How to grow your own when supplies are short. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT, as grandma used to say.

Old tried and true hints have been forgotten with passing time. Do you have any of your own to add? Here are a few forgotten hints from an old book of mine:

* IF YOUR PAINTBRUSH HAS DRIED HARD, try boiling it in vinegar.
* COTTON REELS make excellent door stops. Screw them into the floor. Touch up with matching colours, or dare to be different and make them psychedelic.
* SCREW TWO COTTON REELS onto the wall close enough for the broom handle to fit between.
* OUT OF DATE CREDIT CARDS make good guitar picks. Cut out the right shape and get picking.
* IF YOUR GARDEN HOSE is damaged, jab it full of holes and use it as a garden sprinkler or soak hose.
* FILL EGG CARTONS with topsoil and use to propagate seedlings. When the seedlings are ready to plant, cut the carton into portions. The cardboard will disintergrate and the plant will not suffer any damage during planting.
* OLD AND TIRED GUMBOOTS - cut them off just above the ankle. They make an excellent pair of waterproof slip-ons if going to the mailbox or a quick trip into the garden.
* USED TEA BAGS. Squeeze them out after use, then place on a flat tray to dry in the sun or in the hot water cupboard. When completely dry store in an air tight jar with a little kerosene added and the jar shaken. Then use as fire starters when needed - they work well.
* KEEP STEEL WOOL in the freezer between uses. This prevents it from rusting, and you get six times more use from it.
* TREAT BEE STINGS with toothpaste; apply instantly. Another treatment is to rub lemon juice on the sting.
* TO PREVENT SKIN FORMING after a paint tin has been opened, store it upside down.
* PAINTING THE BASE of your new metal rubbish can on both sides with asphalt roofing sealer should extend its life to ten years or more, rather than the usual one or two.
* TO ADD FRAGRANCE to a room simply toss a bunch of fresh or dried mint or rosemary into the fireplace. No need for expensive aerosol fragrances.

Ah...the sign of a good gardener. Someone who can grow decent carrots. Not carrots that twine around each other in lust!! We have had a miserable run with our carrots lately. Does anyone have any secrets for growing great carrots?

In these harsh times people are looking for simple ways of making do in the home. Here is a real "Retro recipe", a fantastically quick and easy no knead brown bread which anyone can make. It makes beautiful breakfast toast, enjoyed hot and lavishly spread with butter. YUM. It is an old style very heavy textured loaf and because of the high yeast content, it is best kept wrapped in the fridge in warm weather. I use a tin which measures 15cm x 25cm at the outside rim. The tin is 6cm deep, and the loaf rises to just above the top of the tin - about 8 cm, so it doesn't peak like the usual bread. But we love it for toast, it is very filling and economical. There...I've rambled on enough! LOL

EASY NO-KNEAD BROWN BREAD
2 cups Hi Grade White flour
2 cups Wholemeal flour (you can use 3 to 1 if you prefer)
2 tablespoons Granulated Yeast (NOT breadmaker yeast)
2 tablespoons Milk Powder (I use Full Cream)
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 tablespoon Raw Sugar
I often add 1/2 cup chopped Dried Apricots or Raisins for a change.
Turn your oven to 50 degrees C. Put all ingredients in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add 600mls lukewarm water. Mix quickly until you have a sticky dough, similar consistency to porridge. Grease your tin lightly with a butter paper, add dough and work it into the corners of the tin. With wet hand smooth off the surface. Place tin in the 50 degree C oven until the dough has risen to just higher than the top of the tin - about 30 minutes. Then turn the oven up to 200 degrees C and cook for another 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 150 degrees C and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove from oven and tip out onto a wire rack to cool. Your oven temperature may vary from others. The loaf should be nicely browned and you can check it is cooked by tapping the bottom, and listening for a hollow sound. But I find my oven fits the above perfectly. AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!!