Eight Acres

 I can't remember when I first came across the idea of using a solar cooker.  Maybe in Grass Roots magazine or a prepping blog.  I do know it has been on my list for a long time. I had seriously considered making a solar cooker at one stage , and had even researched how to use the unwanted satellite dish that came with our secondhand house , and then I started to make a box-style solar cooker with some bits and pieces from the house including the bathroom mirror!  I was never quite convinced that my design was going to work though, so I was reluctant to continue investing time and money in these efforts.  I had also researched the models available for purchase and had decided that they were "too expensive", so there I was with no solar cooker, but a definite interest in using the sun to cook and dehydrate food.       Why use a solar cooker? Our sub-tropical climate brings with it ridiculously hot summer days.  And each 30degC plus ...

 Our latest batch of honey has gone completely solid!  I opened the tap on the bucket and nothing came out.  Honey has a habit of doing this sometimes, depending on outside temperature, nectar source and the amount of pollen in the honey.  Every batch of our honey is different, it just depends where the bees have been getting their nectar.  And our honey is completely raw and just filtered through a sieve, it contains pollen and beeswax particles, so it is very unpredictable. Fortunately, candied or crystalised honey is not "bad" , its just solid!  And even that is temporary, as soon as you heat it up, the crystals dissolve again and the honey can be poured.  Some of my customers LOVE our candied honey and will ask for it specifically, others prefer to wait until we have "runny honey" again.   What causes honey to go candied? Honey is just a mixture of sugars (glucose and fructose) in water, with some minerals, enzymes, vitamins and amino aci...

 As you know, I am a big fan of permaculture, I read a lot of books and blogs about permaculture, I listen to podcasts about permaculture and I try to use permaculture in all aspects of my life, particularly around the farm, but also in the house.   What is permaculture?  Catch up on my introductory post back here . To summarise, the way I see permaculture is using natural systems to do the work for you , everything from worms in the garden tilling your soil to passive heating and cooling the house, I'm always thinking about ways to use less of my own time and energy to get something done.     People often assume that you have to have acres and acres of land to "do permaculture" but if you think about it how I just described permaculture, you can use it anywhere on any scale.  I get emails from people saying "I'm currently living in suburbs, but I'd really love to sell up and move the country one day".  I try to be encouraging, if that i...