Carazy

The Honda Integra Ute or “Things I stuff into my car”

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My old 1994 Honda Integra VTi-R has served me well for 15 years. It’s done 298,000 kms and the engine is still rock solid. Externally it has scrapes and dents left by a multitude of blind muppets who  I guess are driving by touch and using the cars on the road as some sort of navigational braille. They also feel it’s okay to not stop after hitting a car and take responsibility for their ineptitude.

As much as I love cars I still think of them as a functional item and although completely not designed for hauling heavy cargo, I’ve still used the Integra as a utility vehicle.

The first time I used it as a ute I carried seven 3m long hardwood sleepers and 10 bags of concrete in it. I don’t think it was having much fun that day.

Here is just a tiny portion of the stuff I’ve carried in it.

 

20kg Bags of Lucerne (I had two in the front passenger seat as well)

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The Pampered Princess Plant Dilemma

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I have around ten new trees to put into my yard and as I’m discovering, trees are little dainty princesses when they’re young. Especially avocado’s. The loss of my Fuerte a month after putting it into the ground the previous year has me holding off on putting the new young trees in without creating an adequate site for them.

Previously I’d cut into the hillside at an angle then layered with well composted mulch and gypsum soaked the hole before planting. I also dug a drainage channel from the low side of the hole to further ensure water did not pool in the hard clay base. Fortunately my elite photoshop skills have provided you with the following pics to explain. (Yes I can feel the admiration, no my photoshopping prowess is not for hire)

 

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Carazy Composting Method : No Turn, Self Aerated, Quick Hot Composting System – Part 2

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For those of you who’ve come late to the party here is part 1

Carazy Composting Method : No Turn, Turbo Charged, Self Aerated Hot Composting System

After building the self aerated composting bin the next stage was to fill it with organic matter.

I chopped up a whole heap of dry sugar cane mulch, leaves, horse manure and began to fill the bin to the top pausing every 15-20cm to give each layer a soaking with the hose.

When placing the material in there do not compact it. You want there to be small passages of air to allow the aerobic process to occur. The wetting process will make the material heavy and compact it to some extent. If you are putting small sticks or woody material, place the layers at various angles to each other to give more opportunities for air pockets to be created.

 

 

 

 

Given my one person household doesn’t turn over much in the way of compostable food waste, I had a chat with the owner of a local cafe and asked if I could get her food scraps and coffee grounds. She was happy to oblige so I bought a brand new black garbage bin and tied a laminated note to it specifying that it was for composting materials only and my contact details. So twice a week I get a phone call saying my compost is ready and I duck down to the cafe and grab my bin. I can’t believe how excited I am to be picking up someone else’s garbage!

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