• 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

Making a Difference from Bed

August 6, 2008 @ 00:17 By Gavin Webber 1 Comment

Some days, it takes a while to think of something to right about, so I don’t try and force a post about something random and meaningless. So, every so often I will skip a few days and do not write, but just do stuff and jot down ideas during the day! Writing about sustainable living is one thing, but actually doing something about it is another.

For instance, yesterday, I had a bit of a small setback with my injury, with my legs aching for most of the day. It was probably all the moving around I did over the weekend! However, the time that I needed in bed to recover was well spent. I finished of a few books from the library, being “Saving the Planet – 52 brilliant ideas for rescuing our world”, by Natalia Marshall, and “Outdoor Kids – A practical guide for kids in the garden”, by Jamie Durie.

The first book is one of those “how to” books of which I have read so many times. I really didn’t find anything new in it, but it would be a fantastic starter for anyone just beginning a green journey. I did find one fantastic quote that I will share;

“If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” – Anita Roddick (founder of the Body Shop)

What a powerful statement and it helped me get through the day!

The second book was so that I could get a few ideas on how to drag Ben away from his PC (besides turning it off), and get him to willingly volunteer to help in the garden. I got a few ideas, but will try them before writing about them. The one I did try during our winter planting, which works, was to get him to plant his favourite vegetable, broccoli, and help tend it for the season. That way, I noticed that he took an interest in its growth and helped keep the caterpillars off of them. But alas, I planted them too early and the aphids attacked them, so he lost interest in the other vegetables.

After I finished reading, Kim and I ordered our seeds from the Diggers club for our summer crop. We still had a fair bit of seed left over from last season, so I did a quick stock take of seed stock, and we ordered a few different things this year. Here is the list;


  • Lazy Housewife Beans
  • Capsicum Mixed Italian Fryers
  • Eggplant Heirloom Mixed
  • Melon African Horned
  • Spring Onion Red (grew last year)
  • Silverbeet Five Colour Mix (grew last year)
  • Tomato Elfie
  • Tomato Broad Ripple Yellow Currant
  • Tomato Mortgage Lifter (grew last year)
  • Tomato Tigerella (grew last year)
  • Tomatillo Purple
  • Chilean Guava


We are both quite excited about all the new fruits and vegetables, especially the Horny African Melon (did that come out wrong?), and I don’t think we will have any trouble finding anywhere to plant them. The total cost including postage was $49.80, which is fantastic value for money, especially when the Chilean Guava is a perennial. That amount used to be our fortnightly fruit and vegetable bill, and now it lasts a whole season and then some when I preserve some produce with the Fowler-Vacola kit. The annuals should last me for two seasons, even though I did plant far too many tomato seedlings last year, and half of them died because I didn’t re-pot them soon enough. Not bad for our first summer of growing though. We had so many tomatoes, that we ate them nearly every day, and had to preserve some near the end of the season for pasta sauce, because the plants just kept producing!

These seeds are not the only ones I will be planting. I will still sew most of what I did last year, especially the cucumbers, chilies, salad greens and different types of tomatoes, and of course the sweet corn that is now destined for the front yard. I also had a breakthrough yesterday. Kim is starting to go off the ornamental in the fruit tree side of the garden, so I am going to ask Adam to rip out one of the jasmine vines and we will prepare the soil for a couple of black passionfruit vines I have been nurturing for quite a while now. It will be great to see edibles growing, even though jasmine does look fantastic in the spring. But, we are starting to realise that if you can’t eat it, then we are just wasting our time, water, and money on a non-productive garden.

I also caught up on my blog reading and left quite a few comments on my usual reads, and found a few new green blogs. All good reading, and many thought provoking posts as usual.

I have managed to cook dinner two nights in a row now, without too much pain, both meals being simple, hearty fare. Last night, I added to the chicken stock I made on Sunday night from the leftovers from the normal roast chicken, to make our usual Monday night chicken soup. I added a little curry powder this time, and it was very delicious. Home made stock is definitely the best tasting stock I have ever tried. It beats that stuff you buy in a tetra pack or stock cubes any day! Tonight, I cooked up a very easy creamy mushroom sauce that I ladled over some ravioli. I bought the ravioli from NQR, and never again, as it was terrible. At least the sauce gave it some substance.

Tomorrow, our friends Phil (Wombat064) and Stacy are popping around for morning tea, so we can catch up and have a good chat about all thing environmental, and the recent WWOOF’ing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), that Phil did for a few days locally. It should be a good catch up.

It is amazing the green things you can get up to in bed!


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: Cooking, Diggers Club, Fowlers-Vacola, Friends, Organic, vegetables

← Emission Trading Scheme brings out the Sceptics Wombat Warrior Award →

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

  1. Sharon J says

    August 6, 2008 at 07:15

    I love the mosquito quote! I shall remember that every time I feel that maybe I’m just wasting my time, fighting a losing battle.

    I’m envious of your seeds. Having my garden made over so that I can actually grow stuff out there is part of my five year plan but it’s still a long way off. I’ll be trying with a few pots and baskets next year though.

    Reply

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

How To Remove Scaly Leg Mites
Strawbridge Family Inspiration
Repeat After Me. I Will Never Plant Potatoes With Pumpkins Again
Broad Bean Rust
Clay Oven First Layer
Black Aphids On Garlic
Selling Your Own Soap in Australia
The Seven Stages Of Change
Chicken Hygiene
Quince Paste

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