Cloth menstrual pads are economical and environmentally friendly. They can be made with any absorbent material. I think unbleached cotton is  the best, but hemp or cotton fleece would also work.

• Moon Pads
• Rad Pads
• Wemoon

There are plenty of printable patterns online to make a reusable pad at home.

• Cloth menstrual pads (a la Reverend Jan)
• Cloth menstrual pads – Moo said the mama

Simply rinse the reusable pads in cold water and soak in a basin of cold water until you are ready to put them in the washing machine with any other load of washing. The soaking water can be used on your garden – it is a natural product after all!

And why not also try a reusable cup instead of a tampon:

• Diva Cup (silicone)
• Keeper (latex)
• Lunette (silicone)
• Moon Cup (silicone)

Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is methane gas found in coal seams. It is incredibly destructive to the environment.

It pollutes the air and water we all share.

It is not a clean energy, and it’s very inefficient.

We watched the Gasland documentary the other day and can’t believe the shameful and destructive practices that are going on overseas.

Environmental Impact Statements are not optional.

Please educate yourself about this issue:

• The ABC has an excellent Coal Seam Gas website.
• Gasland – documentary by Josh Fox on Coal Seam Gas in America.
• Lock The Gate Alliance

A locked gate means you are not welcome on our property.

I’ve been tossing up between getting traditional bees and Australian native stingless bees. The advantages of native stingless bees are that they do not sting and therefore you need less equipment. They help pollinate the garden, essential for many fruits and vegetables. They produce amazing honey but only a small amount (less than 1 kg per hive per year).

There is no legal requirement to register hives of native bees in Australia.

Native stingless bees are available around Brisbane from the following places:

Trigona carbonaria
(Common in southern Queensland and NSW)

Vince Ashe – Crows Nest (in logs)
Phone: 07 4698 1701

Australian Native Bee Crop Pollination Service – Mark Grosskopf – Maryvale (in boxes with new queens)
Phone: 0438 623 734
Website: www.croppollination.com.au

Peter Davenport – Elanora (in boxes)
Phone: 07 5533 9383

Tony Goodrich – Brisbane  (in boxes)
Also supplies OATH hive boxes
Phone: 07 3878 2322
Mobile: 0449 746 970

Kin Kin Native Bees  – Chris Fuller
Boxes with mainly Trigona carbonaria for $350 pick up.
Phone: 07 5485 4454
Email: info@nativebees.com.au
Website: www.nativebees.com.au

My City Garden – The Gap
A 3 tiered hive, tin lid, 2 x honey collection pots, 2 x straps, 2 x black stoppers and approx 5000 funky little bees for $425.
Phone: 0435 226 912
Email: info@mycitygarden.com.au
Website: mycitygarden.com.au/category/stingless-bees/

Sugarbag – Tim Heard – Brisbane
Hives in boxes for $400, with $100 delivery.
Phone: 07 3844 4914
Email: tim@sugarbag.net
Website: http://www.sugarbag.net

Don Riding – Clear Mountain (in boxes)
Phone: 07 3298 5253
Email: d.riding@bigpond.net.au
Customer to pick up hives

John Waters, Bardon (in boxes)
Phone: 07 3870 8664
Email: yodaregen@fastmail.fm

Col Webb – Brassall (in logs & boxes)
Phone: 07 3201 7083
Email: coje1122@bigpond.net.au

Russell and Janine Zabel -  Hatton Vale (in boxes)
Phone: 0404 892 139
Email: bees@zabel.com.au
Website: http://www.zabel.com.au

Recommended books

• Australian Stingless Bees: a Guide to Sugarbag Keeping by John Klumpp

Further information

• ANBees – an active forum for discussions on all sorts of Australian native bee topics
• Aussie Bee – Australian Native Bee Research Centre
• Bob the Beeman – rescues and relocates colonies of Native Stingless Bees

In case you missed it, like I did here’s Rob Hopkins talking about the ‘Transition to a world without oil.’

Rob Hopkins writing is positive and thought-provoking on the Transition Culture website and the following books:

• The Transition Companion – making your community more resilient in uncertain times
• The Transition Handbook – From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience (Transition Guides)
• The Transition Timeline – For a Local, Resilient Future
• Local Food (Transition Guides)

A cost-effective alternative to conventional laundry detergents can be made with the following ingredients:

Equal parts bicarb soda, washing soda and soap flakes.

White vinegar can also be added to act as a fabric softener and deodoriser.

We add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to kill off any dust mites and leave a fresh smell. You could use your favourite essential oil instead.

Other green laundry products to try are:

• Miracle Wash Laundry Balls
• Nanosmart Laundry Balls
• Wild Soap Nuts 

Transition tip: Reduce your stuff.

Think about creative ways you can recycle your existing stuff.

Think about selling your unwanted stuff on ebay. You could give  away your unwanted stuff to a charity or freecycle.

Apartment Therapy has a 8 week program from reducing the clutter in your house.

The Story of Stuff video (above) has a great website with more information.

Here is a great recipe for a natural alternative to dry shampoo. It will help to absorb excess oil and is a convenient quick fix in-between washes.

1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of rice flour

1. Mix together all the ingredients and keep in an air-tight container.
2. Massage into the scalp and through the hair as needed.
3. Leave for about 5 minutes then brush out vigorously. You may like to stand over a sink as it can be a bit messy!

Alternatively you may like to ditch your shampoo all together and go ‘no poo‘.

Donate your good quality (as new) books, cd and dvds to a local library.

If you ever need them again, you can always borrow them out. In the meantime, you are allowing other people to use this resource. This is an example of the permaculture value (ethics) of fair share – Using the earth’s limited resources in ways that are equitable and wise.

Give away your surplus.

Notes:

• ‘Roots’ is a certified organic food market
• Chlorpropham (aka Bud Nip) is a herbicide that inhibits sprout growth.  According to the Pesticide Action Network chlorphopham can cause toxicity to amphibians and honeybees
• No wonder potato growers don’t eat their own potatoes!

Unfortunately due to an overwhelming demand since Cyclone Yasi, there is a six month waiting list for banana plants! So I’m going to have to put my banana growing plans on hold. Here’s some of the information I discovered while conducting research.

Bananas require full sunlight for most of the day. They do best is a sheltered area where the roots will not become flooded. The best time to plant is from September to mid-December.

They require a large amount of plant nutrients to grow and fruit. (800 grams of lime, 240 gram of urea, 30 grams of super

Residential growers in south Queensland require a permit to grow a maximum of 10 plants. Permits are free of charge and made to Biosecurity (currently part of the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries).

The only permitted varieties are:

• Blue Java – Silvery wax bloom, white flesh, dessert and cooking
• Bluggoe (plantain or cooking banana) – angular fruit
• Kluai Namwa Khom (Dwarf Ducasse) – fragrant sweet flavour, dessert and cooking, very vigorous. Referred to as sugar banana.
• Goldfinger – tangy tasting, doesn’t turn brown when cut
• Ladyfinger – drought hardy, long shelf life, dessert type, sweet creamy flesh
• Pissang Ceylan -pinkish midribs on leaves, agreeably sweet acid

There is currently only ONE supplier in Queensland – Blue Sky Backyard Bananas – each plant costs $30 each including postage.

Further information

Agrilink produce a Tropical banana information kit as a series of PDFs. The kit provides information on all aspects of growing tropical bananas in Queensland.

Jerry Coleby-Williams has written about Growing and cooking plantains on his website. He has also written a Fact Sheet: Growing Bananas for the ABC Gardening website.