ROAST GARLIC for your STOCKPILE

When you have an abundance of garlic, there are lots of ways to preserve it, including dehydrating, pickling, and roasting....I'm sure there are plenty of ways to preserve your garlic, and I would love for you to tell me. For now though this post is about roasting your garlic cloves.

I have run out of roasted garlic in the freezer, so this is why I have roasted some today.....The oven was on already for some 'Herb n Garlic bread rolls'...you can scroll down to see them........

I love having roasted garlic on hand in the freezer....I can pop some in a sauce...or gravy.....I even use it in baking sometimes....and it is good when you are desperate coughing with a really bad cold...and you need a good quick soup...Oh yeah, chicken soup...that gets a few dabs of roasted garlic too....Come to think of it...I use it alot....but I never have to put the oven on just for that purpose.....I would never dream of putting the oven on only to roast a few cloves of garlic.

Ready for roasting...but I normally peel them.......

After getting really sticky peeling the roasted cloves.
Never again!
.Now I know why I peel them before I roast them...lol

After removing them from the ice-cube tray.
stored in the freezer in a press-seal bag.

While preparing the veg for tea tonight, I decided to cook all of the sweet potato I had on hand...the excess potato will be stored in the freezer in 1 cup batches...This makes it very easy to defrost for baking scones and muffins....I lay them flat and they defrost within 10 minutes. I also do this with mashed banana and pumpkin too.

Ready for the freezer.

When I visited Sonia, she gave me half of a lovely little mini rockmelon...It was soooo sweet...I just had to save the seeds for next season....You can see here that the seeds have all seperated from the flesh (the flesh is floating with any bad seed) ....

Now they just have to dry, and I will put them away until planting time.....
Yummmm and many thanks Sonia.

Here are the Herb n Garlic bread rolls I made today....they are a bit crowded, but I only have two racks in my oven,...and one was taken up with a roasting Leg of Pork...($4.99 per kg at Aldis...huge leg of Pork for $19.67)

Herb n Garlic bread rolls.

I would love to know how you preserve your garlic...Please leave a comment, so I can get back to you.
Thanks for reading....I am loving the feedback I am starting to receive.....so leave some more today!...My boys love me reading the comments to them.

EASY CHEAP WORM FARM

While completing the compost/recycling workshop...I learn't many things as you would know from my last post.
We also learn't how to build the cheapest worm farm I have ever seen...So with some worms from the course, thanks to Brook who won and shared her prize....I set off home to find a nice cool spot for my worms and to source the items needed to make them a home.

Now all you need is 2 foam broccoli boxes...4 kebab sticks....and worms,.....some compost and maybe some mulch.    and food scraps......How easy could it be?  This easy....watch this............

The top box gets holes punched in it.

The bottom box gets 4 skewers stabbed into it like this.....

The top box is now connected to the bottom box.

Add some shredded newspaper on the bottom of the top box.

Wet it down...

Add some compost for your worms to rummage in...
.if you don't have compost and are just starting out, you can use plain peat.

Feed your worms some food scraps.
Not too many, as you may only have a small amount of worms...
.the ratio of food you give them has to be small enough for them to cope,
otherwise the scraps may rot and you may be able to smell it.

Where to get your worms, you ask?  Ask a neighbour or a friend who you know already has a working worm farm....a handful of worms are not going to be missed from a fully established worm farm....or put a request out on freecycle even.
DRAINAGE & HARVESTING THE CASTINGS.....
When I want to collect the "worm tea" (worm wee)...I will just remove the top box, pour the tea into another container and re-assemble the boxes....
To harvest the castings...When the top box is almost full....I will scoop all the worms over to one end of the box...and put some food down on the lower empty side....this will in turn make the worms migrate to the food, leaving me to gather the lovely goodness that they have created.....add some compost to the box....allow them to sort it out...and feed them if needed....back to work for the worms.

COMPOST COURSE THROUGH MY COUNCIL

Today I attended a FREE course run by my local council on Composting. I recommend checking your local council website to see what workshops are available for you. Local Council's are supporting the efforts of residents, by running free or very cheap workshops...Some councils supply free compost bins if you attend the course...What an excellent incentive for attending a workshop! The compost bin I will receive when I pick it up is a 120 litre original waste bin...the base has been removed to allow contact with the earth...and the lid is still intact. Excellent!! Monday morning bright and early I will pick up my new compost bin.

Please note: This is based on the recycling facilities for Shellharbour Council...

Check with your council for more details.

What I learnt while attending the course

Here is a table I created.

COMPOST FOR LIFE Get Involved, Protect, Conserve www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au  Remember: Yellow Compost bin items are sorted by hard-working real people of the community.
YELLOW topped Bin	GREEN topped Bin	RED topped Bin
· Aerosol cans – (emptied & lids removed) · Aluminium · Bottles · Butter containers · Cake/biscuit trays · Cardboard · Chinese containers · Clear plastic cups · Coffee cup lids · Envelopes (with/without windows) · Foil bag from biscuit box · Foil trays · Food cans · Glass bottles · Make-up jars –(emptied) · New fridge/tv polystyrene packaging · Paper · Pens-outer case · Pizza boxes –clean · Plastic tubs · Printer cartridges · Pudding tubs · Soda bottles · Textas · Toothpaste tubes – (emptied) · Tupperware · Water bottles · Yoghurt containers · NO BROKEN GLASS	· Anything from the garden · Small twigs · Cuttings · Grass clippings · NO FOOD SCRAPS · NO DOG POO	Any residual waste that cannot be placed in either the yellow or red bin. · Any plastic bags you can scrunch in your fist. · Diabetic needle tops · Juice cartons · Long Icy-Pole wrappers · Nappies-disposable · Newspaper wrappers · Pizza boxes –dirty · Polystyrene cups & trays. · Popper cartons · Timber off-cuts · UHT Milk Cartons · Coloured Junk Mail · NO COMPUTERS · NO TV’S

Now here is another table I have created.

Looking even closer at your recycled items.

BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE YELLOW BIN
THINK ABOUT HOW ELSE IT CAN BE USED
YELLOW topped Bin	HOME COMPOST BIN	RECYCLE & REUSE
· Aerosol cans – (emptied & lids removed) · Aluminium · Foil bag from biscuit box · Foil trays · New fridge/tv polystyrene packaging · Pens-outer case · Printer cartridges · Textas · Toothpaste tubes – (emptied) START A BATTERY RECYCLING TUB AT HOME Have a purple ice-cream container in your home recycle area & label for small batteries. See below for a drop off point.	· Cardboard · Envelopes (with/without windows) · Paper · Pizza boxes –clean · Garden waste · Small twigs · Grass clippings · Food scraps · Onion skins · Egg shells · Fruit seeds · Vacuum waste · Dryer lint · Newspapers – shredded · Icy Pole sticks ADD A BOKASHI BUCKET TO YOUR HOME COMPOST SYSTEM · Food scraps · Meat scraps · Chicken fat · Animal bones · Cooked leftovers · Breads · Pasta & Rice	· Bottles · Butter containers · Chinese containers · Clear plastic cups · Coffee cup lids · Food cans · Glass bottles · Make-up jars –(emptied) · Plastic tubs · Printer cartridges · Pudding tubs · Soda bottles · Tupperware · Water bottles · Yoghurt containers · Cake/biscuit trays · USE SMALL TUBS FOR RAISING SEEDLINGS · DONATE UNWANTED ITEMS TO A PRE-SCHOOL · REUSE CORDIAL CONTAINERS AS CANNISTERS (eg Rice, Sugar, Flour)
·  PRINTER CARTRIDGES: All types and brands can be recycled via the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ recycling boxes in participating Australia Post, Officeworks, Harvey Norman,Tandy, Dick Smith Electronics and Powerhouse stores. ·  CORKS: Guides Australia collects wine and champagne corks nationally through a network of individuals and collection points at hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. ·  MOBILE PHONES: These can be recycled via most mobile phone outlets. ·  PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS: These can be recycled at most Coles, Woolworths, Franklins and Safeway supermarkets. ·  BATTERIES: Batteries of all sizes can be recycled via Battery World near Bunnings.

After learning so much on composting..................

I am excited to compost more of the items I use at home.

I have a whole new list of items to add to my Bokashi bucket..........

and I am determined to start a proper recycling area at home in the near future.

So you will have to check back and see how its going.

We also learnt about starting a worm farm...10,000 worms were included as a raffle, but divided by the winner and shared with 3 other people....How lovely! I took home some worms too, but that will be another post in the next few days.

If you have any other ideas..please don't hesitate to leave a comment. After all, we need to learn from one another....Recycle your knowledge and pass it on.

New garden bed for Berries - Part 1

Yep your following....are you keeping up with all that I did today...it was hard work, and I had many breaks....otherwise there is no way I could complete all this work..but you see, I need the trailer empty because I have to go pick up a load of pavers to finish off mum's gardening area.....and before I do that, I wanted to get some mushroom compost....Sorry I am getting off track...so much has been done today.....When I finish this post, I'm off to bed.

Now, back to the new garden bed for the berries...........

continued on from the last post.........(I have a thornless blackberry which is very sad...I have had it for I think two seasons now, and it isn't growing very well....I think maybe, just maybe it doesn't like being WHIPPER SNIPPED...yep...you heard me....DS16 is a bit slap happy with the Whipper Snipper around the poor blackberry vine.....)

It's been calling out to me to help it...this Thorn-less Blackberry Vine....so today was the first day of the rest of it's life...lol........

After digging it up, no wonder it wasn't growing...it's totally water logged....We have a horrible clay based lawn in the front yard. So I shook most of the clump of clay off the roots of the vine..and placed it in a pot to recover...there it will stay for a few weeks to rest. I also re-potted into a larger pot, two Raspberry Vines I got marked down at Bunnings...they were $6 each....Bargain I reckon....So a new garden bed for the berries is called for......

First I mapped out the area I wanted on the fence line...Hah!, not really, I just started digging at the hole I had made from uprooting the Thorn-less Blackberry. To make a no-dig garden, it is an excellent start to chip away the topsoil and any grass and roots in the area. I didn't do this with the big garden bed, but I thought seeing they needed good drainage, I would go the whole hog...and do it properly....

Yep weed matting and all....(I have no cardboard left after making the big garden bed.)

I have had plenty of practice chipping grass and topsoil, as I paved our back yard...There is 12 tonne of road-base under our paver's in the back yard..Phew!! that was a huge job...it took me the whole summer....many summers ago (6 I think).   

So here is the sorry sad Thorn-less Blackberry vine after being re-potted.

and also the two Raspberry Vines...

Baby steps at this stage....

Hubby had just got home from work

so I knew it was time to go inside....

He looked as burnt out as I felt.

..........................

Day 1 comes to an end.

I have a busy day tomorrow out of the house, I'm off to the library hunting convicts...Yep Convicts...not sure I will find any, but I am enrolled in a free course at the library to learn all about researching them....So far Saturday is free, besides the usual Saturday list....and Sunday I am enrolled in a free Compost Course run by the council...at the end you get a voucher to take to the nursery to pick up a free Compost Bin....Well; I can't pass up that opportunity....and I really need to learn more about composting. I only use the Bokashi bucket that I made, but it's doing well...

A light spray of water on the Mushroom bags tomorrow

morning and I'm off hunting convicts.....

What are you up-to on Friday? 

It's Rhonda's birthday on Friday,

so pop over to Down to Earth 

and wish her a happy birthday.....

If I don't see everyone before Monday, its because I am too busy, 

but I'm sure we will all catch up....

Have a good weekend and hope to hear from you all soon.

Just luvin' this bloggin' and all its peeps.

Another trip to the mushroom farm and a very flat tyre.

I have been pretty busy today...probably over done it again...Oh well...that's what bedtime is for...to recover for the next day..lol....
Here is some of the work I did today....and what an adventure....

First off, I had to empty the trailer of dirt again....There wasn't much left...this load is from filling the new garden in the front yard.....I actually had 5 wheelbarrows of soil left...wow...it didn't look like that much...and I had to have the trailer on the card and heading off by 10.30....
Where do you think I was going with the trailer on?
To get more Mushroom Compost of course. At $3 a bag...and I could get anything from no mushrooms to 2kg from each bag.  How can I resist after the last lot I got? I love fresh mushrooms and they are so healthy for you.

Picture my DS16 and I walking out of the bunker stuffing our faces with freshly picked mushrooms...I had to buy a kilo for an aunty and we just couldn't help it...so fresh.....We're standing outside the bunker waiting for the men to come and load the trailer...eating freshly picked mushrooms...and DS16 turns to me and says...."They just don't get any better than this Mum...they're so fresh, we should buy more"....lol matey...that's why I am buying the bags of compost...I'm not paying $6 kg when in a few days we will have our own....Yep mushies are $6 from the mushroom farm, much cheaper, and much much fresher.

After offloading a few bags to Sonia on the way home,
and some for a neighbour.

On returning home, there was a bus parked across the road, and seeing I only like reversing the trailer from one way....and the bus being in direct path of my sharp turning car....I went to the end of the street, and turned around.  Well, we nearly made it home without any hiccups, and we would have too, if I hadn't hit the gutter when making the u-turn.....Oooops....huge buster with a flat tyre....lucky I don't live on a long street, with that big load of soil in the back; Boy, did it make some noise with each revolution of the tyres....
Oh well, it will give the neighbours something else to talk about hey..lol....
Outof the car, and about 15 minutes later, all is good and the original rim is in the back of the car to go to be replaced. After that I can put the spare back on the front of the trailer.

I thought I would be changing the tyre on the trailer, but you know your boys are growing up when you can just sit back and give instruction...I'm oh so proud. He knows more about the compressor than I do...lol, but I had to show him where to put the jack.

After DS16 changed the tyre, he even helped unpack the trailer and put the compost bags under mums unit....What a gem is he....School holidays can be a blessing. Do you get your children working while they are on their school holidays?
Sorry, it was too hot to do a tutorial on this one....and I still had a lot more to do in the garden....
................................

Like a new bed for the berries...I have a thornless blackberry which is very sad...I have had it for I think two seasons now, and it isn't growing very well....I think maybe, just maybe it doesn't like being WHIPPER SNIPPED...yep...you heard me....DS16 is a bit slap happy with the Whipper Snipper around the poor blackberry vine.....
But before I go any further I am going to make this another post.....so off I go....are you following.....?????

I had a busy morning yesterday..and the new garden bed is really coming along in the front yard. I even re-potted the Aloe Vera plants into the small black plastic plant bags that I got off free-cycle.

I had put a request on Freecycle asking for small pots or seedling pots..and a lady replied with a huge amount of these little black bags....They are great and although they are heavy plastic.....they were going to be landfill if no-one wanted them....She had seen them just down the road from where she lived where a nursery had closed up shop. I get to keep my original pots and never need to find pots of this size ever again...I literally have easy two thousand of these bags.

I had lost all my little pots to the Aloe Vera and had gotten rid of heaps of Aloe on Freecycle..which I posted about earlier....but I still have plenty of Aloe....so I am going to put a sign out the front to sell the rest for $2 a plant...I think they will sell...I priced one the same size at Bunnings and it was $7...Wow!!

I also put out a request for Fowlers Vacola Jars....and found a lovely couple going to visit her father in Bathurst on the weekend. Apparently her father has a heap of jars and they could bring some back for me. How lovely of them...Well here they are..and there are still a 44 gallon drum full of them, if I need more. They make the trip every few weeks.

Below I started using the jars on the same day...

Left: Alcohol Spirit with fruit Salad Sage...and 

Right: Alcohol Spirit with Rosemary....

I think it is called a tincture..

But anyway..If they work...I am hoping to be able to eliminate bathroom sprays. 

I also covered them with plastic and secured with an elastic band...

They are aging on a sunny windowsill and I will check them in a couple of days.