Planting Potatoes, Holistic Dental Care

Planting potatoes
This morning the sun is streaming in after a night of welcomed heavy rain. Derek suggested it would be a great day for planting - meaning the potatoes that have been sitting waiting. He's made a new garden bed this year - which took a lot of hard work as the soil was heavy and had previously been covered in kikuyu.
I had visited Julie Bonner's blog Frog Pond Farm where she was putting torn comfrey leaves in the bottom of the potato trenches when planting them, so I have done that now.

trenches for potatoes with torn comfrey leaves to help them grow

Derek had to fight to get me to put in comfrey, as I had a property before where it had escaped and become a nuisance. But I am using it flat out now for fertilizer tea.

comfrey

I also used Julie's organic gardening blog advice to get the potato spacing right. We bought two different varieties of seed potato, but on the way home the bags fell open, and now they are all mixed up!
I love going to work in the morning....in the garden, with a view like this...

Saving Water
We have tank water here - and last year we nearly ran out. After a dry spell already this Spring I have started collecting the grey water from the washing machine to water the lawn and ornamentals. It's not a complicated system - an extension to the washing machine hose goes into a barrel outside.

This much water saved from one load of washing.

I know what's in my laundry powder because I make it myself - put it in the search box if you want to find the recipe.

For something completely different..

I have just read this book "Holistic Dental Care" by Nadine Artemis.

I found it contained really sensible advice - and anyone who is thinking of putting braces on their child's teeth should read it - about how braces change the shape of their face - and I would have to agree with this from what I have seen. I wish I had read this before putting them on my daughter.

 The author talks about how poor dental health is responsible for a lot of heart disease and strokes, which from my nursing days I know is true. So, I have decided to follow her 8 steps, which involve salt rinses and gum brushing with a soft toothbrush, along with flossing using Neem or Peppermint oil on the floss, and will at a later date make my own toothpaste again.Here is a video clip that gives you the 8 steps. It's a little long winded, but it's quite pretty, and the only one I could find.
I found this book in my local library.