Now is also a good time to tend to last year’s strawberry plants, by removing the runner plants which can then be planted. If your plants are a few years old it may be worth replacing them. The best runners are the ones closest to the mother plant. It is good practice to replace about […]
For many oily rag gardeners’ comfrey is an essential part of their gardening regime. The leaves are rich in nutrients and break down quickly in a compost bin. To make a comfrey fertiliser soup, half fill a container with comfrey leaves and top it up with water. Cover and let it brew for a month […]
I had a problem with the cat jumping up on the window sills of our new house, marking the walls and leaving scratches in the paintwork. Short of murdering her, I pondered other alternatives. My first idea was to place a dozen set mouse traps along a sill until one morning lying in bed in […]
The tip from Cole about broccoli regrowing also applies to cabbages. When you harvest a cabbage head cut across with a sharp knife in the top of the stem. You will find small cabbages grow from the cut.
For more information about egg farming see the Egg Producers Federation website, click here >>>
Here’s one from the “that’s fairly interesting” file. Did you know the 23rd of July is National Hotdog Day – well in the United States it is! We think having a hot dog day may be a sizzling good idea for charities here in oilyragaroa to get out onto the streets to raise funds for […]
This summer we are going to have The Great Kiwi Burger Competition again. If you have a favourite gourmet burger recipe, then please send it in. What a treat for a summer evening – a gourmet burger, curly chips, copious blobs of tomato sauce, and a side salad freshly picked from the garden. Kiwilicious! – […]
The NZ Herald has run an interesting article about nappies. Here’s the link: Cloth nappies getting a bum rap. One point was that 80% of nappy buyers said they would expect to spend up to $50 a week ($2600 a year) on nappies.
Oily raggers tend to be ‘waste not, want not’ types so it’s no surprise that they have lots of ideas to make the most of what others throw out. A.M. writes, “When sandwiches are left over use them by placing them in a roasting dish. Scramble some eggs and pour over the sandwiches. Bake until […]
Why not make your own paper? You will need scrap paper, water, a basin, an electric blender or your own pulping device, starch (if you are going to write on the paper with felt tip pen), a few lengths of small-gauge timber, and a small piece of cheesecloth (or muslin cloth). The first step is […]