Wet wet wet

Okay, been a busy week in the garden - planted squash, spring onions, chinese greens, capsicum, nasturtiums and marigolds for the pest repellent properties, and garlic chives.

The zuchinis I planted a few weeks back are already starting to flower and fruit - must be the combination of cow manure, blood and bone and torrential rain! The first batch of tomatoes is also starting to flower - I can't believe how fast things are growing at the moment! My beans have discovered the back fence is for climbing on, and are proceeding with abandon. I am a happy girl :).

We've had a huge Wet this year, two lots of monsoon, plus another one sneaking up as we speak. This is what the Wet used to be like in North Queensland when I was growing up - very very wet. Mind you, North Queensland is copping it at the moment too, after many years of insignificant wet seasons (relatively speaking, that is - an average year is still measured in metres of rain, not millimetres).

I've been playing around with solar cookers the last week or so, but it's not helped by constant downpours and overcastness (new word :). I tried a variation on this one - http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/windshield-cooker.htm - but the wind was making life hard. So I scrounged an inner tube and a piece of perspex from the dump shop and tried this one - http://www.solarcooking.org/images/tirecooker.jpg . I improved the design slightly by sitting on some leftover Aircell insulation that I painted black ( http://www.air-cell.com.au ). It has a foil coating, so the black will absorb the heat, and the foil will help conduct it to the bottom of the pot. The air pockets will insulate the bottom and help the space hold the heat better.

I like this design because there's no glare to deal with. I'm looking forward to trying it out when the weather clears up and we get a full day of sun. Despite the current clouds and rain it gets about 4 litres of water hot enough to do dishes, or, when the sun stays out for a couple of hours, enough water for coffee to steaming point. I've ordered an oven thermometer so I can get an accurate reading of what temps it gets up to. Also, I'm thinking a pot with a metal lid may improve the performance - at the moment I'm using an aluminium teflon-coated pot, painted black on the outside, but with a non-matching glass lid, $2.50 courtesy of a lawn sale last week.

On a different front, I've just discovered a cheap and natural hair washing regime.

1 tablespoon of bicarb soda
1.5 - 2 cups water

Massage through hair, then rinse out. Your hair will become literally squeaky clean.

Then:

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1.5 - 2 cups water
Optional: A few drops of essential oil can be added if desired.

Massage through hair, then rinse out.

My hair is usually very oily, particularly in this time of the year, and it feels so much better after using this wash. It's very soft, and the buildup from the commercial shampoo and conditioner is gone - my hair feels much lighter. I like it :).

From what I've read, it may not agree with everyone's hair, but for a couple of dollars it's worth a try!

Growing food

I've grown a few things over the years with varying degrees of success, but I'm on a growing kick at the moment.

I've planted (in pots) cherry tomatoes, which tend to go down better around here than bigger varieties - a large tomato with a slice or two removed and sitting in the fridge is not appetising, but a tray of cherry tomatoes will be scoffed like lollies by my son. I've also planted some climbing beans against the back fence, and (also in pots) some zuccinis - looooove zuccini!

I've got permission to use a nearby bare-ish ornamental garden for planting whatever I like, so will put in some pumpkin and sweet pototo, which hopefully will choke out the feral grass that smothers everything. When it cools down a bit I'll put in some mini carrots (debating whether to use containers or the garden bed). A generous person is giving me some Queensland Arrowroot to plant - these are an edible canna variety, and the tubers can be used like potato, as well as the young stems for greens. It will be a while before we can consume a lot from the arrowroot, as I'd like it to breed up first, but eventually I'll have a good source of starchy vegies.

I also have a pot of oregano, with a couple of stray lemon basils, plus garlic chives and a newly planted cutting of mother-of-all herbs.

I'm tempted to get a couple of chooks in a mobile chook tractor...wonder what the landlady would say! :P

Why?

So, here I am with a new blog. Hmmm...it will be part journal, part news, part cool links, part rambling and dreaming (and part delusions of grandeur, no doubt!).

If you're interested in having a simpler life, reducing your impact on the planet or just being more able to do for yourself, then maybe some of the stuff I put here will be of interest.

Maybe you're looking at just taking back a little time for actually living, or reducing your level of "stuff". Maybe you're more of an urban homesteader than a Luddite pioneer (having said that, I realise most pioneer Luddites will not be using the internet - doh!). Or maybe you're just trying to grow some chives or tomatoes on your miniscule balcony in a high rise somewhere. Whether or not you have dreams of "going pioneer", I guess my aim is to stir some thought about living more simply, living more fully, and working out what it really is that's important.