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Living off the land

Making the most of nature, our edible landscape and generally revelling in the wonder and energy of natural systems and processes.

Lowering the cost of living
olmec
Lowering the cost of living
I'm pleased to be able to verify (to myself at least) the lower cost of country living.
This chart is based on 4 years of personal expense figures and shows a 50% reduction in average quarterly living costs.

02 May 2010
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Farming USA
olmec
Farming USA
I listened to a recent edition of the podcast "2 beers with Steve" in which he discusses small scale local agriculture and the failings of mechanised, chemical based industrial farming.

In order to better visualise the rise of the mega farm I put together this graph (click to view larger) that depicts changes to US farming over time.
It would be interesting to get hold of similar statistics for NZ.

http://twobeerswithsteve.libsyn.com/ind...
15 Mar 2010
Drying Fruit
olmec
Drying Fruit
Another way of dealing with surplus fruit is to dry them in the sun for use over winter.

Use a simple wooden frame with fine mesh / gauze stretched over and then place the cut fruit and put the whole contraption out in the sun.
17 Feb 2010
Blackberries
olmec
Blackberries
Wild blackberries are a bit of a curse round here, growing rampantly wherever they can. However at this time of year they redeem themselves somewhat by offering up sweet berries.
In addition to the thorny wild plants, we have a thornless variety in the garden that produces larger, more accessible berries.

16 Feb 2010
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Plum Wine
olmec
Plum Wine
With an excess of plums and apparently to much spare time, I decided to try and make wine. The process is reasonably simple, so I have high hopes.
No doubt as other fruit come ready I'll be experimenting with other flavours.

30 Jan 2010
Process
Elderflower 'champagne'
olmec
Elderflower 'champagne'
This sparkling and refreshing (mildly alcoholic) drink is made from the fermentation of flowers from the elder tree using a process similar to that of ginger beer.
The flowers give the drink a light, sweet airy flavor
10 Nov 2009
What's involved
Harvest
Harvest

It's that bountiful time of year again, summer is coming to a close and the land is offering up seasonal treats.

The apples are ripening just as the days are getting shorter.


22 Mar 2009
Hares
Hares
These large rabbit like creatures are fast moving and hard to spot with their natural camouflage. Ideal for food as they are a pest, eating young trees.
The cat always enjoys a bit to fresh hare and, if I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I try cooking a bit too.

01 Nov 2008
About Hares