Earth Hour This Saturday

So as Earth Hour approaches (Saturday 31st March 8.30-9.30pm), we will be having a small get together with close friends around the pool deck lit by solar lighting and Kim's home made candles.  No mains lights, no computers, no TV, only the hum of the refrigerator.  It should be good fun.  I hope all of you are planning something special as it is the chance to embrace your environmental ethos with those friends who are not usually that excited about green things.

Having said that, I do have a confession.  I did enter the Earth Hour Awards again this year as they had an Eco Blogger category, but I wasn't one of the finalists.  So a big congratulations to Lily Morrissey and Linh Do for making the final cut.  I voted for my favourite in the Peoples Choice Award.

However I did receive this invitation:

Dear Gavin, 

We hope this email finds you well!
While the Earth Hour Awards judging panel were ultimately only allowed to choose two finalists for each category, this does not do justice in showcasing the amazing things people like you are doing for a more sustainable world. As such, we are especially happy to invite you along to the official WWF Earth Hour Awards 2012 event! 

Please see this link for the invite which has all the information you need, however for a brief lowdown of the event:
When: 6.00 – 9.30pm, Saturday 31st March
Where: Sydney Opera House,
What: Cocktail style event with inspiring talks, amazing entertainment by none other than Blue King Brown, as well as delicious canapés and beverages. 

This invite is valid for two people, and we would be delighted to have attend as we all thoroughly enjoyed reading through your blog. 

If you can please RSVP by 23^rd March.
For any further questions about any of the above or more, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we hope to see you there! 

Best regards,NickThe Earth Hour Team

Here is my reply:

Hi Nick, 

Thank you for your kind invitation. I am unable to attend as I live in Melton, Victoria, and it would make my carbon footprint larger from just one flight for a three and a half hour event, than all the carbon emissions that I have saved in the last 6 years! 

Regards,
Gavin 

And here is Nick's reply which is nice:

No worries at all Gavin, we do consider the environmental footprint effects of hosting such an event is a turn away for many of our great supporters who live and breathe sustainability!
So thank you as well for considering the environmental implications of your trip.
All the best and keep up the great work you’re doing with the blog!
Cheers,
Nick

What a nice guy and organisation, and the Sydney Opera House no less!  I do enjoy the event, and try and promote it far and wide, which in my mind will make up for not being there in Sydney.

Remember that there is still time to sign up to let the WWF know that you are participating.  It gives them a better idea of how many people went out of their way to make a difference.  You can sign up for Earth Hour here.

I believe that Earth Hour is every hour.  Please don't stop at just the event, but try to incorporate more sustainable behaviours into your every day routine.  This is when you truly make a difference to your environmental footprint, when you go beyond Earth Hour.

So enjoy the evening, have fun and let your hair down a little.  I know we will!  I just hope that Kim's guitar makes an appearance, as I think that she is really good.

Podcast 25 - The Long Drive Home

 

This recording will either work, or be the worst podcast I have ever recorded.  This episode is a recording that I made on the journey home from Melbourne to Melton.  It is an observational piece where I prattle on about the unsustainable and sustainable features of the city.  There are many unsustainable features on my journey home, which I just usually mentally note, but here is a chance for me to share the irony of city sprawl when pitted against issues like peak oil and climate change.

I hope you enjoy it, and even if you don't, please leave me some feedback via comment so that I can improve this type of roving recording in the future.

Also, on the media front, this article titled "Worldwide Webber a hit" was published in the Melton Weekly.  Corny title, I know, but a nice read.  I think the media frenzy is now coming to an end, so on with our regular posts from now on!

The Diderot Effect

Over at the Simple Green Frugal Co-op, I have written a new and original essay about a psychological effect that I stumbled upon, called the "Diderot Effect".  It is one of those things that advertisers try to tap into to trick us into becoming rampant consumers.  It tricks us into buying crap we don't really need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't particularly like.

If you would like to learn a bit more about the "Diderot Effect", then pop on over to the co-op for a read of my post titled "Treasure What You Have".

The Green Bloke

I am not feeling very well today, and decided to spend the day in bed getting well, but I just had to tell you all about this.

Remember last week when I wrote about the visit by Greg and Sophie?  I wrote about it in this post aptly titled "Simple Lives".

Anyway, Greg has written a profile about me over on his website, Simple Lives, which paints quite an accurate picture of me (the good, bad and ugly).  It was a surreal feeling, reading about myself in that much detail, and it was a bit out of body.  It is good when someone takes the time to know you, instead of just capturing media sound bites.  Good job Greg.  I didn't realise that I said 'bloody' that often. xD

So if you want to read about the real me, from someone elses point of view, pop on over to have a read about "Gavin Webber - The Green Bloke"

In other news, Ben and I spent the day in the veggie patch after the little chooky visitors had left.  We worked over three garden beds, and planted all the brassicas that I grew from seedlings, a bed of broad beans, and some more spring onions into the existing allium bed.  On this side of the garden, there is only the eggplants to remove in a couple of weeks, when I will plant the entire bed with garlic.  Ben learnt a lot of great things like brassicas need lots of organic matter in the soil, and like a bit of garden lime watered in before you plant them.  He learnt about how long to water fruit trees in pots (count to 100), and how far apart and deep to plant broad beans.  I will get him to take some pictures today after school, not that there is much to see.

It was a fun day, and we were both knackered by 4pm.  Great father/son time.  Thanks Ben!

Chook Sitting

During the last week, we have been chook sitting.  A bit like baby sitting but with chickens.

Our neighbours asked us if we would like to look after their little hens as they were going to Fiji to get married, so we jumped at the chance.

Les (our neighbour) brought over their little house which fit easily into one of my vacant garden beds. They were very willing little workers, turning over the garden bed, getting rid of weed seeds and fertilizing it for me.

The girls were a Silky, which Ben thought looked like a Grenadier Guardsman, and a White Wyandotte.

I think that these chooks were not cheap, so I looked after them as well as my own!

I believe that they enjoyed their time with us, and it was a little sad to see them go.  I can tell they liked it here, because the Silky laid her very first egg the day after they arrived!

These little chickens have given me the motivation to make my own little chicken tractor that will fit the frame of the raised garden beds.  I will make it as a triangle shape with a perch and put in a nesting box and put my Pekin bantams in there when for a week each bed during seasonal change over.  It is a bit late now, as I only have one bed free, waiting for the garlic to be planted in a couple of weeks time, but over the winter, I will get it built.  I might as well get the little girls to pay for their keep.

Les picked the chooks up today and took them home, and I suggested that he use the cage he has as the main living quarters, and build a larger run around it for roaming around during the day.  They also need a place for a perch, as they were quite upset that they didn't have on.  The cage was just not large enough to put one in.

Anyway, I am glad they came, as they are a great talking point for anyone who walked into our gate.  Every single person who visited over the week, had a sticky beak and commented that they were lovely.  I think that this might be just the thing to set up during Sustainable House day in September!

Has anyone made their own chicken tractor?  Did it work okay in your garden beds?

Environmentality Radio Interview

As I mentioned yesterday, I was interviewed on by Jaime and Bridget form the radio show, Environmentality on 98.9 North West FM her in Melbourne.  Here is the podcast in an embedded player for all of those who would like to listen to the interview.




If you would like to download the mp3, click on the button below.

I hope you listen to the entire radio show.  I have now subscribed to the podcast as I think it is really easy to listen to and full of great information and tips.  Click on the button below to subscribe in iTunes.

P.S. Who can tell me the significance of the red pill in regards to what I am talking about in the interview?

Crazy Exciting Downshift Day

Wednesday was a downshift day, and I put it to very good use!

As you read in the post "Simple Lives", we had Greg and Sophie here in the morning making Feta and doing an interview for his book.  What I did not mention yesterday were all of the other things that went on during the day as well.

At about 9am, I received a phone call from a radio show called Environmentality, that runs on Wednesdays at noon on 98.9 North West FM.  The presenters wanted to interview me at 1205, to which I said yes.  So I continued to entertain Greg with my green journey, and kept making the Feta (to be posted on the Little Green Cheese soon).  

The phone rang promptly at 1205 and they queued me in.  We talked for about 30 minutes about this blog, what was my inspiration, and a few other green topics.  Once they finish editing the podcast of the show, I will post the link so you can hear it.

After the radio interview was finished, we said goodbye to Greg and Sophie, and in the time it takes to eat a curried egg roll, the photographer from the Melton Leader newspaper turned up for the photo shoot for an article that will appear in next weeks edition.  After some pretty cool shots, Mitch the photographer departed (I will post the link to the story when it is published).

It was now time to do a technical check with all the participants of the webinar for the ATA that I wrote about in the post titled "Free ATA Webinar - Energy Efficiency".  That took about 45 minutes to get the technical glitches out of everyones systems, but it all worked in the end.  I am looking forward to it, as the other speakers topics are very interesting.

Once the technical test was finished, I ducked down to the produce store as I had run out of chicken feed. I had a quick chat to Peter who owns the place and he noticed my Greening of Gavin T-Shirt, and said that he would check out my blog.  Peter also gave me an idea for some new garden beds.  He had a lot of blue plastic 200 litre barrels that had contained food preservative that he was selling for $20 each.  I asked him what people bought them for, and he mentioned that people cut them in half longways and turned them into things like horse/goat feeders.  Nice idea I thought as I have one of these barrels at home.

After unloading the chicken feed into the shed, I realised that I had a deadline for an article for the Caroline Springs Community Update (see page 32), which I write for monthly.  My column is called "Green Living Tips".  So I quickly whipped up a rehashed article about used coffee grounds and sent it into the editor.

Dinner time was upon us so Kim made some Falafel wraps with some salad, and we scoffed them all down.  Once the dishes were washed up, I wrote a blog post, and another post on the MSLG website.  I even managed to spend some more time with Kim watching a few episodes of "The Colony season 2" that I found on the interwebs.  It is quite good and here is the synopsis and a short clip from episode one;

"THE COLONY is a controlled experiment that places ordinary people from all walks of life in a simulated post-catastrophic environment to see what it takes to survive and rebuild in a world without electricity, running water, government or outside communication."  

The scenario is exaggerated beyond belief, but it still has good examples of living off grid, which I especially enjoy.  Kim likes all the drama that goes with it, however I just ignore those parts but we both enjoy a good discussion afterwards about how realistic it is or is not, and what would be do in those circumstances.

Anyway, a big day and quite action packed.  I love the sustainable lifestyle!

Simple Lives

Kim and I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know a lovely young couple over the last two days.

Left to right: Yours truly, Greg, Sophie.

Greg and Sophie are on their way around Australia in search of interesting people who live simple lives as material for a book.  Greg had organised this visit months ago, well before the recent media frenzy that I will write about during the week.  I will let Greg explain about their trip it a bit better with an email he sent me.

"Hi Everyone,
If you’ve received this email, you’ll know about my plan to cycle up Australia researching a book on simple living. In fact, you might have suggested someone to profile, helped with the proposal, built the website, taken photos, or agreed to be interviewed. If so, thanks for your support.
I thought I’d let you know how things are progressing. So far, I’ve completed a sample chapter based on a tour of the ultimate self-sufficient house and handed it into the publisher...who was encouraging, but wants to see more before making a commitment. I’m resubmitting the book proposal in June, after completing the first leg of the trip.
Meanwhile, you can follow the journey at www.simplelives.com.au, which features a chronological blog, an itinerary with calendar, a map of the route we’ve taken so far and profiles of people we’ve met along the way. Each week I’ll post a new profile and descriptions of the journey, so there’ll be plenty of material for regular readers. (And because this is the internet, the site also features some gratuitous nudity.)
Please share the site with any friends who might be interested – a decent blog readership will be a big help in convincing the publisher to sign up the book, not to mention spreading the sustainability message to a broader audience.

Because this is now a self-funded trip, I’m also looking for sponsors or partners that share similar ethical values. If you know of a suitable organisation, please get in touch.
Again, thanks for your help, and I look forward to meeting some of you on the road.
Regards,
Greg Foyster
Freelance Writer"

They were meant to turn up today at 0930, however as they decided to leave Melbourne yesterday and arrived in Melton late yesterday afternoon.  They popped in for a visit to ask if there was a camping ground in our town.  Well, like most suburbs the answer was no, and unfortunately we had no grass for them to pitch their tent on.  So like a couple of lost puppies, Kim took them in, gave them the spare room and offered them a warm shower, dinner, and a comfortable bed.  It was the least we could do after their long ride from the city.

When I got home from work to find two semi-strangers taking showers, I did what any ordinary bloke who had a green epiphany would do, and that was to take them on a tour of the extensive grounds (xD) and showed them all of the things we have done to the place.  Whilst I was doing this, Kim was making vegetarian pizza, and heating up some of her weekly batch of veggie soup to share at dinner.  After a hearty meal, we talked and talked and talked over a couple of bottles of red wine that I dug out of the stockpile cupboard.  It was so nice to meet like minded people.

So after a good nights sleep, I went to the gym (exercise rehab for the back), then we made a breakfast of boiled eggs and toast with cherry and plum jams.  Hopefully Greg will write the story about "Mastery of the Egg" on his blog, as it was hilarious watching a grown man tackle the task of cutting open a very hot, hard boiled egg.  We had a good laugh.

Then as part of the interview for his book and or blog, I showed them how to make Feta cheese.  As there are some quite long waiting times during culturing and renneting, we had a more formal interview in my blog cave.  It was great.  We must have talked for about 3 hours in between checking on the progress of the cheese.

All too soon it was time for them to leave as they were travelling to Leopold, just south of Geelong, with a stop over at Lara overnight as a rest.

Here they are in their gear ready for the next leg of the trip.  They were carrying a tent, camp stove, food, clothing, and I think the kitchen sink was in there somewhere!

There they go, down our street, off into the distance.

 I hope our paths cross again!

So if you are into simple living in whatever form you think that is, drop Greg a line (he has a tablet with 3G broadband) and invite them over to document how you live lightly on the planet.  They are really nice people, and I reckon that these Greg and Sophie will make a big difference to the way people see the way we live a simpler and sustainable lifestyle.  The future is in good hands with these two around!

Harvest Festival

As the Autumnal Equinox is upon us today (equal day and night), I thought I would let you know what we have been up to regarding home grown food

On Saturday, the Melton Sustainable Living Group had its monthly meeting, which also included a workshop about container gardening for renters, and the yearly harvest festival.  All members were encouraged to bring along stuff they have grown, preserved or made to swap or sell.  I took along this basket of goodies.

It contained 2 dozen home laid eggs, a jar of cherry jam, a jar of feijoa jam, some eggplants, a bunch of spring onions, two bags of grated Parmesan cheese, and 200gms of Komijnekass.  On the way past the garden I threw in 5 green and yellow capsicums (peppers), which filled up the basket.

Suffice to say, the meeting/workshop/harvest festival was good fun, and our friend Stacey put on a great workshop.  Once it was time for tea and scones, the food swap started.  The eggs and cheese when straight away, as did the cherry jam.  I ended selling most of it, but swapped the spring onions for some ying & yang bean seeds, and the feijoa jam for a jar of plum jam.

Kim bought some tomato relish, and got given some bunches of herbs for drying (marjoram, rosemary, thyme).

I also learnt that there is a monthly food swap occurring not far from Melton, just down the road in Bacchus Marsh.  I am going to look them up when I have a glut that I cannot get rid of.

Do any of you participate in Harvest festivals or food swaps in your local area?  I am trying to gauge if this practice is growing at the grass roots level (pardon the pun).  It would be nice if I could get a monthly event off the ground in our town to share the bounty of backyard food.

Free ATA Webinar - Energy Efficiency

On the 4th April at 11am, I have been invited to be one of the presenters during the next free Alternative Technology Association Webinar.  A webinar is a bit like a seminar however it is the online version.  Think of it as a teleconference with pictures.

The subject of this webinar is "Retrofitting Your Home for Energy Efficiency", and it should be very informative.  Clicking on the link takes you to the ATA site where you can sign up to participate in the live event.

The great thing is that I can present from home, and do not have to travel!  I am looking forward to it, as it is the first time I have presented in this manner.  Hopefully I will be able to answer the questions thrown my way and not get my words twisted too much.

See you there!

Holey Tank Swap Batman!

Over the last couple of days I have made a trade.  I believe it was the best trade ever!

Remember this rainwater tank with a hole in it?

Well I was going to cut it up into three parts which were going to become garden beds.  This is of course until a friend came a long and said he could fix it.  Well, because it had already replaced, and I had already tried to fix it myself, so I had nothing to loose. I asked him what he had to trade for it.

He said he would trade this bike:

Yes folks, it is bike, but not your ordinary bike.  It has an electric motor!

It has a 200 watt, 24 volt motor connected to the back wheel, that helps you get up hills and the like.  It can only turn on when you are peddling so and is used for assistance rather than propelling the bike independently.  Apparently those are the rules for electric bikes in Australia.

This is the battery pack.  Inside are two 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries, which are charged from the mains via a power pack that slot into the socket at the top.

The battery slots into the frame and locks in place so it doesn't jiggle out while you are riding along.

It has a throttle and a battery charge indicator.

As you can see, I am excited to be going for a ride!

After this photo was taken, it was three times around the block for a test ride.  The seat needs to be adjusted, but other than that small issue, it rides like a dream.  It is fairly quiet, but you can definitely hear the whir of the engine when you engage it.

Best of all, the electricity used to charge the bike is 100% renewable energy!  No carbon emissions from this baby at all, and even better, it is second hand and got the chance of a second life with me.  Kim is a little worried about me riding around the town, given the rather large percentage of hoon drivers.  I have assured her that I will stick to the bike paths were I can, and avoid the crazy people.  I am now on the look out for a second battery pack, and a cargo trailer both on the cheap.

What do you think?  A good trade or what?

ReNew Blog of the Year

In January, a kind reader sent me though some information about a competition that was being run by the Alternative Technology Association who were looking for the best sustainable living blog in Australia.  Thanks to a nudge from Michael in Canberra, I nominated my blog.   Remember when I wrote about submitting a nomination for a blog award, and everyone helped out by linking, liking and boosting.  Well guess what?  I won the award/competition!

This blog is the winner of the "ReNew Blog of the Year"!  I am ecstatic.  Late last week I popped into the ATA office and had a chat to the media manager who wrote this media release;

---

 Melton man is Australia’s best environmental blogger  

By day, Gavin Webber is a mild-mannered IT professional working in Melbourne’s CBD.
But at night and on weekends he becomes a committed and feverish blogger, informing the world and giving practical tips on cheese making, apple growing, chooks, DIY backyard building and many other sustainability topics.

The Melton father of four has been named Australia’s best environmental blogger in a national competition by the Alternative TechnologyAssociation’s (ATA) magazine, ReNew. 

The ATA is a not-for-profit consumer-based organisation promoting renewable energy, sustainable building and water saving. A profile of Gavin and his colourful and innovative blog, The Greening of Gavin, and the runners-up in the competition are in the latest issue of ReNew. 

He started The Greening of Gavin in 2008 as part of a dramatic change in lifestyle after seeing Al Gore’s inspirational documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

“I was a conspicuous consumer before I saw the movie,” he says. “It was a wake-up call – why didn’t I know more about climate change? I decided to do my own research to understand the politics and human side of it all.” 

Within months Gavin had bought a hybrid car, converted his hot water system to solar, installed solar panels on the roof of his house and ripped up the lawns to plant vegetables and fruit trees. 

He has written more than 1000 blog posts since starting The Greening of Gavin, on subjects as diverse as peak oil, home-made spaghetti, Christmas gift ideas for the anti-consumer, worm farms and bread making. 

“I’m just an ordinary bloke. I try to show what can be done at home, and if I can do it anybody can if they have the space or inclination.”  

 Jacinta Cleary, the editor of ReNew, congratulated Gavin on his outstanding blog: 

“This blog has a lot of heart. It’s not just about the practical changes that Gavin has made at home, it’s also about why he’s made the sustainability shift in what he describes as a journey of highs and lows.”   

As I said, I am ecstatic about winning, and I have given interviews this week to both of our local newspaper and will appear in next weeks issues.  It feels good to get the message out there again.

The first prize was two 110 watt 12 volt solar panels, which I am sure I will put to good use, and will write about the project.  I better start looking for a cheap charge controller and deep cycle battery.

Anyway, you can read more about the competition on page 24, in issue 119 of ReNew magazine.  Subscribers should already have the magazine, and it hits newsagents throughout Australia around the 16th of March.

So a big thank you goes out to all of you, the readers.  Without you, I might have stopped writing long ago (well, maybe).  Thanks a million!

Wise Words Wednesday

Today's WWW question comes from Theanne in Florida, USA, who left a comment for me over on the Simple Green Frugal Co-op.  I feel that I did not respond adequately.  Here is the question;

Theanne said...

you talk the talk and walk the walk, I like that! Are there resources for people who want to do what they can to "save our planet" but they live in apartments...I'd love to find creative tips or "how to's" to help those of us who rent and still care about our planet!

---

Now, I know that I do write a lot about sustainable living things for home owners (or mortgagor as most of us should be known as), because that is the situation I find myself in. I can only write about those things that I experience myself.

However sometimes I feel that I may be leaving behind part of my audience, which are people who choose to rent a home/apartment/townhouse and want to live sustainably as well. Heck, I was a renter all of my life until 12 years ago, when I bought this place!

I know that many renters read this blog and live as sustainable as they can, so lets share as many of your ideas as you can. I am sure Theanne would really appreciated the suggestions.

Over to you, educated reader!

Solar Credit Rebate Reduction Soon

I noticed recently that the Australian Government is changing the Solar Credit Rebate as scheduled on the 1st July 2012.  Basically the multiplier with with they calculate your rebate is changing from 3 to 2.  This means that no matter what part of Australia you are in, you will get 33% less of a rebate if you order a system after this date.

The government website describes the reduction as follows;

On 5 May 2011, the Australian Government announced that the Solar Credits multiplier would be reduced to three for small-scale systems installed from 1 July 2011. The multiplier will phase down by one each year consistent with the original intent of the Solar Credits multiplier reducing over time, until the multiplier is phased out by 1 July 2013.

The site goes on to explain it further, but not in plain English, so it is a little confusing, even for me.

Now being the friendly people they are, my podcast sponsors (not that I have produced a podcast lately), EnviroShop are holding a free community information evening on Solar Power.  As I mentioned, it is a crucial time for Solar Power right now as there will soon be significant changes to solar rebates and incentives. They believe the local community needs to be informed of what is happening.  I apologise in advance, as it is only in Melbourne.

Please find the details below:

What: Free Solar Power Info Session

When: Wednesday 28th March, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: EnviroGroup

8 Arthurton Road

Northcote

MEL REF 30 F8

Please RSVP: 26th March to 9095 7421, marketing@envirogroup.com.au or register online at www.envirogroup.com.au/infosession

Please note: I have not been paid for this plug nor will ever accept money or payment in kind for products or services, unless I specifically state it in the post.  I am helping to advertise this session free of charge, because I know that the people that work at EnviroShop actually care a lot about sustainable living, and are not some fly-by-night solar installer.  I trust them, and refer their solar services regularly.

So, if you are after some information about Solar power, and the changes to the rebate scheme, and live near Melbourne, you could do no worse attending the session.

Gav x

Exiting The Rat Race

Today's main post is over at the Simple Green Frugal Co-op.  For those new readers I am proud to be a part of this enthusiastic co-operative of writers who post daily about all things, well, simple, green, and frugal.  I have been writing there fortnightly since December 2008.

Anyway, my post is about "Exiting the Rat Race", which is something that took me a while to understand, and to act upon.  It only took me about 42 years to figure out that what I was doing was unsustainable, and therefore I had to become sustainable!

So pop on over to the co-op for a good read.

Gav x

A Bit of Rest and Gardening

It has been a long weekend here in Victoria, so I have made the most of it.  Today was the official holiday celebrating the establishment of the 8 hour day in this state, back in 1876.

In this Victoria, our dear land,
The first that dared be free,
To show the world what freedom meant
In new lands 'cross the sea

- Ode to the Eight Hours' Pioneers
Hamilton Mackinnon
April 21, 1896

I just wish more people would work the 8 hour day that our fore-fathers fought so hard to achieve all those years ago.  I don't!

Anyway, I have been cooking, reading, and gardening over the three day break, which has been so relaxing after a busy week at work.  Saturday afternoon, we made basil pesto, a tomato and cucumber salsa, both for topping bruschetta, and I made a vegetarian lasagne.  All delicious to share with friends and a few glasses of wine.  I even broke out three different home made cheeses for a platter.

Sunday, I read all day.  A friend had leant me a comic book series called "Charley's War", and I whipped through eight volumes.  Also I cooked a spicy chorizo minestrone, which is the first serve of meat I have had all month.

So today, after an early rise to feed the chooks, I fell back asleep, which is most unusual for me.  I am normally an morning person, even on weekends.  The dogs woke me up at 10am, so it was cherry jam on toast (both home made), and then Ben and I went for a walk for about an hour checking out the neighbourhood.  One thing that we did notice was the massive uptake of Solar PV in our area. Every few houses had at least a 1 kW array (or more) installed on their roof.  It became a bit of running joke who would spot the next row of panels first!  And why wouldn't they install them when you can get a 3 kW system for around $5000 now fully installed.  I think most people are now ordering them to keep their electricity bills low, but either way, it helps avert the need for additional coal powered generation in this state.

When we got home from our walk I decided to spend the afternoon in the veggie patch.  I had to pick the remaining tomatoes, dig up the vines, and remove the cucumbers that were spent.  Here is the before picture.

It may not look like much, but it took me an hour to clear out these two beds of all the unwanted plants.  I left in two long eggplants in the ground in the first bed (closest) and some basil that we will harvest during the week.

Out of the two beds I harvested some green zebra and cherry tomatoes and a few eggplants.

The chooks demolished the old cucumbers, however I did keep two for seed saving for next year.

After the beds were cleared, and as the phase of the moon is right for sowing root crops today, I decided to sow some onions, leeks and spring onions in punnets and jiffy pots.

Here are the leeks and spring onions in jiffy pots.  I planted some two weeks ago (top left) which germinated, however half did not.  It may have had something to do with the age of the seed and the moon phase was not right at the time.  

So to test this theory, I am performing an experiment.  I planted some snow peas in the green punnets on the left (above), and left the black punnets empty.  In two weeks when the moon phase is right for above ground plants, I will sow some more in the black punnets, and we will see which ones grow better.  I will keep you up to date on the progress.

The onion tray is full.  Top left to right: Early Creamgold x 2, Sweet Red x 3.  Bottom left to right: Early Creamgold x 1, Elephant Leeks x 1, Deep Purple Welsh x 1, Hunter River brown x 2.

Two weeks ago, I planted brassicas and some greens which are all doing well.  Left row, top to bottom: Nasturtium variegated yellow and red x 1, Basil Genovese x 2, and Hunter River Brown x 1 which did germinate.  Middle row, top to bottom: Nasturtium orange x 1, Broccoli Romanesco x 2, Long Island Brussels Sprouts that did not germinate so I replaced them with Coriander (cilantro).  Right row: Brussels Sprouts (did not germinate), Broccoli Calabrese x 2, Cabbage Red x 1.

I am a bit disappointed with the Brussels Sprouts, so will try to sow some more in two weeks time.  All of these nearly have their first true leaves so I am going to plant them out after the next New Moon.

All of these seedling trays are located on an old trestle table that I have placed on the west deck and now serves as my planting area.  It is nice an close to the main entrance to the house, and I have to walk past it every day on my way to the carport.  That way I am more likely to water them when dry, and they should not suffer neglect.  The table is also overlooking the main veggie patch, so it gives me the desire and inspiration to keep planting seedlings whilst looking at the rapidly emptying beds.  Nothing like a bit of motivation to get the job done.

Did anyone else plant out some root crops over the weekend?  I would love to hear what you are planning for your edible garden for the southern winter, or northern summer!

Yellow Curry of Pumpkin

We still have a few pumpkins left over from last years crop, so I cut one open the other night.  It was in perfect condition even after nearly 10 months of storage, and it was a good feeling that we still had some of this yummy vegetable even as we grow the new crop.

On to the curry.  This is a simple veggie recipe that I found in one of the many cookbooks that I have, that I thought I would give a try because we had all the ingredients and it looked quick to cook.

So into the garden.  As you can see in the picture above, I had to venture into the trifid patch to pick some green beans that were required for the dish (click to enlarge the pano photo).  Tip: If you make the browser large enough, you can see most of the east side of our yard.  Those new pumpkins vines sure are growing large!  It was a bit of a struggle but I managed to collect the required amount of lazy housewife beans with out stepping on too many potential pumpkins.  I chose the smaller ones that were tender with the smallest seeds in the pod.  However, there are so many pods that I have left most to grow large for the seeds.

The pumpkin was taken from this table.  It is the Queensland blue (top centre).  There are only two left now, and still in good condition.  They should last for another few months yet, unless we eat them of course.

Now that I had the main ingredients, I went inside and prepared the meal.  Here is the recipe.

Yellow curry of pumpkin with green beans and cashew nutsServes 4 

1 can of coconut cream (don't shake the can)
3 teaspoons yellow curry paste
125 ml (1/2 cup) of vegetable stock
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pumpkin (any kind), peeled and diced
300 g (10 1/2 oz) green beans (any kind), trimmed and cut in half
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
40 g (1/4 cup) cashew nuts, toasted
Steamed rice to serve 

Open the can of coconut cream and spoon the thick stuff from the top of the can into the wok, and heat until boiling.  Add the curry paste, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring for about 5 minutes, or until the oil begins to separate.
Add the remaining coconut cream, stock and pumpkin, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the green beans and cook for a further 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Gently stir in the soy sauce, lime juice and sugar.  Garnish with cashew nuts and serve with steamed rice.

It should look something like this.

The taste was sensational.  It was so different than the normal Indian curries that I normally make, which is what it tasted like before I added the soy and lime juice.  The flavour difference after the addition was remarkable.

Anyway, this recipe is going on our regular list, that is until the green beans run out of course.

Just love being 'almost vegetarian'!

The Day Bed

As most of you know, I am heavy into the reuse of things.  Old beds are no exception.

Kim has wanted a day bed for a while for our deck, and we just happened to have the top bunk of a double bunk bed disassembled in the spare room.  I put it together, less one of the sides, Kim decorated it with cushions that we had laying around and a nice throw rug, and there you have it, one comfy day bed.  It didn't cost a cent.

Kim calls it my princess bed (I think it should be the King's bed).  The mozzie net is essential due to the wet weather we have had lately, but only at night.  This was also hidden away somewhere in a wardrobe.  Here is my view from the bed in panorama mode including my daughter Megan (click to enlarge).

So after the Test this morning, teaching Ben about worm anatomy, a visit to the Dentist this afternoon, and a potter around the veggie garden, I was worn out.  Time for a nap, and what a perfect place to have that nap!

Environmental Guy

Quite a few people rightly mentioned on the Moth video by the WWF for earth hour, that humour is a great way of spreading the sustainable message.

But sometimes.........



I laughed so much during this, because sometimes I catch myself thinking this way on occasion, and then rein it in (a lot) so that no-one will think I am weird ;-).  Jim Carrey really knows how to do a parody!  Its all about the colon people.

The Test

Unfortunately this is one test that I can't study or cram for.  It is a blood test, which is tomorrow morning, but at least I have been preparing for it.

I am hoping that because we are now 'almost vegetarian' and have been for the last two and a half months (and love it), that it has been enough to at least lower my bad cholesterol levels enough that I do not have to begin taking medication.  I don't want to be dependant on big Pharmaceutical companies any more than I already am which I know is not very sustainable in the long run.

Anyway, I will know the results in a few days time, but in the mean time I thought I would share a veggie loaf that we made the other day.  It was delicious, and a perfect addition to our Sunday roast dinner.  Not a single animal harmed in its preparation.

Here it is in the loaf tin before it was cooked.

I almost forgot the sprinkle of Parmesan!

There it is after the oven.  I don't have the recipe because we kind of slapped it together.  It had chopped onions (grown by me), cooked rice, grated carrots, crushed garlic (grown by me), stuffing mix, rolled oats, 2 home laid eggs (my chooks), half cup of grated organic cheese (my cheese), yellow capsicum (grown by me), bbq sauce, can of 5 bean mix, Italian mixed herbs, dash of chilli powder (grown by me), salt and pepper to taste.  It was cooked for 1 hour at 180C.

We served it with roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, cauliflower and peas, with a rich brown gravy.  A veggie meal fit for royalty!

If eating like this doesn't lower my cholesterol levels, then I will be very surprised indeed.  Fingers crossed!

Beware Of The Moths!

In my inbox today was a promo video from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to assist in spreading the message about Earth Hour.

Now this is not your ordinary Earth Hour promotional video of people throughout the globe, turning off lights on large landmarks, or a bunch of kids holding candles (which are all good things mind you).  It shows the blokey side of Earth Hour.  Watch it, and you will see what I mean, and you should have a good laugh.  Kim and Ben heard me belly laugh from the other end of the house!




Now confession time. Who laughed and thought it was an effective way to spread a serious message? I believe that we should have more of these types of messages, because they add humour to which some may think is a dry subject.

Well done WWF.

Pest Control For Apples

This is the first year that I have had a bumper crop of apples off of my dwarf Jonathan apple tree that I planted in September 2007.  The tree is now 5 years old and producing a lot of fruit for a small tree.

So much fruit, that some coddling moths began to eat a few early, until I unleashed the little beasts!  Once I initially discovered the moth caterpillars in a few apples, I let the Bantams free range in that part of the yard every day for a few hours.  They soon cleaned up the pest problem, and no more coddling moth.  I only let the little girls in this area, as the ISA Browns are so destructive and would not only dig up everything in the other beds, but eat the apples as well.

Then another pest presented a problem.  Small colourful parrots decided they liked the apples and managed to knock off a few only half eaten apples.  I decided to fix their little red wagon with exclusion bags.

I had some laying around, and wrapped each apple or bunches of apples in a cloth bag an tied off the top.  The results were fantastic.  This bunch below were wrapping in just one bag.

The birds stay away because the apples are disguised and so do the moths because of the bantams, which is win-win for everyone.  The little girls even get a few small apples that drop off on their own accord.

These are the best apples I have ever tasted.  I have not found a supermarket apple that even comes close, and the only equal tasting apples have been found at organic farmers markets.

So with no sprays, and minimal work, I produced an apple crop that has lasted us a month so far.  We started picking them a few weeks ago, and I picked the last ones today.  That only leaves the Granny smith and Cox orange pippin in the front yard to harvest in a few weeks time.  I getter go and put the exclusion bags on them now that they are starting to ripen!