Growing your best Tomatoes… The simple way.

Any person that has had a vegie garden before has tried to grow Tomatoes. Tomatoes are a plant that requires a little bit more than just a bit of water to make it thrive. I have had a few tomato crops fail over the season and here is some of the stuff that I have learnt, I hope it helps you to grow your best crop of Tomatoes yet!

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The first thing I like to do is test the PH of the soil that I am going to use. Tomatoes like their soil pH around 6.0 to 6.8. On the pH scale 7.0 is neutral; so the range which tomatoes prefer is slightly on the acid side. If your soil isn’t sitting within the right range it is easier to fix before planting then it is after you have already planted you tomatoes. The simplest way is to mix some good quality manure into your soil.

Tomatoes burn very easily in the sun. They need sunshine to stop them going moldy and getting nasty diseases. I recommend a spot where they get direct sun in the morning until around lunchtime, then in the shade.

Watering most people believe the more water the better. This is not necessarily true I only water every second day to give them a chance to dry out. I also do not water until after dinner in summer to make sure that they the get the most from the water. (don’t forget to spray the fruit and the leaves to make the most out of your water.

I am a firm believer in planting a whole raw egg underneath each plant to stop blossom rot. Many people have laughed at me for that one but I tell ya it works. I also like to sprinkle egg shells around the base of the plant maybe once a week. This will leach valuable nutrients into the soil.  

Don't forget the final part a good quality mulch. I use the dirty saw dust from the chicken boxes.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments and will be happy to help out.

10 DIY Natural Beauty Products

I love my homemade natural beauty products, I have been making them for years and they work better then any store brought product and the best part is it costs about an eighth of what a chemical filled product would cost.

Hair:
1. Apply coconut oil directly to your hair leave for 20 minutes then rinse of. This is best done once a week to help prevent split ends and also makes hair more manageable. You can also add avocado to the mix for extra moisture.

2. Lemon Juice sprayed directly onto the hair will work as a natural lightener.

3. Sea salt and water in a spray also work as a relaxed hold hair spray.

4. Corn Flour applied to the roots works as a dry shampoo and will also add extra body

5. Coffee grounds and coconut oil mixed together make a great purifying face mask.

6. Witch hazel and lemon juice skin brightening toner. I have used this since being a teenager and I have always had a healthy summer glow.

7. Aloe Vera can be applied directly to skin as a soothing moisturiser after sun exposure.

8. Olive Oil makes a great hand moisturiser.

9. Epsom Salts make a great detox bath for sore muscles.

10. Oatmeal for itchy skin. This can be made into a paste and applied directly to the skin or else a small amount can be added to the bath.

Getting a handle on anxiety naturally

Living with anxiety can be hell! Unless you know the feeling its difficult to explain, I have struggled with anxiety since being a teenager after spending most of my young adult life on various medications that usually just left me doped out and off the planet. I researched into natural remedies for managing anxiety. Here is everything that I found helped me to get a firm hold on my anxiety.

Essential Oils for anxiety
I have found that making a roll ball anti anxiety mixture a great way to get a handle on anxiety in public. Its very low key and easy to hide if you aren't ready to share with the anyone how you are feeling.

Here is my top list of essential oils.

Lavender
Rose
Vetiver
Ylang Ylang
Bergamont
Chamomile
Frankincense
These also work well in a oil burner for creating a calming home.

Herbal Tea

Studies have been done and show that drinking herbal tea can reduce anxiety in many patients as much as standard medications.

Chamomile - Soothing
Lemon Balm - help with sleep

Feeling Fit

When you work out/ be active your body releases endorphins. endorphins are the bodies natural happy hormones. I have found that if I am really getting anxious and feeling like the world is going to come down around me. I step out and take a brisk work it helps give me a boost of happy hormones. It also gives me a chance to clear my head without anyone watching me. Yoga is also a great way to get a boost of happy hormones it also teaches you to clear your mind.


Create a haven
Create a haven for yourself where you can go and shut the door and just take a breath. Maybe have some essential oils to sniff and somewhere comfy to sit. This is a great way to escape and just take a few minutes to yourself.

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Treating Exzema Naturally

Ever since my son , has been 2 years old he has suffered from eczema. It was so difficult to watch your child go throw that sort of pain and feel so powerless to stop or control. After a few misses I started to notice patterns, this helped me to develop a eczema management plans.


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Here is my list things that can help manage eczema

Wash everything in hot water
Line dry in the sun for longer then 4 hours
- This will kill any dust mites that might be living in your bedding and clothes.

Use Dove Soap or an Oatmeal Bath
- Both have a natural PH this will stop the skin drying out even more

Keep the shower at a medium heat
- Extra hot showers will dry the skin

Dry yourself extra well after a bath or shower
- Air dry for 10 minutes if you can

Reduce the amount of processed foods
- A lot of additives can cause eczema to flair up

Stop skin rubbing
-This is an important one, when skin touches the air is unable to dry the sweat and will stop the skin from healing

Stick to natural fibres
This will again help the sweat on your skin to dry and heal.

Dust regularly
- Dust is a common cause of Eczema

Test for food allergies
This is a common cause of eczema, Ask your doctor to do an allergy test.

These are just simple ways to treat eczema. Having an allergy test done at the doctors is a great place to start. Once you discover what is causing your eczema its easier to manage long term.

Ways to slow down everyday

Facing the rat race everyday can be stressful it seems that everyone wants everything done yesterday. I have been working hard lately and I have discovered easy ways that you can slow down and take a break. Here is my favorite ways to slow down and just breathe.

Savour Nature:
This is a big one that I have been working on, Just to stop and look at the beauty that is around me. I have been posting a lot of the things that I have come across on my IG account.

I snapped this cheeky little guy after a rain storm.

Take off your shoes:
Every lunch time I sit on the grass and look at the beautiful trees and things around me, I also like to take off my shoes and enjoy a bit of grounding. Good for the soul.

Solo Coffee Date:
As a teenager I wouldn't be caught dead out in public without a group of friends but as I approach 30, I began to stop caring what people think and started doing what would make me happy. Its soothing to sit in a cute little café and people watch or read a book. It doesn't matter so long as you are enjoying some alone time. No one else to consider but you.

Technology Ban:
For 1 hour a day I place a technology ban on everyone in my house. Nothing with a screen it starts at the same time everyday so everyone can just organise around it.

Cook:
Take time to cook something so delicious that it has the whole house waiting with baited breath. Get out your grandmothers old cook books and bake something from scratch.

Eco Fashion: What does it all mean

Eco fashion has so many different names such as sustainable fashion, ethical fashion, Fair Trade fashion and conscious fashion. In the end what it all boils down to is its products that are designed and created with the social and environmental impacts in mind.
It seems that there is a new trend people are following every month, its easy to get caught up in trend chasing and forget about how the garment was created.

What defines something as Eco/ Sustainable fashion?
Made from organic natural fibres
Recycled/ Reused fabric
Minimal chemical treatment
Animal free
Well crafted, good quality fabric
Vintage
2nd hand
Socially/ environmentally and economic responsible

 There is a growing market of brands that are focused on fashion that isn't going to harm the earth, that's good quality.
Some of my favorite are:

Adidas - Making yarn out of plastic sea debris
Puma - Committed to reducing the amount of chemicals that they release into the environment
Stella Mc Cartney - Stopped using and fur and PVC in there garments. They also use organic cotton in there lingerie.
Burberry - Launched a fair trade cotton agreement in Peru
People Tree - Sustainable fashion that makes clothes that anyone can afford. Totally gorgeous vegan accessories.
Rant Clothing - A classic fashion brand that makes clothes that will last a life time in a classic casual style.

Green Cleaning Hacks - Every mum should know

Being a mother of 2 growing boys and running a homestead. Someone is always coming in with muddy boots or putting muddy hands on my cupboards. When my eldest came along I wanted to eliminate all the chemicals that I used within the home.
It took me a long time to work out the best way to make and use my own green cleaners that worked.

I want to share with you some of my best green cleaners for around the home, many of them work just as well as the chemical cleaners.

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Smelly Car/Couch/Carpet or Curtains
20 Drops of Eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle and fill with water
It will kill all the bacteria that cause smells

Pongy Drain
Sprinkle a cup of Bi Carb soda in and around the drain, leave for 20 minutes then rinse off with vinegar.
The Bi Carb absorbs the smell and the vinegar dissolves the vinegar.

Water Stains in the shower
Cut a lemon in half and rub directly on the glass and fixtures to remove the water stains, it make take slightly extra rubbing, but leaves a beautiful finish.

Dirty Mirrors
Straight in vinegar a spray bottle spray directly on the mirror and rub off with old newspaper. Using newspaper stops the little bits of fiber left behind.

Toilet Bombs
Mix Citric acid, Bi Carb Soda in a bowl add a few drops of your favorite essential oil press into molds
Simply drop into toilet and leave for 20 minutes then flush.

Disinfectant spray
Either place eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil in a spray bottle add a small amount of water and spray where it is needed.

To clean benches and counter tops
I use dish soap and water
I also use dish soap and water to clean my cupboards and stove top.

How to Make any house a home, even if you are renting

Making your space a place where you want to be is a matter of making it comfortable. This does need to be an expensive exercise. A few simple touches can make your house feel like a home.

Art
Art makes us feel something every time we really look at it. The best part about art is it can be anything that you find beautiful. I once read a article about a woman who framed the dress she was wearing on her first date with her husband, because he remembered how beautiful she looked in it. You can make some amazing art for less then $20, grab a canvas, some tubes of paint and start splattering it around.

Upcycling Old Clothes
This might seem like a strange thing to upcycle old clothes to make your house more of a home but I have made some great projects from old clothes I was planning to throw out. Turn old woollen jumpers into comfy cushion covers. Another favourite project of mine is I turned all of our old holey farm t-shirts into a floor rug.

Paint old furniture
With Facebook and gumtree its super easy to buy second hand furniture, or you may have some ugly hand me down furniture hanging around that you could paint or distress. This can instantly give you a feel of being home.

Display your favourite things
I have a misfit collection of things displayed around my house but I love each piece and each piece has a story, I love to tell them every time some one admires it. It might be my favourite set of wine glasses from Mexico or my old travel journal sitting on top of my coffee table.

Display photos
Nothing makes it feel like your space more then photos. I love photos if I start to feel lost or tired I look at my photos on the wall and I remember why I need to keep going and working. There is some great renters hooks out there that don't damage the paint.

Smells
This is something that really makes a house a home I personally love the smell of clean linen! It smells clean and fresh to me. I keep this smell around by using clean linen scented wax melts and using a fabric smell with a clean linen scented oil in it.

Pets
Nothing makes a house more of a home then a pet. Even if its a fish, there will always be something to put a smile on your face even on the worst days.

I hope I have helped you turn your house into a home.

Reducing your carbon foot print

There is so much information out there on reducing your carbon footprint. We have all heard the generic information such as try not to use the car so much and bring reusable bags blah, blah and blah there is a lot of simple things that you can do to reduce your carbon foot print. Here is some new information to help improve your carbon footprint.

Green bags:
Don't buy the reusable green bags
We have all seen them at the supermarket for 99 cents the truth is they are made from a synthetic fabric, which is a bi product of petrol. We are supposed to reuse them over and over again but the truth is most people stuff them in the back of the cupboard and never really use them again. The single use plastic bags that Coles and Woolies give out for free are recyclable!! and can be made into a lot of great products.

Buy Local:
Buy your fruit and vegies from local farmers and green grocer
Most of the items that you find in the large corporations have been made in sweat shops in China or India, they have travelled for 1000s of miles. Buying local means that there is no or little transport. For most communities is everyone spent $100 in locally owned stores that's almost 3 million back into the economy in just 1 year.

Water usage:
This is a simple thing to do cut down your shower by 2 minutes will save roughly 50 liters of water. Water is the life blood of everything! Everything needs water to survive.

Rainforest Alliance Products:
Agricultural expansion is responsible 70% of deforestation, it is the biggest threat facing tropical rainforests. Rainforest Alliance provides training and education in sustainable farming practises to people of developing countries. This is good for everybody by ensuring that there will be tropical rainforests for the next generation.