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The difference between storing red meat in carcase form and cut form is that the muscles are "wrapped" in connective tissue that links to the tendons; this provides a barrier. When the carcase is dressed out to the cuts we use, the muscle is normally sliced across the membrane opening the ...

Skippy, ultimately everything on this planet is solar powered. It is the only energy source we have ever had.

This type of coolroom is designed to be relatively portable. It is made up of bolt together chiller panels; a thick layer of insulation (usually polystyrene) covered in a thin layer of fibreglass insulation and sandwiched between sheets of aluminium. The cooler part is a module with a refrigerator u...

Hello This may be the wrong forum for this question given that most people are in the northern hemisphere but...... I have opportunity to obtain a fairly large (approx 10sqm) operational cool store for only removal cost. For my climate which has winter temps in the low C teens the obvious uses are 1...

Hi In this move to banish plastics can I ask how you package food for freezing? From my reading, fresh is best followed by properly prepared frozen followed by preserved (not counting things like dried pulses and grains). Not only this but it seems people will more readily access and use their store...

I agree with Flo - It would be safer to use it as path material, at least until it has had a year or so the leach. I have a large pile of mixed wood chip and leaf material as a result of a series of storms last winter (see background in my recent post on fig variety) This is a mix of eucalypt, silky...

I did use car tyres as potatoe "pots" for a while - the idea being that as the plant grew you added another tyre and filled with soil; really serious hilling up. It worked but I gave the idea up after finding snakes living in the insides of the tyres.

Thanks guys I agree the leaf form does not match Brown Turkey; my neighbour has one and it is completely different (but is only a couple of years old) Also, my "trees" seem to want to bush out rather than grow upright but this could be because they are still afraid of being eaten off if th...

Hi all Its mid summer and the "ressurection figs" (the ones brought back from many years of neglect and grazing by cattle) after a series of hot dry days have produced a good crop of small but very sweet fruit. I suspect the fruit size is a variety factor rather that water / nutrition as t...

GA - we grow and sell our wheat largely on type and protein level so do usually keep track of what is going on, at least locally. The other point is that I sometimes need to suppliment cattle with grain feeding so protein levels are important - at least they were until an old animal nitritionist tol...

This may be a little off subject But I have done a (very) quick check around re % wheat protein (gluten) levels which will affect how they perform in baking etc. Some figures are very sketchy; there seems to be a reluctance from some countries to publish data (or perhaps they don't test or set stand...

Hey guys, I think there is a fundamental error in interpretation of food sources and products. Cows eat grass (I know, I grow both and I see them doing it) If the source is vegetable then to product must also be vegetable - ergo, steak is a vegetable.

My neighbour bought his 5 acres block about 6 years ago. It had a derelict 3 room cottage on it which he then demolished. He went to Council for a building permit for a new dwelling and was refused. If he had left the old one in place he could have legally "extended" it considerably and th...

Thanks Maggie It does seem that chemical spraying is the only thorough solution I think my major problem will be re-invasion as there are a lot of broad acre crops around me that have the pest (chick pea, field peas, faba bean, lupin etc). One organic grower site suggests spraying with soap solution...

Anyone have ideas (non-chemical) on managing Bean Flower thrip? My dwarf beans have been hit heavily the past 2 weeks. The result is distorted and small beans which are still edible but much less prolific. Pyrethrum seems to have some effect but not a lot. I think I will pull all the affected dwarf ...