tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63695720301131506622012-02-26T15:35:57.447+13:00Greening our world...and sharing the journeyLeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.comBlogger491125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-71659522291521976622012-02-21T16:34:00.007+13:002012-02-21T16:50:12.799+13:002012-02-21T16:50:12.799+13:00

I was busy this morning blanching and bagging loads of broccoli for winter. It feels to good to have a full deep freezer, with lots of yummy healthy foods that I've prepared (and in some cases grown) myself!Fresh broccoli bagged for freezing, and ready for the year. It is so much cheaper to prepare and freeze your own.But what to do with those broccoli stems? When you're dealing with a LOT of

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/broccomole-yummy-recipe-for-broccoli.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-81692965775936661782012-02-18T09:48:00.009+13:002012-02-18T10:03:05.386+13:002012-02-18T10:03:05.386+13:00

Our orchard fruit are ripe.I think these are "Black Doris" but we're not 100% sure. They're dark inside, very juicy and so lovely to eat fresh or stewed.I've been busy picking the fruit, and stewing, freezing, and chopping.I've had to be quick to grab the low-hanging fruit. Because we're permaculturists, we let our sheep graze the established orchard. And two of the lambs in particular -

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com6http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/happiness-is-home-grown-plums.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-52782653008182207512012-02-13T08:54:00.007+13:002012-02-13T09:16:45.860+13:002012-02-13T09:16:45.860+13:00

Meet Ramses - our new ram!He was born in September 2011, so he's still a young'un, and raring to go already! We bought him from a friend down the road, as we were looking for a good-tempered young ram lamb to add to our farm for the 2013-2014 season.Ramses is a black faced sheep (can't you tell?) but he's not a purebred - if we wanted a purebred, we'd have paid a LOT of money, and we're just a

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/meet-ramses-our-new-ram.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-47630443355810460632012-02-11T18:16:00.004+13:002012-02-11T18:29:40.986+13:002012-02-11T18:29:40.986+13:00

We've decided to stop free ranging our chickens. We'll be building them an extended run and a "chicken tractor" and their free ranging days are about to end.It just hasn't worked. I know it sounds (and looks) lovely and idyllic to think of chickens clucking about a farmyard happily, doing the chicken thang, all happy and healthy etc. etc.But it didn't work for us. We've given it two years, and

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com16http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/why-free-ranging-our-chickens-isnt.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-33246267747639080172012-02-10T09:18:00.006+13:002012-02-10T09:56:41.092+13:002012-02-10T09:56:41.092+13:00

We've had fifteen baby chicks hatch so far, and that plastic crate / homemade brooder is getting pretty crowded.It's getting to standing room only in there! And they haven't all hatched yet!So I've been busy converting our cucumber house into a larger secondary chicken brooder / coop.We've currently still got our original chooks, who are laying...a little bit. And they're in our big chicken coop

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/of-chickens-hatching-merging-flocks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-83853760209360876262012-02-04T22:05:00.009+13:002012-02-04T23:01:50.189+13:002012-02-04T23:01:50.189+13:00

Our eggs are hatching like crazy right now, and it's all I can do to keep up with them. Remember how I said we had one chickie hatch?Well, now we have SIX. The oldest four in the incubator. These were born before Friday. Then I found two more hatched eggs yesterday and today.My life is now ruled by little balls of fluff that CHIRP CHIRP at me all day long and think I'm their mama, but I have to

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/chickenmania-hatching-eggs-like-crazy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-81334383440729682722012-02-03T11:38:00.009+13:002012-02-03T11:54:39.476+13:002012-02-03T11:54:39.476+13:00

This homemade bread recipe is cheap, easy, terrific and fast. It makes two large (9 inch) loaves.Ready for spreading some butter, or lovely homemade jam. You just can't beat homemade bread, fresh from the oven.You don't need a breadmaker, and you don't need to knead. You mix it with a spoon. If you're really frail or small, you may need a hand mixer, but I use a spoon and it works just

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com2http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/really-easy-no-knead-brown-bread.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-24347043056339321062012-02-01T10:52:00.005+13:002012-02-01T11:12:43.858+13:002012-02-01T11:12:43.858+13:00

My kids lunchboxes are looking good this year, with a whole stack of budget treats to keep them happy and full.Here's what they get in a typical day:Sandwich: My kids get a sandwich, made from home made brown bread. I make up loaves on the weekend, and freeze them in the deep freeze. I'll post the recipe in the next few days - my recipe doesn't even need kneading! A favourite filling for my

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com6http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/02/healthy-kids-lunchboxes-on-tight-budget.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-66373824441545645472012-01-30T21:32:00.003+13:002012-01-30T21:38:02.606+13:002012-01-30T21:38:02.606+13:00

Hello, cute one!The chickie is still damp from the egg. Over the next few hours, its feathers will fluff up. I'll post photos on Facebook when it is all cute and fluffy-looking.I asked my son what we should name our first chook, although I did point out we don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet. He suggested "Egg-cellent". I think that's a great name, don't you?Have a lovely day!

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com4http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/update-our-first-chickie-has-hatched.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-11634722068152581702012-01-30T12:12:00.009+13:002012-01-30T16:41:23.767+13:002012-01-30T16:41:23.767+13:00

It's so exciting!The first of the chookie eggs in our incubator has started to crack - and it's one of our own eggs, from our own chookies!A tiny beak! Can't wait for our cute new arrivals.I'm so thrilled.I'll be posting updates and photos of our chookies as they arrive (hopefully more than one!) over at the Facebook Hazeltree Farm page. There's a link to the Facebook page in the right hand

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com1http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/first-of-our-chicken-eggs-has-started.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-11887194685384675172012-01-28T20:13:00.004+13:002012-01-28T20:28:29.005+13:002012-01-28T20:28:29.005+13:00

I just killed my first chicken tonight, five minutes ago. My hands are still shaking a bit still.I always said, when I began this blog, that I wanted to be honest. I didn't want to hide anything from you. I didn't want to be one of those sugar-sweet bloggers who have lovely, named, fancy breed chickens who seem to never age and never come to a bad end, while the blogger posts recipe after recipe

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com19http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/i-just-killed-my-first-chicken-heres.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-70588962734345809022012-01-25T16:28:00.002+13:002012-01-25T16:39:47.528+13:002012-01-25T16:39:47.528+13:00

Our chooks are nearing their end days, and I'll be the hatchet-bearer. Being a sensible girlie and all, I'll be putting their bodies on the compost heap, where they'll eventually be of use to the garden. That's what we did when one of our elderly chickens died a few months back, of unknown causes.Her body decomposed very quickly - in a mattter of two weeks or so. Two months on, if you dig through

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/grisly-tale-of-death-and-destruction.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-65757138134528019392012-01-22T11:15:00.008+13:002012-01-22T11:30:04.249+13:002012-01-22T11:30:04.249+13:00

We bought an incubator a couple of weeks ago. Now we're incubating chicken eggs.Our new incubator. I hope it works!Our old chooks have had a great run, but it's replacement time. With the exception of Lizzie the Third and Sirius Black (our rooster), they all came with the property, two years ago.However, taking stock of them all, and looking at some of their physical features - old, tired legs,

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/incubating-chicken-eggs.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-69141254145461593812012-01-13T15:18:00.007+13:002012-01-13T15:29:31.665+13:002012-01-13T15:29:31.665+13:00

I want to talk about kids meals in restaurants and cafes. They're bloody shocking.This summer break, my family and I went for a holiday up the east coast of New Zealand, to Picton. We had a terrific time despite the weather (it rained most days!), and the kids got in plenty of swimming.But we had a big problem finding good food for the four of us. Everywhere we went, the "choices" for kids on

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com14http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/why-are-kids-menus-options-so-unhealthy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-20487154848353241152012-01-07T23:02:00.007+13:002012-01-07T23:12:56.484+13:002012-01-07T23:12:56.484+13:00

This year, I'm only making one environmentally-friendly New Year's Resolution. By limiting myself to one resolution only, I can manage it. Most years I've tried to do something too hard, and failed. So this year I'm aiming high, but not too high.My resolution is: no more soft drink in the house. I'm soft-drink free for 2012. It will do me, my body, my wallet, and the planet a world of good.I'm

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com12http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/soft-drink-free-want-to-join-me-in-2012.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-72964533867059500482012-01-04T11:09:00.010+13:002012-01-04T11:41:48.765+13:002012-01-04T11:41:48.765+13:00

2011 has been a hugely busy year for us. You might be able to tell that, by the lack of blog posts this last month or two!Lambs!I've learned so much this year, and yet I feel like I have so much more yet to learn. When I look back on the person I was when I came to the farm, I was such a city slicker! My goodness! I knew nothing, but thought I knew so much. These days I still know nothing, but at

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com11http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/2011-in-hindsight-successes-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-13144761017472199312012-01-04T09:57:00.006+13:002012-01-04T13:26:14.097+13:002012-01-04T13:26:14.097+13:00

Our property is organic. Within a few months of moving here and turning the farm organic at the beginning of 2010, the insects started coming back, and a family of wild ducks moved in. We were stunned at the huge number of insects and birds, many of them native. The bees came back too.Our middle orchard - healthy, organic, and dripping with fruit.Then the weeds moved in too, and I started to

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com0http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2012/01/pesticides-dont-work-heres-why.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-25352339618277365582011-12-23T18:45:00.006+13:002011-12-23T18:53:36.546+13:002011-12-23T18:53:36.546+13:00

The newspapers have had a lot of articles recently about how the retail shops are finding it hard to keep going in this tough economic climate. And how so many people are buying items online.I've stopped buying anything other than food from the local shops. Everything else, I get it online. And I'm saving heaps.I want to talk about some new cosmetics I got recently, and the price difference

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/12/shopping-online-happy-cheap-christmas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-62100463796433652622011-12-11T15:57:00.008+13:002011-12-11T16:12:48.303+13:002011-12-11T16:12:48.303+13:00

I realised the other day that I haven't posted for a good, long while. That's what happens when I'm very busy, I guess!The sheepleFarm work has been rolling along. The lambs are all topping 30 kgs apiece now easy, and some of them are so fat they're wider than they are tall. I should have named them more appropriately - "barrel" and "lardball" would have suited them better!Some of our sheep,

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com7http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/12/sheep-bees-trees-fruit-thistles-and-ode.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-52532791458434020062011-11-17T10:12:00.016+13:002012-02-13T13:05:09.272+13:002012-02-13T13:05:09.272+13:00

The farm is looking very beautiful at the moment, so I thought I'd walk around with the camera, taking photos to share with you all.The front driveway is filled with flowers. I carry a bag of seeds and bulbs with me, and every time I pull a weed, I put a flower bulb or seed in its place. Gradually the whole area has become a mass of colour and weeds have become less of a problem. Now I hardly

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/11/permaculture-photo-tour-of-hazeltree.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-52855871547598316532011-11-10T09:19:00.000+13:002011-11-10T09:20:22.169+13:002011-11-10T09:20:22.169+13:00

This video snippet gave me a warm feeling - and reminded me how, in the midst of adversity, there are always, always terrific people doing kindness for others. Have a lovely day!

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/11/rural-farmers-unite-to-feed-wall-street.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-32014542204909317092011-11-08T16:05:00.000+13:002011-11-08T16:05:07.882+13:002011-11-08T16:05:07.882+13:00

Everything else, barring my family and work, stands neglected right now. Including this blog. This is because NaNoWriMo is on, and I'm scrambling to write a 50,000 word novel before November 30th. You can read it, if you dare: My NaNoWriMo novel. It's a work in progress, and the aim of NaNo is not so much to turn in a great work of art as to, well, turn in something. As I write this, I'm up to

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/11/nanowrimo-is-eating-my-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-79308112562541167462011-10-21T16:19:00.004+13:002011-10-21T16:25:42.583+13:002011-10-21T16:25:42.583+13:00

I've had a bad cough the last few days, and as I was going through the checkout at the local shops, the check out lady told me of this great recipe for home made cough medicine. It's easy, and works - fast! However, it might not be suitable for children, as you'll see!Home made cough medicine2 black ball sweets1/4 cup of whiskyYummmm...black balls!Black ball sweets are traditional English hard

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com3http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/10/home-made-medicines-cough-medicine.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-48175050490337056582011-10-20T09:35:00.003+13:002011-10-20T09:40:31.942+13:002011-10-20T09:40:31.942+13:00

I've posted several recipes here at Hazeltree Farm for home made cleaning products, but never my recipes for washing powder and laundry liquid. Both recipes below are really easy to make, and very economical - and they work really well.Home made laundry powder2 parts of soap flakes - grated home made soap, lux flakes and grated shop-bought soap are all fine (I use lux flakes because I'm lazy)1

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com5http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/10/home-made-laundry-powder-and-home-made.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369572030113150662.post-85621200801128570132011-10-09T15:47:00.007+13:002011-10-09T16:02:29.072+13:002011-10-09T16:02:29.072+13:00

Check out our latest acquisition - a new, hi-tech green-accredited solar powered lawn mower!The old petrol-driven lawnmowers are obsolete. Let the latest technology - the Gabrielle 2011 - do your hard yakka for you! PS - she's cute too!It not only runs on the grass it mows, it is self-reproducing, and fertlises your land at the same time.This model is called the "Gabrielle 2011", and will not

Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.com8http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2011/10/our-new-hi-tech-green-accredited-solar.html