Rain and Summer growth

The wonderful thing about living in the tropics despite the sometimes unbearable humidity, is this time of year, it rains like crazy and then the sun pops out and everything grows. Hooray for that. Tonight as I drove my son to work we could see rain being made in the hills at the back of our place, as the temperature rises after rain , the water in the rainforest evaporates and forms clouds over the trees. This is our next lot of rain being made, if we chop those trees down - it wont happen. Nature is very cool but we need to respect it and nurture it.

Our garden is taking shape slowly but surely some of our newly planted trees have actually developed into trees! and others are quietly getting there in their own time. The grass is green again now, for a long time everything was brown, as we didn't have rain for a while, but things are back to their beautiful tropical green again.As the thunder rolls around the hills.

I've made myself a new pot stand out of the old BBQ i got online for 15.00; turned out you had to pull it apart to light it so i figured it would make a pretty good pot stand if I removed the workings of it and just used the frame. I will probably paint it to brighten things up and give it a layer of protection.  and will  also be using recycled dog food cans to plant some veggies in . Its quite strong and is an excellent height for potting so is ideal.

not very glamorous at this stage but I will get to that, now's not a great time to paint things.

Small Projects can have a Big Impact!

As I write this our new friends from France, who are Wwoofers, are working away in the garden preparing it for winter and helping get the weeds under control for the new crop. We have discovered pumpkins, and potatoes in the veggie patch and this weekend will be planting out veggies for the coming winter. It was sadly neglected but now our veggies will be planted and our compost is being turned. Currently we have pumpkins and potates and tomatoes in the garden, and the Feijowa has just starting fruiting for the first time.

This may seem like a small thing but if everyone was doing the same and we all were growing some fruit and veggies in our back yards can you imagine the impact this would have on our environment.

When we buy our fruit and veggies from the supermarket often they come from overseas or interstate, they are brought to a central holding warehouse where they are then packaged and refrigerated ready for re-distribution around the country. All this involves an incredible amount of food miles, and adds to our carbon footprint on the planet. Remember when you grow ,your own or buy local produce you are not only guaranteed to purchase better quality fruit and veggies, but you are also helping reduce our impact on the environment.

If everyone in our street was growing their fruit and veggies and in the next street and on balconies and in backyards all around the suburbs imagine the impact this would have on not only the environment, but also our health.

Sure its hard work and requires effort and planning, but the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Home grown veggies provide more nutrients, it will reduce your food bill in this tough ecnomic climate and it means we are outside working in the fresh air, and they the taste bears of the supermarket fruit and veggies bears absolutely no comparison.

So get involved in growing your own. Get the kids involved and reap the benefits. The satisfaction alone is worth the trouble!!!! Maybe I am preaching to the converted, I suspect so! But i am passionate and enthusiastic and just cant help myself.