Monthly Archives: October 2016

A mixed bag of tips

Spring has sprung which means its time to clean! Here are some cheap and easy cleaning tips from readers. Sue from Kaitaia recommends sugar soap. “I use it for cleaning walls, ceilings, floors and to wash the car. It is really good at getting road grime off the car and does not leave waxy marks […]

Many uses for coffee grounds

While chatting to a fellow oily ragger at our local supermarket the other day, they mentioned how well their banana plants were doing after giving them good coverage of coffee grounds. They have an arrangement with a local café to take away the grinds, which works well for both parties. That got us searching the […]

Worming around

We have received a great letter from Karen in Northland who has worms, well, we mean keeps worms, in her garden, to make compost and liquid fertiliser for the vege patch. Karen says it’s much better than putting kitchen scraps into the compost bin because the worms do the work and the by-product is much […]

Gift card, composting, and warm rooms

A reader from Whangarei writes, “I am pleased some major retailers are going to eliminate the expiry date on gift cards. In August 2014 I was given a Palmers gift card. I have used it occasionally but when I tried to use it last week they said it had expired and my remaining credit was […]

Pest control

A reader from Northland says he collects roadkill for use in predator traps on his property. We like that idea – dead pests being used to catch live pests so the good wildlife can survive. If his traps are fully baited he digs the remains into his garden to become blood and bone fertiliser. Still […]

Lawn clippings

A reader has asked for suggestions regarding lawn clippings. Her husband has been putting them in the wheelie bin and has asked for a better suggestion. Lawn clippings can certainly be put to good use, and without a lot of bother. A really simple way to turn it into compost is to put lawn clippings, […]

Gift cards

A reader from Whangarei writes, “I am pleased some major retailers are going to eliminate the expiry date on gift cards. In August 2014 I was given a Palmers gift card. I have used it occasionally but when I tried to use it last week they said it had expired and my remaining credit was […]