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!

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- test ad -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-9461535354744508"
     data-ad-slot="3317219323"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

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.

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.

Follow me to be the first to know about our great articles:

https://www.facebook.com/slowlivingmum/?ref=tn_tnmn

https://www.pinterest.com/indigolife5/

Ways to stop Constirpation in kids

This was a battle that went on in our house for 2 years my youngest struggled with constipation. We really struggled with helping him. I was inclined to not give him an over the counter or prescribed medication. I started to look at our diet first of all.

</script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<script>     data-ad-format="auto"></ins>     data-ad-slot="9291836879"     data-ad-client="ca-pub-9461535354744508"     style="display:block"<ins class="adsbygoogle"<!-- slowlivingmum_crosscol_AdSense2_1x1_as --><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

More fibre was ultimately what we wanted to include in our diet.
This is my list of foods that we started to include in his diet:

Prunes:
If you can get them to eat them. I usually mix them into a fruit salad with other fruits from the list.

Pears
Pears are naturally really high in fiber, Make sure they are on the smaller side because the larger the pear the less fiber.

Flax Seed
As well as being full of fiber they also have good omega 3 fatty acid (the good kind of fat).

Brocoili
Brocoili is best served raw because cooked vegetables lose a lot of there fiber content. If you can't stand the thought of raw brocoili try lightly blanching it.

Carrots
As with Brocoili carrots are best served raw as this helps to retain its natural fiber.

Peaches
Dried peaches work just as well as fresh peaches to releave constipation in kids. This is a great on the go snack.

Figs:
Figs help to soften the stool, making it easier to pass through.

Pinapple:
Pinapple juice is a natural laxative. Its also great to give to kids as a cool drink. They aont even know that they are drinking something that's good for them.

Watermelon:
I have found that watermelon works great to releave constipation in kids because of its high water content.

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.


</script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<script>     data-ad-format="auto"></ins>     data-ad-slot="9291836879"     data-ad-client="ca-pub-9461535354744508"     style="display:block"<ins class="adsbygoogle"<!-- slowlivingmum_crosscol_AdSense2_1x1_as --><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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.

Gluten Free Dinners That Rock

I have recently been told that I am gluten intolerant and need to cut gluten from my diet. For those who don't know what Gluten is it's a mixture of 2 proteins that are found in cereal grains, that means not more bread, vegemite, porridge and muesli bars. Gluten products made up a large part of my diet so it was really hard to find foods that were gluten free that I really enjoyed. But after some research and trial and error I have come up with a list of things to cook for dinner that are both Gluten Free and delicious.

1. Baked potato with the trimmings
This is a great one because you can make it for the whole family and add in as much or as little that you like.

2. Pumpkin Soup

I posted earlier in my blog a gluten free pumpkin soup recipe that has no gluten it use sweet potato and coconut milk.

http://slowlivingmum.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/vegan-pumpkin-soup.html

A delicious recipe.

2. Stuffed Capsicum

This is super easy I like to fry some mince add some carrots, peas and corn as well as a can of tomatoes and place it all in a capsicum shell place cheese on top and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

3. Creamy chicken and Avo with GF Pasta
This is super easy and delicious dish that only uses a handful of ingredients. Will post the recipe shortly.

4. Steak and Veg
Country Classic/ Suburban special
Meat and 3 veg typical classic. How ever if you are planning to use a pre-packaged sauce read the ingredients because a lot of then have Gluten in them.

5. Stir fry and rice noodles.
This is again a meal that can have anything added in that you desire and suits your family.

Vegie Pasta Sauce your kids will love to eat

I love to make food from scratch that everyone in my family love to eat. I have been working on this recipe for a long time to make it the perfect mixture of healthy and fresh but also delicious.

You will need:
2 Large tomato's
1 Zucchini
Crushed garlic
Italian herbs
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Step 1
Dice Tomato's and Zucchini into cubes

Step 2

Place Tomato's, Zucchini and 1/4 of a cup of water into a small saucepan

Step 3

Add in the rest of the ingredients

2 cloves of crushed garlic

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Salt to taste

Sprinkle of Italian herbs

Step 4

Mix everything together and bring to the boil.

Once everything is cooked through serve over pasta

I was planning to take a photo of the end result but it didn't last long enough.

 

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.

Micro Farminng - The basics

Micro farming is the basically the process of growing a large amount of produce or livestock on a small area. It can be any size from growing greens on your balcony to raising 50 pigs on 10 acres. The point of micro farming is the ability to be able to grow your own food.

The first thing that you need to consider before you get started on your micro farm, is planning! Planning how you plan to lay the your block out, to achieve the best results from the space you have. The next thing to plan is your planting roster and a marketing plan. This is often the first mistake people make they fail to plan and end up wasting money and time.

When considering animals please don't forget to consider time! Animals take a lot of time and work also its hard to nip off for a mini break with pigs and chickens that need feeding. However animals make an amazing addition to any micro farm by not only providing meat but also manure for the compost.

If animals aren't your thing then maybe consider cropping, before planting anything do as much research as you can this will help you to achieve the best possible results. Also you may want to consider organics with a smaller crop organic farming is much easier and organic produce can sell for as much as 20% higher then standard grown produce.

 Options for selling your produce, Its easy to sell your produce and cut out the middle man. There are a few options for selling your produce particularly in a technology driven world. A couple of options are Facebook more and more people are turning to Facebook to purchase everything. There has also been a couple of websites that have been cropping up my personal favorite is www.ripenear.me Its designed particularly for selling and buying fresh produce. A market stall is another great option for selling fresh produce and products that you have made such as jams and spreads.

 

Ways to slow down! and enjoy the moment

Slowing down and enjoying the moment has never come naturally to me, I always seemed to be on the go. When I first started living a slower life I really found it hard to stop after a while I had a list of things that were kid friendly and always helped me to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Sleep Outside - Pitch a tent, lay under the stars
Read a book outside
Cuddle your babies to sleep
Take photos
Sit under a tree
Yoga
Meditation
Listen to the radio
Write down what you are grateful for!
Walk on the grass
Cook/Bake
Garden
Build a fort with your kids
Have a tea party
Write
Cuddle your partner

Stop and take a breath

Vegan Pumpkin Soup

I love this recipe particularly at work in winter, super easy to re heat in the microwave.

You will need:

1 Butternut pumpkin
1 Sweet potato
Salt and Pepper
400 ml can of coconut milk
2 cups of Vegetable soup

Directions

Peel Pumpkin and Sweet Potato
Place in an oven tray with a little bit of oven tray
Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper
Bake in an oven at 180 degrees for around 45 minutes or until soft
Remove from oven place pumpkin and sweet potato in a blender add around half the stock and coconut milk
Blend together
Continue to add small amounts of the coconut milk and stock until the texture is slightly watery.
Add the mix to a large pot
Place on a medium heat and simmer until it is a smooth consistency.

Serve hot

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.

5 plants for a Medicinal Garden

Please note straight off the bat, my advice does not replace the advice of medical professionals if your leg is turning blue, Go to the doctor. Now that everything is cleared up home herbal remedies can be great way to heal minor aliments.

1) Aloe Vera
This would of been in every grandmothers garden, its great for treating burns, it also works wonders on eczema and cuts. It needs to be grown in full sun with well drained soil. you can cut off the lower part of the plant and squeeze just near the cut part until the sap starts to flow rub the sap on the affected area.

2) Great Burdock
The leaves and seeds should be crushed into a poultice and applied directly to the area. Can be used to treat boils, ring worm, bites, acne, herpes, rashes and bruises. It grows in moist soil and full sun its an easy to grow plant.

3)  Pot Marigold
The petals can be used as a tea to treat varicose veins. The crushed stems can be used to treat bites, stings, minor wounds, sprains and sore eyes. It grows in almost any soil type so long as its moist.

4) Tea Tree
Has been used for centauries to treat a wide range of conditions. The young leaves can be chewed on to relieve headaches, leaves and twigs can me used to make tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is anti fungal, antiseptic, can be used for nits, cold sores, insect bites, warts, acne and minor burns.

5) Lemon Balm
Lemon balm gets its name from the scent that the plant produces. The leaves can be crushed into a poultice and used to treat herpes, gout, insect bites, minor sores it also makes a great mozzie repellant.
The leaves can also be used to make a tea to treat colds, fevers, digestive upsets, headaches and mild insomnia.

Organic pest control in the vegetable patch

Organic gardening can be a tricky thing to get right. If you don't you can lose all your harvest to pesky pests or end up with a crop that doesn't ripen properly. Here is some basics that every organic gardener needs to have in there arsenal.

White Oil - Is a handy pest exterminator. Its simple to use and easy to make with ingredients from home. It works by sticking to the bugs and suffocates them.
To make White Oil:
- 1 cup of vegetable or white mineral oil
- 1.5 cups of water
- 2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid

Neem Oil - This works in much the same way as white oil does, you can however buy Neem Oil already mixed. Its great for all sorts of minor aliments including nit treatment for your kids hair.
<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- slowlivingmum_crosscol_AdSense2_1x1_as -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-9461535354744508"
     data-ad-slot="9291836879"
     data-ad-format="auto"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
COMMON PESTS

Aphids - nasty little green bugs that typically are found on roses, however they can be partial to the odd vegie or 2.

Snails - Make a beer trap. Put a small amount of beer in the bottom of a container and dig into the soil. The snail will go in, get drunk, drown and die a happy death. Another option is to make a salt ring as snails can't cross salt. This is also a great way for kids to help out in the garden, get them out in the morning picking them off.

Caterpillars -  The little buggers eating the life out of all your plants. There is a couple of simple ways to get rid of them with out Caterpillars first of all is just like with snails go along and pick them off. Neem oil also works a treat to sort these buggers out. Another easy way is to get rid of them is let the chickens in!! they will get a great feed.