Editor’s Note: Ezanee keeps us posted on his latest efforts with ‘Project Thoreau‘.
Wow! I never realised it has been three months since my last update. First of all, a big thank you to everyone who contributed suggestions as to how to use Nasturtium leaves in cooking etc. I am pleased to say that I am now a regular consumer of Nasturtium, and don’t appear to have developed any adverse affects or grown any unusual appendages as a result. I mainly use whole leaves as a convenient base in sandwiches or on pancakes, upon which I can load whatever I want without fear of anything spilling over the edge, much like a natural saucer. The taste is certainly unique, with an aftertaste resembling wasabi, but without such a violent kick. Once again I am extremely pleased to have secured another reliable and prolific food source which can regenerate itself without much effort or maintenance.
The past few months were not so huge on action, but pretty big on thought and planning. I started reading Adrienne Langman’s ‘Choosing Eden’, and by coincidence saw a little of what she was achieving on the TV program ‘The Real Sea Change’. I must admit that everything that I am trying to achieve with Project Thoreau has been largely independent of, and ignorant about, the spectre of Peak Oil. My goal has simply been to create an environment where I can be as self-reliant and as free from "The System" as possible. However, what I have read so far has perhaps added a further degree of urgency to my efforts, although I am not disappointed with my progress, or what I have achieved so far. Still, the faster I achieve my ambitions, the better, I guess.
As part of her journey, Adrienne attended the Country and Rural Living Expo, and by another happy coincidence, the expo was held in Sydney in early August. Naturally, I did not miss the opportunity to attend, and I sat in on most of the seminars and collected up a huge amount of information that even now I haven’t fully sorted through. It actually became a bit overwhelming, but I also left my contact details with a number of councils, and I am now starting to receive additional information through the mail and by e-mail. I have compiled a brief description of what I am trying to achieve in terms of developing a rural block, and I am currently in the process of circulating it about the various councils in order to gain feedback about what I can and cannot do. This should give a clearer idea about how I should focus my efforts in the future.
As for the garden itself, it still seems to be looking after itself. I actually did very little work on it, doing just enough to ensure that it all stayed alive and not become totally overwhelmed by ‘weeds’. It was only when my mother visited at the end of August that the garden received a comprehensive tidy up. It only took her a couple of highly efficient and productive hours to achieve what would have certainly taken me most of the day to complete. Sigh. Anyway, the garden looks just great, and the most satisfying thing is that everywhere I look, I see great promise.
My Jalapeno plants look strong and ready to take off over the spring and summer. The silver beets look like they will produce a bumper harvest, as do the broad beans. The loquat tree has experienced a considerable growth spurt, and the lemon tree is laden with blossoms, which hopefully will translate to plenty of fruit by autumn next year. I’m also still eating plenty of rocket, parsley and spring onion. However, the one thing that is giving me the greatest satisfaction are my three mulberry trees, which were grown from cuttings taken from my sister’s tree. It was an idea I learnt during the Permaculture Design Certificate course, and it’s great seeing something I learnt and applied become a success. They are now established trees in their own right, and are now producing nice quantities of fruit. I’ve resorted to putting them in my old chicken coop to protect them from the local myna birds. My ambition has always been to produce mulberry jam using my own fruit, and I’m pleased to say that I am well on my way to achieving that goal.
As a final note, the two photos accompanying this update were taken by my Pentax digital camera, which was powered by solar rechargeable AA batteries. It took a few days to charge them, and I was able to take 22 photos over a three-week period before they expired. Nearly half of the photos needed flash, and I probably could have doubled the number of photos had I not used it. Although this might not sound like much, I’m by no means disappointed with the performance or the results. The same AA batteries can be used to power my portable CD player, and I can use AAA batteries to power one of my MP3 players. I’m also currently looking into the possibility of using small solar panels together with power packs and inverters to power portable fridges and laptop computers. Overall I feel encouraged by the fact that even without mains electricity, it is still very possible to lead a "modern" life, with many of the mod-cons and gadgets that seem to be becoming increasingly difficult to do without.
