Free Range Eggs - What Does it Really Mean?
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Do you purchase Free Range Eggs?
Why do you buy them? Is it because they;
- taste better?
- are more nutritious?
- have a better 'energy'?
- the chickens are more humanely housed?
All the above are reasons that many people shell out the additional sheckles for Free Range eggs but the sad truth is that there is little protection for consumers. This article will look at the 'definitions' of Free Range Eggs, focussing on the housing requirements within the standards, and considers the question "Can bought eggs ever be considered Free Range?"
Comfrey | |
Comfrey is one of the most useful plants to organic gardeners, and plays an important role in any sustainable permaculture garden. It is a perennial herb of the family Boraginaceae with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves. When it flowers it bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers which are extremely attractive to bees, and make an excellent bee forage. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places, and this is a guide to planting it in a permaculture garden... somewhere damp is definitely recommended. If comfrey has a ‘problem’ it is probably that it is just a little too vigorous a grower, and thus demonstrates the benefits of a good garden plan. Do not plant comfrey where you might want to move it later on... doing so is almost impossible! The plant will regrow from the smallest piece of root left in soil. If you do need to move/eradicate comfrey then try cutting down the leaves, and covering with several thick layers of newspaper, followed by a good thick layer of mulch. After several months this should cause the plants to just rot in the soil leaving behind rich, black compost.
Wicking Gardens | |
What are Wicking Gardens?Wicking gardens are a relatively new form of garden design which is attributed to Colin Austin, an Australian Gardener. The basic concept is that under the soil we create a water reservoir which then wicks up into the growing bed to water the plants. The principle advantage of this system is that the water is stored underground, reducing evaporation, and when the bed is watered there is very little run off. All in all this should lead to significant increases in water efficiency in the garden. What is this Article About?The point of this article, and the accompanying Video-Essay, is to outline the process taken to build a wicking bed at This Sustainable House, a sub-project of Green Phoenix Permaculture. This process demonstrates the principals behind the construction of such a bed and, through the association with the blog article, will test whether the system really works in practice… I have little doubt! The Process…The process will be outlined in text on this page but in the meantime please check out the video below.
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