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I am giving this post a long boring name to get it show up on search engines. My own searches brought next to nothing on the subject, unless you count vague statements that such and such herb aids in parasite control without any details on quantities etc. I got my favorite book by Juliette of the Herbs "The Complete Herbal for Farm and Stable", rea […]

"Lovely honey combs" - say my friends coming to visit the house, once they see the line up on the kitchen table. The smell is honey-heavenly, but these are not honey combs but empty combs from my dead topbar hives. (you would not place combs full of honey on your table... some is bound to leak!) - I assume some contained honey that bees ate trying […]

Dyed with geranium petals, black-berry juice, marigold petal tea, onion skins tea - these eggs are edible and lovely. Shine is created by rubbing with a little olive oil. […]

Finally there are some things to eat besides eggs (not that I have only been eating eggs of course!) - these are fresh asparagus, French sorrel, dandelions, stinging nettle and armfuls of chives, garlic chives and onion greens. My ancestors made some great dishes out of above-mentioned ingredients which I am now replicating with gratitude and delight. A big […]

I made a broom! Short introduction - my son likes to copy everything I do and sweeping is one of the favorite things for many toddlers. Most commercial brooms are too big, and some are even dangerous (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07309.html - look here for children gardening toys recall due to lead content violations). In addition I am really […]

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to issue its first clean energy bond, following in the footsteps of its successful water bond earlier this year. […]

Utility Exelon plans to expand its renewable energy portfolio by purchasing wind developer John Deere Renewables for $860 million. […]

US federal regulators are refusing to reverse their position that innovative energy efficiency and renewables bond programmes pose a threat to mortgage lenders. […]

EU biofuel targets are driving a “land grab” in Africa, according to a report by Friends of the Earth. […]

This week I had an unexpected windfall. I got a text after work from Imogen (assistant editor at Permaculture) saying that her local Co-op were about to throw out loads of cartons of strawberries – too many for her jam making activities – and she couldn't bear it. Would I like some? She could just about manage 7.5kg on the bus the next day. 7.5kg of Eng […]

At this time of year the forest garden is beginning to burgeon with top fruit. Asian pear, apple with perennial kale and comfrey as undercoverWe like making jams and chutneys to give as presents and for our larder. The first fruits to come are plums, closely followed by Oulin's Golden gage, an exquisitely juicy fruit. I usually pick early in the morning […]

This week my guest blogger is Trish MacCurrach, an experienced year round outdoor cook. At this time of year, Trish spends much of her time thinking up new vegetable recipes for the Kotlich (a wood-fired Eastern European hanging cooking pan) and new places to take it to cook.The greenery in my vegetable patch is positively jungle-like.  Despite the lack of r […]