NZ Resilient

  Recently I refurbished a raised vegetable planter in preparation for more spring crops (e.g. coleslaw ingredients) . This post shares some initial thoughts on why raised vegetable planters are relevant to an urban homesteader / prepper, and what I did.  Some Context I went from this...                                                    to this...                                I'll be outlining the process rather than detailing it - if you want to know more about the 'how', contact me.  Why A Raised Planter? The universal soil requirements for any vegetable patch are (in my opinion)   Provides sufficient depth of 'good' soil for vegetables (typically 260 mm), overcoming a clay base. Has sufficient nutrition. Can st...

The simple pleasure of being able to wander around the property and pick what is coming through - rocket potatoes, broccolini and (mutant) carrots... plus the benefit of the money saved!

The Challenge of Homesteading In An Urban Space Whatever the reason (self-sufficiency, cost of living, prepping etc), I'm sure we all share two challenges with an urban situation - limited space and limited time.  Being in a city limits the area available and having a job and a life limits the time available or that you're willing to commit.  My goals are to improve how much food I grow, and reduce the proportionate effort involved. One thing I tried t his winter, was planting a mixed crop densely, and now I'm reviewing the results.       What Did I Plant? The planter concerned is 1.8 m x 0.9 metres wide. I planted 6 broccoli, 6 cauliflower and 6 cannonball cabbage seedlings. In between these, I planted roughly the same number of beetroot seedlings just to see what happened. Beforehand I refreshed the planter soil with compost and fertilisers/amendments e.g. blood and bone/seaweed mix.  Plant Care Mostly I followed the guidelines available online but n...

I keep a stock of milk powder as part of my prepping for both natural disasters and accidentally running out of the real stuff. I was curious if I could make yoghurt with this milk, and it turns out you can! Here is something I’ve been experimenting with for the last couple of weeks. After a couple of test runs, I’m comfortable that it works with the proportions given. As is, it’s not a great money-saver, however I’m going to experiment with how to get the most yoghurt for the least starter and milk powder. This method          Is similar to sourdough bread i.e. you add a starter to the medium and let it grow/‘brew’.          Assumes you have something like the bench tub yoghurt cooker e.g. an Easi-yo or similar. In the picture below, is a quick synopsis of the method:          Starter in jar on the left          Mixer in the middle, with next batch of water, starter and milk ...