down to earth

If you are gardening organically, there is a lot more to it than planting seeds and fertilising. Organic gardening is a holistic method, a complexity of intertwined links between the gardener, the plants, soil, humus, microbes, minerals, water, compost, mulch and visiting insects. One of the ladies asked for a post about beneficial flowers in the garden. They are a great example of that holistic complexity because planting flowers in with the vegetables will attract beneficial insects that will not only help with pollination but also kill parasitic bugs or the sap suckers like aphids.

Any flower that attracts bees is a good addition in the vegetable patch but there are certain flowers that attract the right sort of insects:

Cosmos
Daisies, including echinacea, feverfew, chrysanthemums, gerberas and chamomile
Red clover
Queen Anne's Lace
Carrot flowers
Dill flowers
Marigolds
Alyssum
Nasturtiums
Yarrow
Borage

When I choose flowers for the vegetable garden, I choose those that will attract bees, predatory wasps, beetles, lady beetles, spiders and centipedes, and I also choose those that help me in the home as well. For instance, planting calendulas will attract bees and predatory wasps, and I can use the petals to make calendula salve. Having a few lavender plants will give me lavender for my cleaning products whether it's flowering or not. I love growing yarrow because, like comfrey, it helps stimulate decomposition in the compost heap and looks delightful in an arrangement of flowers on the kitchen table. When the nasturtiums grow wild and threaten to take over the garden, use them as extra green waste for the compost heap - they are the easiest plants to pull out.

When you decide to follow this path with beneficial plants and flowers, it's a good idea to look in your local library to see if they have a book on your local varieties. While that should be your guide, the flowers I've listed above should serve you well if you can't find a local resource.

Another elements you can add to this mix is a bowl of fresh water for the visiting insects. Make sure you place some pebbles or an upturned pot in the water for the insects to land on and to drink from. If they fall into the water, often, they drown. So providing a safe landing and drinking spot for them will see them return day after day to work in your garden.

Don't forget the fragrant flowers as well. Fragrance will help attract bees - such as the orange blossoms above. Walking into a garden full of healthy vegetables, or with shoots showing the promise of what will come, is complemented by fragrance as you walk through it. Out in the garden there is no plastic, steel or aluminium; this is the natural world in all its glory. Enjoy it, get your hands dirty, and silently thank all those visiting helpers who visit your garden every day.

If you plant certain flowers in your garden, please tell us about them and tell us your location too so we know what works in certain areas.

ADDITIONAL READING
Frances has written an excellent guide to beneficial bugs and flowers at Green Harvest.

I get many emails asking my opinion on this and that. I'm sure you all know I'm not a counsellor or any sort and I not familiar with any of the specific problems people are faced with, however, I hope to help by replying and by giving our readers the chance to as well. For all I know, these problems may well have been already tackled successfully by someone reading here who might have the solution. Below are emails from two readers - "Kate" and "Emma". If you think you have something helpful to offer, please leave your comment.

"Ever since I saw "The Good Life" series as a kid I wanted to live sustainably and simply. I am now mother of two small boys and stepmother of four. I work part-time because I found a job I like. My husband has a busy job out of choice as well as to pay maintenance, and with six kids life can get pretty crazy.I'd love to simplfy my life but I am struggling to do so with so much on. Other people suggest 'just plant some vegies with the kids, they'll love it', but the answer isn't as simple as that.Does one need to put these plans on hold while small children are so time-consuming? Is it possible to simplify amidst a busy life?"

There are many ways to live simply. You don't have to live the way Tom and Barbara did; you don't have to change very much at all. My suggestion is to simplify what you're already doing and to put a bit of time and thought into how you organise your family and home. For instance, you could make laundry liquid - that would reduce the cost of your grocery bill and get rid of a few of the chemicals in your lives. Stop buying commercial cleaners from the supermarket and use bicarb and vinegar instead - this is another way to reduce costs and chemicals. You could cook from scratch one or two days a week. Buy your meat in bulk, menu plan, take time out for some alone time, start recycling and get the kids to help.

It will be a great thing to send everyone off to school and work with a lunchbox full of homemade food, not packaged snacks. Could you have a baking session on the weekend to help with that? About 30 minutes and you'd have a couple of cakes or batches of biscuits made for the week ahead. Children love baking, teach them as you go and they might take on that task every week. Organising everyone to clean their own rooms and take their own dirty clothes, sheets and towels to the laundry will help you today and them tomorrow (although they won't know that yet). Expect them to make their own beds and put their clean clothes away.

The children could set the table every evening and then get everyone around the table for dinner and talking about what happened today and what will happen tomorrow. And don't forget to just stop and enjoy it all. Spending time with the children, reading to them, playing games and just talking, shows them that you love them just as much as saying it does. There are many more things you could do that will enable you to live a simpler life and I am sure they'll flow on when you start doing some of these things. It might not be a quiet life with six children, but there will be a lot of helpers.

"I really enjoyed your last 2 posts on "Finding your value at home". I have also noticed that in a lot of your posts you talk about how homemakers seem to be judged or undervalued in today's society. My question is "What should I do if my partner is the one that does not value me being a homemaker?" I am a stay at home mum to my 5 year old son and I study full time at University, I now feel pressured to work part time just to be able to financially contribute to the household. However I know that in doing this I will lose valuable time with my little boy. Because of study I don't have a lot of time leftover to cook, clean, etc. but I still feel like I'm contributing in some way by furthering my education and being there for my son before and after school. I have also offered to manage the finances (I consider myself quite the good saver!) but he still sees his income as "his" money that he should manage by himself. How can I get my partner to see the value in what I do? (We are unmarried and my son is not his, so I'm not sure if that might be contributing to his feelings on the matter)."

Maybe I have got this wrong but if you're using your time to study and "don't have a lot of time leftover to cook and clean etc." then you're more a student than a homemaker. You say that you feel like you're contributing in some way by furthering your education and being there for your son before and after school. Both those things are very worthwhile and important but to be a homemaker, you need to be working in the home as well. I may come across as being too harsh here, and I don't mean to be, I hope by writing this, you'll benefit. I fully understand what you're going through because when I was much younger I studied part-time for a degree while I worked and cared for my family. It's tough, you never have enough time but if you can do it, it gives you a tremendous feeling of achievement and satisfaction.

People usually value those things that give them something they need or want. You say your partner doesn't value what you do and that what you're doing is looking after your son and studying. You say you're not married and that your son is not his son - so that leads me to think you've not be together for a long time. Maybe that connection with your son will develop over time. Will he value the work you put into the home? I know when I was trying to convince Hanno that we could live like this, I decided that I would just get on with it and show him what was possible. I stopped trying to convince him and just worked to make a comfortable home that suited both of us, I shopped for bargains, reduced our grocery bill and saved us a lot of money, I started recycling, mending and gardening. When he saw what was possible with his own eyes, there was no argument. He dived in.

You have to have your priorities clearly in your mind. They are probably, your son, your partner, your life together and your study. But it seems like you want to be a homemaker too, if so, take care of them and yourself well and if you don't have time for full-time study, go part-time instead. Sure it will take longer to get your degree, but you won't be putting your life on hold while you're studying. You can be a part-time student and a homemaker, and that includes cooking, shopping and cleaning, it will just take more time. But you'll be giving your son, your partner and yourself a great gift and you'll be living in a home that supports and nurtures all of you.

But let me be very clear here. You don't have to do part-time work outside the home to make a financial contribution it. You will make a significant contribution simply by being an organised and efficient homemaker. When your partner sees you contributing to the partnership and the home he will probably value your contribution more because it will be impossible not to see it. You'll be able to provide home cooked meals and reduce the costs of running the home because you'll make a lot of what you use and you'll create a warm and welcoming home in the process of doing that. And what a bonus that will be for your son as well. I'm not saying to give up study. I firmly believe we need many more educated women, not less. But if you can study part-time and be a part-time homemaker as well, I think you'll get the life you're looking for and you'll still be working towards your degree, and the chance of a satisfying paid job is still in your future.

I've had a very busy weekend writing various things, re-working the blog and looking after Hanno. He injured his back last week and is in a lot of pain. He can't lift anything, even cleaning his teeth and dressing brings the pain on so I've been bringing him cups of tea and making sure he keeps up with the medication. He's like a cat on a hot tin roof when he's sick. He watched the Hamburg Harbour 823rd birthday celebrations on his computer for a couple of hours but he looked very uncomfortable sitting there trying to support his back. If he's not showing some signs of improvement today, I think we'll be off to the doctor.

With the weather getting cooler, I've had a chance to keep my feet warm with the Ugg boots I bought when I was at Tricia's. They're so cosy! Another cold weather treat was a delicious lamb roast on Sunday night. The leg will see us through a few meals and sandwiches so, although it was fairly expensive, with careful handling and planning, it works out to be quite reasonable. I made enough roast vegetables to do us for two nights and on the third night, I'll make a lamb curry with herb rice.

We've been going quite well with our 50 percent meat reduction. Last Wednesday night we had mushroom omelette, Thursday night we had mixed vegetables in a cheese sauce; Friday night a chicken schnitzel (one breast sliced in half), homemade potato wedges, raw vegetables in the form of homemade coleslaw and a garden salad and Saturday night it was tuna, boiled eggs, the rest of the coleslaw and garden salad. The chooks are laying a lot of eggs at the moment and the garden is starting to produce well, so there is no shortage of fresh food coming from the backyard. It's a great way to cut costs. I hope you're harvesting plenty of fresh food from your garden too.

The grocery challenge is going very well. I did some shopping on Friday afternoon and apart from milk and some fresh vegies late next week, I doubt we'll need anything for another 10 days or so. One of the good parts of late afternoon shopping is that you sometimes find some unexpected bargains. On Friday I picked up a couple of packs of premium mince (ground beef) that had been marked right down. One interesting thing I have discovered is that doing the shopping myself has given me the motivation to completely eliminate food waste. Food is so expensive now and it's a good reminder of that sad fact when you go to the supermarket and stretch your dollars as far as you can. When I come home, I make sure everything is stored properly and all leftovers are eaten for lunch the next day or made into another meal. How are you going with your meat reduction and grocery challenge?

Although it was a busy weekend, I still had time to do a tiny bit of knitting and to make a button necklace. I'll write about it soon. We'll be making button necklaces at our craft afternoons soon as part of our recycling theme. They're a simple idea and easy to make but they look wonderful.

The week ahead looks like it will be another busy and exciting one. Every day it gets a little cooler, the flannel sheets are on the bed, extra blankets and quilts are out and we're all set for winter.

I'm sure most knitters would agree, there is a special thrill in starting a new knitting project. I really love making baby clothes - not only to give to my precious grandsons, but baby projects are small, so they're quick and easy. (And then I get to start more projects.) At the moment I'm knitting for two soon-to-be babies in my life. Tricia's son Danny and his partner Laura are expecting their first baby later in the year, and my wonderful Penguin editor and good friend Jo Rosenberg and her husband Eli are awaiting their first baby in August. So along with Jamie and Alexander, I have no shortage of babies to knit for. Luckily I have a huge stash of Ecoyarns too so it's smiles all around.

This is my knitting at the neighbourhood centre during the week. I haul it around in this very handy recycled bread flour bag. It keeps everything together and clean.

One of the benefits of knitting is that you don't need much equipment. Just a pattern, a pair of needles and yarn will get you going. Later on you can add different sized needles, a needle gauge and some patterns, but there are so many excellent free patterns online, you don't really need to buy any. I have a bag to take my knitting with me when I go out, but that's just an old bread flour bag. However, I have just bought a wool winder. I saw it at an antique and collectables shop when I was out with Tricia. I looked at it, thought of all the skeins of wools I had a home but walked out without it. The next day, after realising I had never seen a wool winder in a shop before, I went back to the shop on my way home and asked about it. It had come from a local home when the lady died. I haggled, got a discount and walked out with it under my arm. I've wound two skeins so far and it's wonderful. I'm so pleased to have it.

The old wool winder. It's probably from the 1920 or 30s. I have it loaded with a skein of cotton above. And below, the ball of cotton wound from the skein and the winder closed up for storage.

Above: A little matching hat and slip scarf combo for one of the babies.

Below: My current project - a newborn cardigan in organic cotton.

I've finished one hat and matching slip scarf in organic cotton and am now working on an apricot organic cotton newborn plain cardigan, the free pattern is from Pickles. I hope to have it finished in the weekend. I want to do up a pair of arm warmers for me for winter and a set of dishcloths for a friend. And for those who have been reading here for a while, I still haven't finished Hanno winter jumper from two year ago, although I've done the front and back and only have the arms to do now. That will be finished off before I do too many other things. Poor Hanno, maybe I should move him up the list.

What do you have on your needles at the moment?

If you have had problems slowing down, I encourage you to take up the delightfully heart-warming and productive craft of knitting. Clicking away with two sticks, using long threads of cotton or wool that you can pick up and put down, take with you when you go out, and continue working on while you're talking to people and being very sociable, slows not only your heart rate but your mind too, and if you let it, your life as well.

While Tricia was here with us, I had an insight in what the old knitting circles and women's social mornings used to be like in past times. Often women used to take their knitting with them when they went out. Why not! It's portable, easy to carry and a good way to connect with others. Whenever you knit in public, often people come over to you and want to feel the texture of the yarn or the garment. Knitting breaks down the barriers, there is something about it that brings people together, and calms you when you do it alone.

Knitting can take a long time, depending on what you're working on, because it is a one stitch at a time craft - like gardening, there is no way to hurry it along. It takes it's own time, or you don't do it at all. And because it does take time and it's something you put time and effort into, it makes sense to me to use the best quality yarns you can afford. I'm lucky to have a new order of Ecoyarns here now. It arrived while Tricia was here. So I invited her to take her pick, I had plenty of knitting needles here, so she started making a simple hat and socks (above) for her first grandchild, Danny and Laura's baby, due at the end of the year. True to her nature and her fine style, she finished them off with tiny rabbits. They're very sweet, one of a kind, and can be safely worn by the newborn because the yarn used is organic.

The photo above is her second project - a newborn cardigan from a Debbie Bliss book. She's using two different types of organic cotton and again, it's unique, soft and very special.

If you've been hoping to take up the needles and learn how to knit, or if you're going from the beginner stage to a slightly more advanced level, I encourage you to choose good quality yarns for your knitting. Buy the best you can afford but check out my sponsor, Vivian at Ecoyarns because she is expanding her business and has plenty of specials at the moment. If you're in a cold climate, there is nothing better than the natural yarns like wool and alpaca to keep keep the cold out. They're natural insulators and are more efficient than fleece or acrylic yarns. In a warm climate, your can't beat knitted cotton, especially on a baby. A little cotton jacket or vest will keep a baby protected and comfortable without over-heating them.

I hope you get hooked on knitting, just like I am. It's soft, gentle and so productive - from these needles and yarn, beautiful garments and helpful household items are made. It's a craft that you get better at simply by doing it. There are plenty of excellent How to Knit videos on You Tube, so get your needles, select your yarns and dive in. It's a world that opens up an abundance of richness, satisfaction and handmade garments. Check out Ravelry for some inspiration. There, knitters from all over the world, show their work, share patterns and develop friendships through this wonderful craft.

Tomorrow I'll show you what I've been working on, as well as some of the new yarn and my very old wool winder. In the meantime, if you need me, I'll be knitting. ♥

Kathy sent me the link to this during the week. It's an excellent online magazine called Seeing the Every day. Thanks Kathy!

This plain cardigan is another fine Pickles baby pattern. I'm knitting it at the moment for one of our new end of year babies.

For anyone interested in working with wood of any kind, check this out.

I met Cath a couple of weeks ago when I was invited to talk at the Permaculture Noosa meeting. Her website, Soil to Supper has a lot of valuable information about food gardening.

If you love jam doughnuts - the ones we call Berliners - go no further. Here is your recipe.

Another excellent fact sheet about commercial insect sprays by Annette McFarlane.

OUR PEOPLE

This is Brenda's blog, Nest Bliss. Brenda shares her life along with patterns, recipes and some lovely photos of real life being lived.

This blog will charm you. It's Christina Lowry's A Little Bird Told Me. And I love Christina's Ten Things I've Learnt About Knitting. It's spot on.

Now that the weather is turning from warmish to cool, I'm taking the time to knit. It's always a wonderful time of year, my favourite. Thank you for your visits during the week. I hope you enjoy the weekend.

IN ADDITION:
I wrote today and recently that I'm knitting for new babies at the end of the year. My sister Tricia is visiting at the moment and she and I are like two chattering old birds clicking away on our needles here. It's really lovely to be knitting with my sister. Anyhow, I've had a few comments and emails asking if these babies are new grandchildren. Well, I think you know me well enough by now to know that if it were, I'd be shouting it out. But this babies are very close to me nonetheless. My much loved nephew, Daniel, and his partner Laura, are expecting their first child later in the year. And that means that Tricia is becoming a grandmother for the first time. The other baby will be the first child of my Penguin editor, Jo and her husband Eli, due in August. Luckily, I just received a large and beautiful order from Vivian at EcoYarns. I'll show you next week but it's all organic cottons and wools that will knit up nicely for these two young families and their babies. Just thinking about it makes me smile. :- )

What a wonderful collection of comments we had yesterday. If you haven't read them yet, make yourself a cuppa, sit down for an hour and read through them. Those comment clearly demonstrates what a wide and diverse group we are. I was fascinated by the variety of work we do, and how an ordinary day can be so different for all of us and yet we're still connected by our work and our lives. I loved reading about your day and I appreciate so many many of you taking the time to comment - I know from my own personal experience that taking that time sometimes seems too much but it really does give us time to slow ourselves down, to connect with others and to understand that none of us is alone.

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I love leftovers. When I can, I always add more vegetables to a meat meal so we have leftovers that can be eaten the following day or frozen for another day in the future. One recent leftover delight was this lamb curry. Originally a baked lamb shoulder, it was enjoyed with baked potatoes, pumpkin, onions and sweet potato. Way too much for one meal, we had the meat for sandwiches the next day for lunch and that night I finished off the shoulder and the roasted vegetables by making up this lamb curry. The recipe could be used for any pre-cooked meat or vegetables and you could replace the curry for chilli, or leave out the spice altogether and make a lamb stew.

One of the reasons this works so well as a leftover meal is that most of the cooking has already been done, the flavour has already developed and the meat and vegetables have areas of caramelisation on them. It really is just a matter of chopping up the leftovers, adding fresh vegetables and spices if you need to, and making a sauce.

In the photo above, I chopped up the leftover roasted vegetables and added a carrot and capsicum (pepper), onion and tomato left over from the lunch sandwiches. These were added to a pan to heat up and start cooking.

While that was happening, I cut all the meat off the bones.

See that brown colouring on the end of the bone, that is pure flavouring. It's caramelisation - it happens when the sugars in the meat (or vegetables) start cooking slowly and the water evaporates, turning the meat brown and changing the flavour.

When the vegetables have cooked, add the meat and the bones to take advantage of those caramelised bits, then add enough water to partially cover the meat and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. You don't have to add any stock or flavourings from a tin or pouch, you'll get the flavour from the bones and pre-cooked meat.

When everything is cooked, you can either thicken the sauce by letting it evaporate, or if you're cooking for a few people and need to bulk the meal out with sauce and rice, thicken it with cornflour or arrowroot. Simply mix a tablespoon (or two in a larger meal) of cornflour with half a cup of water and mix until no lumps remain. Add that to the meat and vegetables and stir in well. Cook it for a further minute to cook out the flour taste, and your meal is ready. Serve with rice or mashed potato. It's fast, very tasty and economical.

I think we'd all agree that written words play a very important role in our lives. I blog almost every day and write every day. As well as the computer writing there is handwriting, and I still love to write by hand, and many of you, but not me, are texting. I have texted once (even the words relating to texting sound wrong to me). When I did, I felt like a monkey trying to write a Shakespearean play. One was enough, I quit and won't text again. Nevertheless, words and their meanings play a big part in my life - some sentences stay with me long after their reading. I particularly enjoy words about productive work.

The other day, Gail wrote this as part of her comment: "Today after i have finished my basic housework, I'll be sitting at my sewing machine making an apron and edging some old towels that I will cut up for cleaning cloths. I think of you and the other ladies who comment often as I go about my day and wonder what you are all doing."

I felt all warm and smily when I read those words; Gail reached out and connected to me in a real sense. Later in the day, when I was in a really boring meeting, my mind wandered back to Gail and I pictured her, cutting up old towels and working away on her sewing machine. I wondered what other regulars and newbies were doing too and decided that today, I'd write a post to find out what an average day looks like in your home or work place. I find it quite fascinating that while I'm sleeping, others are ironing or taking children to school and when I'm baking or washing up in the morning, others are piecing together a quilt in the fading light of day. Over on the forum, Rose sometimes starts a thread asking what members are doing over a 24 hour period. That is what this is about today.

Please join in if you have time, even if you don't usually comment. Let's build up a written package of our days from Norway to New Zealand, and every place in between. Add the time you're writing and what the weather is like and, of course, anything else you can - be it what you think is dull or what anyone would think is exciting. I will love all the "dull" and ordinary things. :- )

Wednesday - 5am. It's 17C and raining lightly.

Today I'll make breakfast, feed the cat and chickens, let the chooks out to roam. Then wash up and clean the kitchen, tidy up the lounge room, put some washing on, get some bread on the go and make our bed and the one in the guest room.

At 9.45am I'll drive over to the coast to pick up my sister from the airport and bringing her back home. No doubt we'll talk a leg off an iron bed, we'll drink tea and talk some more. We'll have lunch with Hanno when the bread is ready, I'll wash up and put on a pot of pea and ham soup for our tea. Later, we'll um, talk, and I'll do some knitting. She usually brings some hand work with her, often it's sewing, so I guess she'll work on that while I knit. I'm knitting baby woollies again.

Late in the afternoon, I'll start on tomorrow's blog and work out what I'll talk about at a function we're going to on the weekend. It's The Planting - part of the Woodford Folk Festival and we three have been invited along to be part of it.

So what are you doing today?

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I'll be signing books at the Collins bookshop at Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore this Saturday from 10am - 12 md. Come along and say hello if you're close by.