Living and Learning

Growing Corn In An Urban Space

2018-01-25T01:22:00.001+11:00

The silks of this ear of corn has been fertilized- they have gone from shiny pale gold to a duller brown.

When you think of growing corn, I'm sure the average person imagines huge fields of tall green stalks waving in the summer breeze, festooned with pollen scattering tassels and golden tufts of corn silk. Even the average home gardener imagines a few rows of corn, or maybe a block of plants in the sunniest corner of their vegetable patch.

Me? I grow corn in a space less than a meter square most years.

Less than a meter square? You say. That's crazy talk!

I live, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, in a tiny unit in the 'burbs, with a garden space that is maybe 35sqm at most not including the bits I can't plant on, including the footpath and some of the beds that are still filled with gravel. I rely a lot on raised beds and containers to do my growing. I try to be frugal with my garden expenses, so instead of going out to buy "ready to go for you today" pots or beds of corrugated iron, I hunted around and found used brick and concrete blocks to build raised beds, and found people giving away heaps of used plastic tubs, and even, in the case of my three newest planter boxes, went to the discarded pallet pile of an Isuzu dealership and picked up some folding stacking "crates". These new planters were assembled to replace the old wooden planter boxes, which had finally started rotting through and falling apart (after five good years of service, mind you!) and these planters are part of my 2018 corn project. So, let's get down to business!

Tall corn stalks add an interesting
dimension to a container garden

No soil? Make some!
Since the soil in the existing household garden beds was so bad, I spent a good deal of the last seven or so years building up brand new soil through the lasagna composting method- basically, layers of manure, straw and topsoil or compost when I can get it. When I remember to, I add crushed eggshell for calcium, Epsom salts for magnesium and dried seaweed or seaweed emulsion for iodine (Australian soils are notoriously lacking in iodine, an important nutrient for good thyroid health). I also make sure that I have a decent worm population, and try to encourage good microbial life, because all of those things- plenty of organic matter, extra minerals and nutrients, and healthy abundant soil life- are what make the soil the best it can be for your plants. Like us, plants need to have good nutrition to grow properly, and when they are healthy, it means we are benefiting from the nutrients that they have absorbed.

The lasagna method of composting is the easiest and probably the fastest way to build up good soil. I call it lazy gardening- I love it. Just throw your layers down, rake them even, water them well, and walk away. No digging or rototillers required. It all just builds up on the surface, encouraging worms, who then move between the layers and the ground beneath to aerate and turn the lot over and break it down for you. In fact you don't even need ground underneath- one of my raised beds is built entirely upon concrete pavers! The method remains the same though. After a several months or years of this you'll have heaps of great soil to work with, and the best thing is that you can still garden in between applications of your mulches. One of the joys I have found in my gardening journey is seeing how much the improved soil has improved my growing- so if you are the type to journal your experiences, do. It'll show you your progress, which is always immensely satisfying.

Tassels beginning to form.

I talk about all of this, because the first thing you need to know about corn is that it is a heavy feeder- that means it needs a lot of nutrients, as many varieties can grow to be quite large, and they need those nutrients in order to develop properly. You can give it a boost with extra fertilizers if your soil isn't the greatest, but it's easier in the long run if you just take the time to build up good healthy soil in the first place. When I started growing corn, I was putting them directly in the ground before it had seen too many layers of manure and mulch, so the added fertilizer helped a great deal with what was a lack of nitrogen and other key elements. In fact, part of this years project (growing corn in a planter box instead of in the flower bed) was to give me time to amend the flower beds much more thoroughly.

Well, this is unusual. An ear of corn is growing out of the top of this plant
at the same time as the tassels... and appears to be producing kernels!

When and where to plant?

Corn is a summer plant- by that, I mean it will do most of it's important growing over the summer months, and will be ready to harvest sometime in autumn (usually- this depends entirely upon your climate and the length of your seasons, but in Tasmania's cool temperate clime, it's really important to get the timing right). When choosing your location, make sure it has access to a lot of sunlight- too much shade can stunt your plants and affect whether or not they produce. Corn also needs plenty of water, which is another reason why layer gardening is helpful- the organic matter within the layers traps water and helps the bed retain moisture better, which is good for the corn plants. Generally, I try to plant my corn in late spring, after all danger of frost has passed. That advice works for pretty much everywhere.

When starting corn plants, I like to place the seeds in separate pots filled with soil so I can keep track of the germination rates for the varieties I grow. It allows me to judge which varieties are the best and strongest growers. Then, once they have sprouted and form two to three leaves, I plant them out.

What kind of corn?

What type of corn you're growing will be affected by your climate and season length. Check the description of the seed variety you are purchasing, and make sure you know if it's short season or long season. This is important, because if you're trying to grow long season corn in Tasmania without a greenhouse, you will probably be very disappointed. Tassie needs a short season corn. In the past, I have learned that Glass Gem and Mini Blue Popcorn (both popcorn varieties) work well here, as does Painted Mountain Corn (a type of flour corn), along with your usual hybrid and heirloom varieties of sweet corn, such as Golden Bantam or various F1 types. My choice this year is a short season variety called Papa's Red- I am hoping it is successful, as it would mean Tasmania benefits from a new variety of red flour corn that is adapted to our climate, and thus expanding our range of heirloom varieties.

This variety- Papa's Red- has all kind of surprises. Here is an ear of corn that appears to have outgrown it's husk, the protective layer of leaves that normally surrounds a cob of corn.

How do I plant corn for successful pollination?

Now that you know you need excellent soil for good corn growth, you have your ground ready to grow, you have an idea of when and where to plant and most of all, what type of corn to plant, let's talk about rows versus blocks, and how the corn reproduces.

It is helpful to know that corn is wind pollinated- this means that the male flowers (the tassels, found at the top of the corn stalks) release their pollen which is then carried by the breeze to the female flowers (the silks, the golden bundles of thin threads that are located lower down the stalks at the end of the bundle of leaves that will eventually develop into the ear of corn) in order to fertilize the kernels-to-be. The better the pollination, the fuller your ears of corn will be, and when you're growing seed corn like I am, ensuring good pollination is very important. (It also means that corn can cross-pollinate very easily. If you are growing corn and don't want varieties to cross, either grow a single type of corn per year, or grow two varieties that do not tassel at the same time.)

Rows work well if you have a large garden space to work with, and plan on planting several rows (at least three or four). This means there are several plants within reach of each other- it's essentially like planting several small blocks together. However, this isn't always possible if you have a small urban garden. That is where single block planting comes in.

Whatever is happening here, it'll be interesting to see how successful
These kernels will be. As you can see in this photo, they are just
starting to color up.

A block of corn can be anywhere from 9 to 20 plants, it just depends on your space. This year, I had about 32 seedlings come up, but only 20 survived the seedling stage to be planted, and of those, I think about 10 remain (it's a tough life, being a plant). Most garden guides will tell you to plant each corn seedling 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60cm) apart. I simply don't have the room to spare for that much space between plants, so I have learned that you can get away with as little as 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20cm) between the plants. This places them close together which, while it may not encourage them to grow as tall as they might potentially be able to, does a number of things- it keeps them close for good pollination, it helps them support each other in gusting winds (something which Tasmania is prone to receiving in many areas, my garden not excluded), and it saves on space and the resources you need to maintain them (especially when it comes to watering).

The planter box I have mine growing in is about a meter square and stacked three high (altogether, about a meter and bit tall)- maybe a little less than a full square meter, as they are rectangular, rather than properly square. Nevertheless, the corn plants are doing well, and have only needed that first initial application of all round fertilizer to give the seedlings an extra boost (they were looking a little anemic when they finally went into the ground). A bit short, but then, pretty much all of my corn is, and it never seems to stop it from producing well.

Seed corn, drying out on the stalk.

My corn has been in the ground a while and I want to harvest. Now what?There is nothing more exciting about growing your own food than the harvest- it is what you've been waiting impatiently all these weeks for. To pick the ripe produce and add it to your meals is probably one of the most satisfying rewards of gardening. Golden sweet corn, hot and dripping with butter, is enough to make the mouth water- but be sure you harvest at the correct time!

Harvest time depends on what variety you are growing, and for what purpose you plan on growing it for.

Sweet Corn
Sweet corn types are ready to eat when you can peel back some of the green husk and see that the cobs are full of kernels, the kernels are plump and well colored, and the juices, when one kernel is squashed by a thumbnail, run milky white. As my father once told me: "You walk to pick your sweet corn, but run home to cook it". Sweet corn doesn't remain sweet for long as the sugars begin to transform into starches as soon as it's picked, so its best flavor and sweetness will be had if you cook it almost immediately. So harvest wisely and enjoy your sweet corn!

Drying corn inside the house. Dwarf Mini Blue Popcorn pictured.

Popcorn, Flour Corn and Seed Corn
Thankfully these all pretty much fall under the same instruction: be patient. You must leave the cobs on the stalks to dry out completely. If they are mostly dry, but the weather is turning nasty and cold, you can harvest the ears, peel back the husks and braid them together into a rope, which you can then hang to dry in a warm, dry place to finish drying. Generally, I leave it in the airing cupboard and forget about it for a few weeks. By the time I'm looking for something to do in the winter, it'll be ready to shell.

Dwarf Mini Blue Popcorn seeds packaged for sale.

To shell your corn, just remove the husks, grip the cobs between your hands, and twist. The action of your hands rubbing in opposite directions will loosen the seeds. Be sure to do this over a bowl or bucket, or you'll have seeds everywhere! I would advise you to invest in a pair of gardening gloves with the rubberized palms. They will grip the seeds well and protect your hands from blisters, as you do need to apply quite a bit of force to get them to loosen. Once you have shelled all the corn, you can package and store as you see fit. Generally, a cool, dry, dim location is best. Seeds can even be stored in the freezer if you want to preserve them for long term, but for the average gardener growing year to year, a cardboard box in the wash house or garden shed is perfectly suitable.

The leftover dried stalks, the husks, and the empty cobs can all be composted. I like to lay them down over the garden beds as the next layer of organic material. What comes from the earth goes back into it. Pure poetry.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog! I hope I was able to provide you an in-depth look at growing corn in general, and that my experiences have encouraged those of you living in small spaces to try your hand at growing corn as well. If you liked this blog, please comment and share it with your friends, and then hit the "Follow" button so you can get updates of future blogs!

Thank you once again, and may you never lose your love for Living and Learning!

Good Night 2017 ... Good Morning 2018

2018-01-14T12:39:00.000+11:00

At the beginning of 2017, I promised to get off the conveyor belt of negativity. I promised that I would devote myself to positive stories, images, projects, people, and most of all my art, and that I wouldn't encourage meanness, cruelty or anything dark or terrible on my personal feeds (both real and online). I promised to love everyone, and for the most part, I did okay in that regard.

I think I was very tired, at the start of 2017. So tired and heart sick at the way humans treat each other. I couldn't bear the thought of having to deal with it, so I essentially took a year long hiatus, choosing not to engage as much as possible. Even my art and writing tapered off after a few months, as I went into coasting mode. I wrote no blogs, I didn't draw as much as I thought I would, I didn't make or sell as much soap as I could have.

Maybe I needed that rest. Maybe it was just my brain telling me subconsciously that I had to step back and detach and reevaluate myself in the face of what was going on. Maybe I really needed a whole year to just... not.

In Nov 2017, I participated in National Novel Writing Month, as I do pretty much every year now. I got a good lump of writing in, and even reached that 50K goal, but it was all somewhat spoiled by my witnessing fellow writers turn on another young writer and bully her right out of the chat room. I was so angered and upset by this that I actually started a new blog to address issues around bullying, sexism, racism and humanity's ills in general. (Check it out: it's called The Soul Of Being Human.)

In Dec 2017 I helped to organize a canned food drive for the local homeless shelter. It was only a small event, done through the Launceston Ladies Social Club, but it got some tinned food together for the charity, and it allowed for some local women to make new friends and visit socially. It helped me meet new people and make some new friends, and in the process of this all happening it rekindled something in my being that I think had been reduced to a smolder for some months.

I realized that I cared, very deeply, about what humanity really is- and what it could be, and what it can do. Most of all, I started asking myself what I could do to help. How can I make a difference? How can I, a lowly, single human in a big world filled with 7 billion others, make any waves in this very large sea? I believe in community and in people being there for each other, physically, emotionally, mentally- but the largest problems were simply too great for me to overcome alone, and I allowed myself, with much self-loathing, to step back and do nothing, and say nothing, because I was too tired to keep up the flow of words that needed to be said.

2018 dawned quietly, accompanied by bird song and a curious bewilderment regarding myself and where I stand in this world.

I actually started writing this post on Jan 1st, but it has taken me days to figure out what to write in the body of the post. It's taken days to find the fire in my heart that I needed to form these words, and fire it definitely is. It's all the passion, anger and frustration that has built up over the last year, that has taken me from a flickering ember to a roaring blaze in just a couple of weeks. It's not an out of control wildfire though- I am learning that this energy can be shaped and directed... and I think I get it now, what I should be doing.

Hello 2018. I am here now.

Help me to tame the flames in my soul, and use them to educate, assist and make a difference to my community. It is only a small world that I live in, so I hope the people I touch with my actions and compassion turn and pass it on to the people in their small world, and so on and so on, until maybe one day the whole planet has been touched and changed for the better.

May my single small stone, cast into the ocean, cause a ripple that touches every shore.

Welcome, 2018. May we all endeavor to live, learn and love... together.

Dear 2017

2017-01-27T13:24:00.000+11:00

Dear 2017:

You are still a young year and there's many more months to look forward to and many events, both planned and unforeseen, so I wanted to write and make some promises.

My first promise for 2017: To jump off the endless conveyor of grief, anger, and negativity. I will (try) not to engage in political posting anymore. I will (try) not to engage in other peoples "conveyors". It doesn't mean that I don't care about any of these issues, but it does mean that for my health and sanity, I have chosen to refrain from talking about them. I know the issues and what is at stake, and take the steps I need to be informed, but I will no longer perpetuate the cycle on my social media sites.

My second promise for 2017: To spread all the love, kindness, humor, art, beauty, understanding, and as many positive vibes as I can muster. To hold, support, and uplift as much as I can, and to be as encouraging as I can. I am going to love my spouse, and grow beautiful, wonderful things in my garden, and continue to teach, educate, and empower others to the ways of a self sufficient life. I will do the best that I can to be excellent to everyone.

There are already so many warriors and rebels and resistance fighters out there, that they don't need another to (re)join their ranks. What we really need is healers and empaths and artists, people who can support and love and show the world that the beauty is not gone from it yet, and that it is still totally worth saving.

This year, I am a healer, and an empath, and an artist, and I see beauty and light where others may only see grim darkness.

I see you, and love you all. You are my family.

Always, always seek to Live, Learn and Love.

Be at peace.

#AtoZ Challenge Reflections

2016-05-13T22:04:00.000+10:00

It's been a couple a weeks since I've completed my very first A to Z Blogging Challenge. Can we get a HUGE sigh of a relief? Anyone who knows me and my writing challenges (*cough*nanowrimo*cough*) will know that it takes a lot of the effort and will for me to sit down and stick to a writing project for as long as it takes to complete it (one of the joys of being an adult with ADD)- and let's face it: I was clinging to the edge with my fingertips on this one.

Now that I've had a breather and a break from writing constantly, I feel up to actually coming back and writing some reflections about my experience.

Firstly... writing is hard. But go me, I guess, for not folding under the pressure. And was there pressure? Yeah, a bit. I didn't want to disappoint myself on yet another failed writing challenge, so I really pushed myself to make it happen. I won that round, so it's all good!

Secondly... I learned a lot. Did anyone else? I know some of my posts were basically fluff, meant to fill space or show pretty pictures, with little meaningful content, but I do genuinely hope I helped someone, somewhere, learn something new. I find lately that my drive to educate others is growing, and it pleases me to no end when my readers comment and interact- it tells me that I'm on the right track to something good.

Thirdly... this is a rubbish way of counting experiences, isn't it?... Thirdly, the format was strangely appealing. I have ADD after all- a little structure rarely goes amiss in this sort of thing. It allowed me to figure out topics ahead of time, and gave me an outline on which to build, however minimalist. It has even provided me an opening for the next level- perhaps I'll take these blogs and turn them into a book. November is on it way, and it would be a good NaNoWriMo project.

Sometimes I feel like blogging is a huge game of Marco Polo: you sort of splash around blindly and hope you're getting close to your target. Kinda like life too, actually. (Insert awkward laugh.)

Would I do this again? Oh, probably. I can't say "oh yes, definitely", because every year is different, but I would certainly try if I felt it was right for that year. I suppose the hard part would be coming up with new topics for each letter!

Overall, I think I benefited. Learning, and teaching, are never bad things.

Live, Learn and Love, my friends. See you next time.

Z is for Zero Waste- #AtoZ Challenge

2016-04-30T23:30:00.000+10:00

Oh my goodness! It's the final post of the A to Z Challenge! April raced by, and I somehow managed to stick with it. I find the hopeful setting of a goal a good way to wrap up many things in life, so that's what today's blog is: the setting of a goal.

Z is for Zero Waste.

Zero Waste is pretty much what it sounds like: living a lifestyle that produces no trash. This is a growing movement in a society in which consumerism has reached shocking levels. What with landfills, trash on our beaches, and fish and animals eating plastic and dying, our throw away mentality is damaging the environment and everything in it. While these are all issues to talk about in their own right, I'm not going to do that today. I'm just going to talk about me.

I thought it was finally time I addressed our own waste issue. For a two person household, we produce about 1 bag of trash per week, and that's already with the slight reduction that composting our food scraps provides us. I also reuse glass bottles and jars and their lids, some plastic items such as take away containers, old ice cream tubs, a few of the sturdier meat trays, etc, and even some of the plastic milk jugs get reused as scoops or self watering plant pots.

So what are were actually throwing away?

Some of the trash is paper products, which I'm ashamed to admit I don't monitor as well I should. Most paper products like tissues, paper towels, news papers and cardboard can be composted, or at very least, used in the garden as weed matting. We get a lot of catalogs for the shops too, but those I am afraid to use in the garden, as I do not know what the inks will do to the soil- they get tossed in the recycle bin instead, as does anything else I have no current use for. I also got ride of a lot of plastic waste by switching from tampons to cloth pads- it was a bit of an adjustment, but I feel good about it- it's better for my body, and I'm no longer spending money on those items, nor am I creating more waste from the packaging.

Some of it is random stuff, like the stickers off of apples (we hate those!), or bones from a roast dinner which got tossed (those should actually be collected and then frozen for later use in bone broth... one more thing to concentrate on, for sure).

Most of it, though, is plastic. Our meat comes wrapped in cling film, on plastic or Styrofoam trays. Cheese is wrapped in plastic, and frozen veg come in plastic bags. Even some fresh veg comes in plastic bags! Carrots for example, are often bagged up, and onions come in a plastic mesh bag, which gets little red bits of plastic everywhere when you cut it open to get the onions out. Potatoes are bagged up in plastic, whether they're prepacked or selected by yours truly. My husband buys bread in bags, and though we recycle them to store other things (meat for the freezer, the block of opened cheese, his work lunches, etc) they still, ultimately, end up in the trash. Even toiletries, like Q-tips, have plastic sticks!

Even as I write this, listing off all the stuff that ends up trashed in this house is rapidly becoming an embarrassing business. Someone who is as interested in permaculture and sustainability as I am should be more careful about her trash output, right?

My goal for the rest of 2016 and onwards is to do my very best to be as zero waste as possible. I will fully admit that this will not be an easy goal to achieve. It will likely be expensive as well, even with my tendency to buy cheap, recycle and reuse.

Here are some steps I promise to take in the next few months:

Buy loose fruit and veg. Nothing in plastic bags anymore. I intend to whip up some lightweight produce bags on the sewing machine, so that I can carry things like potatoes (which are dirty) and onions (which we buy a lot of anyway, and which shed their skins) to keep our cloth shopping bags (oh yes, we've been using those for years now) clean.

Make more from scratch. Maybe I can convince my spouse to let me bake him his bread for sandwiches. Perhaps I take the step to make our own treats (like biscuits) or crackers. Little things like that. For instance, I make our own home made mayo, so we have cut out the store bought glass jars, the metal lids, as well as the subpar mayo with questionable ingredients to boot.

Find alternatives. That's going to be the hard part. I could buy milk in glass bottles- it's more expensive though. I could buy meat from local butchers and ask them to place it in containers I brought from home- also expensive (and the stores aren't making it easier- everything is wrapped in plastic these days. They're even phasing out the butchery departments!) On the flip side, I can buy in bulk, which tends to be a little less expensive, but again, there's the bagging issue.

There are things I am interested in doing right now though. For instance, I'm intrigued by the idea of creating waxed cloths to wrap foods in, for the fridge and freezer. I'm also excited to sew up produce bags for us- it'll give me more experience with my new sewing machine. I think it will help to know how previous generations did it too, before the rise of plastic wrapped everything.

Even knowing what I want, though, there is still much for me to think about in the coming months as I get going on my zero waste journey. I want folks to know that every little change might help in the long run, so if you want to join me and start your own zero waste journey, I would love to hear your story.

Thank you for following my blogs on this Challenge, and I hope you hang around and keep reading as I keep writing.

Live. Learn. Love.

Cheers!

Y is for Yarn- #AtoZChallenege

2016-04-29T13:38:00.001+10:00

For the last several years I have been teaching myself many crafts. Among those crafts are crochet and knitting, which of course use yarn. I thought I'd shake things up though, so instead of just researching and spouting textbook information from the internet on a subject I am not overly familiar with (as I only use yarn, I don't produce it!), I thought I'd conduct an interview with a couple friends who either raise fiber animals, spin and dye yarn (or all three!) "Y is for Yarn" will give you an inside look at the "cottage industry" of hand spun fiber craft.

I would like to thank Lindsey Auman at Happy Valley Homestead for sharing her time with me to provide this interview. She lives in Pennsylvania, where she sells her yarn and yarn projects, soaps, animals, and eggs. I've known her since 2011- she is like a sister to me! Check out her page, and see what she has to offer, especially if you live in the US.

I'd also like to thank my friend Dianne Anderson for offering her experience as well. She is a local Tasmanian friend who spins fiber as a hobby, gardens, dances and crafts, and does it all for the love of it!

Baby angora bunnies. Photo courtesy of Lindsey Auman

1. Do you have, or have you raised, animals for fiber?

L: "I raise English and satin Angora rabbits and Shetland sheep. English Angoras produce more fiber, but require much more maintenance than the satin Angoras. Satins produce less fiber, but have more halo an incredible sheen and more intense color. Shetland sheep are small, perfect for a homestead and come in many color and wool varieties. Browns, whites, blacks and everything in between. Their fleeces also come in several varieties, from a shorter, finer and softer single coated variety to a fleece with soft and longer coarser wool in the same fleece to longer, shaggier fleeces. Each fleece style has it's purposes. Single coated soft fleeces can be used for next to skin garments. A variegated fleece is used based on the portions... Typically the coarser hindquarter wool is used for outer garments and socks while the softer wool, closer to the neck can be used for next to skin garments. The shaggier fleeces can be used for outerwear and socks or can be dehaired, by separating the outer guard hairs from the inner, softer wool and spun separately for softer and coarser, longer wearing yarns."D: "No I haven't, although I've spent time with people who do, and learned a bit from them."

This video recorded by Lindsey Auman demonstrates spinning yarn directly off an angora bunny. It is such a peaceful scene!

2. How do you process the fiber so that you can make yarn?

L: "Fiber prep depends on type and personal preference. Any fiber can be spun "raw" without any real prep. Angora, from Angora rabbits, is the most commonly spun straight from the animal without any prep work. It can be spun "in the cloud", prepped similar to other fibers or even straight off of the rabbit. Other fibers, such as wool and alpaca fiber are usually skirted (undesirable sections removed, typically around the hind end and legs), VM (vegetable matter, such as hay or sticks) is picked out as much as possible, and then the fleeces are washed based on the type. Alpaca, llama and Angora goat (called mohair) can all be washed with a lower temperature of water and a mild detergent. Sheep wool is usually washed in hotter water with more detergent to help remove the lanolin. Fleeces tend to require several washes before finally rinsing clean. After drying, you can pick the locks apart by hand, and card (with a drum carder or hand cards) or comb the fleece before spinning."
D: "It depends on the type of fibre, and how clean it is. Most fibres need some sort of processing, even if it's just a flick of a brush/comb for the most clean...most however require picking, washing, carding or combing, and also if you choose to; dyeing. Washing can involve several stages and a lot of time with fibres like wool, as they may require scouring to reduce the lanolin, and careful temperature treatment so that they don't felt.Whilst each fibre has it's rule of thumb...there is also an element of experimentation for the best way to handle each individual fleece/fibre as it presents. Preparation can vary from minutes to days (even weeks) depending on the project and fibre."

A combination of black English and black satin angora wool,
single strand. Photo courtesy of Lindsey Auman

3. What are your favorite fibers to work with?

L: "My personal favorite fibers are actually Angora rabbit and Shetland wool. Perhaps I am slightly biased, or perhaps I kept the animals due to my love of their fibers."

D: "Clean, short to medium staple fibres. I'll spin practically anything! I do love soft and smooth fibres like merino, alpaca and flax. I love silk as a fibre, but not so much to spin as I have found it hard to draft in the past...I'm hoping this time around, putting more time into preparation will make it more enjoyable to spin."

Left: English dyed with green, plied with moorit Shetland.
Right: Black satin plied with electric pink merino.
Center: Teal merino and white English, being plied.
Photo courtesy of Lindsey Auman

4. What special properties do your favorite fibers offer?

L: "Angora rabbit is incredibly soft, water and stain resistant, has a stunning halo and has amazing insulation properties. In fact, it's so warm that most people recommend using only 10-15% in a blended yarn, or making small projects. An Angora sweater would be too warm for most every day purposes! Shetland wool, in particular, is my favorite, because of its ease in spinning. It's soft enough to wear next to your skin, yet durable enough for wear and tear. It is warm, and has "memory", which means that it won't stretch loose like the alpaca and Angora will."
D: "They're all unique. Wool has great thermal properties, as does silk. Alpaca has lovely drape (like silk), whereas different breeds of wool, have varying structure and "spring". The beauty of natural fibres is that they breathe, so are generally nicer to wear than synthetics. They also can be composted, rather than polluting the environment at end of life."

Mulberry silk cocoon sheet, hand painted landscape dye.
Photo courtesy of Dianne Anderson

5. What means do you use to spin fiber into yarn?

L: "What means? Hmm. Personally, I spin with a double treadle spinning wheel. There are many, many types of wheels, from great big wheels to compact wheels and even electric wheels. Some have specific tasks that they are designed for, but most choose a wheel based on personal preference. There are also drop spindles, which are portable, but not as fast production as the wheels. The drop spindles were invented before wheels."

D: "I use single and double drive spinning wheels, as well as a drop spindle. Each method and wheel produces different weights of yarn and some suit particular fibres better than others."

Bendigo Woolen Mills pure wool
laps and Kemp semi worsted 2 ply.
Photo courtesy of Dianne Anderson

6. What is plying and what benefit does it provide?

L: "Plying is when you spin yarn back on itself. Say you make a two ply yarn... you would spin both of them in one direction, and then ply them together by twisting them together in the opposite direction. This helps it "catch" and stay together, increasing the strength of the finished yarn. Some yarns can be spun as singles, but I don't have experience with spinning or using them.Different techniques in plying can create different designs in your yarn. Bouccle yarn, coil yarns, etc all produce different yarns."
D: "Plying is spinning two yarn singles together (or more) It provides greater strength to the yarn, and if you ply different fibres or colours it can create unique effects."

7. Do you dye the yarns you make, and if so, what do you dye them with?

L: "Dyeing... I do dye some of mine. It depends on what look I'm going for. I use professional acid dyes, but there are lots of natural dyes that can be used."
D: "Sometimes. It's a rabbit hole I've only just entered. To start with I am mostly playing with food acid solar dyes. I plan to get into some natural (non mordant) dyeing soon, and once I am set up, I will probably do more conventional mordanted dyeing."

Bendigo woolen mills alpaca
fill, semi worsted spin 2 ply. Photo courtesy
of Dianne Anderson

8. What is your favorite use for your hand made yarn?

L: "I don't really have a favorite item to make, to be honest. I have made many, many hats, for myself, my children, family, friends and custom orders as well as some for retail sale. They can be pretty easy and thoughtless, which is nice for my attention span. I enjoy weaving as well as knitting, but Angora halo shows up better in knitted projects than it does in woven projects, so what I do depends on the fiber and overall product look I'm after."
D: "LOL I have a reputation for never finishing a project. I'm not really much of a knitter or crocheter, although I can do both. I have great plans, but so far have only finished ...none of them.
I also have a loom, that I plan to get around to one of these days. For now, I just love to spin, and tend to pass the spun yarn to my mum, who is a knitter and more likely to make stuff than I am."

X is for Xenophobia- #AtoZ Challenge

2016-04-28T22:57:00.001+10:00

Today's blog is going to be short and sweet. It's going to point out world problems, it's going to appeal for humanity, and then it'll be over- but hopefully it plants a seed in other minds and proliferates. Spread the word. The message is important.

X is for Xenophobia. What does xenophobia mean?

Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

Wikipedia has an expanded explanation:

Xenophobia is the fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity. Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality"

Sounds painfully familiar, doesn't it? It doesn't seem matter if you're a refugee forced to flee your home, a gay or trans person, a woman, or just someone with a skin color that is considered something other than "white", or a body feature considered other than "normal" (whatever THAT is!) There will always be someone telling you to "go home", someone shouting that you're an abomination, someone threatening to kill you, someone wanting to build a wall to "keep you out", someone trying to abuse you mentally, physically.

I could go on for days about all the unbelievable excrement I see people pour forth, venting their racist, homophobic, bigoted, bullying and misogynistic hatred... but what is the point? I wouldn't be much better than them, then, would I?

If I, the writer behind Living and Learning, could stress one thing to my readers- it would be this:

We are all human

The world- life in general- is terrible and frightening enough already. Why must we fear each other? Why must we torture each other with ridiculous stereotypes, accusations and outright lies? We are all having a hard time- let's not make it worse.

Please. Stop. Look each other in the eye, look past the differences to really see the other person, and say: "You are human, and so am I."

And then share a cup of tea or something.

Live. Learn.
Most of all: LOVE

W is for Wine- #AtoZ Challenge

2016-04-27T23:51:00.000+10:00

W starts off many words- winter, water, waste, wily, weather, etc. It also starts the word (hah) "wine". Because you can't turn down a good glass of wine!

Long story short: my family history is steeped in wine and wine making. My great grandfather was even fined for making and selling wine during the Prohibition era. The story about wine running down the as the men smashed the wine barrels is well remembered. My family owns 10 acres of heritage dry farmed vineyard in Mendocino County, California (if you're curious, check out The Zeni Ranch for more information).

So, true to family tradition, I've started trying to make my own wine. This is made easier by the fact that I have a grapevine in my yard. I know I've talked about it before, in my "How to Prune a Grapevine" blog post, posted some years ago now. This vine is 25+ years old, and was severely neglected when I moved it and started tending to it. It's now a very productive plant.

Wine making is an ongoing process, but I've decided to share my notes so far. They are my observations at the time of working with the wine.

Day 1, March 27

4kg Campbell Pink, plus 1.8kg Walkden Blue

My single grapevine produced 4kg of fruit this year. I have a mystery variety, so I'm calling it the "Campbell Pink", as it was inherited from my spouse's family. I was given about 1.8kg of a dark grape (I'm calling that lot "Walkden Blue", as it's also a mystery grape), to blend with mine, because I want the color from their skins to create a much pinker wine than mine do on their own.

I've pulled the berries off the stems (by hand) and crushed them in a 4+ liter stainless steel pot (a long handled potato masher is your friend), and they'll ferment for a couple weeks on natural yeast, while I see about getting a proper carboy and an air lock for them.

Day 3

Both varieties crushed together

I've punched the cap down. The cap is the crushed fruit that floats to the top on the bubbles of the fermenting juice; punching it down keeps it below the surface,which aerates the mixture and prevents the growth of mold and nasties on the surface- or so I was taught, anyway.

As you can see, the dark "blue" grapes are really making the color pop- the ones I grow do not have such a pink color to them on their own, even when fermented on the skins. The smell is fantastic. Whatever variety of grape that I have, it's extremely fragrant. I have a bit of a fruit fly problem, so instead of just using the lid, which clearly they can get under, I put a cloth serviette over the top and then the lid. Hoping they can't get in under that.

Day 4

Showing off the "cap"- the crushed fruit that floats to the top

Needed a fruit fly prevention method: made one with a cloth napkin over the pot, and on top of that goes the lid. I also wanted to show you what I meant by the "cap" (see photo): I pushed the spoon in to show how it has all floated to the top in the hours since I last "punched it down" (this morning).

Punched the cap down. The color is even more purple than it was last time, I reckon. I love the color. I grabbed a measuring spoon and had a sample or two of the juice. It's like... like fizzy, slightly fermented grape juice. Like, it would probably make an excellent "grown up" grape soda.

Very pretty color!

What I can't be sure of is whether or not the sugar content is correct. I don't have a refractometer, so I couldn't measure the amount of sugar in the grapes before I harvested them, so it's a guessing game on how much sugar the wild yeast is working with. I am not sure if I will need to add more or what. It still tasted mildly sweet, but it has also only been four days fermenting.

Day 8

I'm pressing my wine today. It still has some fermenting left to do, but it was advised in my reading to press at day 8 or so, to prevent off flavors from developing in the wine as the fruit starts to decay. A sample determined that it's a nice fruity wine, still with a little bit of tingle to the finish. I would almost bottle it as is and see if it creates a fizzy wine, but I'll let it finish it's thing. It's much better than last years batch, that's for certain.

The most gorgeous looking wine I've ever made so far.

Day 9
The wine is fermenting happily in its glass bottles (see photo). And that glass is what I'm drinking. It was left over, I kept it in the fridge overnight, and it's delicious chilled. The party balloons? They're my super cheap fermentation locks. I poked a hole in the tops and stuck them over the mouth of the bottles. The wine is still fermenting, even without the skins, so it's filling them up with gas. LOVE that color!

Day 21

Still creating bubbles, but it's fermenting much less vigorously now. The sediment is mostly settled out, and the clarity is improving. The color continues to amaze. Tasted it- it's not bad. Stronger than it was when I pressed it, but still pretty good.

Day 32, April 30

The sediment has settled out a lot, and now rests on the bottom of the bottles. Because leaving it on the sediment too long can result in bitter flavors, I racked the wine today. "Racking" is the process of moving the wine from the first fermentation vessel to a second clean vessel, in order to remove the sediment and let it continue to settle.

I used a 1 meter plastic hose, and siphoned the wine from the bottles to a large container, washed the bottles out thoroughly, then refilled them. A sample taste decided that it was a light, refreshing and fruity flavor, with a slight effervescence still. The color continues to be stunning. I will let it age for a few months and track it's flavor progress.

This is as current as my notes can be right now. It's taken just over a month to reach this point, and it's not completely finished yet. So, call this post "W is for Wine: Part 1", and I'll post "Part 2" when it's ready for drinking, in a few months.

I'll see you tomorrow!

V is for Variety- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-26T23:42:00.002+10:00

V is for Variety. Just thought I'd come right out and say it because, as the saying goes, "variety is the spice of life". With that in mind, I thought I'd apply it to a subject that concerns me greatly: the lack of seed variety.

The seed varieties we have been using to grow our food for generations have been dwindling drastically. There's a really popular graphic out there that demonstrates the problem, courtesy of National Geographic. Here it is below:

According to this image, in just 70 years (1903 to 1983), our hundreds of varieties of fruit and veg have fallen into mere double digits. Shocking, isn't it? They reckon that our food variety has been reduced by about 93%. Where did all the varieties go?

Mostly they have disappeared because many heirloom vegetables are not designed for traveling. This means you can't load them up onto a truck and drive them hundreds or thousands of miles to the grocery stores and have them survive intact. They're really only good for local trade, which is excellent if you are growing them for yourself, your neighbors, or the village market- it's not so good when the supermarket chains demand a certain "quality" of the produce.

As any gardener who has been forced to buy the tough, dry, and flavorless tomatoes at the supermarket will know, though, heirloom vegetables and fruit have the advantage of being far superior in quality when it comes to taste and texture, never mind coming in a stunning variety of colors, shapes, sizes and even have interesting names to boot. They create plants that are healthier and more disease resistant, and they can grow in very specific climates too, giving them an advantage over other similar varieties. This genetic diversity ensures that people can grow food almost anywhere- which is a good place to start when you are trying to feed people.

So how can we bring back variety into our seed stocks? I say look for the old gardeners- the ones who've been around the plot a few times, who may have been collecting their or seeds for years. A good example is the Blackman's Bay Cabbage seed I was given- it was a variety that was thought lost, and was bred to like Tasmania's cool temperate climate- so when they rediscovered it in someone's garden, they collected the seed and share it around. If you don't have an old gardener handy, try to buy the heirlooms when you go seed or plant shopping instead. There are loads of good companies to choose from, including these Tasmanian based companies:

Southern Harvest
Rangeview Seeds
Phoenix Seeds
Inspirations SeedsCornucopia Seeds

When you are successful with an heirloom variety, save the seeds- generally, pick the seeds from the first, the last, and the nicest looking fruit you grow. Then save the seed accordingly, and see that you share it around to all who are interested in growing it. If there's a local seed bank in your community, be sure to send seeds to it as well.

Bring back the variety!

Anyway... you lot keep on living and learning. I'll see you tomorrow, with a glass of wine in hand.

U is for Utility- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-25T12:58:00.005+10:00

I'll admit that for some reason, coming up with a topic for today was a bit difficult. I was quite literally reading the U section in the dictionary, looking for any possible ideas, when my spouse made a suggestion. He even said that it could work with the overall theme of Living and Learning. At first I thought it wouldn't quite fit, but after I slept on it, I started seeing how it could work.

So thank you, my love, for giving me this idea: for "U" (see what I did there?), today is about Utility.

Utility has several meanings of course, but in this case, I am going with "the state or quality of being useful; usefulness; something useful; a useful thing."

I find many things useful: sharp knives, small non-electric appliances, books. I, myself, strive to be useful, by learning new skills when I can. What about things that have a spiritual or emotional context? I find them useful too- they are useful to the soul, to let you feel mentally good, which is part of feeling physically good (good morale and all).

I will never be one of those people who sells all their belongings to live a minimalist lifestyle- in fact, living in sterility and perpetual neatness would probably kill me! I can't imagine living life without the things that say "I have lived a life! I do live here! I am still living here!" We have actually received compliments from friends about how comfortable and lived in our house is!

People can argue for the minimalist look because "junk and clutter makes you frustrated and anxious," or any number of other reasons, some more wish-washy than the rest. "Less is more", and all that. While I agree that proper clutter can be overwhelming if it gets out of hand, the "having material belongings" bit is not the reason most people have anxiety issues. So instead of telling yourself "I have too much stuff- I should get rid of it", try shifting your perspective a bit, and focus on whether your belongings are useful to you.

Since I moved here, I have found myself looking for things that have a properly useful function. I both wanted and needed a utility knife, for butchering chickens and skinning wallabies, so I bought one- this was very satisfying, both for the work I needed to do, and for myself, and my joy in a good sharp knife. I don't have many small electric appliances due to limited kitchen space but, because I enjoy old timey objects and don't mind using a little elbow grease, I went ahead and purchased the hand cranked egg beater, the wall mounted potato chipper, and even a proper box grater, instead of buying an expensive food processor.

What about books? They create a lot of clutter, surely! Well, maybe. I do have a few paperback novels that I could do without, and I've even sent a few to the second hand bookshop recently. However, the majority of my books cover two very useful functions for me- they either teach me something, or they make me happy, thus fulfilling their function as a "utility" in my life.

Objects that are considered useful will vary from person to person- so long as they serve a useful function for your home and your state of well being. If you've read this and still want to get rid of everything, that's your choice. I'm just here to tell you that you don't have to live like a monk to feel fulfilled and happy.

Less isn't always more.

See you tomorrow.

T is for Tallow- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-23T00:33:00.000+10:00

Hello folks! Today's featured letter is T! As in "T is for Tallow".

In a previous older post I described at length the types of animal fat that can be used for cooking and soap making, so I won't bore you over much with repeat details (if you do want a refresher course on animal fats, you can read that blog here: Living High On the Hog: Rendering And Using Lard).

Today I'll be focusing on the rendering of animal fat, specifically beef tallow. About mid-march, I was able to procure from a friend about 9.5 kilograms of fresh beef suet (fat). Their mobile butcher was happy to mince it up for me with his nifty mincing machine, and that saved me a load of hard, time consuming work.

It was a hot day when I got around to rendering the fat, and muggy to boot- there was no way I was rendering in the house! So I set my work station up outside on the gas grill instead. It only takes a simple modification to convert it from grill to gas stove; with the handy addition of a spare oven rack to provide a study, stable surface, my large 6.8 liter cast iron stew pot fit perfectly into the space I designed for it.

Each batch was roughly 3+ kilos of suet, with about 1 cup of water added to keep it from sticking and burning. Then I simply covered with the lid, and left it to cook until the pot was filled with liquid fat in a full rolling boil. I pulled the lid off, and stirred it now and then so I could make sure it had boiled off any remaining water, and ladled the fat from the big pot, through a strainer, into a smaller pot.

Now, when you render any animal fat, there's a certain amount of leftover tissue which needs dealing with. It's still pretty fatty, and has a sort of mince-like texture until you cook it further. You can use it in its mince-like state and add it to meatballs or meat loaf, add it to dog or cat food, feed it to the chickens, whatever pleases you. Mine is destined for dog treat biscuits. Or, you can cook the bits leftover until they are browned and crunchy, and those, my friend, are cracklings! They can be used as a crunchy topping on casseroles, or wherever you'd like something tasty and crunchy. It's great for those low carbers trying to satisfy their munchies.

After I strained the liquid fat, I poured it into molds (in this case, bread loaf baking tins) and let it solidify at room temperature before moving the tins to the fridge to set hard. It was just a matter of un-molding the tallow then, wrapping and weighing the blocks to determine how much I got out of this deal. I got over 5.6 kilos of pure tallow which is excellent, considering I started with 9.5 kilos of suet!

I look forward to using it in my handmade soaps!

Are you enjoying these blogs? Let me know what you think in the comments! Until next time, I'll be seeing "U" again! (Ugh, yes, I'm sorry. I have to stop making punny jokes.)

S is for Small Spaces- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-22T23:41:00.002+10:00

As I've said before in previous blogs: I specialize in intensive, small space gardening.... mostly because I don't have a choice in the matter. My garden has about 30 square meters of usable space. Most of the space is either concrete path (which can't be blocked) or covered in brick paving stones. The rest was made up of long, narrow flower beds, which had shrubbery growing in them, or was too shaded (because of said shrubbery) to be much use as a garden bed.

I still managed to make space though. I took out shrubs and unwanted plants, moved gravel and wood chip mulch. I built on top of the narrow beds, and I built on top of the pavers themselves. My photos will show you how I arranged things to maximize on space.

Many of the beds were constructed after I moved into this house, using recycled materials, mostly in the form of concrete bricks. Some were built from purchased timbers, others were plastic planters that I bought. Two are recycled wooden crates, and I've even got several Styrofoam produce boxes for containers as well.

I also try to grow things vertically- outside the lounge window, I have a line of containers with a home made trellis providing support to scarlet runner beans.

As of this morning, a line of containers wait to be seeded with greens for the winter. They are dark colored, to absorb the sunlight and trap the heat in the soil. They are actually sitting out on the edge of the driveway, in front of our fence. Some will live in front of the fence, and others will be moved to the front porch.

Here, two beds at the back of the house lie fallow, filled with layers of soil, manure and sprouting wheat straw. They were built directly on the flower bed that lined that fence. They will offer a very promising space to grow things next year.

I'll see you tomorrow on my next blog. Live and learn!

R is for Rug- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-21T21:45:00.001+10:00

Today, R is for Rug! Because everybody associates the letter R with rugs, right? Right?

Okay, so it may just be me on that point.

Nevertheless, one of my recently favorite hobbies is working with old fabric, particularly fabrics that are considered too far gone to be used for any other projects. Things like old tee shirts with holes in them, worn out denims, jumpers and track pants, things that wear thin or lose their elasticity after a while, or are just done to death and are basically unwearable- which is like half of my husband's old work clothes...

Instead of letting our old clothes end up in the landfill (especially the ones that you know even the City Mission won't take) I cut them into long continuous strips, and crochet them into rugs. Simple! I use a 9 or 10mm crochet hook- those work best because the material is bulky and hard to crochet with smaller hooks. When I need to attach another strip, I knot the ends of the strips together (I know I should probably sew them together, but I'm lazy and it's much faster to just make a granny knot!)

As a result, I get a nice, multicolored rug out of our old clothes! The plus side is it offers a little cushion to our hard kitchen floor (which is just lino over concrete), and keeps the floor from feeling so cold.

I keep two in the kitchen- a round one that lives in front of the stove, and an oblong one that lives in front of the kitchen sink. I have a spare, which I think I may add to until it is pretty big- it's quite thick, so I think it would make a decent "picnic blanket"- that is, I can lay it out in the garden in the summer time, in the shade, and enjoy myself, without being directly on the hard ground.

A friend recently gave me several more balls of t-shirt yarn, and it's quite fine, so I look forward to making smaller items- perhaps hot pads or something similar. You know, because if I'm not knitting hot pads out of yarn, I'm using old t-shirts instead!

Until tomorrow, folks!

Q is for Quilting- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-20T23:20:00.002+10:00

I've already listed many of my hobbies in previous postings, but I thought I'd show you a little more detail of one I'm especially proud of: Quilting (which is just as well- I'm not sure I could have come up with another "Q" word that would suit!)

I am not a super skilled at sewing- for a long time I was intimidated by the thought of using a sewing machine, so I hand stitched everything... and by everything I mean sewing projects and clothing repairs alike, including the two quilting projects I'm going to show you.

This is the completed top of what it going to be a fairly lightweight quilt for the bed. The edges are uneven in this photo- I actually measured and trimmed the black border down to a more manageable width.

It's about as simple as you can get: a large block pattern, with some of the blocks made up of nine smaller blocks. I tried to match the tones of the greens to the tons of pinks, and to make it all pop, I added white, ivory pattern blocks and put a black border round it all.

I started this project back in... 2012? It has literally taken almost five years to get this far- admittedly, a lot of that time was spent sitting in a box in the second bedroom while I did other things, but still- this is a long term project. Now that I have an actual sewing machine though (which I'm NOT intimidated by!) I look forward to finally finishing this project this year.

This is another little quilting project I did- it's a mini patch work quilt! I made it for a friend's dolls- it's based on the same simple block pattern as the first one is, it's just that these blocks are much smaller. Because it was only meant for "use" by dolls, it has no filling, and is simply backed with black polar fleece.

Most of the fabric I work with is bought brand new from crafting stores, but a lot of it was either given to me, or it's recycled. Both of these projects are completely hand pieced and stitched.

I am working on a new quilt to make a wall hanging, using a new technique called applique. I'm making one with a chicken theme, and I'll most definitely post about it when it's further along. I have further plans for a stained glass dragon quilt, and possibly even a crazy quilt, made from leftover scraps. Waste not want not, and all!

Anyway, I'll see you all for tomorrow's post, which is also a crafty subject: Rag Rugs. Keep on living and learning!

P is for Permaculture- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-19T23:57:00.001+10:00

Today, P is for Permaculture, a subject I've been interested in and learning about for the last two years. Thankfully, I have many friends who are also interested in it, and one is even a certified permaculture designer- she has been a big help in my learning process. As you all know, I don't have huge tracts of land to convert to swales and mounds so that I can maximize water resources, and no where to plant a big, proper food forest. However, I have been working towards adapting as many of the permaculture principles to my tiny urban garden as I can, and those are what I wish to share with you today.

What is permaculture?

Google is always your friend when it comes to simple definitions:

Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.

When the word permaculture was first coined, it was originally meant to mean permanent agriculture, but grew to also mean permanent culture, as it was recognized that a social community element was required for a properly sustainable system. It includes areas such as ecological design and engineering, environmental design and construction, water resources management, as well as agriculture systems based off natures own design, that are regenerative and self-maintaining. Permaculture requires thought and observation rather than thoughtless labor, and it looks at all the functions of plants and animals (and humans) to create an interconnected system, rather than focusing on single aspects of production.

Permaculture has three core tenets:

Care for the earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.
Care for the people: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.
Return of surplus: Reinvesting surpluses back into the system to provide for the first two ethics. This includes returning waste back into the system to recycle into usefulness. The third ethic is sometimes referred to as Fair Share to reflect that each of us should take no more than what we need before we reinvest the surplus.

It also has 12 design principles:

Observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes.
Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
Use edges and value the marginal: The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
Creatively use and respond to change: We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.

Application of Permaculture in an Urban Environment

That's where I come in. Obviously, as mentioned in the intro, I don't have a lot of space to work with, so I have had to modify the original concept around permaculture to work for my situation- in this case, a small urban garden. This didn't come together all at once either- I've been here over five years now, and I'm learning as I go, but I'll walk you through what I've done so far.

I spent the first couple of years observing my garden (1. Observe and Interact). It's recommended that, whenever you move into a new house, you should wait at least a year to see what is growing there already. In my case, it was daffodils, wild roses, and several other flowering shrubs. There was little in the way of other growth. I noted also that we have a good placement for our home, facing the sun in its daily course, all year round. This means that we get passive solar heating in the winter (we don't have any heating for the house otherwise)- it also means that summer is very hot with the sun beating down on the big windows. Another plus is that the sun on the front of the house all day turns the brick wall into a radiator for plants overnight. I also noted that the soil was quite poor, and that a lot of the potential growing space was trapped under pavers.

I purchased and installed a rain tank. (2. Catch and store energy.) This is an on going project. Currently, my tank is refilled from my in-law's neighboring tank (it's usually full). I have hopes of hooking our tank up to the carport, buying another tank to increase storage capacity, and collecting the rainwater from that surface. I also want to install one for the house, but that will be trickier to figure out. So for now, I have a 400L tank that I use to water the garden when it's dry.

In 2011, we built our first raised bed to grow some tomatoes and peppers. (3. Obtain a yield.) In the following years, I've added more beds, amended others as needed to improve the soil (an ongoing process), and grown and harvested more food. The excess harvest is either given away or sold to members of the community to "share the wealth" (which harks back to the 2nd tenet, Care for the people.)

Most recently, I've started learning about zero waste, and reducing the amount of trash that gets put back into the environment. (6. Produce no waste.) While I haven't reached the point where I'm completely zero waste, I do try to make use of what I can to see that it isn't wasted. Kitchen scraps and most paper products get put into the compost; building materials leftover from other projects are put to use for the garden; recyclable goods that have a use around the house are utilized.

Baby Steps

Much of my garden planning is spontaneous according to what materials and resources I have to work with at the time, but underlying it all is a very basic sketch of a design. My piecemeal approach to permaculture might be unconventional, however- it also allows for the enormous amount of learning that I have to undergo in order to make it happen in the first place. More importantly, it allows me to share my experiences with others in the hope that I can educate them as I educate myself.

Like many things in life, permaculture can't be rushed- it requires time and thought. Thankfully, both of those are things I have in plenty.

O is for Organic- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-18T22:59:00.004+10:00

What do you think when you hear the word "organic"? Piles of gleaming fresh fruit and veg, free from pesticide sprays and other toxic junk? Meat with a sticker claiming clean and humane origins? Food that's actually healthy to eat, with plenty of nutrients? Well, I'm afraid I may have to burst your bubble about it- today, O is for Organic... and why it's not all it's cracked up to be.

So what's the deal? Organic food is supposed to be good for us, right? Ideally, yes. Done right, organic food is supposed to eliminate the use of toxic sprays that drench our food and soak into the soil, damaging and killing the soil life and food chain in general. It is supposed to see that our produce isn't coated with waxes or preservatives, and that our meat isn't laden antibiotics and growth hormones. Poultry is free range, cows and sheep are grass fed, etc. Judged by those standards, there are lots of farmers who fall into the category of "organic".

Unfortunately, many of those worthy farmers won't be able to become "certified organic". When the USDA first started granting farmers with organic certification in 2003, the annual fees totaled about $200. By 2013, fees had gone up 350%- that's $900 annually just in forms. Any sustainable farmer knows that diversification is key to a good organic system, but for each organic product separate forms have to be filled out, and as a result the farmers are flooded with paperwork.

Cost isn't just an issue for the farmers- because they have to pay those fees, as well as cope with the smaller crop yield, the time spent with weed and pest control that falls within the organic method, the greater chance of crop spoilage, etc, those costs are passed on to the consumer, which means we are buying organic produce for exorbitant costs. That's not all either- the Department of Agriculture is pretty shady when it comes to what qualifies as organic.

Did you know that the chicken you can buy is considered organic if the birds are fed organic grain and are cage-free... but that they can be confined to a building, and the USDA doesn’t say how long they have to be outside? In fact, not only can organic produce be grown be imported from other countries (adding all those fossil fuel miles) but it can also be treated with a number of synthetic substances, including a type of copper sulfate product used for fungal infections, which is known to be highly toxic to humans, fish and insects. Yum- serve me some of that!

Boiled down to the bones, it looks an awful lot like Department of Agriculture is trying to create loop holes for big agribusiness. This isn't improved when you consider that the USDA and it's associated boards and committees in charge of regulating the organic standards are left wide open to political and corporate manipulation through their members. Follow the money, as they say.

Personally, I feel that organic certification is a waste of time and money for our already beleaguered farmers, and a waste of money for us as consumers. It doesn't seem fair to me that the farmers, the ones spending all that money and time to provide us with better food, are getting hit with these ridiculous fees and stacks of papers. Doesn't it make more sense to leave them alone, and instead charge those using conventional farming methods all the fees for using the stuff that they do?

The more I study the organic food issue, the more I'm pushed towards wanting to grow my own food- at least then I know that it's truly organic and local. I can then control what goes onto my garden, what I'm feeding my chickens, where my eggs come from, etc. Anything I don't grow myself, I try to source from local providers.

If you can't grow your own food, the least you can do is research, research, research. Check out your local farmers and see what they provide for fresh produce, meat and dairy. If you are game to grow your own, maybe try to get your neighbors in on it- lots of people growing different things and trading/bartering means that you are encouraging community support and sustainability through local food production. It cuts down on toxins your food, and cuts down on gas miles too- no gas is burned if you can walk to your neighbors for tomatoes or melons!

I hope this post helped to make you aware of the issues associated with being certified "organic", and i hope I've encouraged you to investigated your local food resources. I'll see you tomorrow with another blog

N is for Nature- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-16T12:13:00.004+10:00

I've been sharing a lot of information heavy posts, so I thought I'd scale it back a bit with a more relaxing blog today. As a gardener living in the city, it seems almost instinctive to try to grow as many green things as possible. Growing things soften the hard edges of suburbia, and bring some of the natural world into the living space. While I am mostly an edibles gardener, I have been taking more notice of the beauty of decorative flowers. Therefore, N is for Nature- the kind of nature that flowers bring. I hope you enjoy my favorite flower photos, many of which I know, some of which I don't, but all taken in my own garden. I'll see you on Monday with a new blog.

Mini rose

Tea Tree

Camellia

Heather

Mock orange

Rose geranium

Comfrey

Calendula

Spanish Lavender

M is for Manure- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-15T23:35:00.001+10:00

Every good gardener worth their salt loves manure. I am over the moon delighted whenever I can get hold of the stuff, because it means that my garden, a lot of which is suburban fill, or hard heavy clay, can get much needed organic matter and nutrients. So in honor of our favorite gardening material, M is for Manure.

Manure is used to add nutrients, beneficial microorganisms, organic matter, and all manner of minerals and trace elements to existing soil, which in turn nourishes the plants we grow, making them more nutritious. It is used to build up the humus level in sandy soils, and to improve clay soils by breaking up the dense structure to allow water and air into the soil for good root growth. It feeds earthworms, dung beetles, good bacteria, and fungi.

While bad soil benefits from anything beneficial you can add to it, many folks might be surprised to learn that not all manure is created equal. I'll walk you through some of the most common types of manure to use in the garden and what they bring to the table, so to speak.

Horse Manure
High in nutrients and organic matter. Should not be used fresh as there is risk of it burning the roots of your plants, but works great when dried and composted. Will contain partially digested grass and weed seeds, which could sprout in your garden- proper hot composting will destroy those seeds, and any harmful pathogens. Stable manure can be very volatile, as it also contains urine- let it compost first before using, as it will burn plants when fresh. Relatively low earthy smell. I spread it under my trees and shrubs and they like the energy boost.

Cow Manure
Has less nitrogen than other manures, so it can be added directly to soils without damaging plants. It adds plenty of organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. It also contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, sulfur, copper, manganese and sodium, all necessary minerals for healthy garden plants. There is a lower risk of cow manure containing weed seeds, but the level of salt might be higher depending on the cows feed, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Old cow manure is low to no smell, but fresh cow manure is pretty whiffy- it is not my favorite!

Sheep Manure
Sheep manure is second only to chicken manure in nitrogen, potassium and sulfur content, making it an excellent slow release fertilizer. The high sulfur contents is good for maintaining soil acidity. Once it has aged and broken down, it contains very few nutrients, but is very high in organic matter. May contain wool dags and hoof clippings. Personal experience finds sheep manure to be relatively low smell, and easy to apply (my potatoes love it!). It is my favorite manure to use, second only to horse manure.

Chicken Manure
High in nitrogen, making it very volatile ("hot")- it's harmful to plants when fresh, and must be composted first with grass clippings and straw. Very low organic matter, but also is much less likely to contain surviving weed seeds. Can be very smelly if it's left wet, but pretty low to no smell if you keep it dry until you can get it into a compost heap (pertinent especially to those who keep birds).

Rabbit Manure
Rich in nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. Rabbit manure is a "cold" manure, and can be applied directly with no need to age or compost first. Rabbit keepers will often raise worms as well- the worms break the manure down into rich black soil. Slow release fertilizer, with good organic matter and soil building properties. Low smell, but harder to find, unless you raise your own rabbits, or know a local rabbit keeper.

I have been in the process of switching as much of my garden as possible over to no dig, so I've been using a lot of manure, straw and other mulch materials to build the beds up. My goal is to have all the beds converted to no dig by next Spring. I like using horse and sheep manures, mushroom compost, cardboard, newspaper, wheat and pea straw for the layers, and all of my plants in the house garden have benefited from added manure, as the soil here is pretty poor.

I hope you found this informative, and I'll post again tomorrow. Happy gardening!

L is for Lamb- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-14T23:09:00.002+10:00

An entire lamb, ready for the freezer.

One of the most fulfilling things a person can experience is the pride and satisfaction of having a full freezer, knowing that there are many good meals packed away for future consumption. Whether it was hunted, fished, or grown and raised at home, knowing that your family has food security is a comforting feeling. So, in honor of this fine tradition of providing food for the table, today's post is about butchery.

Therefore, L is for Lamb.

I don't have any land of my own (a fact that I bemoan often) so I cannot raise my own large livestock animals for food. This, perhaps, makes me a bit too keen sometimes, when a good deal on meat crops up (like getting fresh killed lamb for under $3/kg). When the opportunity arose for me to try my hand at cutting up a whole lamb carcass, I leaped eagerly at the chance. Understand, I had never dealt with the carcass of a large animal before. I had done rabbits and chickens, and while they are a similar process, they are small and easily handled, and NOTHING like trying to take apart a whole lamb!

The whole carcass awaits my attention

Once I had agreed to the delivery of the carcass, I did the usual, and hit Google for any information I could find on cutting up a whole lamb. I had a few days to prepare, and I really, really needed to be prepared for this. Right off the bat, I ran to my father-in-law and begged the use of his hacksaw- I knew that I didn't have anything that would let me cut through the bones. I called a friend, and borrowed her Chinese cleaver as well, and then I sharpened both my utility knife and the flexible bladed boning knife. Sharp objects aside, I also cleaned my kitchen, because who wouldn't?

When the lamb finally arrived in fine style, I kind of fussed around with cleaning it up a bit. I cut away the abdominal wall muscle, and pulled out the kidneys and the kidney fat (this is called leaf fat, and very good for cooking when rendered into tallow!) Once I'd done that, the next step I had to address was cutting it into more manageable pieces. First term of the day to learn: "Primal Cuts".

Haunches, before cutting.

The carcass of a lamb can basically be cut into three pieces, called the primal cuts. The first piece is the neck and shoulders, separated by cutting between the fourth and fifth ribs (some references said the fifth and sixth ribs. I guess it depends on preference). The second primal cut is the back/loin, which is from the fifth or sixth rib cut to another cut made at the vertebra just before the pelvis. The third cut is the remaining piece, the haunches. Once you've got those sorted, you have a much more workable arrangement. Where to next?

"Frenched" cutlets on the left, and loin chops on the right.

The whole loin, with the ribs frenched, ready to cut into
chops.

I grabbed the haunches first, because I figured they'd be the most straight forward, and they were. Using a hacksaw with a brand new blade, cut the haunches right up the center. Voila! You have now got two separate legs. With one, then the other leg, cut around the knee joint and remove the shanks. These are good for slow cooked dishes. The rest is the lamb leg roast. Now, I didn't bother with the difficult bit of deboning the leg to make a boneless roast- removing the pelvic bones is notoriously tricky, and I wasn't ready for that level of difficulty, so I just left the leg roasts whole and wrapped them as is. Next piece I grabbed was the back/loin, and as with the haunches, I sawed it in half through the spinal column. This next step was a tricky one, as this primal cut provides the cutlets and loin chops. Cutlets are the cute little chops that have the short piece of rib attached; loin chops are just the meat attached to the vertebrae, no ribs. You can also cut this section in half (ribs and no ribs) and get a rib roast, and you can cut the meat off the loin for a tenderloin effect. It's a mix and match kind of deal, but I settled on chops. First, I used the saw to cut the ribs off to make them fairly even lengths for the cutlets. Then, I used the saw to cut through the softer disc spaces to loosen the bones from each other, before I employed the cleaver to cut through the meat to get the chops. I used a technique called "Frenching" for the cutlets- all that means is I used my boning knife to cut away the meat between the ribs, to give them a cleaner look.

Lamb shoulders, waiting to be processed.

Lamb cutlets and loin chops.

With two of the three primal cuts done, I was getting pretty tired- it's a lot of hard work! I persevered though, and started on the final piece of the carcass- the shoulders. This was the hardest part. Not only did I have to cut through the entire spine, I had to saw my way through the sternum as well, which is a very awkward process. I think what I ended up doing was cutting the neck off first- this got cut up into round braising steaks and set aside. Once the rest was sawed in half, I removed the shoulders and legs off the ribs. I cut whatever excess meat I could off the ribs and spine to make mince, and then turned to the shoulders. I've done two carcasses now, and went two different ways with them- the larger carcass's shoulders were deboned and rolled into boneless shoulder roasts; the other carcass had smaller shoulders, and I botched the deboning job a bit, so I just cut the meat off the bones and cubed into stew meat. Cheap and nasty, but still delicious. Now, before deboning, you do have the option of cutting the forelimbs off at the elbows to make two more shanks for braising- that's up to you. I think it did that on one, but cut it all up for stew on the other.

Of course, I advocate using as much of the animal as you can, so many of the bones were used for making bone broth, but I did give away a lot of them to a person's dogs as a nice raw bone toy to amuse them. (Note- never give your dogs cooked bones. They can shatter when the dog is gnawing, and the pieces can cause internal injury if swallowed). Any extra meat I got off the bones was ground up into mince, and used for lamb and herb sausage patties.

Although I was exhausted, and could barely flex my hands afterward (this whole process took me about two to three hours!) I was extremely pleased with myself when I was finally able to bag up all that wonderful meat and get it into the freezer. Not only did I provide us with plenty of food for a few weeks, I learned a new skill set, and that is most valuable in its own right!

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Hang about, and see what I have in store for tomorrow!

K is for Kangaroo- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-13T23:54:00.003+10:00

Australia has many wonderful species of animal living on it and in the waters surrounding it. Fish and whales, birds and reptiles, amphibians, creepy crawlies, and mammals alike abound, but by far the most iconic of them all has to be the kangaroo. So today, K is for Kangaroo!

Kangaroos are marsupials, from the large and diverse family of "macropods" (which means "large foot"). They're extremely efficient herbivores, well adapted for harsh environments- even their reproductive cycle is designed for efficiency and maximum survival of the young (they can have one growing embryo, one young in the pouch, and one outside the pouch, as well as being capable of putting an embryo into "stasis" when environmental factors are too harsh for youngsters). They're Australia's national symbol.

Generally, the name "kangaroo" commonly applies to the largest species: the red kangaroo, the antilopine kangaroo, and the eastern and western grey kangaroos. The smaller species tend to be called "wallaroos" or "wallabies", but they're all still kangaroos. Tasmania has lots of these little critters, and they're pretty cute.

They are also delicious!

I contemplate the cuts I have to make to skin the carcass.

What many people don't realize (or maybe just don't think about) is that, like any other creature that breeds to an out of control level, large populations of kangaroos can damage the environment, crops, fences, and even cause serious road accidents (a large kangaroo is not something you want coming through the windscreen!) Licensed hunters have been employed to cull the population to keep it under control and prevent severe damage to native grasslands and other areas, but it is an extremely controversial subject, with arguments for both the pros and cons of culling the national symbol.

I, personally, think it would be better to cull for population control, rather than letting them strip the land of available feed and start starving (with culling, the population stays stable and everyone has enough to eat- without culling, everything suffers, including the land). This means that, when I get the opportunity, I will accept culled wild game for our freezer.

A friend is a licensed cull hunter, and he helps to manage the wallaby population. Every now and then he offers me one or two of his kills, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to teach myself some "post-apocalyptic" skills. I've gotten a few field dressed animals from him, and I taught myself how to skin and butcher a wallaby.

The freshly removed skin. I only wish I could have kept it.

To skin a wallaby, you start by making a cut around each ankle through the hide, and then make another cut up the inside of the leg to the groin. With some firm pulling and a little use of a blade, the skin peels right away from the flesh beneath. I had never skinned an animal before this, so I'm afraid I had little technique- I just tried to remember the diagrams I'd seen on skinning rabbits and other animals, and just struggled along until I had finally pulled the hide off completely. When the hide if finally peeled off the shanks, cut the tendons and ligaments around the hocks and remove the feet.

If I had really thought it through, I'd have tried save the hide by tanning it, or using whatever process was required to preserve the skin with the fur intact. Unfortunately, I didn't have the resources or the space (I understand tanning a hide can be a smelly process) to make this happen, so regretfully, I had to dispose of the fresh hide. Next time, though, I will make this happen!

A whole wallaby haunch, plus the two shanks.

Once the skin is off, I highly recommend taking a moment to familiarize yourself with the animal's anatomy. Flex the leg joints, explore where the muscles are attached, etc. This not only helps you to get over the whole squicky part of the process, it also allows you to easily see that different parts of the animal are good for different cooking techniques.

Wallabies are basically all bum (all that muscle to power those hind legs!) so there's not much above the waist. I am determined to use as much of any animal as possible though, so I ended chopping up the neck, shoulders, forelimbs and ribs and cooking them to make broth and stew meat- I even tried drying some of the meat to make a sort of dry protein based thickener, which worked pretty well, but I also add it to my chookie chow mix as a protein kick for my laying birds.

Carcasses are slippery- I found that using a paper towel
helped me keep a firmer, and therefore safer, grip as I was
cutting.

The haunches are where it's really at though. There is a lot of meat packed around the lower back and pelvis.

Start first by removing the tail at the first vertebral disc off the pelvis. If you chop this up, you have what is essentially "ox tail"- only it's from a wallaby. Cook it into a stew as you would ox tail. Next, cut around the knee joints until you have removed the lower legs. These are the shanks, and can be cooked like lamb shanks- in fact, they make a great substitution for lamb shanks. I like them slow cooked in a Moroccan style stew. Now you can cut around the muscles that attach the thighs to the pelvis- these are your roasts. I know they're pretty small, but for a two person household, a wallaby thigh roast is actually a decent meal. Cook in a roasting pan with potatoes and carrots, with herbs, like you would a lamb or pork roast. Once you're own to the back and pelvis, it's a matter of getting a flexible boning knife and cutting off all the meat you can- cube this up and use it for stir fries, skewers, stews, etc. Once you're down to the bones, make more bone broth and make some soup with the leftover meat that falls off.

A wallaby can give us (a two person household) five to six decent meals, plus several liters of stock and probably another meals worth of meat for soup, so for what is essentially a small game animal, that is a considerably good use of freezer space- and it helps the environment as well by controlling the population to keep it within sustainable levels.

Lastly- what is kangaroo meat like? It's like venison. Very lean, dark red meat, with a gamey flavor. The local wallaby is a little darker, and has a stronger but also slightly sweet flavor. For a wild animal, the meat is surprisingly tender.

I'll see you tomorrow with a new blog. Keep on living and learning!

J is for Jam- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-12T23:50:00.003+10:00

This week I'm going to share another favorite recipe with you all. Since today is brought to you by the letter J, why not write about how J is for Jam?

In this case, chili jam, and that's not as weird as you might think. Made with homegrown peppers and chilies (or store bought, they work great too) this jam brings to mind good memories, of past family holidays. Memories of Mum spooning hot pepper jelly (properly hot pepper jelly too!) over a block of cream cheese to make a spread for crackers so we could have snacks during holiday parties with our relatives. This recipe is a little thicker than a traditional jelly, and it sets well.

Try this jewel bright jam on buttered bread, chicken, pork, poured over cream cheese to make a party spread, used a bbq glaze on grilled or baked meats, etc. One of my favorite uses for it is as a hot dip for fried chicken hearts.

De-seed the bell peppers, but leave the seeds in the chilies if
you want the heat.

Sweet Hot Chili Jam

2 chopped bell peppers (color of your choice)
1 cup (about 6-7) of chopped chilies (preferably matching in color)
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar6 cups of white sugar
1 package of JamSetta powdered pectin

1 packet of Kleerview squares

1. Wash and sterilize your jam jars, and keep handy in a pot of not quite boiling water.

JamSetta pectin and Kleerview covers

2. Place the chopped peppers in a heavy pot, and add the apple cider vinegar. Use a stick blender to puree the peppers into a fine mixture. Add the sugar and place on the heat. Bring to a full rolling boil.

3. Add the JamSetta and stir well. Bring to a boil a second time, for 1 minute. Test the jam for set by spooning a small amount onto a saucer that was chilled in the freezer. If it thickens and isn't runny, you are ready to bottle. Remove from heat, and skim the scum off the surface.

Red and green chili jams. (Yellow chili jam not pictured)

4. Pour your jam into your sterilized jars using a bottling funnel. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean cloth. Dampen the side of a Kleerview cover, spread evenly over the top of the jar, and secure with a rubber band.

5. Leave the jars to cool, undisturbed, until the tops are sealed. Store in a cool, dry place.

Suggestions:

Pepper color makes a difference. Use all green peppers/chilies for a nice green color and a gentle spiciness. Use red peppers and chilies for a little more heat. Use yellow bell peppers for a sweet, no heat jam, or add orange habaneros for a bigger kick. The spiciness can be altered depending on the type of chili you use. Have fun and experiment!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and I look forward to when I myself can make it again. :) Check back in tomorrow and see what I have to post for K!

I is for Interests- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-11T23:55:00.005+10:00

Let us start the week off with a more personal introduction. Today, I is for Interests, and of those I have many!

This is me. Well, actually, this is me from October 2015 because, despite my tendency to photo many things, one of the things I don't really take the time to photograph is myself. Go figure! (Why not take a new photo? Because I actually like this one...)

As far as general info goes, I'm 28. I was born on American soil (a California girl), but I live as a permanent resident in Australia, with my husband, on the lovely green island state of Tasmania. While my background in America includes all of my schooling, including my training in the culinary arts (baking and pastry) and my experiences in catering, working in a bakery, and even working as a childcare assistant, it is here in Tassie where I started doing all of my research and knowledge gathering about gardening, self reliance, sustainability, animal husbandry, and all the other things you have seen me blog about here on Living and Learning.

Stepping outside of those subjects, though, I thought I'd share a few of my other little mentioned hobbies, in a sort of "Meet the Author" post.

Reading is my most favorite form of escapism EVER. I used to be able to speed read my way through books, and then, if they were really good, I'd reread them again and again, diving deeper into the details and absorbing every little point of the story. I may not speed read now, but I still read and reread the best ones. My favorite genre is science fiction- I am forever being inspired and fascinated by "space age" ideas, and those in turn influence my own story writing. My favorite books are actually 16 (well, soon to be 17- I am still waiting for it to arrive for my first read through) novels written by C.J. Cherryh- The Foreigner Series is a vastly complex "space opera" universe that brings together humans and aliens, political drama, intercultural and interspecies relations, intrigue, assassination and good old fashion gun fight action together into one epic masterpiece of fiction. I have been reading these books since I was 10 years old, and I am a forever fan. Other genres I enjoy include fantasy, "prepper"/post-apocalypse fiction, and various educational subjects.

I mentioned writing in the post above, and you've probably already figured that one- I do, after all, write a blog! This is my first year trying my hand at the A to Z Blogging Challenge, and it has been an interesting exercise so far. I have also spent almost every year for the last 6 or 7 years participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which takes place in November every year. My favorite genres to write in are (surprise surprise) the same ones I like to read: sci-fi, fantasy, prepper/post apocalypse, and educational, but also throw in dream journals, blogging and fan-fiction/cross over fiction, and I have a pretty wide range of subject possibility to cover. I also spent a considerable time, for a while, in what I called "text based role playing"- meaning, basically, two or people writing posts together to further a dialogue or plot between a group of players. I developed many interesting characters over the time I role played with others, and always recommend it to anyone interested in story development and writing.

I love music, and have an extensive background in it, actually. I have played musical instruments (mostly of the clarinet family, but also including the baritone saxophone) since the 6th grade. I sang for three years in the primer school choir, but I didn't like it as much- it was really only a way to prove to my parents that I was dedicated to music enough to stick with it, so they'd let me join the band! I own an electronic MIDI keyboard (which is currently in need of repair, unfortunately) and my own electric bass guitar (which, I'll admit, I don't play nearly as often as I should). I have toyed with the idea of purchasing my own clarinet (and guitar lessons), but haven't made that step just yet. I listen to music almost all the time, on YouTube, from an extensive collection of CDs my husband has, and from my own MP3 player, which attends me wherever I am walking to pace myself.

The fact that I enjoy cooking, baking, gardening and crafting are all givens, considering the subject matter of my posts here. I also love my art, and I actually covered that in my very first post for this month, in the "A is for Art" blog.

I am always learning too. Recently, I have been teaching myself (with the guidance of a very good friend) how to use a sewing machine, and how to utilize the techniques to make successful projects using quilting and applique, as well as how to repair (and recycle) clothing, and even how to design things such as dish towels and cloth serviettes, which can be made from scratch (and will hopefully feature in a later post!) As I am such a varied crafter (yarn, fabric, etc), I'm positively dangerous when set lose inside a craft store!

Being the domestic goddess that I am, I of course engage in all the normal household duties you would expect of a housewife (but no one wants to hear about how often I have to do the dishes... which seems to be all the damn time!) I enjoy night time walks for exercise; I love how clear the stars are here, and I make it a habit to spot and mark the position of the Southern Cross and Orion constellations when I go out- a by-product of my love of science fiction is a love of the night sky. I enjoy video and PC games (flash games are good fun too), and when I have a bit of money and time to spare, I do actually indulge in a bit of World of Warcraft.

I hope you've enjoyed this post, and feel free to share something about yourselves in the comments as well- I am always interested in reading what my followers have to say. So until tomorrow, keep on Living and Learning!

H is for Homemade- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-09T23:53:00.002+10:00

Homemade wine, busy fermenting (this will be addressed in
another post)

An important part (probably THE most important part) of my Living and Learning adventure is learning how to make things myself. It was one of the several reasons I started this blog to share with the world. So, in honor of the Living and Learning blog itself, today H is for Homemade.

I grew up in a family that did a lot of things by itself: grew food, hunted, fished, made wine, fixed cars and trucks, built things in general. I've always enjoyed (even if I didn't appreciate it at the time) the skills that I gradually picked up around my relatives. Since I moved to Tasmania in 2010 I continued the DIY tradition, and have since learned to do so much for myself and my household, mostly in the kitchen, but also in the garden and in the cleaning cupboard. Check out the many skills below that I've taught myself during my journey.

Preserving

2012 saw the start of my experience in preserving food by bottling. Back home in the US, I was well familiar with the Ball Blue Book Method, but down here, I learned the Fowlers-Vacola method instead. Since I started collecting jars and their accessories, I've taught myself to bottle jams, tomato sauces, chutneys, and pickles.

Laundry Detergent and Soap

Homemade Old Fashioned Rose Soap

I followed up in 2013 with learning my most favorite skill: soap making. And not just hand soaps either- I started making home made laundry detergents as well, because I was beginning to become sensitive to the strong perfumes they use in conventional liquid laundry detergents. My soap hobby has since become somewhat of a "business"- it makes me a little extra income when I need cash for my projects. It's a good clean hobby.

Green Cleaners

Well before my fascination with home made soap, I was experimenting with green cleaners. I began teaching myself about alternatives to the toxic cleaning chemicals generally found in commercial "public" environments. My absolute favorite spray 'n' wipe recipe is the one in that blog- I make it every other month, and use it to clean all kinds of surfaces.

Spices and Seasonings

One of many homemade skills: pie making!

I love flavor. I'm not going to lie. When I bite into a baked chicken leg, I want the perfectly crispy skin to crunch and release the flavors of garlic and sage. My homemade tacos are bursting with chili, garlic and cumin, and pasta sauces always benefit from a good blend of Italian style herbs.

Bouillon Cubes

One of my greatest and most successful experiments with food preservation was my experiment with making homemade bouillon "cubes" (stock cubes). They last a long time, save on freezer space, and can be added to anything that needs a little something extra added to the flavor.

Finally, I'd like to wrap this up with a homemade condiment that my husband loves, and which is super easy for me to whip up whenever we need more of it. Mayonnaise! No longer do we buy the questionable stuff at the stores, loaded with their preservatives, flavorings and junk vegetable oils.

Living and Learning's Whole Egg Mayo

2 cups light olive oil
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tsp English mustard (optional)
Salt (optional)

Place the eggs, mustard, salt and vinegar into a tall metal milkshake cup, and add about 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Using a stick blender, blend until the mixture is smooth and yellow. Then, using the lowest speed setting on the blender, slowly pour the remaining oil into the egg mixture. Blend until the mayo is thick and white. Scrape the lot into a screw top jar, and refrigerate immediately.

This recipe will easily last two to three weeks, but that also depends entirely upon your usage of it. My spouse puts it on his sandwiches, and I use it to make salad dressings.

I hope you are enjoying this homemade journey as much as I am, and I'll see you tomorrow with another blog for the Challenge!

G is for Grapes- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-08T23:56:00.004+10:00

G is a versatile letter that starts off many words, but today... G is for Grapes.

I grew up in a family that owns 10 acres of dry farmed vineyard in California (if you're in the Bay Area, check out The Zeni Ranch! Their Chestnut Festival is a great autumn experience, and the cut-your-own Christmas tree farm makes every Christmas holiday more fun!)

Anyway, I grew up with a basic knowledge of wine grapes, and even managed to expand that knowledge with a viticulture class in high school, which taught me most of the really scientific and technical stuff. So, when I moved into my new home in 2010, I pretty much new what to do when I found that old grapevine amongst the overgrown tree and honeysuckle bush.

Spouse informed me it was about 25 years old, and it was very neglected. It took a while to figure out how I could tackle it, but once I cut the honeysuckle bush off the fence and restrained it into a low growing bush (and pulled half the grapevine out of the tree!) I was able to prune the vine and get it tied up onto the fence. After that, it's pretty much a piece of cake training it to grow along the fence.

It is a very vigorous plant. Every year is sprouts new shoots and leaves, trails along the fence, and does it's best to try and take over the washing line. Every year I battle it back so we can continue to hang our clothes to dry in the summer! Unfortunately, I still have no idea what type of grape it is. It has small round berries that are dusty purple in color when ripe, they are highly flavored, and have large seeds. Your guess is as good as mine at this point!

If you are interested in seeing how I prune the grapevine, I did write a previous blog on just that subject! You can read about it here.

Although the grapes do have a lovely flavor, I find chewing my way through the seeds to be a chore, so I've been experimenting with home made wine. That will come in a later post, when the W blog rolls around for writing. I can tell you that this year I did collect 4 kilos of fruit! This was probably the best growing year yet, and that was just one vine.

Stick around readers! The next blog is coming right up. :) Thanks for reading, and keeping living, learning and loving!

F is for Fig- #AtoZChallenge

2016-04-07T23:56:00.001+10:00

Today is represented by the letter "F"- and F is for Fig!

My fig tree, 2012. Just a single stick.

Or, more specifically, "fig tree"- because I have one, and I'm extremely proud of its progress over the few short years of its life. Figs are one of my favorite tree fruits, not only because of the sticky sweet treats that grow on their branches, but because they will grow just about anywhere, despite being a Mediterranean plant adapted for hot, dry weather.

I purchased my specimen at the local nursery. It was the very last one left, had no label at all 9the staff had lost it and couldn't remember what type of fig it was) and it was literally just a short stick when I planted it out in front of the house in 2012.

It is now taller than I am (I am 5'5" in my shoes), and it's only been 4 years! Granted, I didn't water it too often, and it didn't receive any fertilizer until this year when I gave it a bag of horse manure. Since adding the poo, it's grown taller, grown more leaves, and developed a second and even third crop of fruit. I counted up to 70 figs on it a few weeks ago!

It grew two figs in 2012.

It's a productive plant with a "can-do" attitude- even as a short stick it was producing fruit, and continued to do so almost exponentially since 2012.

Figs are pretty easy to care for, at least, and as a self proclaimed "lazy gardener" that's ideal. I have it located in front of a brick wall, where the sun shines all year round to create a heat trap. It's planted beside an ornamental evergreen which acts as a wind break for it, as the wind can blow pretty hard down here. Figs seem to have low water requirements and do well with any fertilizer you care to give them.

2013, it had four or five figs- easily double that of 2012

I recently planted Russian comfrey near it, with the hope of growing it as a crop underneath the fig, to draw up minerals and nutrients from the deeper subsoils, and to use it as compost/fertilizer for the tree itself. Compost is always an on-going project, so of course, everything in my garden will benefit from the comfrey project.

Figs can also be planted in pots if you don't have a reasonable to plant them in ground. Containing the root ball helps to keep the fig tree's vigorous growing habit in check, resulting in more fruit and less leafy growth. My is planted near the road bed, in tough, compacted clay soil. I dug just deep enough to create a hole of reasonable size, and then planted the tree. If the crop is any indicator, this method is working.

The fruit, of course, can be used for many things, including jams and baked goods. I personally like my figs fresh, and I eat them skin, pulp and all. I have dehydrated them, and find that it works best if you quarter each fig and lay them out on the dryer tray- they dry faster and more thoroughly that way.

My tree, whatever type of fig it is, appears to grow fruit of exceptional size, although I have learned that excessive rain fall will cause them to swell and split. The fruit is a sort of brownish-purple, so your guess is as good as mine as far as variety goes. I harvested at least a dozen massive figures this, and am waiting to see how the second and third crops ripen.

2016: in just four short years, it has grown
taller than the windowsill

My original plan in planting the fig was to train it over the bedroom window in order to create a natural sun blind for our bedroom, which gets very hot in the summer time, as the sun beats down on the front of the house all day. This plan seems to be coming together well, as the tree has finally reached over the window sill. I reckon in the next few year it'll really start making a difference in my "passive climate control" system.

Thank you for you reading my blog this far, and I hope that you too can plant a tree in your garden, for shade, for fruit, and for a unique and interesting plant that can survive almost anything.

I'll see you tomorrow, when I post the next blog!