After a lot of searching, emailing and ringing local breeders looking for silky pullets, I finally found a lady up in Marulan with some chicks for sale. I originally didn’t want to get chicks because of the mucking around with heat lamps etc, but since it was the only way to get some silkies for the girls we decided to go for it.
We bought nine chicks, 4 for us and 5 for my mate Danny. Ours have been named Seraphina, Ro, Luciana and Molly (yes, Barbie movies are big in our house!). Turns out they’re not really that much hassle to look after.
First thing Hannah and Sarah wanted to do was draw pictures of the chicks, so they could show their grandparents and friends what they look like.
Rather than give them out to people, Sarah decided to turn her pictures into a book about chickens:
It’s not just for use when Outlook stops working – it’s a useful preventative action you should run occasionally to repair little problems before they become big problems. Anytime Outlook starts running slower than normal, give this a try.
The Problem: When I send anything to my networked printer, Windows XP pops up a yellow confirmation bubble telling me the item printed. How can I turn that annoying option off?
The Solution: In Control Panel, choose Printers and Faxes. Click File, Server Properties, and select the Advanced tab. Near the bottom, uncheck the box for “Notify when remote documents are printed” and also uncheck the box for “Show informational notifications for network printers”.
In Vista, follow the same steps, but uncheck “Show informational notifications for network printers”.
Another great video series from Milkwood, this one explaining how to make compost without too much effort.
Don’t these videos have great music? I also really like the way they use the “Benny Hill effect” of speeding up the video, so you get a good idea of what they’re doing without needing to sit around and watch someone turn a whole pile of compost. Nice opening and closing credits too.
The web pages for each of these videos are worth visiting, as they have a lot of useful info:
analyse your compost components using the Milkwood Compost Calculator to make sure you have the C:N ratio right
if you get the C:N ratio wrong, your pile will either fester and go rank (too much nitrogen) or take too long to break down (too much carbon)
need at least a cubic metre of stuff for the compost pile to work properly
water the site of your pile before starting
layer your ingredients like a lasagne to make sure things are nicely mixed
water each layer as you go: the bacteria and fungi need water to do their thing
cover with a tarp – stops it drying out, getting too wet, blowing away, etc
Making Compost – Part II
turning the compost pile
squeeze a handful of your compost – you should get one drop out of it – water it if it’s too dry
peel the outside of the compost pile to make the beginnings of the new pile, then dump the inside of the old pile onto the outside of the new pile
mental note – next time, shred paper rather than leaving it whole!
white powdery stuff is anaerobic bacteria, which is not really desirable – just keep turning and watering and it’ll sort itself out
the pile should reach about 60 degrees Celcius around the 4th day, then cool down a bit more with each turning until it’s just warm by the time the compost is ready
urine is a good compost activator if your pile is slow to heat up!
Making Compost – Part III
this compost method is called the Berkley Method – it’s fast and easy
ended up with nice dark compost – a little more sticks and lumpy bits than she’d like, but still pretty good
wow, in January Kirsten was planning to starting a new compost pile every week!
By default, Internet Explorer opens Excel and Word files within the browser window. This can be annoying if you want to work with them in the real applications. To get IE to always open these files using the correct application:
click Start >> Control Panel >> Folder Options
click on the File Types tab
find the XLS file type in the list and click on it
click on the Advanced button
uncheck the “Browse in same window” option
click OK to close the Edit File Type dialog
find the DOC file type and repeat the above three steps
Michael is also well known for his coining the phrase and writing the first paper ever on the Soil Food Web titled ‘Soil Ecology and the Soil Food Web’ in 1974
sugar maples, drop leaves to provide a protective mulch
we are told we need to change our soils from their natural alkaline state to a more acidic pH
but the organic matter dropped by the maples hasn’t changed the pH of the soil where they grow
the organic matter is turned into humus
topsoil under the maples is very thin, with only a thin layer of humus
so we don’t need to make a huge change to soils in order for them to support our plantings
these forests provide an example of how we can use permaculture to alter a landscape without a huge amount of effort – we don’t need to completely change the soil in order to be successful
More videos about soil can be seen at the Soil Secrets web site.
I’ve just discovered the Milkwood site – “Two city kids quit their jobs, pull up stumps and journey to a remote, empty, block of land to start an ultra low impact lifestyle from scratch”. Now these are people I’d love to meet!
Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar are documenting their trials and tribulations via both traditional blogging and short videos. The videos are great, and they really have a flair for making an interesting short film.
This video is really three different views of permaculture gardens rolled into one. Notes below the video.
Forest Gardening with Robert Hart
Robert Hart was born on 1 April 1913, and died on 7 March 2000. He was a vegan (eating around 90% raw food) who took up farming at Wenlock Edge, in Shropshire.
garden is on the site of an ancient Celtic monastery
inspired by the urge to create a practical solution to world hunger
also cared for his handicapped brother, Lacon, born with severe learning difficulties
“vision was to plant a miniature edible forest to fulfil the needs of a healthy diet in beautiful surroundings”
garden was established in the early 1960s
success depends upon planting in layers to mimic nature
7 storeys
canopy layer: tall, light-demanding trees e.g. mature fruit trees
low-tree layer: short, shade-tolerant trees e.g. smaller nuts and fruit trees, and dwarf fruit varieties
shrub layer: bushes e.g. currants and berries
herbaceous layer: perennial vegetables and herbs
ground cover layer: horizontal spreading plants e.g. strawberries
rhizosphere: underground area, plants grown for roots/tubers
vertical layer: climbers, creepers, vines
Mahatma Gandhi was the inspiration, with his vision of a world order of democratic, self-sustaining small communities
some of the trees have been planted in memory of inspirational figures
