I started with pulling out the bigger weeds & any other plants I didn't want left in my garlic bed - I put these into my compost bin. I left some kale plants & a parsley plant that had self seeded there & I will plant the garlic around those.
I then spread a thin layer of compost to the top of the soil, sprinkled on some lime as we have quite acidic soil being located in the forest. I also made up some comfrey tea which I sprinkled on. I then gave it a good water with the hose. Next I laid newspaper all over the garden. It's good to make sure its a few layers thick. This helps prevent weeds coming up from the compost layer. You then water the newspaper well too!
Use a small kitchen knife to cut holes in the newspaper where you want to plant your garlic.
Press the garlic cloves into the soil so the pointy end is at the top - this is were the new garlic leaves will sprout from. I then covered the newspaper with a layer of straw - you can use whatever mulching material you have at hand - garlic particularly likes sea grass, or you can use leaves, or pea straw. I gave it one more good watering & will now leave the garlic to do it's magic. I will add some pics in a couple of months & let you know how my no dig garlic bed is going. Happy Gardening!
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This is the first year one of the feijoa trees we planted is laden with fruit & we have so many that we can’t physically eat them all! We have even shared them with our neighbours & they still keep dropping off the tree. It has been a week of feijoa creations in our home so I thought I would share a few ideas with you.
I love starting my day with a green smoothie & feijoas are a healthy & tasty part of the mix. Feijoas are really high in dietary fibre & Vitamin C. In the above photos I have blended soaked linseed, banana, feijoas, kale & spirulina powder. It makes a tasty, zingy mix.
I am planning to scoop out the feijoa flesh from any access fruit & freeze in bags to add to smoothies once the feijoa season is over. That way you get to enjoy them throughout the year.
Shrub is a refreshing drink you can make from any excess fruit. You end up with a fruit concentrate that you can enjoy with water & ice or even add it to your favourite drink mix. The feijoa & pear shrub we made goes superb in gin! A friend who stayed with us over the summer showed us how to make this refreshing drink that originated from the Middle East.
Scoop 1kg feijoa flesh into a bowl. (We used 800gm feijoa & 200gm grated pears). Add 500gm sugar & stir & mash lightly to combine. Cover with a teatowel & leave for 2 days. The sugar draws out the juice from the fruit.
Strain the feijoa mix through a sieve & collect the juice. Save the fruit pulp for the next recipe. Pour the juice into bottles until they are ¾ full. Top the bottles up with apple cider vinegar, tasting as you go until you end up with a combination of sweet fruit & vinegar that you like.
Store the concentrate in the fridge. Use it as you would any fruit concentrate – add a small amount to a glass & top up with water or your desired mix & enjoy.
The left over fruit pulp from the shrub can be used in several ways. You can enjoy in on top of your porridge or breakfast cereal or create a fruit crumble dessert. Place the pulp into an oven proof dish.
Depending on your food needs & what you have in your pantry, you can be creative as you like with the topping ingredients. Some examples of what you can make a combination from are - Rice or wheat or coconut flour, coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, oats, a little sugar or honey. Cinnamon is also a yummy addition. Mix to combine in a bowl.
Rub in butter with your fingers until it has the consistency of bread crumbs or use melted coconut oil or sunflower oil for a vegan dessert.
Crumble the topping over the fruit pulp & bake at 160C until golden on the top. We enjoyed ours with coconut icecream – very delicious
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There are so many ideas on the internet for things to create with feijoas. They make a wonderful chutney too combined with apples or pears. I hope you feel inspired to get creative. We would love to hear any of your recipes or ideas too!
]]>Hi all,
With everyone in lock down due to Covid-19 i thought it timely to share about baking sourdough bread, I find it comforting to be able to provide for us with this essential in a time of so much uncertainty. Simple skills are timeless and in an age of complexity and technology it is wonderful to engage with simplicity.
Now i"m still a learner with all this and bread seemed very fickle at the best of times, however i was inspired by watching Michael Pollan's Cooked on Netflix, specifically that sourdough bread was all that bread was before industrialisation and that the slow fermentation makes wheat grain more nutritious, i decided to give it a go. Bread making can be intimidating, but as luck would have it i found this recipe which used exact measurement and formula so loaf production is pretty consistent.
The first part is to make your starter, this is your yeast colony for fermentation.
I sourced stone ground organic flours from the local organic shop as with anything, starting with the best ingredients will produce the best results with your nutrition, as after all this baking and carry on it will be eaten and provide our bodies with sustenance to operate at our best, as i heard a farmer once say once say "A tractor will still function on dirty fuel for a while, but it its going to need fresh clean fuel and a good hard run to keep its pipes working"
I digress a little but i think the point is that there's a bigger picture to this than just making tasty bread and whose pipes need a blowout. What is the ripple effect from our actions? There is power in the choices we make every day that will reflect what future we create.
Here is the link for the website of how to, starter and recipe, oh and remember it doesn't have to be all fancy pants, i didn't have banneton baskets so i used bowls with a floured tea towel liner. Happy bread making.
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/7-easy-steps-making-incredible-sourdough-starter-scratch/
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/
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I encourage you to go ahead & soak some seeds or lentils or beans after watching or if you don't have any in your cupboard, put them on your shopping list! Try to source organically grown seeds, lentils or beans as they will not have been heat treated (once they have been heat treated they won't sprout!)
What to do with all your sprouts? You now have instant, nutritious salad ingredients, add them to stir frys, omeletes or even put them in your smoothie!
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This time of year is a wonderful time to check out your local farmers market. You are in for a real treat as you get to meet all the people who grow the food & make an amazing array of products! I believe this is the freshest way to purchase your vegies as they were probably freshly picked that morning. They will be bursting with goodness!
If you are after vegie plants so you can grow your own vegetables there will be seedlings for sale at most markets at this time of year. Ask the seller lots of questions as they will have great growing tips.
Top your basket up with some freshly baked bread or locally made cheese & of course your favourite Clean Earth Soap bar if you happen to be at the Takaka Market.
I believe it is a wonderful thing to buy local if you can - it is great to know who is growing your vegies or baking your bread! There are a list of local farmers markets on this website www.farmersmarkets.org.nz or if there isn't an official farmers market in your area there is bound to be a local market. Enjoy!
]]>I just received a lovely email from one of our long time customers saying, " your soaps are divine! So good for my sensitive skin. Very happy I found your company."
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It's a perfect time of year to begin whether you are heading into spring or autumn. You can either grow your salad from seed or buy some seedlings from your local farmers market or garden shop. You can purchase a wonderful range of seeds at www.kingseeds.co.nz. I have just brought their organic mesclun mix to try. This will produce a lovely range of different salad greens.
Find an appropriate container - something with holes in the bottom for drainage when you water your plants. If you have access to soil & compost use that or otherwise you can buy smaller bags from your local garden or hardware shop.
So tip the soil & compost into the container & firm down - leave 1-2cm from the top. Sprinkle on your seed - you won't need heaps & then very lightly cover your seeds with fine soil (not too much at all!) If you are starting with seedlings make holes in the soil big enough for the roots, place plants in & firm soil around the roots. Leave space between the plants for them to grow.
Lightly spray with a mister spray daily until the seeds germinate (you will start seeing leaves). Once they are a few weeks old & big enough you can start harvesting the outside leaves of each plant - viola! you have fresh salad at your fingertips! If you have sown too many seeds & you have heaps of seedlings coming up you can always use them as micro greens.
Image is from the food renegade website.
]]>I'm Kerryn, the owner/manager of Clean Earth Soap.
I have been wanting to start a Clean Earth Soap blog for a couple of years and have heaps of interesting ideas & things to share with you all. They always say spring is a great time of year for new beginnings! It feels like it has been a long winter this year so it is lovely to see all the blossoms around and that the days are starting to feel warmer & the days are getting longer.
My first blog is about Viparita karani or legs up the wall yoga pose. You don't even have to be a yoga person to reap the benefits from this posture. If you have had a really busy day at work or at home with you children this is a excellent way to take some time out & restore you energy levels. It is supposed to be the most therapeutic pose of all time! You can stay with your legs up the wall from 1 - 20 minutes.
I have attached a you tube clip by Adrienne who does a beautiful job of explaining this posture. So have a go & feel all rejuvenated for spring!
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