Today, I start digging, in a corner by the shed and the plum tree. But first, a trip to Bunnings.
4 hours later...
I dug a hole!
The photo doesn't do justice to the total body workout I just had - plotting, picking, digging, shoveling and raking, not to mention driving to Woolies to buy seeds + a nice watermelon for arvo tea.
Next week, a trip to a special westerly location with my Dad to stock up on poo. Also blood and bone, and mulch.
It was actually a bit of a task to find a site with good information on how to start. The Vegetable Patch.com helped some.
This was hard yakka today, but it's good to know there's options if you're not an aspiring labourer or if you don't have space to dig. I found these awesome apple crates from The Little Vegie Patch Co. which would make perfect vegie planters because they're quite spacious and deep, plus they'd look great in the right place. With a little imagination you could use almost anything.
It's time for me to go, happily, as I've secured an in-house back masseuse. Leaving you with a pic of my puppa, looking surly because she got excited about a walk that didn't eventuate and because I had the nerve to ask her to pick up a shovel and help. <3
Vegie Propaganda. I'm into it. Growing your own vegetables at home is where it's at. I don't have my own plot at the moment but my sights are set on it. Home grown vegetables are eco-friendly because the only transportation needed is your legs, possibly your wheelbarrow.
You can start small - maybe with some herbs, and some easy climbers like tomatoes and chillis. And then you wind up with something dreamy.
Gotta make a change
For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
No longer simply known as the staple diet of pandas, bamboo is the new wonder material and the latest trend on the summer party scene. Before we explore the wonders of bamboo, let's take a glance into the sordid world of its not so fashionable counterpart - plastic.
Plastic Fork and his friends - plate, cup and spoon, have a nasty habit of gate-crashing summer parties. After Plastic Fork has completed his job of shovelling potato salad into your belly, he is resigned to an eternal life in landfill. He never, ever, breaks down. He just sits there feeling dirty and contributing to the heavy loads of methane that are emitted daily by landfills. (Methane of course is a greenhouse gas, more potent than CO2 - all the stuff we can't afford to be pumping into the atmosphere.)
Enter Bamboo, to save the day!
Bamboo is compostable and biodegradable - what's more, it looks kinda great. These disposable bamboo plates from BioPlates are just the ticket to add a little pizzaz to your picnic. They're made from fronds of the Arcea Nut Palm, which fall naturally from the tree.
Personally, I try to use reusable picnic and dinnerware wherever possible. The less of a disposable culture we have, the better. The less things we produce, the better, as all production generally = emissions. Still, if push comes to shove, these bamboo picnic cups from Ecolifestyle are a good alternative.
It's not all about disposables in the world of Bamboo, though. You don't make friends with salad, but I could make a pretty good go of it with this red lacquered bamboo salad bowl from Sunnylife.
Before you run off to pack your picnic basket, I have one last treasure to show you. Why, it's bamboo nappies of course! A super eco-friendly alternative to regular nappies from Natural Baby - if anything is going to score you points with Mother Earth, guaranteed this will do it!
Every year, the 26th of January is undoubtedly a day when Aussie egos are inflamed across the nation as we sit and marvel at how great and lucky we are.
I often find myself awash with the warm fuzzies in gratitude of the amazingly diverse array of nature in our Great Southern Land. The bush, the beaches, the rainforests, the deserts and rivers - spectacular - and home to an intriguing cast of uniquely Australian animals.
It's the Furry Friends I want to pay tribute to today. Australian natives are the land and they deserve our loving gratitude.
Sadly, several factors have contributed to the extinction and endangerment of our native species. Settlement, hunting, land-clearing for agricultural and housing purposes, as well as introduced species have contributed to these devastating losses.
It's estimated that 17 Australian mammal and 50 bird species have become extinct in the past 200 years. The endangered list includes 19 species of fish, 16 frogs, 16 reptiles, 47 birds, 39 mammals and 612 plants. There are many more listed as vulnerable.
As population and growth increases we must be ever more mindful to preserve and protect our native wildlife that we often take for granted so that we do not lose that which makes us so unique.
Protecting our wildlife can be as simple as the following:
Don't litter - many animals can become entangled and drown in the rubbish that ends up in our waterways.
Don't dump plants (or lawn clippings) in the bush or over the fence. Weeds are classified as any plant that is not native to the area. Weeds tend to grow faster than our slow-growing natives; they overgrow the natives, removing a source of food & shelter for certain species.
Plant natives species in your yard, keep large trees as well as logs and rocks to provide shelter for natives.
Keep your pets inside so that cats and dogs can't attack smaller more vulnerable species such as lizards, birds and tiny mammals, like this divine little bush rat.
Don't feed native animals and birds - you may think you are doing them a favour - in actual fact you're disturbing natural habits that have been in place for hundreds of years. Seeds, grains, fruit and bread are not suitable foods for most species and feeding natives upsets breeding patterns and young do not learn how to fend for themselves.
Pick up after your pets with biodegradable bags such as these stylish numbers from Olive at Lovely Package (also comes in 'Super Poop Bag' variety for the boys). Phosphates from their waste washes into waterways which contributes to algal blooms which trap oxygen out of the water and wipe out micro-invertebrates and fish species.
Help to preserve and protect our uniqueness that we're celebrating today!
Ahh, the humble coffee cup. The answer to many a mid-morning crisis - and yet really not so humble at all.
The population's caffeine addiction is costing the environment heaps!
In Australia, disposable paper cups account for 5,500 tonnes of landfill each year!
Enter KeepCup, with their barsita-standard reusable coffee cup with a four-year lifespan. Made in Australia, it is available in different coffee sizes and in a variety of colours.
KeepCup puts it all in perspective for us...
"Most disposable paper cups are not recyclable.
The paper cup is made from a composite of materials: bleached paper sprayed with a polyethylene coating. Paper cups are often impregnated with toxic dyes which make them difficult to recycle. The plastic lining in disposable paper cups means they are not recyclable.
In arid regions like Australia, biodegradation of a paper cup can take 50 years or more.
It's not just the cup and lid that go into landfill. On average, each disposable cup contains 5% of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.
It is a choice. We can destroy fewer trees and reduce landfill, CO2 and energy output."
So there you have it. But wait. I have another solution:
A mug from Grandma's. Seriously, why would you want to accept your coffee in a boring old, run of the mill, cardboard vessel? Where's the originality in that!?
