Selfsufficientish.com

Too darn hot here and they are scorching, but I can't complain too much as I've already made 60 jars of passata and a few jars of concentrated tomato puree.

All our newly planted trees and bushes have flexible tubing wrapped around their roots before they are planted. The tubing then has a plastic water bottle with the bottom cut off attached to it, which is tied to a stake to allow easy watering of the roots. It's 40+°C at the moment, but you wouldn't ...

I've a Argentinian neighbour who always starts the day with the sun salutation and a tankard of yerba mate. Having enjoyed many brews round his, I'd say that you need to add honey to sweeten the drink and make sure that you drink it through a bombilla (metal straw with a filter, which doesn't move o...

It is a weed, albeit a rather tasty and healthy one, which luckily seems to grow all over the place. My husband has a perverse aversion to weeds, so I sneak purslane into most salads and stir-frys.

Living in a hot climate with zero rain from May until September mulching is very important for us and we use either straw, cardboard or olive leaves. In northern Europe, the only reason to mulch would be to suppress weeds, whereas it's all about water retention down south.

Lot's of people over here use limewash to whitewash the trunks of the trees to serve as a disinfectant, deter insects and prevent sun scold, so I think that RRF is correct in saying that it is probably slaked lime. I personally think it looks atrocious so have, up till now resigned myself that we wi...

Long trousers go on around four o'clock. We made mozzie screens for the windows and used voil to make a draped net over the bed and have fly screens over the doors and it really helps keep their numbers in the house down. Having a partner that they prefer helps too :iconbiggrin: ., other than that t...

Search for JeremyinCzechRep, who posts on here every now and then. He has a blog too http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/

You can eat really healthfully without the need to juice or dehydrate all your food Durgan. Where's the joy and pleasure in that?

A slightly less hysterical piece about the dangers of processed "low fat" foods. Comparing the food and drinks industry to the tobacco industry owing to their overuse of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or glucose-fructose syrup as it's often referred to in the UK, to the detriment of ever...

Did you sow any aubergine seeds?

I'm no royalist, but agree with Boboff, although it actually costs somewhere between 51p and 62p per person on latest figures. This is peanuts and certainly a lot cheaper than it would cost to keep a president, who wouldn't bring anywhere near as much tourism into the country. I was really pleased t...

or a 200ltr blue barrel filled with water and rolled, or a portly neighbour doing river dance? We managed to combine the two, well almost, we got a very game HelpXer to go over the hardcore with a water-filled recycled gas bottles attached to the rotivator many, many times. He also proved very hand...

We compacted down our old living room and kitchen tiles, with their original screed still attached :roll: to use as the sub-base, and then laid a cement screed before laying paving slabs (more like crazy paving off cuts, but you get what you pay for :wink: ). In the UK you would need to add gravel, ...

Just make regular dough, either white or wholemeal, and allow to rise, before knocking back and cutting into chunks. Roll into balls and let rest for 10-mins, before rolling into shape (either round or oval) and place on an old baking tray, which has been warming up on the BBQ. Flip after a a few mi...