Shade from the Heat

Most of what can help keep your house cool is infrastructure and not an air conditioner like most people might believe.

I have written about keeping cool last summer and  mentioned about growing reeds to act as shade for windows but as I was growing corn near one our windows I decided to use them as shade by placing the box on a few blocks. So far the hot weather seems to have calmed down.

I feel with our house which gets very hot easily that shading with plants in the windows alone will not help provent the temperature from rising during hot weather so I am going to try putting up shade cloth along the wooden eves on the northern side of the home.

Seeing as we are renting they will not be put on permanently but with the use of screw eyes into the eves and tent pegs and rope to tie it down so when we move it's as simple as pulling the pegs out and unscrewing and filling the holes.

Once finished I'll have to post photos and an update on how effective this is.
If anyone else has had a house that suffers from the heat and used shade cloth to lower the temperature let me know how it went.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Container Growing

As a renter it is rare to have a vegetale garden already set-up and putting money and energy into something that you may have to leave behind so making a container garden is great.
A potted vegetable garden can have very diffrent needs to that of one made on the soil or in raised garden beds.

You have to be careful when buying containers for growing any plants as the material they are made from can cause growth problems. A pot or container made of ceramic must be sealed as the porous nature of ceramic can absorb much needed water.

Black plastic pots are not well insulated and can become quit hot during summer and the roots around the edge of the pots can become burnt and water evaporation is increased.

I have found that stirofoam boxes are highly insulated and work well for growing veggies and herb in. I'm growing tomatoes in one and corn in another.

Wooden containers such as half wine barrels also have little issue when it comes to high temputures and have a nice rustic look.

The soil you put into the container is importent as it needs to contain most of the nutriants the plant will need over its productive life. The mixture needs to have moisture holding abilities as plants in a pot can not resort to absorbing moisture from deeper in the grown.

A balance is needed however as soil that holds water without allowing some air to the roots will cause roting and die back and is why it's often recomended to get high quality potting mix.

Nutriance is often washed away with daily watering so the use of a liquid fertiliser fortnightly is a good way to return the nutriens that are lost and allow the plants fully develope.

Conditions maybe more harsh so picking plants that can handle the heat or the shade.
As a rule of thumb plants with smaller leaves or hair deal with sun and heat exp. Tyme, tomatoes and rosemary. If you have a shaded cooler area plants with larger greener leaves can take in more sunlight exp. Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli.

As with any garden its testing to see which ways work best.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
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Grey Water Capture

G'day.

For awhile now I have been collecting my grey water from my washing machine and using it to water the lawn and veggies rarely as I worry a bit about build up of chemicals that might cause my family to become ill.
I have also thought of collecting waste water from the kitchen sink as I feel the chemicals are not as harsh and also the bits of food can be broken down into compost.

As well as having my portable basin sitting in the laundry sink which the washing machine drains into I am going to set up another portable basin which will be filled with filter sand and planted with samphire.

This is my current portable basin which I use to collect grey water.

 

The basin will be placed at the same height as the top water level in a plastic barrel so there is always water in the filter to keep the micros which break down any toxins in the grey water alive.

The plastic barrel will be used to store water and a tap will add to the bottom to fill watering cans.
I am going to try using samphire plants and filter sand to provide surface area for the growth of benificial micro organisiums. As samphires are salt marsh plants that grow in damp yet harsh enviroments I think they should be able to survive if a mineral build up becomes a problem.

I will write another post as this project comes together.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Indigenous Plants

Planting indigenous plants came help improve your productive garden as well as invite a few friends to come for a feed and sleep.

When buying indigenous plants to grow in your yard you first need to find out what would have grown there. In Adelaide there were many different ecosystems from sand dunes, swamps, grassland and woodlands. Here is a good place to start finding out >> http://www.backyards4wildlife.com.au/<<

'The Reedbeds'
Copy of the c. 1890 watercolour by James Ashton, from the White collection. This view (towards the Mount Lofty Ranges at sunrise, from the vicinity of present-day Adelaide Airport) shows the extensive wetlands which once characterised the area.

Another very important tip to remember is to buy plants whose seeds have been locally sourced to help protect and increase the genetics of those local indigenous plants.

Planting native plants will encourage some help from wild life. Blue tongue lizards and sleepy lizards have a strong appetite for slugs and snail however you may have to protect your crop as they also enjoy strawberries, passion fruit and other fruits and vegetables. Planting native flowering plants attracts many predatory insects who and or their young feed on pest like aphids and white fly. We can’t forget the native birds that not only like feeding on native flowering bushes but will eat the slightly larger pests like caterpillars, grubs and other insects

Indigenous plants can also have a direct benefit to you. There are many native plants that produce edible leaves, roots and fruit with high amounts of vitamins just make sure you know which ones and what part you can eat, and there are books on the subject.  Many native trees grow to different highs and can benefit as shade trees to keep your home cooler during the hot summer weeks so your air conditioner doesn’t run as much. Many native trees can also fast to colonize open area which comes from surviving after fires so you can plant trees in your yard a year apart and later use them as fire wood or stakes. Indigenous plants if grown in the right area only need to be watered while they are establishing and self sown plants need no watering unless there is unusual harsh conditions.

If you do not have a yard or are rent and don’t have permission to plant in your yard you can grown most natives in pot with easy (I am growing a bonsai red gum) as they do well in harsher environments or find a local group that looks after native habitats close to you.

 

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
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Trying at buying LOCAL... and Inderpentent

Buying local is better for the environment using less energy to transport food and good from the shop to your house and if you choose locally grown and manufactured products from your local shop you are not only helping yourself use less energy but also the business and the people they buy from.

Buying from your local shops helps to strengthen the local economy. Every time you buy something from a shop your money gets divided, most of the money goes into paying for the replacement of the item you just bought and the rest pays for power, phone, water, gas, packaging, wages, maintenance, Ink, sometimes advertising and a little left over to invest back into the business.

If the local business you buy from also gets some of their stock from other local businesses then the support multiplies and local businesses have a soft spot of others of their kind (trust me, I know).

A local business becomes a big part of the community with your local butchers, bakers and green grocer’s feeding you. Hardware and nursery’s helping you to build and maintain your house and garden. Hairdressers keeping you looking your prettist and the list goes on…

Many sports clubs are sponsored by shops from the surrounding area allowing them to in turn support other shops for sausage sizzles, uniforms and more.

In this day and age with “The Big Boys” rubbing their ads of how they have the lowest prices it is easy to think that the “do” but in many cases it is only the items on special which are cheapest and everything else get a big mark up, after all they are the ones who have the million dollar rents, advertisements and transport costs.

Sadly local stores could be cheaper (not their fault) but with the monopoly in full swing it has led to price hikes behind the scenes. Take this example that I know for a fact, there was a type of item which is used to seal things it is called a tube of A. A was bought from three different companies 1, 2 and 3, these companies used to send their representatives to the hardware to get us to buy their tubes of A and we would let each of them know how much the other was selling them for and purchase the cheapest. But company 1 got greedy and wanted to get rid of company 2 and 3

So company 1 bought company 2 but left it called company 2 and made its prices higher so less people would buy their tube of A with the money they got from the loyal buyers or company 2 they then bought company 3 which allowed them to increase the prices of all the tubes of A including company 1’s and laying off representatives having no competition and I feel the government should have stepped in before this could happen.

On a final note if smaller businesses did have more customers they would have a higher turnover and would be able to lower their prices not having to fear if next month they might not get enough turnover to pay the bills.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Son of a BIKE!

Mid last year my car broke down and it made traveling long distances very hard, having to borrow cars while others weren’t using them but on the other hand it made me remember how good it was to ride a bike with benefits for both you and the environment.

Firstly I’ll talk about you. After a few weeks from riding the bike and really pushing myself I found it took further for me to get tired and have to slow down making it fast to get to work (meaning I didn’t have to leave the house as early.

Riding strengthens your muscles while also building stamina, improves heart health, helps burn fat and increase your balance all while you’re just on your way to the local shop, school or work and you don’t have to wear an interesting outfit either.

You can often feel a bit more at peace while riding it may be the fresh air when not behind a car, the slight sensation of flying when going down a hill or the scenery when you’re on a bike path along a river or park which helps to lower your stress.

In most cases the community will thank you for using a quieter form of transport that is less likely to hurt children or curse pollution and allowing one less car on the road for those that may need a car.

Now to the environment, using a bicycle powered by legs or electric motor means no air pollution and one with a petrol motor makes pollution but not as much as a car and often the motor can be switched to manual when needed.

Bikes also use A LOT less metals, plastic and rubber than a car would while being constructed and maintaining putting the metal for other uses like… making more bikes?

• If you are thinking about getting into riding a bike as a form of transport here are some helpful tips.
• ·         Practice riding to where you plan on going to find out when you need to leave to get on time
• ·         Make sure your bike has lights and their working
• ·         It is a good idea to get a fluro vest to cars can see you
• ·         Mount a review mirror to your right handle
• ·         Be patient and give way to car, it’s safer (don’t pull out to go around car if a car is behind you)
• ·         Bring tools and spare parts so you don’t get stuck somewhere.

Keep these tips in mind and if you have any riding tips leave a comment

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax:  08 8356 2316 
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
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Dishwashers, better than you?

I, for a long time have thought that using a dishwasher meant the use of more water and more gas/electricity but for most machines that is not the case.

Dishwashers use less water than washing by hand. Unlike washing in the sink which requires you to submerge your plates, cutlery and pots these machines use powered jets of water to BLAST the food and muck off and on top of that the dishwashing machines reuses an allocated amount of water over again through the jets when in washing mode.

After being told that I then thought, but it must use more power than me? (I use no power to operate by the way). Well I was then told that most dishwashers take in cold water and heated within rather than being filled with hot water and thereby no gas or (extra)power is used to heat the water which helps in two ways.

Firstly, as most people find it takes time and precious H₂O  to wait for the hot water to make it all the way out of the tap. Secondly most heat is also largely lost while traveling from water heater to your tap when your pipes are not insolated.

Being a modern appliance there are always setting to control just how economic it is you want it to run the machine from guzzler to eco-man and let’s not forget the energy rating star system that the government has in place to help us buy smarter.

Oh and last of all it’s less work for you!

As always comments welcome, don’t forget to subscribe and take a wonder to our Facebook page.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

WOODEN you like some FURNITURE?

WOODEN you like some FURNITURE?

Furniture is what takes up most of our living space within our home and also a part of our yards, patio or balcony.

Furniture can be made of many things but I’m going to be writing today about wooden furniture and how as the tree is growing it can help store carbon which has been removed from the atmosphere. Most timbers are about 45% Carbon which means forever 100kgs of timber that’s 45kg of carbon stored. 

 

Firstly I will discuss the way in which plants grow to help you (if needed) get a better understanding of how it all works. Plants need three things to grow, air, nutrients and water (soils is not needed, it just holds nutrients and water).

Plants take in carbon dioxide CO² through their leaves and absorb water H²O via their roots. The plant then uses the Sun’s light to break down these two elements to make Glucose C₆H₁₂O₆ and Oxygen O₂, this is called photosynthesis. The “waste” O₂ is expelled into the air along with some escaping H₂O while the C₆H₁₂O₆ is used for growth and energy storage.

Formula for photosynthesis: 6 X CO₂ + 6 x H₂O (+ Sunlight) = C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂

So as you can see from the formula no carbon (C) leaves the plant by this method. The main ways in which the C would be released would be burning wood (fast) or fungus breaking down the timber and expelling CO₂ (slow) .

Wood sourced from local supplies is a whole lot better as the carbon stored in the timber doesn’t out weight the carbon used in transport, and if you’re buying it to be Eco-friendly what would be the point? For us in Adelaide > ForestrySA < is the local manager for the states timber plantations click on their link and give them a call or email and they might be able to tell you who they supply to. What is better then local timber is reclaimed timber, at South Henley Hardware (from where we sell) they sell wooden things such like toys, stools and chopping boards made by a local and he uses scrap timber.

Wood is very versatile, it can be stained or painted to a huge variety of colours and can be cut, carved and sanded into lots of shapes so in reality anything thing made from wood is good, cooking utensils, housing frames, floor boards, toys, I could be here all night.

So next time you buy something try to think if you can get it in wood and do your part, no matter how little to store some carbon. Leave a comment and let me know what wooden furniture you have that your especially proud of and don’t forget to go to our Facebook page.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Homemade Cleaning Products - Part 2

I have been on holiday and am now back so to continue on from the last post about using everyday chemicals to clean. I believe I was up to the bathroom?

Mirrors: To get that mirror shiny scrunch a sheet of newspaper into a ball and add a little vinegar, wipe down the mirror clean, if that doesn't work use mentholated spirits. If you have a problem with fogging use a little eucalyptus oil after to repel the moisture.

Grout Mold: Use an old toothbrush your not doing to use in your mouth after and dip it in a strong solution of epsom salts or you can even use dry Bi-Carb-Soda and scrub away.

Toilet: If you are up to cleaning the toilet often than hot soapy water will be fine or add eucalyptus oil for a disinfectant effect. For a stronger toilet to clean the inside of the bowl pure 1 cup of white vinegar around the bowl of the toilet and let sit over night, then scrub the next day and if badly stained use a scour and Bi-Carb-Soda.

For a nice smell in the loo add a drop of essential oil so when the light is on it activates the perfume.

Laundry

Washing Mechine: To clean the soap build-up place 4 litres of vinegar for a top loader or 2 litres for a front loader and put it through a full cycle.

Pre-wash Spray:

1/3 Cloudy Ammonia, 1/3 Water & 1/3 Dish Washing Liquid. Mix and spray using a spray bottle
.

Bleach Alternatives

1 cup of lemon juice in half a bucket of water
or
1 tablespoon of metho in a full bucket of water
or
1 cup of salt in full bucket of water.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Homemade Cleaning Products - Part 1

A lot of produces you have in your cupboards you may only use for one or two things when they might have the potential to do so much more.

Washing Dishes: When we think doing the dishes we reach for dish washing liquid, you can spend a little extra money to get biodegradable liquids but did you know that before people used dish washing liquid they used to use soap bars. In fact most cleaning things now are the replacement of soap bars, the things dish washing soap, laundry powder, liquid hand soap, body wash, and (I don’t know how without knotting your hair) shampoo have all replaced the bar of soap.

To use soap for dishes you can buy what is called a soap swisher, which is a little cage which you place the bar of soap in which is attached to a stick. Or you could drill a hole in the bar of soap and put wire or rope through it or just simply place a bar into the sink. Swish the bar around so it makes the water cloudy.

I have found that using really hot water works best and drying the dishing soon after washing leaves them nice and shiny.

Drain cleaner: This is for minor blockages, place 1 cup of Sodium carbonate a.k.a. washing soda down the drain followed by boiling water or 1 cup of Bi-carb-soda down the drain followed by vinegar.

Glassware: To give glass that extra sparkle rinse the glassware in water with either white vinegar or lemon peels in it, then wipe dry with a clean dry tea towel.

Floors: Vinegar is an old method for cleaning surfaces as it acts as a mild disinfectant, adding some to a bucket of water is mostly all you need for mopping the floor. If you have a sealed timber floor and need a bit of help picking up that layer of dust boil up some tea with no sugar and leave it to cool, place in a bucket and use that to soak your mop in.

Carpet Shampoo: you will need a bar of pure soap, washing soda, cloudy ammonia and water. Grate half a cup of soap and add to a pot of boiling water and leave for 1 minute, then add 3 tablespoons of washing soap and 3 of cloudy ammonia and leave to cool down. Once cool place into jar and label very clearly.

To uses scoop out a small amount onto the stain and lather with a cloth and little hot water. Then wipe off all excess moisture with an absorbent cloth.

Ceramic bath and basin: Wipe with a damp cloth and bi-carb-soda or to make a shine wipe with white vinegar.To help soften the vinegar smell add a sprig of your favorite herb.

There are a lot more idea so this will be part 1
If you want to add any ideas for part 2 leave a detailed comment and I’ll add it in.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

L.E.D. Bulbs

If you were to ask 3 years ago what type of light bulbs there are most people would say incandescent or isn’t there only one?  But with the government removing the use of most incandescent bulbs we now know about the other two.

Florescent Light Tubes which have been twisted to fit into a typical socket and Halogens now have been placed into a standard  incandescent. this has happen very swiftly, but until now a lot of people had forgotten that little light that shows you your using caps lock or your TV is on standby.

Yes Light Emitting Diodes, LED’s use less power per lumen and last longer then incandescent, florescent and halogen as shown in this graph.

The LED has said to be non-toxic compared to the CFL. If you search this on the internet there are now studies saying that this is not true, however unlike CFL which use a gas to conduct electricity LED's are solid so transporting becomes a whole lot safer.

I have personally been using them all over my house and plan to start selling them VERY shortly. I have tested a huge range before selling the. The duller ones I have been using in the dunny and porch light, the medium brightness is in our lounge area, laundry and spare room while the brightest is over the dining table and I just love using them and as I'm renting I've kept all the CFL's from when we moved in so I can take the LED's when we move.

Let me know if you too are using L.E.D lighting in your house or business and leave a comment on how you find them. Feel free to visit my Facebook page at any time, the link is below.

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds

Veggie scraps

There are a few different things you can do with your veggie scraps which I have written in this post. In fact I often find myself wishing I had more. Using a kitchen caddy makes moving scraps easier and means you don’t have to rush into the garden every time you chop something up.

One thing you can do with those food scraps is start a compost bin. There are so many varieties from standing plastic, rotating barrels and wooden framed.  Composting is when organic matter brakes down with the help of bacteria that rely on oxygen, do not get it mixed up with rotting which is organic matter being broken down by bacteria that live in an environment with little or no oxygen which leaves a bad small of methane.  

In order to prevent rotting and encourage composting your organic matter will need turning with a garden fork or some other method like using a turning barrel to get oxygen to its centre. I have a barrel composter for some of my veggie scrapes and it works a treat and most garden shops or hardware’s should sell these or be able to get one in for you.

Barrel Compost Bin

A newer method I have been hearing about is a method of breaking down organic matter other then rotting or composting and that is fermenting. Bokashi uses yeast to ferment the scraps until it is what you might say is pickled. There is light smell of yeast (beer), it doesn’t attract vermin and is said to only take two weeks. You can buy the kits which normally contain a kitchen caddy to place scrapes into and satchels of yeast to start the fermentation process.

Bokashi Kit

Worms love most scraps so it’s perfect to get a worm farm and use those scraps to feed them. Most worm farms go on about pH levels and all sorts to get them going but I just used cheap potting mix and a Styrofoam box and they seem to love it. When the worm population builds up I often take a handful out and place them in some of my larger pot then from time to time I place some scraps directly into the pot for them to feed on. If you do get a worm farm it does make it easier to gather worm castings (poo) and urine for your plants to feed on.

Worm Farm

Our landlord has planted one lemon tree a long time ago which was doing very poorly when we moved in. Since then I have been using a post hole digger to make a hole close to the tree in which I simply throw the scraps down, as it fills I use a cultivator to turn it and push it back down. When it cannot take anymore I dig another hole and use the new soil to cover it over, with the last few days of rain it has really started to grow back. 

My Tree Composting Method

Those are just some ways of using scraps, others are keeping bones with meat still on to make stock for soup and feeding them to pets (like our rabbits who make good manure).

Like always leave comments, your ideas and subscribe

NATURAL HARVEST
Garden tools, Organic Seeds, Fruit Trees & Seedlings

Address: (Inside) 49 Henley Beach Road,

   Henley Beach South, 5022, SA

Phone/Fax: 08 8356 2316
Email: naturalharvest@live.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Natural.Harvest.Seeds