Increasing the amount of land for agriculture

Self-sufficiency & Survival

The year 2013 began with my New Year Resolution to write a One-Year-Blog, and this is the last month of that blog.  I have travelled through the year with readers from many different countries including as Australia, USA, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, South Korea, India and Malasia. A special "Thank You" to each one of you who have given this blog over 6,000 page readings over the past 12 months! I enjoyed writing the blog for both you and for me!    

The blog – House & Garden Plus -  began with my long-lived passion to reach a greater level of self-sufficiency in my own life.  January and February blogging covered the medicinal and culinary uses of many of our current garden plants, and ensuing months covered a variety of topics that took my interest, a new topic each month. December brings us back to my initial focus on self-sufficiency and survival by looking at Wartime Britain, hoping that with a glimpse of the skills and the spirit of those who survived great challenges, we will gain knowledge that can help us to be people with both fortitude and faith along with a greater ability for self-sufficiency and survival.

At the outbreak of World War 11, 70 percent of all food consumed in Britain was imported. Such a level of imports could not continue during the war, so the nation was forced to learn very quickly how to produce food in its own backyard to feed a population of nearly 50 million people!

How was it that the people of Britain did not starve during the war years, as did the people of Germany and Russia?

5.6 million acres were added to the acreage under agriculture in Britain from 1939 to 1944,  and  innovative measures and advances in the use of farm machinery were applied across the land – all planned and implemented by Britain’s Ministry of Agriculture. 1,400 of the 300,000 or so farms in England and Wales were acquired by the government for better farm production, and the remainder were farmed by the local communities and England's war-time Farm Girls. Farming communities created a united front to feed the people Britain – those at war and those at home. Cabbages were even planted at Kensington Palace and in the moat of the Tower of London! Every bit of land in Britain – farms, fields, parks and verges – began to be cultivated so that the nation could become self-sufficient. And even German and Italian prisoners of war who were held in camps were delivered to local farms by truck each morning and collected at teatime, so that they too could make a worthwhile contribution towards Britain's survival.

HOW CAN I APPLY THE ABOVE INFO TO MY LIFE?

More than 70% of the food consumed in our household in Queensland, Australia, comes from the shop rather than our suburban garden of around 1/3 of an acre. While we do grow a few vegetables and herbs and have some young fruit trees and vines, I can start to prepare more of the ground for the cultivation of salad plants and green vegetables, peas and beans and root crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, yacun http://growwhatyoucan.co.uk/yacon/yacon.html, turnips and carrots.  As a beginner gardener, at this stage, I aim for success in smaller areas in our back garden that I feel are inviting me to dig them over - 

rather than being extra enthusiastic and digging up the whole lawn! 

Just as many people who survived World War 2 remember it as a time of hope and a time of pride, I hope that I will be able to apply the same intrinsic sense of hope and pride in our garden.

THE ELEVENTH MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE

GUEST OF THE MONTH - David

Autumn is my favourite season!

Seen from a perspective of being in the U.K., autumn is often regarded negatively as the season that brings to an end an idylic summer, and the precurser to the cold winter ahead.

Autumn is a season of change - a season of quiet misty rains, of glowing golden colours of falling leaves, of birds meeting together in noisy flocks to then accompany each other on their annual holidays! Autumn is the time for squirrels to scamper through the leaves, collecting acorns and hazel nuts for their winter nourishment. It is a time for children to hunt bright shiny conkers for their rutualised games, subjecting their discoveries to secret hardening recipes for the fight to the bitter end. The farm workers on tractors draw behind them the tools for the harvest. The fields reverberate with the rattle of the diesel engines as crops are gathered before spoiling rains or first frosts arrive. Hedges are trimmed, ditches scooped clear and trees pruned. Those with the "know" forrage for their own delights of rose-hip, blackberry, sweet chestnut and a variety of hidden fungi. Then there are the weather changes when violent gales and lashing rain send everyone to shelter, and cold winds burn the face and hands. 

Once the work of autumn is done, a stillness settles. Magpies chatter in the woods, rain drips to the forest floor, and leaves continue to fall - all heard by the discerning ear. The robins who have remained chirp clearly on a still air. An aroma of compost rises from the ground, pungent yet pleasant.

Autumn is a time to rug-up warm with coats, scarves and boots. A time to stand entranced as the mist swirls amongst the trees; as the low sun beams its rays of subdued light overhead from a pale blue sky; as new vistas appear through the bare branches of once-hidden hills or church spires. 

My favourite season - Autumn!

If you are in an "autumn-season" of your life, or if you are living through the actual season change in your country, it is my prayer that you are finding the same enjoyment as David obviously is! 


from Robyn 

painting of robin by Brenda, Robyn's mum

Autumn flowers

 The approach of winter does not mean that flowers cease. 

Indeed, autumn flora can be just as stunningly beautiful as that displayed in the springtime.

Bare branches

Branches bare no longer care to make a leafy shade.

Autumn fruits

The fruits and seed pods of autumn hold within them
the potential to begin a new generation.

Children in parks

Children play midst leaves of red, gold and brown in cheerful parks throughout their towns.

The strong, stately autumn trees

A carpet soft with golds and browns surrounds the strong and stately trees.

The last brown leaves

The  last brown leaves clasp onto a cherished stem until a cold autumn wind makes them fall.

Squirrels

Bouncing squirrels amongst the leaf-fall pause to gather their winter hoard of acorns.

Rotting apples

The signs of autumn are seen in leaves piled high, 

rotting apples in a corner, 

and an engorged pumpkin on a vine.

Wind and rain bring an end to autumn colours

Lack of wind and rain prolongs the beautiful display of autumn colour. 

We were holidaying in Birmingham, UK in 2008 when a relative phoned us to tell us to hurry out and take some photos before all the leaves were blown from the autumn trees. 

We were so glad that we took heed, as one day, the trees were still a glorious colour, 

but the next, they were bare after strong winds and beating rains.

The best weather conditions for autumn colours

When plants enjoy a growing season with sufficient rain, 

with this being followed by a rather dry, cool and sunny autumn marked by warm days and frostless nights, 

they have the very best weather conditions for developing bright autumn colours.

An early frost

An early frost means an early end to the colourful displays of autumn.

The tannins of autumn

Pigments break down in the light or in very cold temperatures. 

When all of the pigments have broken down - the yellows and oranges, the reds and purples - 

all that may be left are the tannins, the browns in the leaves.   

An autumn carpet

Many of the autumn trees and shrubs lose their leaves when they are still very colourful - 

creating a soft carpet of various hues.

Red and purple autumn pigments

The red and purple pigments of autumn

occur because sugars are trapped
in the leaves of deciduous plants.

Autumn's yellow and orange pigments

The leaves of plants naturally have yellow and orange pigments.

Chlorophyll normally masks these pigments, but when the green chlorophyll is gone during autumn, these vibrant oranges and yellows become evident.

A blocked connection

In autumn, the connection between the leaves and the rest of their plant begins to be blocked. This all happens at the time when the daylight hours become fewer, and when the dark nights become longer.

This is the time when a corky layer of cells forms near the juncture of the leaf and stem, slowly beginning to block the movement of minerals from the roots of a plant into the leaves. It is also the time for slowly blocking the materials such as carbohydrates from the leaves to the branches.

When the connection between leaf and branch is blocked, the production of chlorophyll slows and then stops - and the chlorophyll disappears completely.

This is the time when autumn colours are revealed.

Autumn beauty in our neighbourhood

The best place in the world to see amazing autumn colours is probably eastern United States, but wherever we live, we can probably find autumn beauty in our own neighbourhood - even if we have to look hard for it!

The resistance of evergreens

Evergreens will keep most of their leaves during the autumn and winter. Resistance to cold and moisture loss occurs with special leaves such as the long thin needles of the pine and fir trees. And then there are evergreens with broad leaves  or with tough, waxy surfaces like the holly. While these evergreens are able to continue to photosynthesize during the cold weather with shorter daylight hours,
their reactions will be slower.

Resting

Autumn is the season when deciduous trees rest. They shut down their "food-making-factories" and live off the food which they have stored during the summer.

In our technological world, many of us are like the evergreens who never completely rest - well, not for a whole season like the deciduous trees do! However, God intended us to pause, to reflect, to worship - and not to be always busy. Would it be wise for us to store a little, enabling us to take time out to enjoy our autumn?

Deciduous trees as neighbours

Each month in my one year blog, I have focused on a different topic. This month's topic is Autumn.

Autumn is a glorious season for those who live with deciduous trees as their neighbours.

The amazing shades of red, yellow, orange, purple and brown are a sight to behold - a photographer's delight!

I love to wander amongst colourful leaves lying on the ground while the sun shines between bare branches,
giving to the leaves an amazing sheen.

THE TENTH MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE

I am blessed to live in Toowoomba, a magnificent Garden City, 130 km west of Queensland's capital of Brisbane. Toowoomba's annual Carnival of Flowers is hosted every spring, in September, and with over 150 public parks and gardens in the city, along with home gardens boasting beautiful flower beds, the city is indeed a picture every spring!

Click on the link below for a sneak preview of Toowoomba.....
www.bing.com/images/search?q=TOOWOOMBA+IN+SPRING&qpvt=TOOWOOMBA+IN+SPRING&FORM=IGRE

GUEST OF THE MONTH - Patricia

Throughout spring, I have enjoyed photographing pink and blue flora, always remembering my friend, Patricia, whose favourite colours are pink and blue! 
I have invited Patricia to be our GUEST OF THE MONTH, to tell us why she loves these colours. 

When I was in my early twenties, many years ago, I had thought that my life was at its very end. With my body riddled with disease, I lay helpless in hospital. I would look out of the hospital window at the canopy of blue sky above, knowing that God's love was covering me, just as the sky covers the earth day and night. Over those very difficult months, occasionally I witnessed a glorious sunset, and the pigments of pink seemed to be drawn into my spirit, perhaps giving my soul a lift and a promise of colour to my palid skin. It was at that time that those two colours of blue and pink became my favourite colours - the blue representing God's covering over my life, and the pink representing life itself - with its joys and sorrows, with its victories and defeats. It is with faith in Jesus that I have travelled on - taking with me my love of those two colours - taking with me a trust in God's eternal covering and an appreciation for life itself.    

May each of us get a "buzz" whenever we see our favourite colour!


from Robyn 

painting of robin by Brenda, Robyn's mum

Pink and white petals

Petals pink and tulips white

Create a wondrous spring delight.

Cosmos

Cosmos bloom

In pleasant places

Bringing spring to open spaces. 

Tiny buds

Tiny buds tell their story - 
Wondrous tales of springtime glory.

A decorated hat

A hat adorned with sprigs from spring

Could become quite a fashionable thing. 

Butterfly landing

A butterfly alights

To take speedy flights

Landing soon

On a springtime bloom

Buzzing bees

Buzzing bees from hives nearby

Will seek out nectar by and by.

Springtime lambs

Young lambs awake to skip and play 

But stay near their mother throughout the day.  

Butterflies play

Springtime comes to stay for its season 

While butterflies play for no special reason.