Food prices and weather extremes

The Sydney Morning Herald’s columnist, Paul Sheehan, has today written a column about food prices and weather extremes; see it here - www.smh.com… Speaking of gardening and food, there’s lots of rain forecast for the next few weeks so it’s a good time to be planting, mulching and composting, Michael  Read More

Floods, droughts and coal

For a discussion about the links, consequences and finance relating to coal, droughts and floods you may wish to have a look at my article in The Fifth Estate, here: www.thefifthestate.com… Time to turn off the coal, methinks, Michael  Read More

How to keep your compost from smelling

Compostworm instructions Seven compost bins in Peace Park, one for each day of the week A key tool we use to keep compost in our road compost bins from smelling is to turn it at least once a week with an augur. It’s called a ‘Compost Worm”.  The how-to-use for it is with this post. It’s a metal thing with a screw shaped end that we dig in and rotate around the sides of the bins to bring up the wetter material from the lower part of the compost pile and... Read More

Salt, lies and failed regulators

One of Australia’s best selling books is the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. It’s an eye opener (and, hopefully, a mouth closer). It and heart specialists agree; salt is killing many Australians.  They die from the high blood pressure, strokes and heart-related illnesses it causes. Combine overweight – not much, just some fat around the tummy and you’re overweight; too much salt and too much stress and it’s just a question of time until these illnesses... Read More

My plan to secure Australia’s food

In a column (Bathurst Burr) I write for an online magazine called, The Fifth Estate, I’ve offered a plan to secure Australia’s food, and it’s here: www.thefifthestate.com… Enjoy; may we have action from all that we’ve got in government now and from ourselves, no new committees or agencies  . . . beginning now, Michael  Read More

Food facts

One of my Xmas gifts was a terrific booklet, The Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping, published by Ethical.org….au – thanks Beth. Using it and other sources I’m adding another topic to my blog, Food facts (that’s its ‘Tag’ – to see all my blogs by topic you may search for them by clicking on a ‘Tag”). One of our greatest powers as citizens and individuals is to choose to spend our money so we do not support destruction of... Read More

Bob through the window

Bob looking through my window Bob and Bert, the chooks in the run outside the kitchen window, love to see what’s happening inside the house. Who knows, some cooking may be underway and some tucker may be about to be thrown through the kitchen window to peck? Lottie, who has the blog, A place a day, took this lovely photo through one of the windows (it’s got raindrops on it, so you’re looking through a glass sparkly).  It’s Bob checking things out. Bob... Read More

Food box data

Sydney Food Connect has provided data about this months boxes: “Households/week: 247 City Cousins: 32 Price to farmers: 40c/$ Organic or chemical free: 100% Food miles/week: 173km Our market comparison with five other organic and non-organic produce box services this month showed we are on average 14% cheaper!” Julian Lee, co-founder of Sydney Food Connect, is one of five environmentalists named in today’s the(sydney)magazine’s list of Sydney’s top... Read More

TAFE Outreach students visit orchard farm

Today a van of we city folk visited an organic orchard run by Jeremy and Antony Wallis, called Colo River Citrus, located at the confluence of the Hawkesbury and Colo rivers, in one of the most beautiful small valleys I’ve seen within an hour’s drive west of Sydney. Tafe’s Outreach Program in association with Cafe Cana are running a sustainable living course and I’m teaching it with Paddy Lane. Our visit today was a chance for the students to see how oranges... Read More

Gas drilling and fracking

Amidst the gas drilling frenzy across Australia and the limp coverage of it by our media I’ve found this recent blog by one of my favourite energy writers, James Kunstler, and some of it is here: “• The fracking fluid is a secret proprietary cocktail formula amounting to 5 percent of the liquid injected into the earth. It’s composed of: sand; a jelling agent to suspend the sand because water is not “thick” enough; biocides to kill bacteria that... Read More