Pouring oil into refrigerators

The following article was made available to me from the October edition of Warm Earth Magazines e-mail newsletter.
If you ever need a reason to justify why you grow veggies or how much time you spend growing veggies or maybe even something to inspire you to get started on growing veggies then this might help.

E-TIPS NEWSLETTER
www.warmearth.com.au

Pouring oil into refrigerators

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson once said: "We're pouring as much oil into refrigerators as we are into our cars". This sounds an odd thing to say, but he's right. Our industrialised food system requires the equivalent of 8 barrels of oil to feed each Australian every year, while our personal transport accounts for 4.5 barrels. So, the store-bought food we buy requires nearly twice as much oil as our cars.

This also squares with an Australian Conservation Foundation study, which found that food consumption is responsible for 28% of the average Australian's greenhouse gas pollution, whereas personal and public transport accounts for only 10.5%. So, growing even some of our own food can make as great a contribution to reducing our carbon footprint as buying a bicycle.

Until next month, happy organic gardening to you all.

Warwick

warwick@warmearth.com.au

So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!! update. #1

Link for the Original So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!!

Hi all,
I been avoiding this update due to the unmitigated failure of the seed to germinate.

It's not very clear in the photo(far left punnet) but I only had two out of six Cos lettuce seeds germinate.
Now I'm not going to blame myself because at the same time I planted up three punnets of three different Tomatoes with varying success, ie six from six, five from six and one from six.

So at this stage I'm going to blame the viability of the seed.

Now while I'm on the topic of seeds and planting I had a very productive day of seed planting yesterday.
First off was carrots of which I have not been that satisfied with the flavour of.
The current variety of carrot I've been growing is named 'All year round', so I planted two different variety's named Topweight and Early Chantenay to see if I can find a more flavorsome carrot.
If anyone has any suggestions for a more flavorsome carrot or a personal favorite, please let me know.

Also my digger's seeds arrived last week so I planted into punnets some Five colour Silverbeet, Listada Di Gandia Eggplant, Rouge D'Hiver Cos Lettuce(red brown var.) and Red Iceberg.

I also planted another couple of small rows of Beetroot Chioggia.

Elephants with wings

I call them elephants with wings others call them "Scotch Grey" the boffins call them Aedes vittiger.

Call them what you like after a month of rainy weather we have them in bucket fulls.

The following was copied from a Brisbane City Council Doc

Aedes vittiger: This is a large pale coloured mosquito which is sometimes mistakenly called
the "Scotch Grey". It is smaller than Ae. alternans and has four obvious dark stripes on its
thorax. This is a broad spectrum feeder which can occur in troublesome waves after rain fills
shallow grassy depressions where the eggs are laid and hatch after flooding. It is a vicious
and persistent mosquito which will bite through clothes.

Baby carrot thinings

Just picked(pulled, lifted, thinned? whatever)!!

My carrots were overdue for thinning, but now I'm thinking steamed baby carrots for dinner.
I just need to work a meal around them.

I haven't had chicken for a while and I've got fresh beans, cabbage, beetroot and baby carrots of course.
ummmmh sounds good to me.
God I love gardening.

Holy Jack and the Beanstalk Batman

I planted two rows of Violet Queen Bush Beans from Digger,s and this is the result after just SIX DAYS.
Sow there little beggars are really keen to go:-)



If you click on the photo you'll get a better idea of their growth.

'tis the season to be silly

The silly season is upon us in taxi world.

Christmas parties and gtg's are on all around town which makes for a busy night, so busy that I worked through to sunrise and being such a beautiful morning and needing to unwind from the night a bit I decided to walk home.

It's about a 45min slightly diagonal walk from south to westish of north.

Here's some photo's I took with my phone. A kinda walk journal











4.50am









5.09am



Queens park












5.14am



Just bright fresh morning daylight











5.16am



Campbell st. looking east from Hume street.
Toowoomba should be well known for it's avenue's of Camphor Laurel streets













5.18am


This looked so much better in real. It's a salmon bougainvillea with the morning sun highlighting it's brilliance.












5.19am



Just sticky beaking over someones front fence.












5.42am



Nealy home. Looking back from where I'd come.
Looking south on Ruthven Street near North Street.












5.43am



Round the cnr. Agghh, Home at last.










5.44am


Just before I go inside I say good morning to my Sage and hello Rhubarb.






Good Night