A Permaculture blessing by Joel Salatin

May all your carrots grow long and straight,
may the foxes be struck blind by your chickens,
may your customers love cooking your food in their kitchens,
may the rains be gentle on your pastures,
may your fields grow with soil,
may your earthworms dance with celebration,
may the wind be always at your back,
your children rise up and call you blessed,
and may we all leave a better world than we found…

Rain and Mist

The wet season continues affecting on the tomatoes somewhat but the sweet corn is loving it, if I brush a stalk a cloud of pollen is released.

I had one day of sunshine and then the rain and mist returned. This is expected to continue until Autumn.

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Rain, Colour and Song

There has been weeks of rain and I am having doubts about some of the veges, the tomatoes and others may succumb to mould if it keeps up. The Met Bureau says that it will continue until Autumn (March).

I may have to stop planting anything that doesn’t like wet feet and just control the weeds until the wet season is over

In the meantime here are a few splashes of colour from a rare sunny day.

Here are some potted pansies on my front veranda. I love looking at them when I walk up to the front door.
 

Some bright nasturtiums from the back yard, they are nice in a salad.

 

A few Snap Dragons in a pot on the front veranda.

Here is a beautiful Ivy Geranium from Hely’s. It sits on a table on the back veranda where I have a coffee.

The honeysuckle and jasmine are in full blossom and the perfume fills the air on still mornings.

As I write this I have been serenaded by a butcher bird sheltering from the rain on the back veranda, the song has been going on for over an hour. I am blessed. Butch looks a bit wet but a Pavarotti nevertheless.

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Two weeks away = Lots of growth

it”s been two weeks since I was in the garden and the weeds have a whale of a time. I spent three hours puling weeds out of the paths. Luckily the paths have had weed-mat covering the soil for a number of years, even so there was three of these heaps. Good compost.

The good news is that the veges have grown dramatically, I will be eating pak choi (?) and spinach tonight plus a small beetroot I pulled up with a large weed.

The dwarf beans are anything but dwarf, I wasn’t expecting anything as big. There are some small flowers forming so there will be beans very soon.

The tomatoes have shot up much further and some have marble sized fruit. This being the correct time for some sulphate of potash, I applied some to all the plants. This will strengthen the stems, increase flowering and add to the flavour. The three varieties I planted are al doing well with the exception of one plant. The Brandy Wine variety that Kay gave me has grown from about four cm to 15cm in the two weeks, I was a bit doubtful about their progress in the punnet but all they needed was to get loose.

The potato crop has grown so rapidly in just two weeks:

I think this is a good ladybird. Good/bad seems to depend on the number of dots.

Here’ the sweet corn, it loved the dressing of composted manure plus some organic sugar cane mulch between the rows. I will plant some more soon.


Here are the zucchini’s I expect there to be edible ones within a week. I already sampled a finger sized one with a flower attached – delicious.

I had made three beds from the decomposed horse poo and a few other things and planted three Jap pumpkin seeds into each one. Most of the seeds have germinated and are now about 7cm high.

When I first started in the garden I had doubts about the soil fertility but the biological farming system sure works well. I have put on hold the aerobic compost tea for a while as things are going so well, perhaps midsummer will be the time. I still have to use the biodynamic preparation one day.soon.

With all the systems up and running the growth rate is going to be fantastic.

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Warmth + Rain = Much Growth

The cicadas are singing very loudly - more like a din than a song, the weather is warmer and the humidity is high after the rain during the week, summer is in the air and the soil.

The tomatoes have grown so much I had to tie them to the stakes again after only a week since the last tie-up. Kay’s Brandy-wine tomatoes have been planted even though they are rather small but they will get going fast in this weather.

The sweet corn is looking so good. I spread some BFA certified organic sugar cane mulch between the rows and pulled out a few weeds, it likes lots of organic material to feed on and it will soon be time to plant some cucumbers between the rows, the two grow well together.

Donald has found a treasure, several barrow loads of horse manure which has been hiding under black plastic for many years. The hay-burner poo is well composted and weed-free so he spread it on the fallow bed, I will spread some on the sweet corn as well. There was a grey snake hiding in the plastic – it was most upset when disturbed!

The tomato crop is growing beautifully, I am pinching out the lateral shoots and pulling out the few weeds that grow around them:

The zucchini have doubled in size in a week:

In the early morning on Mt.Tamborine the air is thick with perfume from honeysuckle. The jasmine is in full bloom. This is a great time of year:

Here’s a nice flowering ground-cover I got from Hely growing outside my bedroom window, I have taken some cuttings for pot plants. Its growth habit would be ideal for a hanging basket. It looks  a bit tatty as I have just removed the weeds. Some begonias at the back.

The carrots are winning the battle with the weeds, with some help from me. I will work this end over thoroughly when the carrots and beetroot have finished. This part was not covered by the black plastic and has several years of weed seeds ready to go.

Here are the beans, they look so healthy. I wonder which will be the first crop to be ready to eat, the beans look like they will start producing pods very soon:

Some honeysuckle and jasmine:

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Growth

Arriving back at the vege garden this morning the day began with visits to a number of nearby friends, coffee, chat and a generally enjoyable time. What a great way to start work. Some hours later I wandered into the garden to see what had happened over the last week and was pleased to se the new growth. There had been some warmer days plus a storm. The area which wasn’t covered by the black plastic over the dormant years has considerably more weeds than the rest. The plastic doesn’t seem to have degraded the soil at all, it is more like hibernation.

The beans have grown 10cm from just sprouting a week ago with very few weeds:

The tomatoes are looking particularly healthy and will soon need to be tied to the stakes. The only plant that was a bit small is catching up nicely. The basil which was a bit doubtful last week in now looking much better most likely thanks to the warmer weather:

Sunshine, well, an hour or so

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The morning started off clear and sunny, there was a soft ground-hugging mist among the trees, one of natures finest moments, to this human at least.
Once again the morning started off with all the intentions of work but wound up having coffee & chat with friends a couple of idle hours which included a look thru an artist’s studio. This is what a tree change is like – random serendipity.
When work resumed I planted two rows of potatoes just using sprouting ones from the pantry. Every time I work this soil I am amazed at it’s excellent texture. The mineral content should be close to optimal by now so the organic material is the next component for attention.
Here are the potato trenches, look at the soil texture:

A pleasant morning of serendipity.

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There is a noticeable silence among the trees, it comes after a long period of rain. nature is waiting. There as about one hour of sun this morning, enough to really get me moving and into the garden.

Arriving at the garden shed I was ready to spread a bale of organic sugar cane mulch when a neighbour, Kay called out and said that there was circle dancing on. That was the end of the work as I spent about an hour relearning the dances I had not done for ten years or more.

The thought process tried to remember the steps but when I stopped doing that, the memory re-emerged and the dance in me flowed.

On the way back I ran into Barry, another neighbour and we had an interesting conversation about some of the teachings of the Buddha. What a pleasant morning, this is what a real tree change is all about – a big dose of serendipity (Serendipity: The faculty of making happy discoveries by accident).

After that busy morning I had lunch and then ventured into the vege garden. The tomatoes had doubled in size since I as last here but the carrots, spring onions and beetroot are still small. The English spinach didn’t germinate well so I will replace it with silver beet.

The daytime temperatures have been around 15 degrees and down to ten degrees at night time so until the average soil temperature gets to twenty degrees, there will not be much movement from the plants.

The tomatoes with some powdered rock:

The sweet corn is coming along although the cool, wet weather has slowed it down somewhat. I spread some organic sugar cane mulch around it with a dressing of dynamic lifter. I can’t wait to stat eating the cobs.

Here is a picture of the garden shed, it is a good size although it needs a bench inside:

So ends another day in Charlie’s garden.

Waiting for the rain to stop

I am not sure how much rain there has been, it must be around 200mm and the daytime temperature here has been around 13 degrees. The garden is at 600 meters elevation so the cooler months last longer.

I continue to be amazed at the change in the soil, it is so soft and friable now after the gypsum plus rain. It had been covered with black plastic for several years.

Looking around the garden shed I continue to find goodies left by the previous gardeners, blood & bone, tools, etc. I noticed that there were no mouse droppings and the old blood and bone bags hadn’t been nibbled so the shed is completely mouse proof.

Having been away from the garden for a couple of weeks due to the rain I was pleasantly surprised to see that the weeds had not grown much but unfortunately, neither had the seeds although the sweet corn is making a move.

The tomatoes are looking good, it liked all that rain but the basil is booking a bit off. It may recover now that the sun is shining every day:

A quick dig with the three pronged hoe and the fledgling weds are all gone

I have noticed that the weeds on the pathways require little attention to keep them under control, just walking on them seems to do the trick although If they do become a problem i will try some herbicide I saw on Gardening Australia

Also planted some dwarf beans and also some turnip seed I had in an old packet. That’s blood & bone on the rows.

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Front entrance colour

Here is a colourful display next to my front door. There are 48 flowers on this single pansy:

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Half the garden planted

There has been some more rain in fact it has been a very good season, I have not needed to water the seeds much at all. The moisture has helped to break down the ‘road-base’ texture of the middle garden and it is now looking very good.
 

This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago:

Here is the official inspection. All is ok.

About half the garden is now planted. There is going to be lots of sweet corn, plenty for me and lots to share around.

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More plantings

The weather has been rainy with a couple of storms as well. Good weather for establishing a vege garden.
There have been some weeds poking thru and are about 1 Cm high so a quick work-over with a hoe and they are mulch. Weeds can be a handy source of organic material especially for soil like this which has been under black plastic for several years (still they germinate!)
The tomatoes are looking good and this morning I planted some Sweet Basil next to them, it is a good companion and keep some bugs off. I am looking forward to making some basil pesto in the near future. That’s the bail on the left.

Also in this bed I planted a punnet of capsicum and one of eggplant, both these and the tomatoes being of the solanine family.

At the end of the bed I planted three rows of sweet corn, Terrific F1 variety, each row about three meters long:











That’s blood and bone on the soil with some Nutritech Gold.
All of the plantings were watered in with Maxicrop seaweed solution, an old container I found in the garden shed. The tomatoes are still going after a week so it must be ok.
The beetroot I panted last wee are just shooting. Soaking the seeds in an Epsom Salts solution the night before planting seems to be quite effective. No sign of the carrots yet.

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Another day at the office

This is a real tree change, I walk past this beautiful tree on the way to the vege garden:

And this is part of the view from the vege garden

After several years of intense, constant stress 24/7 giving rise to a life-threatening health challenge I am now living an idyllic lifestyle, I am indeed blessed. This is the real tree change.

Early in the morning the birdsong is so loud, they are such a happy lot and yesterday there was the sound of a flute coming from the forest, maybe Krishna was paying a visit! Last night I could hear Tibetan bells coming from the Theosophical Centre which adjoins this property. I am indeed blessed.

Today I have planted carrots and beetroot. The beetroot have soaked overnight in water with some Epsom salts added. The magnesium stimulates the germination.

Digging deep into one of the beds exposed some roots, probably from a nearby liquid amber tree. I will have to keep watch for any more as they will be attracted to the rich (soon to be) soil.

The old weed-mat at the bottom may inhibit drainage somewhat although it is breaking down in places. The last thing I want is long term wet soil which i anaerobic. This leads to fungi, moulds and other horribles.

This return to the natural world is very healing.

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Three days of rain

I had just spread the gypsum on the middle bed in time before the rain. The soil having been covered with black plastic for years has soaked it up very well. The soil in the bed where I planted the tomatoes is so soft I can push my hand in 20cm..

I planted three types of tomato, Black Russian, Beefsteak and Sweet Cherry. Twelve plants in all:

There having been no organic material in the soil for so long I purchased a bag of composted mulch from Bunnings and put some in the bottom of the hole plus a couple of hands full around the plant. Some ancient blood & bone I found in the shed and some Sulphate of Potash will give the tomatoes a good start.

I found some old seaweed solution in the shed which I applied to the plants to diminish the transplant shock. The stuff is old and black, it will be either very good or very bad.

The gates at either end of the garden are now shut to keep the birds away. The satin bower birds love cherry tomatoes.

Next to go in are radishes,beetroot and carrots. I was pleasantly surprised to see organic seeds for sale in Bunnings however I will be buying from Eden Seeds whenever possible in future. Things are just a bit disorganised at present but life is pretty good.

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Soil Improvement

The difference between the soil in the two garden beds is quite large. I applied gypsum to the middle one to break down the clay clods. A couple of green manure crops in it will help.

This is what it all looked like a few months ago:

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More Progress – It is starting to look good.

Some more work has yielded god results, there is now some good soil evident after all the weeding. It was very hard like this:

 

Much work later it is looking like this:

There is a definite lack of organic matter in the soil but that can be fixed with some green manure crops or perhaps some bags of organic compost and manure from the hardware shop. I see the occasional worm when I am digging but their numbers are nowhere near my target density of 25 worms per cubic foot which is the ideal suggested by the biological farming guys.

The middle bed has quite different soil, it has much more clay than the others and breaks up into big clods. It is going to require an application of gypsum to change the soil structure:

 

Some of the sleepers on this bed are showing advanced signs of deterioration. The three beds in the garden are so big that I will be able to close down some sections if necessary and use the their sleepers.

The sleepers are untreated. The treated ones leach toxins into the soil which are then absorbed by the plant.

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