On Water Supply & Demand (Or, Why Won't it Rain?)

[Our lawn: Dry & Crunchy]

 

It's been almost two weeks since we've had town (mains) water in use inside the house. Prior it was only the taps in the garden and the loo that was connected to town water and the rest of the house was supplied by our rainwater catchments. Now we use town water for everything, from watering the garden, showering and doing the dishes. I have to admit I don't really like it much. I've been in a complete funk about having to shower in it for the last two weeks.

 

 

[The underground rainwater tank at the back of the house]

 

[A glimpse inside said underground tank. Careful you don't fall in!]

 

It has me thinking more and more about water supply and demand; the lack of it in some parts and an over-abundance in others. I wonder if the reason why some of us have so little is because others elsewhere don't think enough about where it comes from and where it ends up. I mean, do you?

 

At our property we have a 22,000L above-ground tank and a 12,000L underground tank that allows us to collect and store a modest amount of rainwater for personal use. There are no pollutants where we live so we can safely catch the water that runs from our roof to the gutters and through downpipes into our tanks. For three years (La Nina years, I should add) we did not even come close to running out of our rainwater; it rained when it was supposed to and then even when it wasn't, so that at times there would be more water than what we could hold and we'd simply have to watch the tanks overflow. 

 

[The tap that turns the town water supply on to the house]

 

But living in a semi-arid region means that things can change quite quickly - and quite drastically. South Australia is the driest state on the driest continent on earth, so rain can be fleeting and minimal at the best of times. In our region most rain generally falls between the months of May and October, making the driest time of year here November through to April. Annual rainfall can be as low as 5mm or up to 115mm. In La Nina years we might receive up to 200mm of rainfall in a 12-month period if we are really lucky. Being now in what the BoM terms Neutral Conditions, the rainfall over the last 12 months has been less than 100mm.

 

[Salt residue on the mixer tap in the shower]

 

It probably comes as no surprise that our supply of rainwater is drastically low: The above-ground tank is bone dry whilst we have around 5000L remaining in the underground. It may not seem like a big deal to have to switch to town water, but what many people (especially those living in large cities) take for granted is the supply of potable water - that is, water suitable for drinking. Besides rainwater, the only other source of water here is groundwater, which SA Water pumps from bores just outside of town. The water is extremely saline and at present absolutely reeks of chlorine. Worse than that it tastes like diluted seawater, burns your eyes and dries out your skin, giving you sores. My hair currently has a similar texture to straw and whenever I step out of the shower it feels more like I've just climbed out of a swimming pool.

 

[The flowerbeds: Dead or dying]

 

The groundwater that makes up the town water supply here is non-potable, meaning it is not suitable for drinking, yet we pay potable water prices: We pay the same rates and charges as everyone else in the state, except we receive a far inferior product. Whilst we contribute to the cost of running a desalination plant so that SA Water can meet Adelaide's water supply demand, there are no plans in place to improve the water quality here.

 

Rainwater is the only drinkable water we have. The 5000L or so currently sitting in the underground tank has to be enough until the next big rainstorm, which according to the BoM is not expected to be anytime soon.

 

Summer is a stressful, uncomfortable time of year at the best of times but made particularly worse when Mother Nature simply refuses to deliver on the rainfall. We spend far too much time these days checking the weather reports and then being disappointed when the rain they said we'd get doesn't eventuate.

 

But we and our gardens are not the only ones suffering: Spare a thought for the birds that perch themselves on our back veranda at the end of the day in search of food and water, and the native wildlife that is beginning to venture into towns searching for the same. We've not seen this since the last drought.

 

I hope that's not a sign of things to come because if so our 5000L of drinkable water most certainly won't be enough.

 

The Week in Pictures...

 

 

** The garden is a wonderful place to be: We had a slight reprieve from scorching summer temperatures this week (2 whole days!) so I got out into the vegie patch, did a bit of mulching, some pruning and picking. I am genuinely surprised by how well eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes survive persistent daytime temperatures of 40+ (degrees Celsius, obviously). They are faring better than the tomatoes, which are really beginning to look tired and forlorn.

 

** Also looking tired and forlorn is the patch of garden that is supposed to be our lawn. Once-upon-a-time it was beautifully green and lush, but that was during the La Nina years. These days a decent shower of rain is as scarce as hen's teeth, and the salinity of bore water tends not to do wonders for a garden in crisis. I think it's time we returned to the books and begin to look at other landscaping options for the patch of lawn that simply refuses to grow.

 

** I picked our first eggplant this week and am now looking forward to more as I want to try my hand at making aubergines in oil (my favourite way to eat eggplant). I have a fancy of it on toast with crumbled fetta for lunch one day in the coming week, so watch this space (that's assuming it works out, of course!).

 

Did you spend time in the garden this week?

 

The Week in Pictures...

 

 

** As I type this it is overcast outside and a refreshing, cool breeze is coming through the window: The complete opposite to the sweltering conditions we had at the start of the week! The heatwave finally broke on Wednesday when it reached 31*C (bliss!), but not before the garden suffered some serious heat damage: I have had to cut back the cucumber vines that got burnt to a crisp; the geraniums are a shrivelled mess; and the lamb's ear appears to have melted. Oh, summer, how I despise thee.

 

** I picked the first of the cherry tomatoes this week - so sweet and juicy. I consume half of what I've picked before I even make it from the vegie patch to the kitchen. It's alright, though, because the plants are loaded and still flowering. I wish I'd had such luck with all the tomatoes I planted, but no. I am resolved never to purchase seedlings from the supermarket ever, ever again. LESSON LEARNED. Instead I've been browsing online for organic heirloom varieties to grow from seed. (If you're familiar with purchasing heirloom seeds online I could use the recommendations).

 

** I send out a lot of mail art but don't usually receive a lot, so I was absolutely tickled pink to receive two pieces in the mail this week, one of which was an amazing handmade postcard from Heleen in the Netherlands. It has a snail on it. A snail with a letter. LOVE IT.

 

** I am quite content to sit for hours with Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth, a simple living magazine and a pot of tea.

 

What simple pleasures did you enjoy this week?

 

The Week in Pictures...

 

 

** Due to the persistent heat we've spent most of this week indoors. I think poor Bailey-dog is a little stir-crazy as he insists on going outside so he can lay in the sun. I keep telling him he'll get sunburnt and what-not but I think he's in denial about the whole thing.

 

** The garden is...coping. The zucchini is faring worst with this heat and the tomato plants look a little limp by the end of each day but there's still hope: The cherry tomatoes are ripening, there's cucumbers on the vines, cobs of corn and plenty of baby eggplant. The tent village we created to keep everything shaded is working surprisingly well, although I still need to venture down to the garden three times a day to ensure the soil remains damp.

 

** "I am half-sick of salad". Said I.

 

** To wile away the days I've been keeping myself occupied by reorganising the kitchen cupboards. Dull, no? I've also been reading and indulging in a bit of family research. I've lost count of the number of hours I've spent reading about the Battles of Ypres and searching through military service records, but as a history-nerd I am completely in my element. I'll enjoy it whilst I can because eventually I will have to return to the painfully frustrating task of trying to find people who seemingly never existed.

Heatwave Survival: Day 1

[Day 1: Yesterday's temperature peaked at 39*C just before 4pm]

 

[Day 1: Zucchini plant wilting from the heat, even though it is permanently shaded by 3 quandong trees]

 

Last night when the clock struck midnight I realised that I cannot remember the last time I saw fireworks on New Years' Eve. Certainly not since we made the Ranges our home: New Years' always seems to fall on a complete fire-ban day and you cannot have fireworks during fire-ban. You could start a bushfire or end up in prison. Or both.

 

It gets hot here. I may have mentioned it a few times before. Summer in this part of Australia is generally a succession of heatwaves, one after another, and we're just entering our first biggie for the season. A heatwave in South Australia is when the daytime temperature exceeds 37*C for 5 or more consecutive days.

 

There is no official weather gauge where we live. The nearest BoM weather station is some 40km from here, situated right beside the ocean. We are inland, separated from the sea by an enormous mountain range. Because there are no official weather readings being made here the BoM applies the readings taken at the nearest weather station, but what it is there is often quite different to what it is here. As such, we take our own weather readings.

 

Despite weather forecasting being an imprecise science, the BoM likes to try and forecast up to 10 days in advance. At present the BoM is predicting that for 8 of the next 10 days the temperature is expected to be greater than 40*C, with 4 of those 8 above 45*C. As the BoM goes no further into the future than 10 days the current heatwave has no known end date.

 

Prolonged periods of extreme heat are exceptionally exhausting, even with air conditioning. It's too hot to venture outside for too long and we've no swimming pool or ocean to take respite. To ensure the house stays cool inside every window and door is securely closed, along with every blind and curtain drawn to keep the light out. The air conditioning is switched on when the inside temperature reaches 28*C and is left on until the outside temperature falls below 21*C, by which time it is usually dark. It's how I imagine living in a refrigerator would be like.

 

On the weekend Shane and I prepared the vegie patch for the heat - well, as much as we could, anyway. The plot currently looks like a little community of tents made from strategically-placed pieces of shadecloth and old sheets. Only time will tell how effective they will be, although yesterday afternoon I did spy a mouse keeping cool beneath the stalks of corn, and it was so hot that I didn't have the heart to shoo him away.

 

First thing every morning I water the vegetable and flower gardens with a bucket, which takes me about an hour (we have a fairly large block). We have been collecting the water from our morning showers in the bathtub and then transferring it to the garden, one bucket at a time.* As it's not rained in so long our rainwater supplies are minimal and the mains supply of water (from a bore) is becoming increasingly saline as summer presses on, which the plants simply do not like. In the evenings I water the vegie patch again, which is connected to a dripper system. The lawn is watered once a week for 20 minutes - not enough to keep it lush and green, but it is enough to keep it alive until the next decent downpour arrives.

 

Whilst watering this morning the temperature had already reached 35*C. I noticed a lot of plants were starting to hang low and the dry earth beneath my feet was giving off a distinct, smoldering odour, and it was only the beginning of Day 2. Even the geraniums, otherwise tough and hardy, had their leaves curled in on themselves and had begun the process of discarding their blooms to conserve energy. I suspect they know what's coming better than any weatherman would. Geraniums do survival well, I've noticed. When water is scarce they'll drop every flower, leaf and limb until there's nothing more than a grey-green stick poking up out of the earth, and you might think it's dead but it's not: A sort of summer hibernation, is all.

 

By the end of every summer I know that feeling well.

 

 

 

*This is a fantastic solution to keeping your garden well-watered during a prolonged dry spell and I recommend it if you have the ability (and the time!) to do it. It's amazing how much water would otherwise escape down the drain, mostly wasted, from a single 10-minute shower. However, check that your shampoos and soaps etc are suitable for grey-water use first as you don't want to damage your plants or the soil in your garden from an over-abundance of nasty chemicals.

 

How does your garden grow?

 

I realised this morning that it's been awhile since I've taken you on a stroll around the veggie patch. Winter was quite a disappointing season: I'd hoped to grow some cool season veg but it turned out to be far too cold for anything to grow. Then spring arrived but the frosts persisted, continuing right into October.

 

It was the second week of October before I considered it safe to plant the summer selection of veg, including eggplant, two kinds of tomatoes, lettuce, basil and oregano, corn, cucumber, zucchini and capsicum.

 

The weather continues to be full of inconsistencies: Stinking hot one day and cold the next. Today the temperature is hovering around 30 degrees (Celsius) with the breeze blowing in from the south-east. Every now and then it becomes quite gusty and a little chilly, but I won't complain about the coolness of it as no doubt it'll soon be scorching hot yet again.

 

The veg has been a little slow to grow. I'm not sure if it's the soil or the weather, but today I'll give the plants some seaweed solution and hopefully that'll give them the boost they need. I've had to make cages that slip over the raised garden beds as the birds have been getting in and eating the beetroot and carrot seedlings, which I grow in-ground from seed. The pigeons and the black birds have been the main culprits!

 

We had to put new tyres on both cars so we saved some of the old tyres to use as garden beds. I started with two zucchini plants but am now only left with the one.

 

But the surviving zucchini plant is fairing well, despite its slow start. You can see here two baby zucchinis and some more flowers yet to open.

 

I'll plant some pumpkin seeds, potatoes, watermelon and rockmelon in the coming days. Shane is supposed to be picking me up some soil sometime this week to put in the empty tyres you see here so that I can do just that.

 

I've taken to leaving the shadecloth on the beds most days. The weather is prone to sudden changes around here and I've found many plants (such as the cucumber, onions, cabbage and lettuce) prefer the protection from the sun and wind that the shadecloth provides.

 

I've tried my best to follow the principles of companion planting this season in an attempt to ward off pests and disease. So far, so good. The most we've had to contend with is the odd cabbage moth, but otherwise the plants appear to be pest and disease free.

 

I've also made sure to include beneficial flowers in the veggie patch, namely marigolds and red geranium. There's a multitude of benefits: Not only do they protect the neighbouring vegetable plants from pest attack and assist in pollination, they also add a wonderful splash of colour to the garden beds when in full bloom.

 

How does your garden grow this season?

The Week in Pictures...

 

* This week the focus has been on the garden. I have painstakingly planned a veggie patch that follows principles of companion planting, prepared the soil and sourced all the seedlings, which will go in ground this week coming: The weather is expected to be perfect for it (not too hot, not too cold, and hopefully not too windy either!).

 

* Our Bailey-dog thinks he's human. Lately when I've ventured outside around dusk to water the garden I've found him sitting up on the bench-swing that overlooks the backyard. It's the perfect spot to waste away many a summer's evening. Bailey-dog must be reserving his place early.

 

* I have become a tea connoisseur! I drink too much of the stuff and became bored with the same thing every time, so I started buying different types and now have a cupboard full of variety. I like either an English or Irish Breakfast first thing in the morning and an Assam Bold mid-afternoon. Chai and Darjeeling are great in the evening - not too strong so they don't keep me awake all night.

Do you drink tea?

 

The Week in Pictures...

* With the arrival of the first jonquils in the garden and the warmer weather I am absolutely convinced that spring has arrived. No doubt Mother Nature will prove me wrong soon enough.

* My radishes may be a funny shape but they taste fantastic!

* Does anyone else watch 'Gardening Australia'? Am I the only one who thinks Costa looks like Grug?

* Imbolc passed this week in the Southern Hemisphere.

* Bailey-dog gets so excited and says hello to everyone that walks past the cottage on the weekends (and by hello I mean he barks relentlessly).

* A work colleague and I have decided to have a lemon meringue bake-off so I've been practicing. Still need to work on the base but the pie I made this week had perfect filling and meringue. The local agricultural show will be held in a couple weeks and I've persuaded SJ to take me. It will be the first time we've been together and I cannot wait, especially since I discovered this week that it is a true agricultural show with animals and competitions and all!

Announcing the Vegetarian Cookbook Giveaway Winner...

It's finally time to announce the winner of the Oxfam Shop Vegetarian Cookbook giveaway, which I was inspired to host in honour of Rhonda Hetzel's Meatless Meals challenge.

First, however, I just want to say thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered the giveaway over the past few weeks. There were 21 entrants overall, but the lucky person who will be receiving my used-but-in-excellent-condition copy of Oxfam Shop's Vegetarian Cookbook is...

sue15cat!

Congratulations Sue! Could you please contact me by email (sorcha dot sidhe at gmail dot com) at your earliest convenience with your postal address so that I may pop this little beauty of a recipe book in the post. I really hope it will become a regular reference tool in your kitchen!

I'd also just like to add that it has been really interesting to read everyone's comments and gain a greater insight into how vegetarians and non-vegetarians think and feel about meat consumption. It has been especially heart-warming to see all the meat-eaters out there so willing to make the changes necessary to reduce their meat intake and give vegetarian meals a try. No one is particularly keen on change, especially dietary change, but the end results are incredibly rewarding. Trust me on that one. All that is required is a little persistence and patience.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their aim to eat less meat. If ever you need suggestions or motivation, please feel free to drop me a line. It would be wonderful to hear from you.

Laundry Powder part 2...

One of the comments left over the weekend was on my laundry powder post, and asked for more information about the soap used. Now, I use laundry soap purchased at the supermarket, in part because I like the smell of it (smells just like clean laundry! Funny that), but mostly because I haven't yet bothered to learn how to make my own soap. But I do believe that homemade soap is perfectly suitable for this purpose too.

Since I cannot contact the person who left the comment privately to give them all this information, I thought I'd quickly make a follow-up post in the hope that they will see it if they are reading my blog. Also, it allows for anyone else who may be interested in learning more about homemade cleaning products to go straight to my source (and inspiration), rather than wandering the internet aimlessly looking for something simple and easy.

I was inspired to give homemade laundry powder a go by Rhonda Hetzel. Her blog and book are Down to Earth, and her post Green Cleaning Recipes is a great place to start finding the information you need.

It really is ridiculously simple!

A Giveaway inspired by Rhonda Hetzel's Meatless Meals Challenge...

"From an immediate perspective, living simply frees up financial resources which can be transferred to those in greater need. It also reduces the burden we place on the environment. In a wider context, a simple lifestyle is a living example of an alternative way - a way in which not all needs are insatiable, in which endless material progress is not the main goal in life. Finally, living simply keeps us honest." - Oxfam Shop's Vegetarian Cookbook, p15

Rhonda Hetzel from Down to Earth has set herself the challenge of reducing her household meat consumption by 50% as part of her aim to live a sustainable, simple lifestyle.

Being 100% vegetarian myself I don't have any meat intake to reduce, but yesterday whilst I was browsing through the comments left by her readers, many of whom have decided to join Rhonda in her challenge, I was inspired to participate in my own way.

In 2006 I purchased a wonderful vegetarian cookbook from Oxfam shop (now also online). By this time I'd already been vegetarian for a few years but was struggling to find new, interesting, healthy recipes to try. Then one day whilst I was in my local Oxfam shop I found this wonderful vegetarian cookbook.

What makes it so great is that it's more than just your regular cookbook. It introduces the reader to the two different forms of vegetarianism (vegan and lacto-ovo, of which I am the latter), and explains how proteins work in the human body, with each recipe promoting a balanced vegetarian diet where all vitamins and minerals are present.

It also provides an introduction to the health, environmental and economic benefits of eating less meat, and there's information on simple living for humans and their pets.

The recipes found in the book include entrees, main courses and desserts, and are grouped into their respective countries of origin. In a multicultural country like Australia we are blessed with having access to so many different kinds of foods and this little cookbook introduces its user to a variety of new, previously unconsidered ingredients. But the best thing about this book is that there is great variety between the recipes and they are not overly complicated or time-consuming (most recipes have a preparation/cooking time of around 30 minutes).

Having been vegetarian for a decade now, I tend to no longer refer to recipe books: The ingredients and instructions for the food I cook is either known by heart or kept in a lever arch file for easier access. So, this wonderful little cookbook from Oxfam has been sitting in my bookshelf, no longer used, and I cannot help but feel it is going to waste. I figure Rhonda's challenge is a great opportunity to give this book new life and let it provide information and inspiriation to a new cook, one who is serious about reducing their meat intake. I don't expect everyone to become vegetarians, but being conscious of the amount of meat we eat and doing something to keep it to a minimum is not only good for you and the animals, it's also good for the environment and the world community as a whole.

If you'd like your chance to win my used-but-otherwise-in-good-condition copy of the Oxfam shop's Vegetarian Cookbook all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.

Entries will be taken until midnight (Australian Central Standard Time) on Friday, 18 May 2012. The winner will be announced sometime over that weekend (19 - 20 May).

Giveaway is open to anyone and everyone from anywhere, as long as they don't mind receiving a secondhand cookbook (that is in good condition. Promise).

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**

Whilst I'm here, babbling on, I'd like to thank Rhonda from Down to Earth for considering my modest blog worthy enough to make her Weekend Reading List for this week. I'm perplexed and humbled ~ thank you. I've been a regular reader of Rhonda's blog for a number of years now and I recommend everyone take the time to check it out if they haven't already. Her book is fantastic too.

I'd also like to send out a big "hello and welcome" to any new readers that visit my blog via Rhonda's. I hope there is something here to interest you, and thank you for taking the time to stop by.

From scratch: Laundry powder...

Grated soap, a little washing soda and voila! A perfectly suitable (and ridiculously easy) homemade laundry powder.*

It's cheap, it's gentle, and it's environmentally friendly.

What more could you ask for?

* Based on the instructions found in Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth.

Autumn in the Veggie Patch...

The days may still be warmer than I'd like, but our veggie patch is telling us it is definitely autumn. In it you will find pumpkin vines, planted a little late but coming along nicely nonetheless. They certainly take up quite a bit of space in the garden beds. 

Here's hoping for some homegrown pumpkin soon!

There's also an adundance of beetroot, ripe and ready for the picking! I plan to roast some of these babies on the weekend.

You'll also find seeds. Lots and lots of seeds. Some planted straight into the garden beds, others in raising punnets whilst we (and by we I mean me) wait for SJ to finish building the last bed. We are hoping for a winter of peas, turnips, radishes, onions, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. Possibly even a potato or two, if I can protect them from the frosts. 

What's happening in your garden this autumn?