Readers' Solutions

Low-cost, natural household cleaning products from a permaculture perspective

Ross and Jenny Mars |

Friday, 25th January 2013

Great news! You can clean almost all of your house, including some of those stubborn stains, with the use of a few natural substances that are cheap to buy and easy to obtain...

The health giving properties of Garlic and Honey and how to make a Garlic Honey tonic

Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal |

Friday, 25th January 2013

Garlic has been a food and medicine for thousands of years. Many prescriptions of the ancient Egyptians included garlic for treatment of ailments from infections to physical weakness.

How to Grow and Look After Winter Herbs

Juliet Kemp |

Tuesday, 22nd January 2013

Some herbs simply won’t grow in the UK over the winter: basil is an example, and chives will survive and return exuberantly in the spring, but won’t actually grow, even in a cold...

Seasonal Celeriac and Potato Soup with Blue Cheese

Sarah Johnstone |

Thursday, 17th January 2013

The temperatures have fallen and snow is forecast this weekend so we all need warm, comforting food to see us through the cold snap and soup always fits the bill. Soup in January is also the...

Making DIY Solar Panels for your Off Grid home

Sarah Jasmon |

Friday, 11th January 2013

I’ve lived on a boat for nearly eight years now, a wide beam canal boat on the Leeds to Liverpool canal. My power supply is a 5kw diesel generator, which is noisy, thirsty, and prone to going...

Cheaply Increasing the Energy Efficiency of an Old Home

Andy Hunt |

Thursday, 10th January 2013

I was recently working out the carbon footprint of Green Cottage, and came up with a very favourable figure of less than one tonne of CO2 a year – this being associated with the grid electricity...

To dig or not to dig? How my allotment made the decision for me!

Elaine Aldridge |

Friday, 4th January 2013

For years I have been struggling with 'dig' versus 'no-dig' principals on my allotment. When I started, back in 2003, I had a mass of perennial weeds to deal with and gleefully accepted an offer...

Rustic Vegan Creamy Leeks with Paprika Rice Recipe

Diana White |