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Friday, 25 January 2013

Plant success + Experiments with willow :)

I am just on fire recently, this will be my 4th post in 2 days (or something like that?) I don't even feel well today, but here I am blogging like a mad thing. Perhaps my brain is more active when I feel cruddy...
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So, I recently bought some commercial rooting agent, which is supposed to increase the likelihood that a cutting will successfully send out roots, & form a new plant. Little did I know at the time, that you can easily make your own, completely natural, & non-toxic rooting agent using willow (; ̄Д ̄)So I'm calling it quits on the commercial stuff (even though I have barely touched it yet >_>) & taking the natural approach instead.
Thankfully willow is quite a common species in many parts of the world, & in some it is even considered a pest, because it is so prolific. I'm no expert at identifying trees (unfortunately) however I do know a weeping willow when I see one, & just about everyone else in the world probably does too! Happily I also know that there's a lovely weeper not too far from my house, so I drove there, discretely pulled over, & snipped a couple small cuttings for myself.
Since then I have sorted through the braches I cut, I have kept some for cuttings for myself to (hopefully) grow some willow of my own, & chopped up the rest to make willow water rooting agent :D
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These are some of the cuttings I am keeping for myself, there are a couple more I have put directly into potting mix, just to try different things, & compare results, etc.
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This is what the willow water looks like so far. The best parts of the willow to use is the small green new growth. Larger, older growth is ok too, but may need some bruising/crushing to help the hormones seep out more effectively.
A natural growth hormone, along with an aspirin-like anti-bacterial occurs naturally in willow plants, & the water slowly becomes infused with these natural chemicals (like a tea) & you can use it to grow cuttings. Apparently willow water is also good for newly transplanted trees, shrubs, etc, as is helps support the roots, & ward of infection.
As you use the water, you can keep topping it up, & letting it infuse, to get several batches of willow water from one bunch of cuttings.
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& some feel-good plant success? Here they are -
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This is a Silver birch cutting, & until this morning I thought I had lost it (along with pretty much all my other cutting experiments ever) but then I noticed these little green nodules [:o It's early days, but with a bit of luck, & heaps of TLC, hopefully this tiny cutting will grow into a magnificent tree one day...
I used the commercial rooting agent for this cutting (boo~) but I'll still be super happy if it works :)
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And this is a brand new drumstick tree [XD]/<yesssss~ This one was grown from seed, just like my last one, which I loved & nurtured for months before SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED snapped it clean in half! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ<sham-nam-it! So I will be even more extra specially protective of this one.
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Finally, here is my first real experiment using willow water -
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These are a mix of date seeds & almonds, which I have put in a dish along with a few layers of paper towel, & enough willow water to keep them well moist. I have high hopes for this experiment, I would love some beautiful date & almond trees!
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Here's a close up of one of the date seeds. they've only been in there for a matter of hours so far, but it looks like there might be some sprouting action starting already? It's hard to tell, but I will follow the progress of these seeds in later posts.
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So, if you've always wanted to play god & do some cloning, make yourself some willow water, collect up some cuttings, & get busy!
Willow is actually a really underrated plant, I plan to read up about it & see what other wondrous functions it can perform for me :D
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I'm a novice at this, but I will do my best to field any questions anyone may have.
All the best everyone~

A look at agroforestry - We should all be doing this [:o...

I found this 3 part video series via the Permaculture videos channel on Youtube, & I couldn't stop watching 0_0 It's always uplifting, & inspiring to see that passionate people with good knowledge of natural processes really can make an enormous positive change in the world. If more people would turn their attention & energy to creating healthy, diverse, & abundant landscapes, imagine how much more beautiful the world could be (◕ヮ◕)*:・゚
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Ok, so enough rambling about how extraordinary plants are, get busy, & check out the videos > > >
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Part 1 -
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Part 2 -
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Part 3 -
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So, do you feel amazing yet?...

Thursday, 24 January 2013

Super simple nori roll... (RECIPE :o)


This is similar to my 'mock tuna nori roll', just a bit quicker & simpler, for all those days you feel like making something suuuper lazy, a-hem *most days*

Mock tunu maki

Construct le filling:
- 1 can of Chickpeas - Well mashed (A fork is all you need)
- 1/2 of a large, ripe Avocado
- 1/2 a small Purple Onion (aka. Salad Onion) - Finely diced
- 1/4-1/2 of a Capsicum (Any colour is fine) - Very finely diced
- A pinch of Pepper
- 1/2 a clove of Garlic - Minced (Optional)
- 1/2 a tsp of Tamari (optional. Adds some saltiness, if desired)
- 1 Carrot - Grated (Also optional. Extra filling ingredient, if desired)
+ Nori, for wrapping.

Then...
1. Drain & rinse the chickpeas (unless you're awesome & pre-prepared some from scratch, kudos to you) Place the chickpeas in a medium bowl, & squish then with a fork until well mashed.
2. To the chickpea mush, add the Avocado, Diced Onion, Diced Capsicum, & the optional Garlic &/or Tamari. Mix the lot thoroughly until well combined.
3. Spread a thin layer of the chickpea mix onto a sheet of Nori, then lay some grated carrot down the middle, & roll it all up.
And you are now the lucky owner of an amazing nori roll!

(This is how it looks all ready to roll)

Makes 3-4 rolls of deliciousness. 

Wash it down with a green smoothie, or any other amazing beverage of choice, if you're looking to increase your iron intake (nori is very high in iron) include a natural source of vitamin C, & avoid black tea in the same meal... dairy just goes without saying, keep away from it.
You can try adding different vegetable into the middle in place of the carrots, cucumber slices, dry fried mushrooms, maybe some raw broccoli, & possibly some chopped cashew nuts? Experiment & enjoy !\[:D/<*:・゚

Hope you'all enjoy this recipe, & find it useful on days when you're short on time, or motivation >_>...

Later everyone~

New Robinia, WHNursery, & food forest garden tour~

Sorry for the long silence everyone, but powering on!
Yesterday I purchased a 'mop top robinia' tree, I have wanted one for a long time (we're talking years here) & it just so happened they were half price at the nursery I was looking around at yesterday :) They're not a cheap tree, but you pretty much always pay a bit extra for anything that's grafted, & it's already fairly large & established.
I'm so overwhelmingly happy to finally have one out in the yard, it's a beautiful thing, & I really hope it does well, being a fairly hardy tree, I am hopeful :)
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Here it is \[:D >
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I must have been in a mood for some new plants yesterday because I also bought a couple of things from a website called, White House Nursery, which is a nursery based here Victoria, Australia. You can visit them if you live near by, or you can order plants online (which is what I did) This nursery stands out because they carry some interesting stock, including some rare plants. I was thrilled to find a thornless blackberry, I've been hoping to get one ever since I watched this film of a tour around a beautiful permaculture food forest garden > > >
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The guy hosting this video (John-growingyourgreens.com) has a good collection of other gardening videos with some handy tips & advice, which you can find on his youtube channel HERE. Remember that he is operating in America, so not all of the advice is applicable to us Aussies, but definitely well worth a look ;)
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That's the lot for the moment, I have some recipes coming very soon...
Catch you'all later~

Where I want to go - 2 landscapes

I always have a feeling of wanting to escape to somewhere. A beautiful and interesting land where I can build a home and live freely. I'...