Alternative Lifestyles - A Life Less Dependent on Money

[Silverbirch]

Hi PH3, yes I agree with all of that. I'm slow off the mark in joining a seed savers group. There's an organisation here called The Diggers Club, and I'd like to visit their farm but it is a couple of hours away so I wont be getting there for a bit. You can buy through mail otder which I will do. I was planning on buying a substantial quantity of garlic bulbs from them and growing partly for resale at local markets, but unexpected changes in my employment have deferred this. I'm pleased about getting the garlic though with what I've read about the production of most garlic. The main reason for starting from seedlings right now is to just get started, get moving.

 

I've had poultry and would so like to be doing that now, but as I posted previously, we have a SERIOUS fox problem all over the state. They even hang about during the day and I'm not prepared to put the money required in building a fortress to fox-proof the coup. The fences around the current one are at least 6 feet high, but the dug underneath it. All that was left were a few feathers.

 

Thanks for the recommendation of kale. I will get it. How do you cook/eat it?

 

When partner and I get our own property, we are planning on growing native grasses for our horses, especially the ponies. The GM modification of grass seeds in particular has serious implications for people here needing to maintain appropriate pastures. We mostly have ponies and native grasses would be most suitable for them. On the positive side, this year, due to an 8 year drought having broken last year, neither of us have seen the dreaded capeweed, a weed of drought which our horses eat, but which isn't good for them. Native grass seed is incredibly expensive, but at some point, when we have found a property which suits both of us and the time is right, that will be one of our priorities. We are having to buy hay atm. We had planned on harvesting our own late last year, but both of us were sick and spent time in hospital. It was sad for him to have put in a fair amount of work with his pasture and not been able to make hay. He would have had excess to sell. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes.

[pl3asehelp]

I used to prefer Kale cooked, and my favorites were a simple saute with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper like I do lots of greens. No par boiling or anything neccesary. But lately I've been enjoying it more raw, just using it to make salads. Like lots of plants, as soon as they're heated, lots of the nutritional value is lost and I read it's particularly true for Kale. Each time my wife was pregnant with each of our boys I would make my wife a nutritional smoothie every morning that I put raw Kale in as well. It grows so well for us - never have problems with snails, aphids or anything else we combat with everything else. Like a miracle crop.

 

Also, I live next to a huge wilderness area and we have foxes, coyotes, and even mountain lions. What I did to protect my flock was use wire mesh of about 1 cm which covers the top and I dug it a 2 foot trench and ran the mesh all the way down it and filled it with gravel to prevent anything digging under it. Been about 2 years with no incidents. I built it from these plans link removed and it was probably $800 USD or so total, but I could have done if for about 1/3 of the cost using recycled woods. I rarely see foxes during the day though so certainly your problem could be much worse and not worth the work. Having chickens rocks.

[Mercurial Girl]

Oh man I wish I could give you some of my basil I have 3 types and they are growing like weeds indoors and I have no idea what to do with them. I have sooo much dried and frozen already and have to prune them daily, they wont quit. A girl can only eat so much bruschetta pesto and pasta haha

[Silverbirch]

Thank you very much. I will check out that link. I've actually had thoughts of turning the former chook yard into a vegetable patch. I think it would be the most successful place on the property to grow vegetables. Ideally, I would like to have a mobile chook run for several reasons, mostly land improvement. 4 chooks provided us with more than we needed and was great for getting rid of vegetable scraps. (Council only collects our rubbish fortnightly). The foxes are so bad in many parts of Australia. I saw something about sheep farmers keeping donkeys as they have a good reputation for getting rid of foxes. I don't know if it is true, but a local told me that according yo vets, foxes are spreading mange to domestic dogs. My little dog goes crazy if a fox is around and will try and get out to get them. Foxes have only been here 200 years. They were introduced for blood sport for the aristocracy. There are no foxes in Tasmania which might be where we eventually move to. I love Tasmania!

 

link removed

 

I did find this link at the Diggers Club on Kale. Maybe a little late to plant it here now.

[Silverbirch]

Oh man I wish I could give you some of my basil I have 3 types and they are growing like weeds indoors and I have no idea what to do with them. I have sooo much dried and frozen already and have to prune them daily, they wont quit. A girl can only eat so much bruschetta pesto and pasta haha

 

I am turning basil green with envy MG

[Silverbirch]

Oh Geez, here I was thinking I was in good shape for my age. After about half an hour, I was thinking, "Don't know if I can do this." but I kept at it. My body loosened up. I've been spending way too much time indoors, on the laptop and reading and it made me lazy and unfit. I did manage to get quite a lot of potting done. As well as the vegies and herbs, I resurrected other things I had planted which aren't doing so well - ornamentals.

 

Yes, the garlic kit may have been a bit of a rip-off. It was just a polystrene box with propogating mix in it and a clove or garlic to be resected and planted. It's meant to sprout within 2-3 weeks. There was the written claim that the garlic has been prepared for propagation. As far as I know, it would require chilling from when it was harvested, but who knows how long it has been in that box. It's probably just been sprayed with fungicide.

 

Plea3sehelp, yes, I would have been better to have gotten some heritage seeds and be focusing on growing and seed-saving. My current man and I have been partly excited, but largely frustrated because we so want to be able to live together and do all this together. He has a beehive at his place and learning about bee-keeping and after some reading I've been doing, I'd like to learn about it and have a go at it myself too. He does have a small amount of poultry at his place too and not so many foxes, but so far, his chooks have been laying the eggs in the middle of a blackberry hedge where they are unreachable - clever little things.

 

I went for a drive up the road yesterday and bought some punnets of chives outside of a house with an honesty box so I've planted them too and they were a third of the price I paid at the nursery. I need to be hunting around for some polystrene boxes and sprouting more plants that are nonGM. I'll see if I can get kale seeds.

 

What's everyone else up to?

[Mercurial Girl]

The garlic was definitely a rip off! My garlic sprouted a few days ago in almost 3 weeks. All I used was a fresh clove that I already had in the kitchen.

 

I'm starting salad greens indoors in a couple of days!

[Silverbirch]

The salads look lovely in pots too MC. What can you especially recommend for soups - I will try to Kale. Just got to try and reactivate my Paypal account.

 

When did you know when it was best go dig up the garlic? Do you wait until it grows the flowers?

[Silverbirch]

I found a local nursery which sells seedlings from The Diggers Club yesterday (non GM). They only had broccoli and Black Kale so I bought the Kale. I will contact the Diggers Club and ask about some of the other retail outlets the sell too.

[90_hour_sleep]

realistically...most of us are dependent on very centralized, and very out-dated systems. is there anything more backwards than our food system? do i really need to enjoy a red pepper from belgium when i live in canada? doesn't that seem ridiculous?

 

i've been witness to a couple who grew pineapple in their home in winnipeg...year round. and for anyone who knows winnipeg...it's home to some pretty extreme weather. the interesting part is that they did it with ZERO NET ENERGY. yep...a home that produces its own energy...and its own food (and we're talking much broader than strictly solar electric. think bigger). i'm not sure what could be more efficient than that. and it's sustainable...without the toxic effects to people and communities. it has nothing to do with 'being green'. it's about looking out for the welfare of everyone we share the planet with. there are entire communities sprouting up that are working to embody this.

 

have you heard of permaculture, silver? sounds a bit like that's where you're going with this. in part it has to do with money, but if you're anything like me it has a lot more to do with re-connecting with your environment...with the people around you. not about disconnecting. it's about re-connecting. not about reverting to a state of lesser progress...but moving forward in such a way that we actually thrive as a species (are we thriving as a species right now?). basic human needs can be met in ways that we haven't even begun to imagine.

 

i don't think it's as difficult to do as one might think. but it's definitely a gradual progression...and that's the way it should be. dramatic shifts are often followed by catastrophe. i think even the smallest things can be huge in the long run.

[Silverbirch]

Absolutely 90. I made references to Bill Mollison (the founder) and Permaculture earlier in the thread. I guess rather than throwing out EVERYTHING of the existing system, I am questioning what works and what doesn't in any system.

 

So far for me, I've been looking at food, telecommunications (some parts of existing system work for me), energy and also clothing. 90, there is a great mag here which has been in production for decades for people interested in this subject. It's called Grassroots. It doesn't have a website and shouldn't be confused with Grassroots publishing - an entirely separate enterprise. Grassroots are on Facebook. Not all of the choices some people make would interest me, but I definitely find it interesting.

 

I know also that my life could benefit by working more locally to where I live but there are not the same job opportunities here. The local cost of fuel at present is $1.70 per LITRE! I travel an hour each way by car to work each day by car as there is not transport from here to where I currently work.

 

I'm doing a lot of maths though. The cost of going to my present job against my earnings versus the cost of living more efficiently though earning less is something I'm giving a lot of thought to.

[90_hour_sleep]

Absolutely 90. I made references to Bill Mollison (the founder) and Permaculture earlier in the thread. I guess rather than throwing out EVERYTHING of the existing system, I am questioning what works and what doesn't in any system.

 

that could be the only approach that ever really works. it's about adaptation...isn't it?

 

So far for me, I've been looking at food, telecommunications (some parts of existing system work for me), energy and also clothing. 90, there is a great mag here which has been in production for decades for people interested in this subject. It's called Grassroots. It doesn't have a website and shouldn't be confused with Grassroots publishing - an entirely separate enterprise. Grassroots are on Facebook. Not all of the choices some people make would interest me, but I definitely find it interesting.

 

I'm doing a lot of maths though. The cost of going to my present job against my earnings versus the cost of living more efficiently though earning less is something I'm giving a lot of thought to.

 

likewise. downgrading to something more simple. enjoying modern amenities...but exercising a bit of moderation. more appreciation and gratitude for what i have. less emphasis on more...always more.

 

i think there's a movement out there...and it's gaining momentum. appealing an accessible to all. far too altruistic for many. but enough people are fed up with the dull ache of unconsciousness. things are changing...

[Mercurial Girl]

The salads look lovely in pots too MC. What can you especially recommend for soups - I will try to Kale. Just got to try and reactivate my Paypal account.

 

When did you know when it was best go dig up the garlic? Do you wait until it grows the flowers?

 

What about spinach?

 

You can plant the garlic outside just about any time provided there is no frost. I grow individual cloves inside for garlic "chives" and eat the flowers too. If you plant outdoors though you will have tons of shoots and eventually whole heads of garlic - it's very fool proof.

[Silverbirch]

that could be the only approach that ever really works. it's about adaptation...isn't it?

 

 

 

likewise. downgrading to something more simple. enjoying modern amenities...but exercising a bit of moderation. more appreciation and gratitude for what i have. less emphasis on more...always more.

 

i think there's a movement out there...and it's gaining momentum. appealing an accessible to all. far too altruistic for many. but enough people are fed up with the dull ache of unconsciousness. things are changing...

 

90, I went to my local dance group today and we all went out to lunch together afterwards (locally of course at "The Heart ad Soul Cafe" It's cold here now and most of us had the carrot and celery soup with fresh bread. It was delicious. The women were telling me about the secret ingredient to the best soups - home made stock using a lot of ingredients which most people throw out - carrot heads and vegetable peels. I asked if any of them made their own yoghurt and one of them is going to see if she can dig out and old yoghurt maker to lend me to try it out for myself.

 

I think it's been a great move for me to get involved with such a friendly local recreational group. You get to find out so much more about what happens locally, and I was able to share my discovery with them about the local nursery which sells some non GM and organic seedlings - hopefully I'll be able to gather seeds from this lot of kale and then keep re-growing from it.

 

For a long time, I've had a bit of an addiction to buying clothing. If I didn't buy another thing, providing I don't put on weight, I probably wouldn't need to buy another item of clothing for YEARS! I've noticed how some of the local women here have this interesting dress sense, definitely Bohemian - some would be recycled from op shops and some of it would likely be handmade or from the markets where the designers sell direct to customers. It's a lot more interesting than what you see in the large stores. Oh that's another thing these women I dance and lunch with like to do - they are op shop queens and like to buy little things for each other. In the last 3 weeks, one of them gave me a beautiful Indian sequined cotton shoulder bag, and last week another gave me a pretty bangle. I gave one of them a ?Pashmere shawl made in Pakistan. We're having a movie night next Friday night at one of the women's houses with a sleepover for whoever wants to stay. It's such a good life - I'd like to be able to stay closer to home more of the time.

[Silverbirch]

What about spinach?

 

You can plant the garlic outside just about any time provided there is no frost. I grow individual cloves inside for garlic "chives" and eat the flowers too. If you plant outdoors though you will have tons of shoots and eventually whole heads of garlic - it's very fool proof.

 

Hi MC, the frosts here are about to start - maybe we have had a few already when I've been curled up in bed asleep! I will look for some sunny spots indoors. We have some very pretty shrubs here which are a type of native hibiscus. My horses were eating them and especially the purple flowers. I tasted them and they taste very much like chives/spring onions - I did check they are safe to eat. LOL!

 

I'll have a look about for some of the different types of garlic. There is a native Australian variety which I have only seen photos of. It looks very different to the usual type of garlic you see in stores. It's meant to be extremely pungent and hardy so I will see if I can get some. I'd like to also get some of those bluish and purplish ones too.

 

I think I will have enough of leafy greens for a while with the rainbow silverbeet and the kale. Any other suggestions for easy to grow vegies suitable for soups. I think I've found an ideal container for growing more potatoes in and I might line it with a heshian bag. What was the type of bag being referred to earlier which is meant to be very suitable for growing potatoes and other vegetables in?

[Silverbirch]

Every garlic clove has sprouted shoots after these few couple of days. This is a very good sign, right??