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Hi all youse guys, thanks for all the good vibes - I'm sure that's why our power came on just in time to be able to watch the news on the telly! What a surreal experience this has been. Glad to hear you other Canty ishers haven't sustained too much damage - we only had a few glass breakages and the ...

I haven't heard of this either but it's interesting, will try it out this year. I've just found out that if you cut the tops off your carrots and sprout them on wet kitchen paper you can replant them and get more carrots. In the book I learned this from, the woman said she was still eating the same ...

Love that pic Pelmetman! We used to cook on our woodburner but don't have one in our new house... The latest thing we have done to save energy is to switch off our main hot water tank (it usually heats overnight - cheaper rate) - we just take half a bucket of warm water each from the kitchen sink (s...

My husband is doing research on this at Lincoln University in NZ... There is a new disease (going global :( ) that is transported by an insect called a psyllid (kind of like an aphid) that is attacking potatoes and same type plants (eg toms). It causes die back and makes the tubers inedible. If uns...

Durgan love the pics! I can totally see a luscious vine shading the extremely hot sunny side of our house in summer - might save us those few days of using the air con when i simply cannot bear the heat any longer. I have been looking at making soap too and read that someone pours the soap into the ...

Ah, shame Maggie! Got to try eh? I think i will give it a go even if it doesn't work out as planned i might be able to share some funny pics of my "creations". What's a windowsill without a bowl of tiny striped gourds after all?
Love your quotation by the way...

I've GOT to try the choc recipes - have lots for zucchini, why not use beetroot instead? Do you think it needs to be cooked first or would grated raw work just as well? I usually dice beetroot up with potato and kumara (sweet potato) and toss in olive oil and sea salt - roast it up and serve warm wi...

My husband is doing research on this at Lincoln University in NZ... There is a new disease (going global :( ) that is transported by an insect called a psyllid (kind of like and aphid) that is attacking potatoes and same type plants (eg toms). It causes die back and makes the tubers inedible. If uns...

I used a lot of space growing pumpkins and butternut squash this year and have just found out i could have grown them in a smaller area by training the vines up a trellis and onto the shed roof. The fruit that aren't supported by the roof can be netted and tied to the trellis for support. Cool eh?

It's winter here so I'm planning what I want to put in the garden next year... And, I'd like to try some new things that can maybe be used but not eaten. I can get seeds for the luffa vine and for ornamental gourds but don't have much idea how to turn the fruits into nice body scrubbers and bottles ...

Am I the only one out there who gardens in inappropriate clothes?(no not that sort of inaproppriate- not in an "ullo luv, wot're you wearing?" sort of way) Ha! Yes! Someone else who gets in the zone and forgets dressing sensibly for gardening! Often a spontaneous "I'll just pick that...

I know I'm coming late to this thread but am reading back over things about peak oil and the coming energy crisis...having recently "woken up" to how things are going. I feel so fortunate to be living in a country where we don't have such a great population and could possibly feed ourselve...

It's a great idea! Would buy us a little bit more time with our lovely oil anyway...

Tena koutou, I'm on a major almost consuming mission to find out how to do things without the luxury of cheap oil. Having just recently found out about Peak Oil I understand I'm a bit obsessed at the moment - hopefully I will start balancing out all the information I'm finding with positive action! ...