 'Oven envy' - I love it!! He really is doing ...

2009-01-08T12:57:00.000+11:00

Lol! 'Oven envy' - I love it!! He really is doing a great job though :-) I am making pizza for dinner tonight. I just wish they were being baked in his oven and not inside {sigh}

Wow, how exciting!! And what a great job he's doin...

2009-01-08T07:31:00.000+11:00

Wow, how exciting!! And what a great job he's doing :) Oven envy here ;)

Aren't you lucky! Cherries from your own trees. Th...

2008-12-12T10:25:00.000+11:00

Aren't you lucky! Cherries from your own trees. This is wonderful, I hope you did get a good harvest before the birds got them all. I remember eating cherries straight from the tree at home. My own cherry tree, planted only this year, is still too small to bear much fruit - the two cherries that were on the tree vanished over night.

I am keen to hear whether the second plastic bag method worked!

That's crazy.I remember, in our home of 4 people, ...

2008-11-29T14:40:00.000+11:00

That's crazy.

I remember, in our home of 4 people, our daily use was in the low 300s for water a couple of years ago, and that was without a water tank of our own for the garden or anything. 155 litres is NOT a low amount - we'd go up to use that amount!

I also know that if our government is going to get serious about water usage, we need to tackle industry. I remember reading not so long ago that Roxby uses more water that the WHOLE of metropolitan Melbourne! One mine more than nearly 4 million people! That's nuts!

So what that tells you is the government ISN'T serious. Water restrictions are a joke to make it look like something is being done.

Until every home by law has a rainwater tank, there are restrictions that are enforced on all industry and businesses, and laws that are tight are drilled - oh, and Aussies are actually charged appropriately for the amount they use, so for example, you get the first 50 litres per person really cheap, then it skyrockets after the first hundred per day - until then, we'll know the government is just having a lark.

I'll get down from my soapbox now.

;-)

(good post, by the way!)

The truth is that some seeds will grow - and some ...

2008-10-27T08:11:00.000+11:00

The truth is that some seeds will grow - and some won't. I certainly believe that some seed companies alter their seeds so that they cannot be regrown. But I am more than happy to give them all a try. So far, out of my spices I have Coriander, Nigella, Poppy, Fenugreek and Cardamon sprouting :-)

wow - that's a something I didn't think of. I'll ...

2008-10-26T17:41:00.000+11:00

wow - that's a something I didn't think of. I'll have to come to find out how they all went! I had heard some of the seeds you get in food are irradiated to destroy their fertility.

I tried to grow some dried (raisin) chilli seeds from foodstuff imported from South America but nothing... which made me wonder if the story was true.

**Lol! I have no idea whether you can grow most of...

2008-10-04T20:56:00.000+10:00

**Lol! I have no idea whether you can grow most of these spices either :-D It'll be fun trying though.

Morning Garden Nut,I wish you very well in your en...

2008-10-04T06:44:00.000+10:00

Morning Garden Nut,
I wish you very well in your endeavour to plant out spices. I live in Bayside Melb. and had no idea you could be succcessful with these.
I'm not a diamond girl either and was so excited when DH bought home a dozen free range eggs from a chap at his office. The deal is they get a lovely cake for morning tea on monday in return for the eggs. I do love a bit of bartering.
Cheers

Lol! Yes I have a WHOLE patch of 'baby' leeks :-D

2008-09-25T13:46:00.000+10:00

Lol! Yes I have a WHOLE patch of 'baby' leeks :-D

I always plant lots too - can't have too many seed...

2008-09-25T07:30:00.000+10:00

I always plant lots too - can't have too many seedlings and you can always thin them - so I tell myself, lol, which is why our carrots and leeks are "baby" and not normal sized ;)

Good luck to your seeds!

Youre telling me about spring tides! I'm like a fe...

2008-09-18T12:47:00.000+10:00

Youre telling me about spring tides! I'm like a female canine in oetrus at the moment, to put it politely!

I'll blame it on the time of year...

;-)

I'm right with you. After all, didn't the Nazis co...

2008-09-18T12:46:00.000+10:00

I'm right with you. After all, didn't the Nazis consider their culture the height of sophistication as well?

I find so much of our culture and society brutal, uncaring and totally uncivilised. We pour poisons onto the earth and eat the food that grows from it, and we pour poison into our bodies and then wonder why we get sick.

I don't know how these changes we face will pan out, but maybe life after the crash may be more fruitful and wholesome than the current mode of existence, if only we let it.

I don't drive either, so I walk in alot of rain to...

2008-08-31T00:25:00.000+10:00

I don't drive either, so I walk in alot of rain too! The chips sound yummy :)

I love what I've read of your blog. I'll link it on mine :)

Have a fab evening
Ash

http://wildschwein.wordpress.com

Ah! I'll check out the Moore book. But yes, I love...

2008-08-06T17:40:00.000+10:00

Ah! I'll check out the Moore book. But yes, I love Jackie French. Her books are wonderful.

Thanks for the tip.

Jackie's book is quite good. It is very basic thou...

2008-08-06T09:49:00.000+10:00

Jackie's book is quite good. It is very basic though - but full of her optimissism that makes you just want to run out and buy some chooks. Backyard Poultry by Alannah Moore is a much better book though if you are looking for a more thorough guide.