January 2011 Blog Posts (28)

Has anyone else had a good crop of apples?

  My trees are absolutely groaning with fruit.  In fact I've got the best garden in a long time even though I started out with a gammy foot. Alas, Hester, my chookies have gone.  I was feeding them when I slipped and broke my ankle, they got the blame and were taken away to a farm.

I'm beginning to read about Nutrient Dense Food. Got information from Kay Baxter.  Very interesting but the cost of the machine to measure it all ($150) I…

I like things that are easy, and an Ooooby box is an easy way for me to support local growers and get a weekly delivery of fresh, seasonal fruit and veggies on my doorstep.

 …

The Jetson's has arrived...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/omega-hydroponic-vertical-garden.php

If you're anything like us, you may have too much food in your garden at the moment.

The idea of preserving in bottles and jars is all very romantic, but with our fast paced life, we find it quite a challenge to find the time and space to get it done.

Introducing a new way to preserve the value of your garden…

I think there should be a time every year when devoted food gardeners do as all good believers do - participate in some kind of meaningful ritual. I am a bit hopeless at religion but even I can think of several such traditions which illustrate what I mean. There is the whole 40 days and 40  nights thing that Christians call Lent; there is Ramadan, the Muslims' month of fasting; and, more a cultural event than a religion, there is the week of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I am sure there…

Source: guardian.co.uk

The existing food system fails half the people on the planet, and needs radical change if world is to feed itself, report…

A UK government-commissioned study into food security has called for urgent action to avert global hunger.

The Foresight Report on Food and Farming Futures says the current system is unsustainable and will fail to end…

It is a wee bit older than in the last post. A silver laced Wyandotte. I'm thinking hen but wondered what others thought.

Cheers…

A while, back there was a TV Programme called the 100 mile Challenge which aimed to eat only those foods grown within 100 miles of the contestant. I suspect we are starting to get close if you average out the food miles on the plate.Successes

• Home made bread
• Home made green pasta sauce including
• Home grown
• Zucchini…

With the sudden shift in weather from hot and dry to hot and VERY humid, (from under 60% and regularly under 55% to 82% right now) especially in the North of NZ, it seems to me there are a number of things gardeners need to make decisions about and I'd be glad of some input.

1. I have a standard spray fungal/mildew resistance using baking soda and a splash oil cooking oil to help it stick to the plants but it should go on before the rain, is there anything you use afterwards?…

2011 course - Spaces are Limited.

Auckland Permaculture Workshop (APW) offer a wide range of workshops that engage and inspire people in developingsustainable living solutions.

Participantslearn design skills that integrate the environment, peopleand technology to create resilient ways of living…

Many like myself eat mostly from our gardens, but at times reach for a can of tomatoes, chick peas or fish and still think we are eating well. BPA is not just in plastic drink bottles and baby bottles but in can linings and is not being taken seriously by food manufacturers, but that is not a surprise.

Taking charge of our own health is eating seasonally from our own gardens and local producers. Preserve any excess food in our gardens to enjoy over the cooler months. If you don't know…

Situation Vacant: CTO / Technical Advisor

Ooooby has expanded from its Ning powered social network of over 3,000 members, into running an innovative local food box delivery service.

And now behind the scenes…

Image: foa.org

The chart on the left shows us that toward the end of 2010 food prices were nearly as high as the record time of mid 2008.  Now in January 2011 we have reached a new…