Tricky plants annd animals

I hope that no one who is reading this has been unlucky enough to learn first-hand how easy it is to mistake stinging nettles for spearmint. I have, and believe me, it is much more pleasent to find out from a book, a website, or from a friend. This page is about how to identify plants and animals that are sometimes mistaken for others.





STINGING NETTLE-SPEARMINT: It is unfortunitly easy to mistake stinging nettles for spearmint. But there is an easy way to check. If you look closely at the leaf of a stinging nettle, there will be tiny spikes, but spearmint leaves have none.

Plant information

Lemon: Try the lemonade on post two, "Little kids cooking". Lemons don't need to be washed, unless you're using the skin, also called rind. Lemons are in the citrus family, and are related to oranges and limes. Some lemons are more sour or sweet than others.

Orange: There are many types of oranges. There are naval and blood oranges, to name a couple.

Limes: Limes are very like lemons. Young green lemons can be mistaken for limes, and vice versa. Lime juice can be added to lemonade.

Stinging nettle: Stining nettle resembles spearmint, but look out for the prickles! Although it isn't nice to pick, it tastes great in soups, like my favourite, nettle and potato soup.

Helpful garden (and kitchen) pets

All pets are great, but some will help you in your kitchen and garden as well as being great companions. Here are a few of them:




Worms: Worms might not be cute and cudly, but they can help a lot in the garden.
KITCHEN: Worms eat all kinds of kitchen scraps. Here are some: Carrot peelings, potato peelings and cucumber peelings.
GARDEN: The wee and poo of your worms act as great fertilizers for your soil.




Goats: They're very cute, and make milk.
KITCHEN: The milk of your goats (only females make milk) can be used in the kitchen.
GARDEN: Goats are one of natures own lawnmowers! But move then to different patches regularly.




Horses and ponies: they make great pets and are rideable. In some parts of the world, horses are used to pull ploughs.
KITCHEN: Mare's (a mare is a female horse or pony) milk is very expensive to buy in shops, but if you have one, you can make your own.
GARDEN: Horse manure is great for the garden.
If you want to know more about owning a horse, go to www.allabouthorsesandponies.blogspot.com

Little kids cooking

Here are some simple ideas for little ones learning how to cook. Cooking and gardening are two great ways for little kids to learn how to look after themselves and the natural world around them. So here you are:

Lemonade


Lemonade is a great, refreshing drink for hot Summer days.

You will need: two to three lemons, depending on how strong you like it, a spoon, a jug that is more than a litre, half a litre boiling water and half a litre cold water, a juicer and a cup of sugar.

Juice the lemons. Pour the sugar and hot water into the jug and mix. When the sugar has dissolved, let it cool a bit and then add the cold water and lemon juice and stir. If it is still hot then drop in a few ice blocks.

OPTIONAL: If you want, you can add some rose water.

Gardening tip: Lemon trees are evergreens, wich means that they don't lose their leaves in Autumn and winter.





Simple salad:

A salad goes nicely with almost any dinner.

Get your favourite salad greens, some cucumber, some capsicum and some tomato. Put all the ingredients in a salad bowl. Add a couple of drops of olive oil and lemon juice and mix.

OPTIONAL: If you want to, you can sprinkle some saffron powder on top. Saffron is an eddible flower.


Garden tips:
Never plant tomatoes in the same garden-bed twice in a row.






Soft boiled eggs

A great breakfast food, nice with toast.

Get an egg (per person) and boil it in a saucepan for four minuts. Let them cool down and eat.


Gardening tips: Chickens are very rewarding pets. But don't get a male and a female unless you want to breed.

Hi everyone!

Hi! This is a website for people who love to grow and cook their own food. There will be recipes and how to grow some of the ingredients. Hope you enjoy!