• About
  • Archive
  • Contact
The Greening of Gavin
  • Home
  • Our Green Shop
    • Little Green Workshops
  • Green Workshops
    • Cheese Making
    • Soap Making
    • Soy Candle Making
  • eBooks
    • Clay Oven eBook
    • Keep Calm and Make Cheese eBook
  • Podcast
    • TGOG Podcast
    • TGoG Podcast Archive
    • Little Green Cheese
  • Vlog
  • Cheese
  • Green Living
    • Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Soap Making
    • Recipes
    • Climate Change
    • Peak Oil
    • Solar Power
  • Resources

Planting Peas, Salad, and Pickling

March 29, 2008 @ 15:48 By Gavin Webber Leave a Comment

I have been a busy boy in the garden over the last few days. Friday I made some trellis out of some bamboo sticks I had previously used as tomato stakes. The trellis is for the Purple Podded peas (I saved the seeds from last season) and Snowpeas to grow up. They are a very simple construction, with four sticks in a pyramid shape and fastened at the top with a cable tie that I had spare. Then across the top lay another stick to finish it off. I then planted the seeds 5 cm apart in troughs around the base of each pyramid and watered well. The seedlings should be poking through in about 10 days. I couldn’t do the entire row as you can see the eggplant and chilli bushes are still producing well because of the recent hot weather.

Adam and I moved Ben’s little garden bed to the other side of the house where the main vegetable patch is. I had a spare bit of land that gets decent sun most of the year round, so it was the ideal place. Yesterday, I planted the winter salad garden into it. I sowed Wild Arugula, Mizuna mustard, Mesclun mix and, Goldrush lettuce. These are all loose leaf varieties that you pick as you need. There should be enough to feed the entire family for the winter. I just checked the root crop bed and the three types of radishes have sprouted and burst through. They really do not take very long to germinate!

Today, it has been raining on and off and all the excess rainwater is topping up the swimming pool. Not that it is pool weather, but it is better than going down the storm drain, as the tank is full to the brim! I started off the day early, and took Megan to the dentist for a checkup, and she had to have a filling (poor girl). Then we walked to the supermarket to buy a few things I needed for making some pickles. We got back home at about 0930 and I started to make a Green tomato pickle to use up all of the green tomatoes I had left after pulling the remainder of the tomato vines last week. It took about an hour but was well worth it. It tasted great! Then I made a second batch of Brinjal Pickle which is essentially eggplant in character, with some onion and chilli. It is great with curries, and we are half way through the first batch as it is so nice.

After the Brinjal Pickle was most of the way through cooking, I started to make a Hot Chilli Chutney to use up the glut of Jalepeno chillies that I had. The recipe was simple enough, and called for 450gm of chillies. I had more than that, so I used up all of the red chillies I had and left a lot of green chillies on the bush to ripen. The chilli chutney is very oily and I have modified the oil content for when next I make it. As you can see from the photo, there is about 1.5 cm of oil in the top of each jar, and by hell, the oil is hot. Maybe I should just siphon the oil off and put it in a small bottle and call it chilli oil! I finished it all off by processing all the jars in the Folwer-Vacola preserving pot for 45 minutes at 93 degrees C. This kills all the bacteria and creates a vacuum so that the food will last for over 6 months. You will notice that I used a few left over jars that have the little button on the top. I have found that these work just as well as the proper preserving jars, and you can process them in the same way.

We are all looking forward to Earth hour tonight, but as it is overcast and raining we probably won’t be breaking out my telescope to have a look at the very dark night sky. Kim and I have a Chickpea curry for dinner that we are going to share by candle light, with some of the condiments that I made today. The kids are going to play monopoly by candle light which should be interesting. I will make sure that all of the candles are in a safe place so that we don’t end up with a house fire instead of an environmental statement! Kim wants to walk around the neighbourhood and put little notes of shame for all of those people that don’t have their lights off at 8pm, but I told her that this is bordering on extremism (but a great idea though). I am, however looking forward to the TV coverage of the event to see what difference it made throughout the world. Here is hoping, anyway.

Will this article help someone you know? If so help them out by sharing now!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Earth Hour, Fowlers-Vacola, Organic, vegetables

← Wilkins Ice Shelf and Denial Our Earth Hour →

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments build lively communities. Let me know your thoughts, but keep it clean and green! Spam is removed instantly. Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search This Blog

Follow my work

About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

Delve Into the Archives

Visit Our Online Simple Living Shop

Little Green Workshops

Latest Podcast Episode

Subscribe on iTunes

Top Posts & Pages

The Seven Stages Of Change
How To Remove Scaly Leg Mites
Curing Black Olives
Building a Wicking Bed on Concrete
Growing Queensland Blue Pumpkins (Winter Squash)
Curing Olives
Repeat After Me. I Will Never Plant Potatoes With Pumpkins Again
Selling Your Own Soap in Australia
Black Aphids On Garlic
About

Recent Awards

Recent Awards

Local Green Hero

Categories

Favourite Daily Reads

Debt Free, Cashed Up, and Laughing

The Off-Grid Solar House

Greener Me

The Rogue Ginger

Little Eco Footprints

Down To Earth

Surviving the Suburbs

Little Green Cheese

Eight Acres

The Witches Kitchen

TGOG Readers On-line

Podcast Reviews

  • Always inspiring and entertaining!
    August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

    I've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

  • ms
    July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

    I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do. Thanks Gavin, love it!!

  • Well worth your time to tune in
    October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

    I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast ! I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to. Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

  • very good
    June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

    This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

  • opened my eyes
    May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

    A wonderful show!

  • Inspiring
    April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

    This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

  • Green Living, inspiring and practical
    January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

    Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

  • Local food equals less waste
    December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

    Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

  • Honestly australian
    December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

    Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

  • Morning motivation
    December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

    Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

  • Passionate Advocate
    October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

    Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

  • Gavin speaks from the heart
    October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

    Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

  • Green thoughts, so well iterated
    October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

    This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

  • Easy listening inspiration on being green
    September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

    Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

  • Thanks Gavin!
    August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

    Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

  • Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm
    August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

    Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

  • Green Podcasts
    July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

    Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

  • Practical ideas and inspiration
    July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

    I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

  • Interesting & easy to listen to
    April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

    Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

  • Great green listen
    April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

    Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese

Carbon Offset website

Copyright - Gavin Webber © 2023