We bought two new chickens on the weekend. A buff Sussex named Quince and a Light Sussex named Quentin. My Australian friends will know who she is named for. ; - ) They have been hand reared on a rare breed chicken farm so they love being carried around and are very tame. They've settled in very well with the other girls and Martha, our buff Orphington, is looking after them. Martha is a big golden puff of a chook; she looks motherly and is gentle and slow. I'm sure they'll enjoying living here.

We love our chooks. They are a constant source of entertainment for us. They help make our backyard the productive place we want it to be and they give us healthy eggs with golden yolks that taste much better than any egg you can buy in a supermarket. Even the expensive organic omega 3 eggs don't come close to a backyard egg. The difference is freshness. Domestic eggs are always superior because they don't go through the cycle of being collected, graded, transported and unpacked, to sit on a shelf for a period of time.


We live in the sub tropics, so we have a very short Spring and a long Summer. In the next week or so we'll start preparing the backyard for Summer. We want our chickens to be as comfortable as they can be during the hot months so there are a few things we can do now to provide that comfort.

The most important place in a hen's life is her coop. It needs to be protective from predators and the weather and safe enough for her to lay her eggs there. Hanno cleans out the coop on a regular basis but in the next week he'll check that everything is in order, he'll get rid of cobwebs and do a thorough clean out of the coop and the nesting boxes. We have 14 chickens and four nests. They always have a favourite nest but all four of the nests are being used now so that tells me they feel comfortable in all of them. Our coop has doors that can be closed. Sometimes when there is a severe storm forecast we will herd the chooks into the coop and close the door. Chooks have been known to die of fright during a thunderstorm, so we make sure they're confined to a place they know and feel safe in.


Out in the yard, there are plenty of shady places but we also put up little metal sheets that they can shelter under and stay dry when it rains. If you live in a hot climate, it's best to let the chooks find their own cool places. They will generally be where they can scratch into the dirt and make little hollows. They sit in these when it's hot and the soil cools them. When it's hot and you see the chooks have make these hollows, get the hose and wet the hollows, it helps the chooks cool down more. Our chooks have chosen the area under a clump of short palm trees as their favourite place on a hot day. There are plenty of those little scratched hollows there and we make sure to keep the area hosed down on hot days.


Another thing we'll do closer to the hot weather is to get some shallow water containers that the chooks can stand in. They will cool down by standing in the water. Make sure the water is in the shade and stays cool. If you have a really hot day, you could herd the chickens into the coop and put the sprinkler on the roof for a short time. Overall though, letting the chooks find their own cool spot and leaving them there all day will probably serve you best. Make sure you check on them during the hottest part of the day.

Make sure there are ALWAYS several containers of cool fresh water. All of them should be in the shade.

If the chooks suffer from heat stress they'll stop laying and if it's severe enough they won't lay for weeks, sometimes months. Heat stress is a big problem with chickens, it's best to avoid it rather than treat it. If you do have a heat stressed chook, dunk it under some cool water to cool it down. If she's been sitting in a dirt hollow, wet the area with a hose to cool things down a bit. If you have electricity in the hen house,and you can't let the chooks free range, put an electric fan out there on the worst hot days.

Chooks ask so little of us, just a bit of food, water and safety, and they return so much. Don't leave your preparations too late. When the hot weather sets in, you'll be better off sitting on the verandah with a cold ginger beer rather than rushing about trying to keep the chooks cool.

The link is here. Please sign up for your account with Yuku first, the link is at the top of the page. Most of the forum will be viewed by members only. I'm setting that up now. If you go in now you'll see the whole board.

After you sign up, please introduce yourself and start posting. I'll be along later today.

I had a wonderfully restful day yesterday and feel better for it today. Thank you for all the good wishes you sent.

I've had some emails recently from younger women thanking me for being their role model. I love getting those emails because one of the things I hope to achieve writing on my blog is to show, by example, how we can work towards a better future simply by living according to our values and putting in the hard work when it's necessary. I am quite confident in this role because I grew up in a time when mothers, aunts, grandmothers, teachers and older women in general supported other women, especially the younger ones new to married life and raising children. I grew up knowing that when it was my turn, I would pass on what I know and would encourage other women in their various roles, both as homemakers and working women.

I didn't know then that our culture would change so much and that instead of looking to the women around them, it would be celebrities who would be seen as role models. I didn't know that women would become so competitive and try to outshine each other. I didn't know that overseas holidays and flash houses would replace the hope of a good life as the prize everyone worked towards. How times have changed.


At the risk of sounding like my mother and grandmother, in my day we women supported and encouraged our friends, work mates and neighbours. We didn't envy each other; if one of us had something outstanding, it was a joy to everyone that one of us had such a prize. That doesn't happen much now. Now, in general, we are all trying to keep up with the Joneses. And I don't know why. Mr and Mrs Jones are probably up to their eyeballs in debt.

I hope that part of your return to a simpler life will allow you to show support to others. I hope you'll share what you know so that others might benefit through your knowledge. Selfishness and resentment belittle us all. Having more than someone else doesn't make you better than them, it just means you have more. I hope we're all able to open our hearts up to those around us and be a role model. If they are mean spirited, show, by example, how life should be lived, don't descend to their level.


If we are to change this sad trend towards selfish and mean lives, we will do it by living our lives with generosity and kindness and by modelling that behaviour. We all need to be proud of how we are living and what we're striving for and be open enough to talk about what we want in life. If we start doing that, and let others see we are living well, it will make a difference. Like everything it will be slow but that shouldn't stop us from starting. Live your life with confidence, show respect to those around you, give more and expect less. And when your friends ask you why you changed and if you're happy, tell them (without preaching), be their role model, and support and encourage them to follow your lead.

ADDITION: I've been thinking for a long time that I'll add a forum to my blog. You'd be able to ask questions, support each other and generally be part of an open community. Would you like this? Would you visit? It will be free. If so, I'll need a couple of people, with experience, to help me as moderators. Is anyone interested? The forum is almost ready to launch but I need your input to progress further.

I need to rest today. I feel it in my bones. I had a meeting Monday night, then two days working, yesterday I worked alone. What needed doing has been done, I took time on Tuesday afternoon to visit my sick friend after work, I returned many phone calls, interviewed a new volunteer, bought groceries for our food bank and fund-raising, wrote the newsletter and a lot of emails, organised a few things and dealt with the clients who wandered in. Today I return to my home, and today I'm looking after myself.

Long gone are the days when we frequently replace bought items that we use at home. Hanno is on a pension and I do paid work infrequently, so the money is not there any more. Now we look after what we own. We buy the best quality we can afford then we look after it knowing that the time and effort we put in will extend the life of the product. We see this as an important part of our lives now, it certainly saves us money, but it also lightens our footprint on the earth.

This philosophy applies both inside and outside the home. We have regular times throughout the year when we check and maintain. I wrote about this recently in the spring cleaning posts. Since then one of our water tanks ran dry so it was the perfect time to tip it over, look inside and made sure everything was as it should be.

We bought this tank when we first came to live here 12 years ago. It's a 5,000 litre corrugated iron, lined tank, made locally by a small business that is no longer operating. The workmanship on the tank is excellent. All these years later, after sitting in the sun and surviving cold winters, it is still just like it was on the day we installed it.

Cleaning out a tank is a simple procedure. When it is completely empty, disconnect it from the downpipes, the pump and hose and then find someone to help you tip it onto its side. If you need to look inside, and Hanno always NEEDS to do this, rest it on the ground with some bricks against the side to stop it rolling. You may need your hose in hand while you do this, depending on how much gunk is in there. Have a good look, check for light coming in which will indicate a hole, or at the very least, a split in the tank.

When you've done your inspection, you can give it a good hosing and clean it out thoroughly.

The amount of gunk in there will depend on where the tank is located. If you have a lot of trees near your home, some leaves will be in the tank. Depending on the efficiency of your filter where the tank is connected to the downpipe, you'll have whatever has been on your roof since you last cleaned the tank. This might still look like leaves or bird feathers or insects or may have decomposed and settled as black silt at the bottom of the tank. I drink our tank water sometimes. I didn't like the look of that silt pouring out of the tank. But I'm still here to tell the tale so I'm either as healthy as a horse or the silt looks a lot worse than it is.

When the water starts running clear, let it drain out completely. While that is happening, check the base of the tank as well as the ground it is sitting on. Many people place their tanks on a cement base. We've always used compacted crusher dust, held in by a circle of bricks. That has done the job perfectly for us.

Then raise the tank back to its position and reconnect it to the roof and to the hose outlet and pump, if you use one. Then you just have to be patient and wait for rain to fill it up again. For me, that's the most difficult part. I like things to happen NOW.

And finally, a photo of the ice cream we ate last night. Hanno said he'd been waiting for it all day after reading the blog yesterday morning. Unlike me, Hanno waits for things. :- )

I made vanilla bean ice cream on the weekend. It's probably the best ice cream I've made so far and it's also the most simple - no eggs, no custard, just items from the fridge and pantry. Trouble is, I've been so busy, we haven't eaten it yet. Oh, we test tasted along the way but a sit down dessert will have to wait until tonight. BUT! I'm in a hurry again this morning so I can't waffle on. When we eat our ice cream tonight, I'll take a photo of the finished product.


VANILLA ICE CREAM

• 2 cups milk - this can be any milk you have in the house, skin, no fat, soy, powdered, full cream
• 1 cup cream
• one vanilla bean or two teaspoons vanilla extract. Please don't use vanilla essence in this, it is fake vanilla and will not do it justice.
• 1 can condensed milk - I made my own, it's simple. The recipe is below.

1. Add the milk and cream to a saucepan and heat.
2. Scrape out the vanilla bean and add the seeds or add your extract.
3. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
4. Remove the vanilla bean.
5. Add the condensed milk and stir.
6. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
7. When the mixture is cool, place it in a container and put it in the freezer.

If you have an ice cream machine ...
Wait until the mix is forming ice crystals, then add it to the machine and start processing.

If you don't have an ice cream machine (or if you have one and thought the bowl was in the freezer but it wasn't) ;- ) ...
After the mix has formed ice crystals, remove it from the freezer every 45 minutes and give it a good stir until it's almost frozen.
When it reaches that state, put it in a freezer container with a lid for storage.

The ice cream will be smoother if you have an ice cream machine but it's mighty fine made with muscle power. BTW, my ice cream maker bowl will remain in the freezer over summer. I'll be doing some gelato and sorbets soon. Stick around.

HOMEMADE CONDENSED MILK
I did a post on this a couple of years ago but here it is again:

• 1 cup powdered milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons soft butter

Put all the ingredients in a small processor and whizz until the sugar is dissolved. This is much cheaper than a tin of condensed milk and it tastes the same.

Just to quickly answer some questions from yesterday.

Karen Sue, the lids on those preserves were sealed in a water bath. You'll need a better spot for your tomato seedlings. Growing leggy ones will only bring you grief.

Jody, I sometimes use Epsom salts when I sow seeds. It will help with germination. And we spray seaweed tea on leaves and pour it into the soil. It's a great plant tonic and will build up the health of your plants.

Ann, I can tell you and Peter live in a colder climate. Up here, most people would be horrified to have a window sill that gets sun.

Dora, we usually pull out our tomato plants when they have reached a certain height and stop producing flowers. Waiting for a second crop doesn't pay off here. We'd rather have fresh plants ready to follow on with.

Jessica, I have just started a new plant. I'll write a post on ginger beer when it's ready in week or so.

And now I'm off to send off my next Burke's Backyard article and to sort out some liquid soap I made yesterday. I had to go out before I finished. Have a lovely day, work hard and take care of yourself.

ADDITION: I posted at the co-op today. That post is here.

Tomatoes are the most popular plant in the vegetable garden. Everyone likes to grow them. They can be a difficult crop, because they suffer from a number of diseases and the wildlife love them, but if you can get it right, it's worth it. I wrote this post a year ago on growing tomatoes from seed but I want to add a few hints that might make it easier for you.

Select your seeds and plant the seed in a propagation tray full of seed raising mix. This is not potting mix, it's a special sandy open soil that will give your tomato seeds the best chance of germinating. You can make your own seed raising mix, or buy a bag. I'll do a post on potting mix and seed raising mix soon. Plant one see per cell, at the depth recommended on the packet, and label them with the type of tomato and the date. Then water them in with a plastic bottle sprayer. If you use the hose you risk moving the seeds around.

Place the tray in a sheltered area that gets sunlight for most of the day. If the area is too protected and the seedlings get too little sunlight, they'll grow tall and leggy and develop into weak plants that you'll have trouble growing.

Depending on your climate, about seven days later, the seed will germinate and start to grow. It will get to the stage where you have two smooth leaves on each side of the stem. Then, true leaves will form that will be crinkly, like tomatoes leaves. Never let your seedlings dry out, but don't over water them and make sure they have good drainage. If the tray is kept wet it may encourage fungal disease. One watering a day should be enough but if you're in a hot climate, you should check them in the afternoon as well and give them a little drink if the soil is dry.

When the tomatoes look like this, it's time to pot them on. You'll need small pots, those long tubes are ideal. Carefully transplant the seedling to it's own pot and bury the stem a little deeper than you normally would for other plants. Tomatoes can grow more roots from the stem and if you allow them to do this, you get a stronger pant with a bigger yield of tomatoes. The tomatoes below are the same as those above just two weeks later.

The tomato seedlings above are potato leaf potatoes - most potato leaf tomatoes are heirlooms. These are Brandywines.

These are regular leaf tomatoes - cherry tomatoes. These seedlings came up in a pot that I'd put some of our homemade compost in. The seeds germinated in the pot, so I transplanted them into their own pots and soon they'll be planted out in the garden. When the tomatoes are the size of the cherry tomatoes, or when they start glowing flowers, it's time to plant them in the garden.

Make sure your stakes are already in - putting them in later will damage the tomato roots. Plant the seedling deep into the soil, an inch or two lower than you normally would. Clip off the lower leaves to allow you to do this. Tomatoes like a rich soil but not much fertilising once they're in the ground. Giving them too much nitrogen will give you huge green lush bushes but you'll get few tomatoes. Put a tablespoon of sulphate of potash (it's organic) in the planting hole and water the plants in with a seaweed tea. Then stand back!

Tomatoes require a bit of housekeeping to keep them growing well. Gently tie the main stem to the stake and continue doing this as the bush grows bigger. Clip off the lower leaves, clip off all diseased leaves. Don't put the diseased leaves in the compost. Keep them well mulched. We use straw or hay as a mulch and we push it close to the stem. Sprinkle a little blood and bone into the mulch to encourage new roots to grow into the mulch. The tomato will send out new roots wherever the mulch is touching the stem.

Water the plants, depending on your climate, maybe two or three times a week. Top up with a tonic of seaweed or worm tea every two or three weeks.

You can pick tomatoes green without it affecting their taste. Tomatoes ripen due to the warm air, not sunlight, so harvesting your crop green and ripening in the warm air on the veranda or on the kitchen window sill will give you excellent tomatoes. We also harvest our tomatoes green because in our main growing season there are a lot of bugs and birds just waiting for a nice ripe tomato to feast on.

You won't get great crops in your first season or two, but if you stick with it, you'll perfect your technique for your climate. It's different for all of us, just learn as you go and don't give up. Overall, tomatoes will give you a lot of satisfaction when you harvest a good crop. They can be used in so many ways - both ripe and green - and having a slice of home grown tomato on a piece of your own freshly made bread is a treat only few of us will know. Good luck with your crops and happy gardening.