Month: January 2014

Town water is safe, so why filter your tap water?

People often ask; why should you filter your tap water? After all, the local water board goes to great pains to ensure that the water coming from your tap is safe to drink. And it is true that generally speaking here in Australia we are very fortunate to have plentiful supplies of high-quality water at our fingertips.

But just because the water is safe to drink doesn’t mean that it is pure. For a start, the way that water is made biologically safe in municipal systems is by the addition of chlorine. This is an excellent method of killing pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, but it doesn’t taste particularly nice in that freshly brewed coffee! Another factor which affects the purity of your drinking water is the fact that it is delivered to you through an extensive network of pipes, some of which can be very old. This results in sediment such as flakes of rust, small pieces of grit and fibres being present.

There is a vast range of water filters available to address these problems. Systems which filter the water for the whole house are sometimes used, but these tend to be expensive and the reality is that much of the water used in household operation does not need to be filtered. Point of use systems such as countertop or under bench kitchen units are much more common.

Stefani 8.0 Litre Water Purifier

One of the most economical and effective point of use water filter systems available is the Stefani 8 Litre Water Purifier. This attractively styled unit is made from high quality stainless steel and features a micro-porous ceramic filter cartridge. This cartridge is the heart of the unit and provides excellent quality drinking water. The external ceramic casing of the cartridge removes sediment to a level of 0.5 micron and is lined with colloidal silver to inhabit bacteria growth. The inside of the cartridge is filled with granular activated carbon which is an extremely effective medium for removing chlorine as well as organic contaminants such as tastes, odours and pesticides.

Maintaining the Stefani Water Purifier is simple; the ceramic cartridge can be removed periodically and any sediment buildup scraped off. The cartridge should be replaced every six months or so, as the activated carbon becomes exhausted and its ability to remove chlorine reduced. Replacement cartridges are readily available and are inexpensive.

Pure, fresh tasting water is a real treat! And with it so readily available the family will be drinking that instead of some of the less healthy alternatives!

There is a bit more to making compost than throwing your scraps in a bin

Composting garden waste and kitchen scraps

Compost is basically decomposed organic substances such as garden waste and kitchen scraps. Any organic material will decompose in time. This is happening constantly in nature, and composting is really just a method of speeding up the natural processes of rotting. Using good techniques ensures relatively rapid production of compost with minimal loss of nutrients, and specially designed composters are available to make this easier.

Composting has been carried out in one form or another for at least 4000 years. The Chinese, for instance, have been returning practically every scrap of vegetable or animal residue to their farmland after composting, and their methods were studied in the early 1900s and documented in a book called “Farmers of Forty Centuries” written by an American soil scientist, Dr F. H. King. Another scientist, Sir Albert Howard, who was working in India in the early 1900s, conducted extensive experiments and developed the first properly documented systems for the optimum level of natural biodegradation with the maximum elimination of harmful bacteria. Howard’s work was conducted in the Indore region of India where the hygienic disposal of sewage was a major problem because of the dissemination of killer diseases by flies. This research work forms the basis of composting techniques which have been used in backyards for many years.

The essential ingredients for making compost are organic materials, microorganisms, moisture and oxygen. You will also need a little soil, gypsum or dolomite. The quality of the compost you make depends on the quality of the rubbish and waste materials used. The most important aspect of quality is the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C/N ratio) of the materials used. Microorganisms need both carbon and nitrogen to make proteins. They use about 30 parts by weight of carbon for each part of nitrogen used, so materials used for composting need to have a C/N ratio of about 30. It has been found that an average C/N ratio in the range of 25 to 30 will work well.

As an indicator waste materials such as lawn clippings and weeds have any C/N ratio of around 20. Kitchen food wastes have a ratio of around 15, whereas materials such as leaves and pine needles have a ratio of around 65 and straw has a ratio of approximately 100. Keeping this in mind, it is clear that kitchen waste by itself will not make good compost easily – we need to mix it with other waste materials such as leaves or straw to achieve a suitable C/N ratio.

One of the main problems people encounter when they start their composting program is that it doesn’t seem to be decomposing properly – it is wet and smells awful. This is particularly the case when kitchen scraps are the main ingredient. The answer is to address the question of the C/N ratio by ensuring that sufficient other materials such as straw or garden clippings are added regularly. A dusting of dolomite, garden lime or wood ash can also help by reducing the acidity of the mix.

Outdoor storage solutions for those need somewhere to store mops and brooms … and buckets and …!

Keter COMPACT SHED WITH PEGBOARD

The COMPACT SHED is no longer manufactured, it has been replaced by the Optima Wonder, click here to view it and buy online.

It’s just a fact of life – there is never enough room inside the house store everything that you need to. However, you often find that many household items can be stored safely and tidily outside in a secure weatherproof cabinet. So if you need somewhere to store mops and brooms, or for that matter, buckets, scrubbing brushes, detergent bottles etc, Landera can help you.

You can access a great range of weatherproof plastic outdoor storage cabinets and boxes available from manufacturers such as Keter and Suncast through Landera. These products are made from UV-stabilised polypropylene and are ideal for storing cleaning equipment and tools as well as toys and sporting equipment.

One of the most popular units is the Keter Compact Shed with Pegboard. This is an outdoor cabinet with a vertical dividing panel, allowing long handled brooms and mops to be stored on one side and other smaller items on the shelving adjacent. Other similar units are the Keter Rattan Utility Cabinet and the Suncast Vertical Tool Store. These units are easy to assemble and install, and are designed to keep the contents dry and secure.

Reclaiming valuable storage space inside the house is easy – check the product range at http://www.landera.com.au/outdoor-storage. Larger storage units such as plastic garden sheds are also available. These offer storage for garden items such as lawn mowers and wheel barrows as well as household equipment.

A greenhouse answers the question: How to stop animals eating your plants?

Possums – they look cute, but they can be a nuisance!

You probably know the feeling well. Your tomatoes or strawberries are nearly ready to pick – you have carefully watered and cared for them ever since you planted them, and now in just one or two more days you will be able to enjoy the incredible flavour of real fruit or vegetables grown in your own garden. So much better than the produce you buy at the supermarket which looks great, but tastes like plastic … You go out to check on the plants one last time, and something has beaten you to them!

This situation is common, even in inner-city suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne. Not only are starlings and blackbirds as well as native birds a pest, but also possums are becoming quite comfortable living in close proximity to people. In addition, some people find that even their own pets can cause a problem, especially if they are investigative by nature!

The good news is that there is a simple way to protect your plants from these predators. Greenhouses are primarily used, of course, to provide optimal climatic conditions for growing flowers, herbs and vegetables, but they are also ideal for keeping all those other interested parties at bay. The SILVER LINE range has units small enough for courtyards and patios ans well as ones suitable for gardens – see http://www.landera.com.au/green-houses-polycarbonate . The durable and robust aluminium framing and the virtually unbreakable polycarbonate glazing panels can defy even the most determined efforts of the furred and feathered marauders.

And of course, the benefits of growing vegetables and flowers in a greenhouse are a bonus – you can expect noticeably bigger and better results simply because of the controlled environment the greenhouse provides.