Great designs arise from necessity.. and if there's one thing i need to find a solution to, it's how to get stuff dry around here!
All morning, we've had a drought... nice hot sunshine.. clouds coming and going and intermittently threatening to dump on my loads of freshly hung washing on the line.
The heavens just opened half an hour ago, for all of 5 minutes.. which was enough to get everything sufficiently wet that it won't be able to dry today. It's pretty frustrating, and if things aren't totally dry, they grow mould.. so I have come up with an idea.
Our current clothesline is a rope strung between two trees, and we have another one the same, up the top. I reckon if i can devise a way to build a structure to support some kind of waterproof fabric that acts as a shelter for the line, and can be easily drawn across when the first drops start, and then drawn back again when it stops five minutes later, i'd be onto a winner... :)
prototype to come... in my spare time :p
A record of my journey as i spend what promises to be a wonderfully rich and diverse year immersed in permaculture studies at Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin, NSW... I am really learning how to LIVE and thrive while creating a harmonious, sustainable and self sufficient lifestyle for my family, our community, and our planet... step by step.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Addicted to oil
Yesterday we watched a youtube video about Transition Towns and one of the key points raised was that as a society, we are addicted to oil.
The large majority of us rely on oil being available for our current standard of living to be maintained, and most of us haven't spent a great deal of time really considering just how addicted we are.
The question posed, that got the juices going with all of us in class, was "What would life be like without oil?"
It's seriously not that far off in our future. The days of cheap oil are already behind us, and we face ever increasing costs for oil, therefore every part of life that currently relies on oil will be impacted. The cost for foods will go through the roof, the cost for travelling by car anywhere will be prohibitive, the option of jumping on a plane for a trip somewhere will also be cost prohibitive and so many industries and places rely heavily on tourism and the availability of affordable travel... and that's not even scratching the surface.
It's got me looking more deeply and consciously at a part of my life i've already been trying to take more responsibility for.
My current car is a big old 4wd, a seven seater i got when i was still with the father of my children, and we needed that many seats to fit three carseats in.
Every second weekend i travel to Brisbane and back home, then back to Brisbane, then back home, clocking up over 600kms in the process. This costs me a fortune, takes hours and hours, but it's an area i'm not negotiable on at the moment as right now it's the only way i can see my kids. Where i can reduce my petrol consumption is with my travels to and from school.
I live 32km from school, and travel there and back four days a week, so it's about 260km per week i'm travelling, on my own, in my huge car.
There are no other students living out this way for me to carpool with. I've considered staying a night or two a week at school, but while i'm setting up my vegie gardens, I'm reluctant to miss out on the valuable daylight saving daylight hours after school at this moment. In winter it gets dark at around 5pm, so i'm making the most of the length of the day at this point in time, in preparation for winter.
So i have made a commitment to getting to and from school without driving myself.
In the area I live, like many places around the northern rivers and the Tweed, it's really common to hitchhike. I regularly pick up hitchhikers and hitch myself. It's a part of the culture here. Every time i hitch, i am picked up by interesting people who are often permaculturalists, Osho devotees or musicians, and invariably during the trip, we discover we have mutual friends to go with our mutual interests.
On rainy days, i have really been struggling with my commitment to leaving my car behind. It requires some serious dedication to get out the door and hitch in the rain when a car is sitting in my driveway, and it strikes me that in the not too distant future, it may be one of the only ways people are able to afford to get around, rain or shine.
So far on rainy days I have driven instead, but i am committed to hitching as often as possible through the winter when it's the dry season.
I am currently in the market for a 4cyl diesel car to trade my monster in for.. which i then hope to convert to bio diesel. Funnily enough the fella who picked me up yesterday was a scrap metal dude, who regularly picks up perfectly running small cars, so he's got his eye out for a car for me too :)
So I'm looking to not only reduce the amount of petrol i consume, but also make a greater effort in my commitment to buying local food that hasn't been shipped in from miles away.
How would your life look without oil? Could it be possible that you would actually enjoy a better quality of life than you currently experience.. if you connected locally to skillshare and trade with other members of your community.. reducing the need for so much travel to and from work each day, to and from the gym, to and from major shopping centres... if you found meaningful employment in your community, reducing the need to be away from your family, reducing the stress of isolation from community support and enjoying the health benefits of enjoying fresh locally grown produce? Sounds too good to be true.. but it's our imminent future because the end of the oil age as we know it is inevitable... :)
The large majority of us rely on oil being available for our current standard of living to be maintained, and most of us haven't spent a great deal of time really considering just how addicted we are.
The question posed, that got the juices going with all of us in class, was "What would life be like without oil?"
It's seriously not that far off in our future. The days of cheap oil are already behind us, and we face ever increasing costs for oil, therefore every part of life that currently relies on oil will be impacted. The cost for foods will go through the roof, the cost for travelling by car anywhere will be prohibitive, the option of jumping on a plane for a trip somewhere will also be cost prohibitive and so many industries and places rely heavily on tourism and the availability of affordable travel... and that's not even scratching the surface.
It's got me looking more deeply and consciously at a part of my life i've already been trying to take more responsibility for.
My current car is a big old 4wd, a seven seater i got when i was still with the father of my children, and we needed that many seats to fit three carseats in.
Every second weekend i travel to Brisbane and back home, then back to Brisbane, then back home, clocking up over 600kms in the process. This costs me a fortune, takes hours and hours, but it's an area i'm not negotiable on at the moment as right now it's the only way i can see my kids. Where i can reduce my petrol consumption is with my travels to and from school.
I live 32km from school, and travel there and back four days a week, so it's about 260km per week i'm travelling, on my own, in my huge car.
There are no other students living out this way for me to carpool with. I've considered staying a night or two a week at school, but while i'm setting up my vegie gardens, I'm reluctant to miss out on the valuable daylight saving daylight hours after school at this moment. In winter it gets dark at around 5pm, so i'm making the most of the length of the day at this point in time, in preparation for winter.
So i have made a commitment to getting to and from school without driving myself.
In the area I live, like many places around the northern rivers and the Tweed, it's really common to hitchhike. I regularly pick up hitchhikers and hitch myself. It's a part of the culture here. Every time i hitch, i am picked up by interesting people who are often permaculturalists, Osho devotees or musicians, and invariably during the trip, we discover we have mutual friends to go with our mutual interests.
On rainy days, i have really been struggling with my commitment to leaving my car behind. It requires some serious dedication to get out the door and hitch in the rain when a car is sitting in my driveway, and it strikes me that in the not too distant future, it may be one of the only ways people are able to afford to get around, rain or shine.
So far on rainy days I have driven instead, but i am committed to hitching as often as possible through the winter when it's the dry season.
I am currently in the market for a 4cyl diesel car to trade my monster in for.. which i then hope to convert to bio diesel. Funnily enough the fella who picked me up yesterday was a scrap metal dude, who regularly picks up perfectly running small cars, so he's got his eye out for a car for me too :)
So I'm looking to not only reduce the amount of petrol i consume, but also make a greater effort in my commitment to buying local food that hasn't been shipped in from miles away.
How would your life look without oil? Could it be possible that you would actually enjoy a better quality of life than you currently experience.. if you connected locally to skillshare and trade with other members of your community.. reducing the need for so much travel to and from work each day, to and from the gym, to and from major shopping centres... if you found meaningful employment in your community, reducing the need to be away from your family, reducing the stress of isolation from community support and enjoying the health benefits of enjoying fresh locally grown produce? Sounds too good to be true.. but it's our imminent future because the end of the oil age as we know it is inevitable... :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
James' biodynamic farm.. Beekeeping and fruit tree paradise
Today we had an excursion to James' biodynamic farm in Barkers Vale.
I took my phone with me to take photos and was devastated when the battery ran out because i was unable to get pics to document with graphics just how wonderful it was!
James and his partner are raw foodists, so began growing fruit trees for food, and then began beekeeping to help pollinate their trees.
Some of their fruit trees are scattered around, and in other areas, they're in orderly rows. They find rows a lot easier to manage in terms of fertilising and weeding, and the space they leave between the rows is wide enough for a ute to drive down, making it easier for care and harvest.
They grow yellow sapote (known as boiled egg fruit), white sapote (pictured above), bananas, avocadoes, plantains, guavas, paw paw, panama berries, jackfruit, dragon fruit, cassava, bananas, turmeric, a huge range of vegies, miniature cucumbers (pic below) these are so cool, and can be a bit weed-like when they grow so need to be monitored.
Here's one of their fruiting avocado trees:
They get no frost so the trees they're able to grow are far more diverse than many are able to grow around here. They have quite a number of unusual fruit trees.
A highlight was the panama berries.. unbelievably sweet tasting little red fruit that taste like a strawberry mixed with fig with a hint of caramel. They taste a bit like a lolly! I googled to find out a bit more about them and they're fast growing, fruiting in the first 6 months, and producing fruit all year! YEAH!
I'm putting one on my wishlist and found they're available from Daley's Fruit in Kyogle.
He's got quite a few jackfruit trees. Jackfruit are quite amazing. The wood on a mature jackfruit can be used for outdoor use as it doesn't really rot like most woods. Jackfruits can grow to the same size as a Moreton Bay Fig, and produce prolific amounts of fruit that is mega high in protein.
James explained to us how many paw paw plants require a male plant to fertilise the female plants in close proximity. The female plants have fruit forming on the trunk. The male plants are identified by long stemmed flowers that protrude from the trunk. Apparently yellow paw paw do really well in this area.
Their banana circle was mildly struck with disease, or mould, possibly due to such a wet season and not enough ventilation due to too many plants in close proximity. They're fruiting nonetheless, and there's plenty of healthy looking leaves amongst the blackened ones. They use chicken wire mesh to cover the bananas to keep parrots out, as the parrots just tear through the blue bags normally used on bananas.
He had an abundance of cherry guavas.. so delicious and full of vitamin c!
Dragon fruit were a fascinating discovery.. They grow on cactus looking plants that i've never seen before. I don't have a photo of the plants at James' but here is a googled image of one of these pretty interesting looking plants.
James grows his on what looks like fencing posts. The dragonfruit will usually grow up the trunks of trees, and then fruit, so James has made the posts short so the plants starts fruiting when it reaches quite a low height. He also has wire creating trellises for them to grow their limbs over.
Apparently the flowers are spectacular, and often come out in the middle of the night, and only last a couple of days. They're also called moonflowers for this reason.
They have a deep litter space in their chicken run which is a few metres square. They put all the chicken feed on this space, and vegie scraps as well as grass and the chickens scratch it around and it turns into humus as they rotate it. Every now and then they cease putting fresh material on it and let it rot down a bit more before removing it and using it in the garden.
In the chicken area they also have worm farms which they put the chook and geese poo onto and collect the worm juice for fertilising plants.
James took us to the vegie gardens where he has loads of stuff growing for sale at the markets. He explained how he uses byodynamic method of using 500. It's an interesting concept which i haven't heard of before.
He has set the rows up in line with the contour of the hill allowing good drainage. All mulch comes from slashed grass from the property. He doesn't employ companion planting practices from what i could see, and he has rows of a single plant.
He doesn't use trays for seedlings, instead planting directly into the soil, beneath a layer of mulch that is heaped to help run off the rain.
To plant the seeds, he has a wooden plank which he impresses upon the earth to make a narrow valley. He then places the seeds along and covers it over using the plank.
He thins the plants out in other rows after they emerge through the mulch.
His fencing surrounding the gardens run out along the ground about half a metre and then he covers them with newspaper and sawdust to prevent bandicoots etc getting in.
He has really strong fence poles holding the chicken wiring and also runs parallel wire above it to grow passionfruit.
It was in inspiring and fascinating tour.. and i'm so keen to learn more!
I took my phone with me to take photos and was devastated when the battery ran out because i was unable to get pics to document with graphics just how wonderful it was!
Our tour of his farm began with looking at the bees. It started raining as soon as we got there, so it was perfect to be undercover watching the bees in some degree of haste flying into the hives.
Bees are so fascinating. I've already covered a number of facts in another blog about bees, but in addition...
If you want to reposition your hives, you need to move them at least 5km from where they were, and then back to the spot you want them to be set up in as a 'reset'. If you don't take them that far away, they get too confused and will continue to return to where they thought the hive was. 5km is enough for a reset :)
The super on the right holds 10 frames, and is enough to produce 40kg of honey.
James and his partner are raw foodists, so began growing fruit trees for food, and then began beekeeping to help pollinate their trees.
Some of their fruit trees are scattered around, and in other areas, they're in orderly rows. They find rows a lot easier to manage in terms of fertilising and weeding, and the space they leave between the rows is wide enough for a ute to drive down, making it easier for care and harvest.
They grow yellow sapote (known as boiled egg fruit), white sapote (pictured above), bananas, avocadoes, plantains, guavas, paw paw, panama berries, jackfruit, dragon fruit, cassava, bananas, turmeric, a huge range of vegies, miniature cucumbers (pic below) these are so cool, and can be a bit weed-like when they grow so need to be monitored.
Here's one of their fruiting avocado trees:
They get no frost so the trees they're able to grow are far more diverse than many are able to grow around here. They have quite a number of unusual fruit trees.
A highlight was the panama berries.. unbelievably sweet tasting little red fruit that taste like a strawberry mixed with fig with a hint of caramel. They taste a bit like a lolly! I googled to find out a bit more about them and they're fast growing, fruiting in the first 6 months, and producing fruit all year! YEAH!
I'm putting one on my wishlist and found they're available from Daley's Fruit in Kyogle.
He's got quite a few jackfruit trees. Jackfruit are quite amazing. The wood on a mature jackfruit can be used for outdoor use as it doesn't really rot like most woods. Jackfruits can grow to the same size as a Moreton Bay Fig, and produce prolific amounts of fruit that is mega high in protein.
James explained to us how many paw paw plants require a male plant to fertilise the female plants in close proximity. The female plants have fruit forming on the trunk. The male plants are identified by long stemmed flowers that protrude from the trunk. Apparently yellow paw paw do really well in this area.
Their banana circle was mildly struck with disease, or mould, possibly due to such a wet season and not enough ventilation due to too many plants in close proximity. They're fruiting nonetheless, and there's plenty of healthy looking leaves amongst the blackened ones. They use chicken wire mesh to cover the bananas to keep parrots out, as the parrots just tear through the blue bags normally used on bananas.
Dragon fruit were a fascinating discovery.. They grow on cactus looking plants that i've never seen before. I don't have a photo of the plants at James' but here is a googled image of one of these pretty interesting looking plants.
James grows his on what looks like fencing posts. The dragonfruit will usually grow up the trunks of trees, and then fruit, so James has made the posts short so the plants starts fruiting when it reaches quite a low height. He also has wire creating trellises for them to grow their limbs over.
Apparently the flowers are spectacular, and often come out in the middle of the night, and only last a couple of days. They're also called moonflowers for this reason.
I've read some accounts about the plant not fruiting if they're not manually pollinated, especially as they flower at night. James mentioned that there are quite a lot of ants around the plants and he thinks they're pollinating the flowers.
After the flowers die off, the fruit grows..
They also have some pecan nut trees:
They have a deep litter space in their chicken run which is a few metres square. They put all the chicken feed on this space, and vegie scraps as well as grass and the chickens scratch it around and it turns into humus as they rotate it. Every now and then they cease putting fresh material on it and let it rot down a bit more before removing it and using it in the garden.
In the chicken area they also have worm farms which they put the chook and geese poo onto and collect the worm juice for fertilising plants.
James took us to the vegie gardens where he has loads of stuff growing for sale at the markets. He explained how he uses byodynamic method of using 500. It's an interesting concept which i haven't heard of before.
| "Preparation 500 The cornerstone of biodynamics is preparation 500. This is made by stuffing cow manure into cow horns, burying those horns over winter, then stirring a small amount of the fermented manure in rain water (Proctor recommends 25 grams of 500 in 13 litres of water for a one acre block) for an hour and spraying the resulting liquid in droplets on your vineyard soil. The details of the stirring are important: it has to be for an hour, using the reverse vortex method, where the water is stirred in one direction until a vortex forms in the bucket - and then, when the vortex reaches the bottom, the stirring direction is reversed, creating chaos in the liquid. Again, this works on many levels, depending on who you talk to: this is either a way of attracting cosmic influences into the liquid - or just a bloody good way of mixing stuff up. | |
|
He has set the rows up in line with the contour of the hill allowing good drainage. All mulch comes from slashed grass from the property. He doesn't employ companion planting practices from what i could see, and he has rows of a single plant.
He doesn't use trays for seedlings, instead planting directly into the soil, beneath a layer of mulch that is heaped to help run off the rain.
To plant the seeds, he has a wooden plank which he impresses upon the earth to make a narrow valley. He then places the seeds along and covers it over using the plank.
He thins the plants out in other rows after they emerge through the mulch.
His fencing surrounding the gardens run out along the ground about half a metre and then he covers them with newspaper and sawdust to prevent bandicoots etc getting in.
He has really strong fence poles holding the chicken wiring and also runs parallel wire above it to grow passionfruit.
It was in inspiring and fascinating tour.. and i'm so keen to learn more!
Spring water
Where we live, the creeks are so clear and beautiful, coming straight from springs on Mt Warning.
Our neighbour up creek has bought cows, and has them unfenced at the creek, so they're polluting our water. As well as this he's using roundup to spray weeds and who knows what else and as a result, our water (and the water of a dozen other families downcreek) is contaminated.. all because of one person's decision.
I brought this up at school the other day and Robyn talked about creeks and how they may be direct from a source and naturally really high in mercury, and be unsafe to drink, even when they appear pristine.
We are currently getting our water from high up Cedar Creek, and i would never have thought to get it tested, as so much of the community also drinks the water.
Our neighbour up creek has bought cows, and has them unfenced at the creek, so they're polluting our water. As well as this he's using roundup to spray weeds and who knows what else and as a result, our water (and the water of a dozen other families downcreek) is contaminated.. all because of one person's decision.
I brought this up at school the other day and Robyn talked about creeks and how they may be direct from a source and naturally really high in mercury, and be unsafe to drink, even when they appear pristine.
We are currently getting our water from high up Cedar Creek, and i would never have thought to get it tested, as so much of the community also drinks the water.
Turning cane toads into chicken food!
It's no secret that cane toads are a pest and when visiting James' place, we learnt a fantastic way to make use of them!
In the chook run area, there's a tree with a pot suspended in it by a string.
The pot has drainage holes in the bottom, and James uses the pot as a way of disposing his cane toads.
Dead cane toads are placed in the pot and left to rot. Flies are attracted to the rotting flesh and lay their eggs there. Maggots hatch and eat the rotting toad and then drop out the bottom of the pot, where the chickens go absolutely beserk for wriggling protein!
Such a great idea, and a great source of protein for the chooks.
In the chook run area, there's a tree with a pot suspended in it by a string.
The pot has drainage holes in the bottom, and James uses the pot as a way of disposing his cane toads.
Dead cane toads are placed in the pot and left to rot. Flies are attracted to the rotting flesh and lay their eggs there. Maggots hatch and eat the rotting toad and then drop out the bottom of the pot, where the chickens go absolutely beserk for wriggling protein!
Such a great idea, and a great source of protein for the chooks.
Connection to land
Today we talked about whether we feel connected to where we live, or if we knew a place that was 'home' to us.
I felt so stirred up as soon as the topic was raised, as i have experienced deep connection to land for the first time in my life only last year.
I can remember when it happened, too.
The first time I went to Byrrill Creek with Forest, i felt quite unsteadied by the wildness of the place.. surrounded by rainforest and huge mountains and absolutely abundant with life. The way I described it to anyone was to say that nature was definitely winning in Byrrill Creek. This was a rare experience for me, as I was so used to seeing controlled, tamed and constricted versions of nature.
For the large part, weeds are left to be, serving their purpose as fodder and holding steep banks together on the edges of creek. Wildlife abounds, creeks run with pristine water straight from Mount Warning, everyone knows everyone and noone locks their homes or cars.
The house sits at the edge of a creek, and it was being encroached upon by masses of barner grass, which grow so high they block a lot of light, which in rainforest country, is highly valued.
The place had a real feeling of being away from time.. and a seductive magic that had me spellbound.
I remember thinking it felt too unsettling to stay there long.. and it took some time to adjust to the way the place felt.
After i decided to move there, a process unlike any other i've encountered began.
Each time i went for a walk, i walked so slowly, really taking in the individual trees of the area, honouring their beauty, their gifts to the surrounding animals, insects, ecosystem.. I marvelled at the way the light turned them into living pieces of art, and the critters crawling on them made the art even more alive.
The leaves scattered on the ground were absolutely stunning. Bright red and golden mottled leaves lay interspersed in the green and brown debris on the forest floor. They each had patterns all over them, uniquely beautiful and distinct.
I remember thinking it would take me many many years of walking to meet each of the trees in such a small strip.
I remember feeling the mutual appreciation of recognition and honouring that gratitude and an open heart avails.
I felt embraced, yet so so young in their presence. And this was just the trees.
A few weeks after my first trip to Byrrill Creek, Forest took me to the creek in Pretty Gully..
Pretty Gully is where i really arrived home.
It's safest to walk barefoot where i live.. and Pretty Gully is a challenge to navigate even barefoot as so much of it is covered with dense moss and slippery green growth.
This creek was where Forest grew up, and spent so much of his time. As we headed up creek, he hopped effortlessly from rock to rockface, incredibly and beautifully agile and fluid. I lumbered somewhat behind him, attempting to imitate his effortlessness but finding myself so much slower and more careful.
We climbed over trees that had fallen and were now homes to masses of insects, moss and growth. The air was damp and cool, and sunlight sprinkled through the trees in patches, highlighting where the warm rocks to sit on were.
We stopped a while, and in stillness, i was able to really take in the beauty around me. It was overwhelmingly beautiful and alive. I couldn't believe how much there was to explore. In just a few metres around me, it would take days to see and acknowledge each incredible beautiful living being.
A huge carpet snake lay coiled and asleep a metre away from us, vines hung from trees and everywhere was so so green. The energy of the place was powerful. The magic was palpable.
My eyes took in sights that were so new, so fresh to them, that i sat in wide eyed disbelief that a place could be so beautiful and amazing. Deep deep gratitude welled in me as i honoured the magnificence of this place. I was also feeling deep gratitude for Forest, for him bringing me here.. with tears of gratitude, i thanked him for bringing me home. I breathed the fresh cool air, savouring its damp sweetness, closed my eyes and listening to the gentle song of the running water all around me.
I felt so stirred up as soon as the topic was raised, as i have experienced deep connection to land for the first time in my life only last year.
I can remember when it happened, too.
The first time I went to Byrrill Creek with Forest, i felt quite unsteadied by the wildness of the place.. surrounded by rainforest and huge mountains and absolutely abundant with life. The way I described it to anyone was to say that nature was definitely winning in Byrrill Creek. This was a rare experience for me, as I was so used to seeing controlled, tamed and constricted versions of nature.
For the large part, weeds are left to be, serving their purpose as fodder and holding steep banks together on the edges of creek. Wildlife abounds, creeks run with pristine water straight from Mount Warning, everyone knows everyone and noone locks their homes or cars.
The house sits at the edge of a creek, and it was being encroached upon by masses of barner grass, which grow so high they block a lot of light, which in rainforest country, is highly valued.
The place had a real feeling of being away from time.. and a seductive magic that had me spellbound.
I remember thinking it felt too unsettling to stay there long.. and it took some time to adjust to the way the place felt.
After i decided to move there, a process unlike any other i've encountered began.
Each time i went for a walk, i walked so slowly, really taking in the individual trees of the area, honouring their beauty, their gifts to the surrounding animals, insects, ecosystem.. I marvelled at the way the light turned them into living pieces of art, and the critters crawling on them made the art even more alive.
The leaves scattered on the ground were absolutely stunning. Bright red and golden mottled leaves lay interspersed in the green and brown debris on the forest floor. They each had patterns all over them, uniquely beautiful and distinct.
I remember thinking it would take me many many years of walking to meet each of the trees in such a small strip.
I remember feeling the mutual appreciation of recognition and honouring that gratitude and an open heart avails.
I felt embraced, yet so so young in their presence. And this was just the trees.
A few weeks after my first trip to Byrrill Creek, Forest took me to the creek in Pretty Gully..
Pretty Gully is where i really arrived home.
It's safest to walk barefoot where i live.. and Pretty Gully is a challenge to navigate even barefoot as so much of it is covered with dense moss and slippery green growth.
This creek was where Forest grew up, and spent so much of his time. As we headed up creek, he hopped effortlessly from rock to rockface, incredibly and beautifully agile and fluid. I lumbered somewhat behind him, attempting to imitate his effortlessness but finding myself so much slower and more careful.
We climbed over trees that had fallen and were now homes to masses of insects, moss and growth. The air was damp and cool, and sunlight sprinkled through the trees in patches, highlighting where the warm rocks to sit on were.
We stopped a while, and in stillness, i was able to really take in the beauty around me. It was overwhelmingly beautiful and alive. I couldn't believe how much there was to explore. In just a few metres around me, it would take days to see and acknowledge each incredible beautiful living being.
A huge carpet snake lay coiled and asleep a metre away from us, vines hung from trees and everywhere was so so green. The energy of the place was powerful. The magic was palpable.
My eyes took in sights that were so new, so fresh to them, that i sat in wide eyed disbelief that a place could be so beautiful and amazing. Deep deep gratitude welled in me as i honoured the magnificence of this place. I was also feeling deep gratitude for Forest, for him bringing me here.. with tears of gratitude, i thanked him for bringing me home. I breathed the fresh cool air, savouring its damp sweetness, closed my eyes and listening to the gentle song of the running water all around me.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Google Sketchup
I heard about this free software in the Owner Builder magazine... and it looks pretty cool. No download left to get it at home, so will download it tomorrow at school and check it out.
Apparently it allows you to see how the sun moves through the day and gives you a good idea of how far out eaves need to be to allow the best passive solar design.
Here's a basic design I just found:
Apparently it allows you to see how the sun moves through the day and gives you a good idea of how far out eaves need to be to allow the best passive solar design.
Here's a basic design I just found:
Gutter Gardening!
so so so so awesome!! and relatively easy :)
Great way to use water efficiently to get every drop to use, too.
Great way to use water efficiently to get every drop to use, too.
Sowing leafy annuals! Today was the day!
It's a new thing for me to follow the moon for planting. I wanted to make sure i got the right days for it, without having to resort to checking the chart each day or week, so last week i filled the 'fertile' dates til June, in my diary.
With the new moon, and a few days following, it's the best time for leafy annuals to be sown.
So today after getting back from school.. rushing to make the most of the last bit of daylight.. i took off up the hill with my seeds, a bunch of toilet rolls, some scissors, my big container of Seasol and a Hafiz book :)
I chopped the bottom of each toilet roll about an inch deep four times (think north south east west) and then folded two of the flaps in and two of the flaps out to help the toilet paper roll be upright.
I then took them to the compost pile and filled them up pretty close to the top, and positioned them in 2 rows together.
I tapped down the compost a little.. and then i arranged all my seeds in alphabetical order and positioned the rolls on a cardboard box in the same formation so i'd know which seedling was which (without labelling them).
Then i topped them up with compost and watered them in with a bit of seasol in creek water.
I'm not completely sure the compost was 'ready'. It was a bit warm to touch, and i'm not sure if that was from the heat of tghe sun from a nice warm day, or if it is still 'cooking'. If it's still cooking, i'm guessing the nitrogen might be too high, i'm not too sure.. so time will reveal more.
I feel glad to finally have got something planted, even though it wasn't a whole lot.
I know i overloaded the tp punnets but the great thing about the tp rolls is that they can go straight into the ground and they'll decompose without me needing to pull the seedlings out.
I was considering broadcasting seeds over compost, and may still take that avenue for some seeds..
Right now there's a heap of black plastic covering part of the area where i want to set up the beds.
I like the idea that it's killing off weeds for me while i'm at school! It's been there a few weeks already. I adjusted its position a little today and will keep an eye on it when i go up to water my seedlings each day.
With the new moon, and a few days following, it's the best time for leafy annuals to be sown.
So today after getting back from school.. rushing to make the most of the last bit of daylight.. i took off up the hill with my seeds, a bunch of toilet rolls, some scissors, my big container of Seasol and a Hafiz book :)
I chopped the bottom of each toilet roll about an inch deep four times (think north south east west) and then folded two of the flaps in and two of the flaps out to help the toilet paper roll be upright.
I tapped down the compost a little.. and then i arranged all my seeds in alphabetical order and positioned the rolls on a cardboard box in the same formation so i'd know which seedling was which (without labelling them).
I'm not completely sure the compost was 'ready'. It was a bit warm to touch, and i'm not sure if that was from the heat of tghe sun from a nice warm day, or if it is still 'cooking'. If it's still cooking, i'm guessing the nitrogen might be too high, i'm not too sure.. so time will reveal more.
I feel glad to finally have got something planted, even though it wasn't a whole lot.
I know i overloaded the tp punnets but the great thing about the tp rolls is that they can go straight into the ground and they'll decompose without me needing to pull the seedlings out.
I was considering broadcasting seeds over compost, and may still take that avenue for some seeds..
Right now there's a heap of black plastic covering part of the area where i want to set up the beds.
I like the idea that it's killing off weeds for me while i'm at school! It's been there a few weeks already. I adjusted its position a little today and will keep an eye on it when i go up to water my seedlings each day.
Kids visiting Djanbung and building a Bangalow Palm Boat
The kids were here over the weekend and I took them to Djanbung to check out my school. On the way we stopped at Blue Knob markets where they spent a couple of hours climbing the tree and swinging from ropes with a bunch of other kiddies.
Pretty much as soon as we got to school, Julian found a bit of bamboo, and he promptly took off exploring while I took the girls on a tour to meet the animals and see the gardens.
We visited the orchard and Merata found an orange on the ground, and TA found a tiny mandarin which I peeled and they ate. They also tried a couple of Brazillian cherries which were ripe.
Their favourite part of being at my school was checking out the piggies. We checked with Jose if the pigs could have a couple of bananas that were by their pen and after getting the ok, the girls ran back to the enclosure to give Polly and Pudge a treat.
When we got home I grabbed a Bangalow palm branch that had just fallen in our driveway and told the kids we could make a basket out of it, and i'd show them how.
The guinea pig sat in Merata's lap while we laid out the branch and folded and cut to make it into a waterproof basket. They wanted to put the guinea pig in the basket with some food, thinking they could keep it in there, but notso lol.. then the idea of using it as a boat instead of a basket, with the guinea pig in it was tossed around... hehe
The next day was sunny and warm, and the first like that in a while.. and the kids wanted to get to the creek for a swim, so we took the boat, and set off for our local swimming hole, Cedar Creek.
The boat was buoyant and waterproof.. so a great success :)
Pretty much as soon as we got to school, Julian found a bit of bamboo, and he promptly took off exploring while I took the girls on a tour to meet the animals and see the gardens.
We visited the orchard and Merata found an orange on the ground, and TA found a tiny mandarin which I peeled and they ate. They also tried a couple of Brazillian cherries which were ripe.
Their favourite part of being at my school was checking out the piggies. We checked with Jose if the pigs could have a couple of bananas that were by their pen and after getting the ok, the girls ran back to the enclosure to give Polly and Pudge a treat.
When we got home I grabbed a Bangalow palm branch that had just fallen in our driveway and told the kids we could make a basket out of it, and i'd show them how.
The guinea pig sat in Merata's lap while we laid out the branch and folded and cut to make it into a waterproof basket. They wanted to put the guinea pig in the basket with some food, thinking they could keep it in there, but notso lol.. then the idea of using it as a boat instead of a basket, with the guinea pig in it was tossed around... hehe
The next day was sunny and warm, and the first like that in a while.. and the kids wanted to get to the creek for a swim, so we took the boat, and set off for our local swimming hole, Cedar Creek.
The boat was buoyant and waterproof.. so a great success :)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
What's needed for the chook pen
flyscreens
fabric
sawdust on paths
wool insulation measure up
recycled tin for wood pile
rocks from creek
lighting - solar from Rainbow power company
stakes
trellis
fix fences
bamboo tripod
mulch
garden beds
chickenwire around garden beds, bamboo fencing
compost
camp shower out door
gas bottle, regulator, cooker
cast iron bathtub with fireplace beneath
drying rack
pine mulch
worm farm
compost pile (covered)
water bottle cistern
chicken food storage space
taro around shower and in wet zones
perennials at ends of beds
rainbow hand art
garden seat sandbags on tyres
desk
seats
compost loo
shoe area for outside door
bamboo flags
reo - 6 x 2.4m $70 each $90 delivery
chicken wire at front (1070 off the ground)
1050 high
3560 wide
back at top
370 high
3560 wide
back at bottom
650 high
3560 wide
fabric
sawdust on paths
wool insulation measure up
recycled tin for wood pile
rocks from creek
lighting - solar from Rainbow power company
stakes
trellis
fix fences
bamboo tripod
mulch
garden beds
chickenwire around garden beds, bamboo fencing
compost
camp shower out door
gas bottle, regulator, cooker
cast iron bathtub with fireplace beneath
drying rack
pine mulch
worm farm
compost pile (covered)
water bottle cistern
chicken food storage space
taro around shower and in wet zones
perennials at ends of beds
rainbow hand art
garden seat sandbags on tyres
desk
seats
compost loo
shoe area for outside door
bamboo flags
reo - 6 x 2.4m $70 each $90 delivery
chicken wire at front (1070 off the ground)
1050 high
3560 wide
back at top
370 high
3560 wide
back at bottom
650 high
3560 wide
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Landscaping symbology for permaculture design - drawing trees
The permaculture designs i have seen plans for are, in my opinion, pieces of art.
We aren't being taught how to use any software to create our designs..instead we're learning how to draw the symbols by hand, with the help of a circle template. I was excited to learn a bunch of symbols, and some tips on how to draw them, for use in my own plan drawing and designing.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rocket Stove
I'd like to find a tin big enough to make my own rocket stove.
They require very little fuel and produce a lot of heat with very little smoke. Win win win.
http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/rocket-stoves-build-your-own-ultra-efficient-cook-stove-video.html
This pdf shows how to make a rocket stove, a parabolic reflector stove and a few other kinds of low fuel cooking solutions:
http://rocketstoves.org/capturing_heat/pdf/capturing_heat.pdf
They require very little fuel and produce a lot of heat with very little smoke. Win win win.
http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/rocket-stoves-build-your-own-ultra-efficient-cook-stove-video.html
This pdf shows how to make a rocket stove, a parabolic reflector stove and a few other kinds of low fuel cooking solutions:
http://rocketstoves.org/capturing_heat/pdf/capturing_heat.pdf
Haybox cooking
Haybox cooking was a method used for cooking during WW2 when fuel was scarce. It allows certain meals like casseroles and soups that require a long time of cooking to be cooked in a more efficient way energy wise. Rather than using an oven for an extended period, requiring fuel to keep it hot, an insulated box would house the hot and lidded pot and keep it cooking.
Here is a modern day version. An eski is converted into a haybox cooker.
You can even place a pot between two bean bags, or in a drawer with insulation around it.. any kind of enclosed insulated space will work.. and all you need is the time for it to cook.. and it takes longer than if it was on a stove, so it's something you could do first thing in the morning and come home to.
Here is a modern day version. An eski is converted into a haybox cooker.
Trellis design to maximise crop
Robyn suggested having two rows of stakes with string feeding in a zig zag type formation.
Soil testing at the chook pen
Yesterday i took my soil ph test kit up to the chook pen and tested the compost Forest has brought in, the soil where the old beds are, and the soil where the basil is planted at the moment.
Firstly i was struck by the difference in the soil between the two locations i collected from. They're not far apart, but there is so much clay in the soil where the existing beds are. It's incredibly dense, and compared with the soil where the basil is, it feels somewhat inpenetrable.. I'm not too sure at this point what i'd need to do to alter the soil or if i should just build beds up on top of it if it is too much clay.
The soils and compost all had good neutral readings.
Firstly i was struck by the difference in the soil between the two locations i collected from. They're not far apart, but there is so much clay in the soil where the existing beds are. It's incredibly dense, and compared with the soil where the basil is, it feels somewhat inpenetrable.. I'm not too sure at this point what i'd need to do to alter the soil or if i should just build beds up on top of it if it is too much clay.
The soils and compost all had good neutral readings.
Designing options for my garden at the chook pen
The chook pen has had established gardens before. The beds were set out in rows and their current position gets a lot of sunlight and seems to have good drainage as they're positioned on a slope. I was tempted to stick with the layout that has been used before... until.. Robyn seduced me with mandala gardens and keyhole gardens and spiral herb gardens and all kinds of other permi-porn.
The benefit in having a garden bed that isn't a straight row is that you get more EDGE. Good 'ol Edge. You gain quite a lot more growing space when you extend the edge by adding curves and swirls and whatnot.
So, i am looking at a design that looks like a keyhole.. and duplicating it to form a mandala.
Here's a keyhole with the dimensions that work for being able to stand in the centre and reach the edges of the bed to plant and harvest:
I want to extend from one keyhole to a garden resembling this design: It reminds me of the Hunab Ku.
I have been thinking about edging it with river rocks that i collect from the creek. I kind of like the idea of collecting a heap of rocks to turn into garden edges.. There's something about using what's available in abundance locally, and using my own hands to select and move them and individually place them, that appeals more than if i were to just lay a log or something.
I've also been looking at making some fencing out of bamboo. There's a huge amount of bamboo available locally too, a lot of which was planted by Geoffrey and Case, guerrilla style.. with the foresight that the bamboo would provide great structural building options for people down the track.
As well as the mandala keyhole garden, I like the idea of having a spiral herb garden, just to see how it is to construct and how productive it may be with companion planting.
The idea is that the centre is elevated so there are layers and different sized plants can fit on the different levels without interfering with each others' growth.
I want to do a herb spiral outside the kitchen area somewhere.
The benefit in having a garden bed that isn't a straight row is that you get more EDGE. Good 'ol Edge. You gain quite a lot more growing space when you extend the edge by adding curves and swirls and whatnot.
So, i am looking at a design that looks like a keyhole.. and duplicating it to form a mandala.
Here's a keyhole with the dimensions that work for being able to stand in the centre and reach the edges of the bed to plant and harvest:
I want to extend from one keyhole to a garden resembling this design: It reminds me of the Hunab Ku.
I have been thinking about edging it with river rocks that i collect from the creek. I kind of like the idea of collecting a heap of rocks to turn into garden edges.. There's something about using what's available in abundance locally, and using my own hands to select and move them and individually place them, that appeals more than if i were to just lay a log or something.
I've also been looking at making some fencing out of bamboo. There's a huge amount of bamboo available locally too, a lot of which was planted by Geoffrey and Case, guerrilla style.. with the foresight that the bamboo would provide great structural building options for people down the track.
As well as the mandala keyhole garden, I like the idea of having a spiral herb garden, just to see how it is to construct and how productive it may be with companion planting.
I want to do a herb spiral outside the kitchen area somewhere.
Animal keeping
Yesterday we learnt about bees...
and pigs
and goats
and sheep
and ducks
and chooks
We took a tour of the animal pens at school and here's what i learnt.
Roosters are funny! They scratch around, then 'call the girls' to come eat. A good rooster, apparently, doesn't eat first, but makes sure all the girls are fed first. He's a big fella the rooster at school.. and with about 20 hens to look after, i have to say i felt a lot of respect for him with his selfless service to the hens! In another enclosure, there are a bunch of 'redundant' roosters. They live with a turkey, too. The redundant roosters are on the queue for the chop at some point. They become redundant when they aren't a 'good' rooster. i.e. they eat the food first before the hens, or they are vicious, or they attack humans.
Polly and Pudge are the resident piggies at school. They have a fairly small enclosure for their size, but occasionally get taken out for a walk. Robyn brings out treats (usually bread) to get them to behave in an orderly fashion, and takes them to the orchard at times, and the pig tractor where they can all get into the leftover roots, grasses and buried goodies that humans don't find. The pigs at school are a miniature cross breed, but they're huge still. They eat heaps of greens. Heaps. Their poo and their enclosure doesn't smell.. perhaps cos of all the greens?
Bees are quite remarkable critters!
Robyn's dad kept bees most of his life, and even got a reputation with the council as a person to call if a bee swarm was reported somewhere!
I've seen a bee swarm once when i was an Northey Street.. it was a HUGE number of bees.. and apparently what happens is that they'll swarm when their hive has loads of honey and enough bees to divide and form a new hive. So the bees take off, loaded up with honey for their trip, en masse. They then stop somewhere in a huge teeming ball of bees while scouts head out looking for a suitable place to call home. If you happen to see a bee swarm ball, and you're into bees, you could even manage to collect them to create your own hive. If you have a box to scoop them in.. providing you get the queen bee in the box, the others will all follow!
So many interesting facts about bees:
When a queen is ready to mate, she'll fly out of the hive and fly straight up into the air. The drones (males) will all follow her but only the one who flies the highest the fastest will mate with her.
Over 900 food crops rely on bees for their pollinating.
Native bees don't make much honey. Honey bees are the honey making bees with high production of honey.
1kg of honey is made from collecting pollen from FOUR MILLION flowers. Yes, 4 000 000.
At first light the bee scouts fly out to find forage. They come back and tell others and a group goes with them. They communicate locations referring to the position of the sun.. so on cloudy days it's harder for bees.
They are monofeeders, meaning they only feed from one plant type at a time, so they can pollinate. So one group may do pumpkins, another group may do zucchini etc.
Queen bees are the only ones who lay eggs.
They fly up to 3km radius from their hive.
Supers can be full in 2 wks with a productive hive.
Bees need to be handled on Still, sunny days. You can check them for how they're going with their honey, how their queen and babies are going and check for pests.
When checking bees, make sure you have no strong smells, and no perfume or B.O. so you don't upset them. Also wear light colours and a protective veil. Never shorts, never sleeves they can get trapped up. Tuck pants in socks. Only check them if you're feeling peaceful. Sudden noise or sudden movements alarm them.
and pigs
and goats
and sheep
and ducks
and chooks
We took a tour of the animal pens at school and here's what i learnt.
Roosters are funny! They scratch around, then 'call the girls' to come eat. A good rooster, apparently, doesn't eat first, but makes sure all the girls are fed first. He's a big fella the rooster at school.. and with about 20 hens to look after, i have to say i felt a lot of respect for him with his selfless service to the hens! In another enclosure, there are a bunch of 'redundant' roosters. They live with a turkey, too. The redundant roosters are on the queue for the chop at some point. They become redundant when they aren't a 'good' rooster. i.e. they eat the food first before the hens, or they are vicious, or they attack humans.
Bees are quite remarkable critters!
Robyn's dad kept bees most of his life, and even got a reputation with the council as a person to call if a bee swarm was reported somewhere!
I've seen a bee swarm once when i was an Northey Street.. it was a HUGE number of bees.. and apparently what happens is that they'll swarm when their hive has loads of honey and enough bees to divide and form a new hive. So the bees take off, loaded up with honey for their trip, en masse. They then stop somewhere in a huge teeming ball of bees while scouts head out looking for a suitable place to call home. If you happen to see a bee swarm ball, and you're into bees, you could even manage to collect them to create your own hive. If you have a box to scoop them in.. providing you get the queen bee in the box, the others will all follow!
So many interesting facts about bees:
When a queen is ready to mate, she'll fly out of the hive and fly straight up into the air. The drones (males) will all follow her but only the one who flies the highest the fastest will mate with her.
Over 900 food crops rely on bees for their pollinating.
Native bees don't make much honey. Honey bees are the honey making bees with high production of honey.
1kg of honey is made from collecting pollen from FOUR MILLION flowers. Yes, 4 000 000.
At first light the bee scouts fly out to find forage. They come back and tell others and a group goes with them. They communicate locations referring to the position of the sun.. so on cloudy days it's harder for bees.
They are monofeeders, meaning they only feed from one plant type at a time, so they can pollinate. So one group may do pumpkins, another group may do zucchini etc.
Queen bees are the only ones who lay eggs.
They fly up to 3km radius from their hive.
Supers can be full in 2 wks with a productive hive.
Bees need to be handled on Still, sunny days. You can check them for how they're going with their honey, how their queen and babies are going and check for pests.
When checking bees, make sure you have no strong smells, and no perfume or B.O. so you don't upset them. Also wear light colours and a protective veil. Never shorts, never sleeves they can get trapped up. Tuck pants in socks. Only check them if you're feeling peaceful. Sudden noise or sudden movements alarm them.
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