The best part about the internet I think is the opportunity to connect and support in areas that you aren’t confident….. or ones that you are in, and then to share that knowledge with others. Simple living, sustainability, urban farming etc are all such areas that we are on such a steep learning curve with. Here are a few of the resources that we are using to help us to navigate. It is all a lot of trial and error also, but a reliable guide (or ten) never hurt.
Rhonda from Down to Earth (who has now released her book, which I haven’t read yet), was one of the original inspirations to this path, waaaaay back in 2007. I still read her blog every single day!
Aussies Living Simply is a community and forum that has all sorts of information and support.
Currently we are relying on some other resources.
Diggers club – heritage seeds and plants, fact sheets, books…. they are wonderful! If you are in Australia, become a member. It’s worth it!
One magic square, by Lolo Houlbein. I first read about this wonderful lady in our local paper – she lives not too far away from us. Make sure you get the copy of the book written for your climate, there is a northern and a southern hemisphere version. My copy was a present from my loving DH.
Backyard Self-sufficiency by Jackie French. I borrowed this from the library and loved it so much I bought my own copy. Her very simple style makes you feel that yes, you CAN do this.
Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion. I thought this was a pretentious kitchen encyclopedia and passed it up many many times in the stores. Then I realised that I was soooo very wrong. It is simple, it covers sooo much, and helps in every step, from establishing a garden, what to plant, how many to plant, through to how to harvest, prepare, cook, and store your garden’s bounty. She even tells you how to get kids involved in vegies. Not so much a problem in our house now, but still very useful for parents all round. This book also, has a northern and southern hemisphere version, make sure you get the right one.
Although I must admit that it is worth shopping around for this book. RRP is $125 (ouch!) but I got my copy, the latest edition in new and excellent condition on eBay for a lot less than that. Just so you know 😉
Warm Earth magazine is a little gem. It’s not very big, it’s not full of “organic advertising” but it is full of stories about people just like us trying to make a difference, either on a small scale in the backyard or on a much larger scale. They currently have an amazing back issue offer on their site, worth taking up for a whole lot of information for a very small price. I ordered my set today 🙂
I am hoping to pick up a basic simple Backyard Poultry book just to help with the confidence dealing with our girls. We have had them a week today, and things are going well so far. They are loving their free range every afternoon, they are trying all sorts of new and interesting foods and learning to trust us, which is very important. We would like them to be pets as well as a part of our little eco-system, so we are working hard to make sure they think only good thoughts of us 😉 Any suggestions, with a bias towards something Australian based (too many American terms and special foods etc and I start to lose the thread), would be appreciated. We are already members at Backyard Poultry, it was through their noticeboard that I found my girls…..
So that’s where we are getting a lot of inspiration from. What about you? Where does yours come from?
Please be aware that there may be affiliate links in this content. Your support allows me to keep creating for you!
Simple day in the garden | Hands, Heart, Passion
[…] least while I’m avoiding watering I will have some good reading material. Remember I mentioned the Warm Earth Magazine, along with their amazing Back Issues offer? Well my shipment arrived […]