A Season of Abundance

This season seems to offer a abundance of life.The flowers have been stunning. The chestnuts are heavy in flower and their scent permeates the whole area.Clouds of common brown butterflies form  wavers as they emerge from the cover of the grass to feed on the nectar , chestnuts,buddleias and bottlebrushes are on the top of their menu.The bees are also busy around the same flowers along with hoverflies,wasps and other beneficial insects.

All the fruit trees are laden with fruit which really needs thinning if I could muster the time as the berries are keeping us busy, a bumper crop. A bit of a shock after  a number of drought years but 2 average winters have now produced abundance.The Christmas customers will be happy as we can fill all their orders and more.

 

The sugar plum in the goose pen was groaning under the weight of the crop but the rainbow lorikeets  are stripping it , the geese,chooks and dogs compete for the fallen ones but I still cant find one ripe enough to eat.They will soon ripen and there will be enough for everyone.

The Rhode Island Red flock rapidly expanded over spring starting with an incubated batch to be closely followed by plenty of broody hens to choose from. Three where selected to sit so now we have 30+ apprentices scratching around in the orchards, wood heap and mulch pile.One hen brought her chicks down to forage in and around the house garden. They were specifically trained to remove the mulch from the gardens and leave it on the footpaths!

As evening falls all the small bats that live under our veranda come out to forage on insects, they too have experienced a population explosion as observed by them setting out each evening and the amount of droppings left on the veranda.

On the negative side a family of kookaburras have lost their home (no doubt many other species also) to more greed where  a bush block (around 3 acres) a few doors up  has been levelled including the house, no doubt to be to be replaced by a ‘Mac Mansion’

While the opposite occurs with  our  neighbouring property which carries a ground fuel load of around 10+ tons per hectare (max limit  4 tons) and they only bother carry out token maintained when forced to by local government, which don’t have the political will to enforce fuel reduction and suitable fire breaks and just accepts token attempts by landholders year after year.So every time their is a major fire we have to have a royal commission and then nothing changes , another fire ,another enquiry nothing happens!!! Meanwhile in a season of abundance the fire risk is also increased. So now everyone has a fire plan? Most will leave rather than carrying out their responsibility to the land, endangering wildlife, vegetation,our orchards and income and other resident and their properties.

Winter slowly subsides

After a busy and productive harvest season , my newly rebuilt north facing shed was ready for me to do the internal fit out so I could snuggle up on bleak winter days to create a basket or two. Its payed off, as well as being the greatest way to add another creative element to gardening ,keeping active in winter I scooped the pool at the Royal Adelaide Show in the basketry section with my creations.

 

 

 

.Bread n’ cheese won best basket overall

Spring happens  slowly here and is often unpredictable but the tunnel house continues to supply food for the table . The fruit type vegetables have, as usual been planted in the propagator (2days before the August full moon.) to get a head start before being planted out on the new moon in October.This winter we enjoyed a regular supply of small red and yellow capsicums. I've found they do 2 seasons well in the tunnel a this summer (2nd season) they will produce the most ripe ones from early in the season til the end.I’ll also plant some new ones for the following year to keep up the supply.

even the wild life are slow at this time of year.

The geese are predictable as ever busy sitting and we expect hatching to begin soon.A few of the RIR hens decided to go broody but where not prepared to sit when given a private residence and clutch of eggs . – So the incubator was cranked up and we will have chicks by the end of the month.

The changeable weather means   the many spring jobs have to slot in between downpours. Fitting in the willow house pruning was a bit the same with several attempts washed out. The hills basket group came along with a mini scaffold which proved very helpful and the job was completed. This group’s meetings are one of the highlight gathering of each month.  A relaxing , iinspiring and productive day sharing skills, stories, recipes and of course yummy shared lunches.

 

 

Deb’s shed

Berries -Creating food traditions

Australia being a young country made up of many cultures as an ever changing food traditions.Each region , even parts of regions have very different seasons and range of produce that grow and so develop their own recipes and way of using foods. Unfortunately if you pick up a magazine or heaven forbid see a TV cooking show you can almost grantee  the regional seasonal foods are missing or worse they are among a vast array of ingredients  (usually ingredients that are not in season at the same time)designed to kill off any fresh  subtle flavours.

Early Summer here in the Adelaide Hills is usually about berries, as well the orchard produces a wonderful  perfume from the chestnut and linden flowers and waves of common brown butterflies and dragonflies fill the air.The vegies are just starting with an abundance of fresh greens, carrots, beans and the first of the Richmond green cucumbers.

When people think of berries they usually think in terms of adding cream, ice-cream or toping a pavlova.(this is what our customers tell us ) a lot of recipe books cook, sieve or  sauce thus loosing all those fresh subtle flavours. I prefer to enjoy them as they are usually at room temperature. 

Here at Nirvana they form an important ingredient that adds something special to a wide variety of foods.

Raspberries- go well in green salads. add great flavour as well as colour as they are ready long before tomatoes	Red & White Currants- add unique tarty sweetness and colour. go well in green salads, or with carrots. Use in fruit punches or to decorate drinks and cakes
Blackcurrants-are magic in a green salad as they add a real zing.	Gooseberries- add tang and crunch to green salad. they are great on the barbie.Just as the rest of the food is cooked roll on a handful.The skin is quite tough so can withstand the heat.They are ready just as the skin starts to blister.A nice little fruit bomb. Goes well with meat or fish.   Similarly they can be added to stir fries in the same way.

 

 

Cracking Good Time

Growing nuts is one thing, being able to make the most of the bounty and having a good supply for the kitchen needs good equipment.There are many types of nutcrackers some work and others may be total duds and a waste of effort.

While staying with a friend in France, we visited her parents and her mother gave me this great nutcracker. She said it was Swiss made so of excellent quality. (She was Swiss) She was right and its so efficient to use. It does not matter how large or small the walnut or hazelnuts it does a great job.

I have seen similar nut crackers in Australia – they are often promoted as champagne openers. I think there are easier ways of opening champagne.

Macadamias present a challenge. There shells are extremely hard. I used a hammer where as Quentin preferred to use vice grips.Both method were very slow and inefficient so the harvest of macas just sat in storage and where cracked only in small quantities usually only to make pesto. Recently we brought a Queensland made macadamia nutcracker… Wow it works so well. The hinged long handle makes it so easily to crack the macas so now we are using them as fast as they are harvested and dried. In our climate a lot of nuts fall off with the green outer shell still on and uncracked these where a pain to remove before drying but the maca cracker does this job as well. For more info http://www.tjsnutcrackers.com/

November in the Garden

Now the teaching season is over, the orchard weeding almost caught up I can, weather permitting get stuck into the gardens around the house including the vegetable garden. Its been an ‘average season’ which is great as we have had a several drought years where there was no subsoil moisture. The plants especially the trees have responded well and look lush and happy. The flowers have been  abundant as have the bees.

The Elder is abundant with flowers. Yesterday I made a batch of elderflower cordial and next week a couple of batches of elderflower champagne.

In the vegie garden the main seasonal  harvest is of broad beans and asparagus. While many of the winter vegies are going to seed (many to be saved) there are still plenty of greens,the last of the carrots, the peas are almost ready, the garlic is looking good as is my crop of rye , planted to make a traditional dough raising basket from the straw and a few grains of rye for the bread as well. The new crops of tomatoes, capsicums,  eggplant, cucumbers and pumpkins all grown from seed planted back in August in the tunnel house have been planted out and excess given away. Regular seed planting  continues (see sidebar for what I plant). Overall from now til Autumn is regular plantings, harvests and a little watering to provide a majority of our vegie needs. Out in the orchards the fruit set is looking good so hopefully it will be a more productive harvest than last year.

Garlic, Broad Beans , Rye	Broad Beans
Asparagus	November Plantings
Nasturtiums	Herb Garden

SPRING WORKSHOPS TO INSPIRE A PRODUCTIVE HOME GARDEN

Nirvana Organic Farm offers gardeners a chance to  share Deb’s 30+ years of experience in creating a productive landscape in a unique and beautiful living classroom.

 

COMPOSTING AND MULCHING

Sunday, September 5th

9.00 - 12 30 $45

Principles of composting and mulching, techniques and materials used and how they can be used most effectively on your garden or farm.

 

 

ORGANIC VEGETABLESFOR YOUR TABLE

Sunday, September 12^th

9.00—12.30 $45

Practical guide to establishing and maintaining a productive and healthy

vegetable garden.

 

 

 

 

 

BIO- DYNAMIC AGRICULTURE

BEYOND ORGANICS

Improve your soils water holding capacity.

A one day course to introduce the practical concepts of the biodynamic methods to farmers and gardeners.

The Bio -Dynamic method is a modern organic method that creates a holistic approach to building healthy soil, plants animals and humans.

The course covers history, concept of a living organism, soils, compost, special preparations that enhance nature and equipment required.

Sunday, Sept 19^th 2010.   8.30 am. -4.30 pm.  Cost: $110

Includes: notes, lunch, Membership of Adelaide Hills Biodynamic Group

 

INTRODUCTION TO MOON PLANTING AND USING THE PLANTING CALENDAR

Sunday, September 26^th 9.00-12.30 $45

Working with the rhythms of nature can develop your skills in fine tuning your garden and can add a new dimension to your gardening experience

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ORGANIC FRUIT, NUTS & BERRIES.

Sunday, October 10^th

9.00 -12.30 $45

Practical guide to orcharding. Includes establishment, soils, ground covers, maintenance & pruning.

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POULTRY KEEPING.

Sunday October 17th

9.00 pm – 12.30 $45

All you need to know about getting started with poultry. Includes selection, housing, feeding, breeding, pests.

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WEAVING A BIT OF MAGIC 

Sunday October 24^th

9am – 4pm

$110

.The ideal way to recycle your garden prunings. This introduction to natural fibre weaving will show you the essential techniques, suitable plants & other materials to make baskets, fences, or trellises.

Course includes all materials, lunch, morning & afternoon tea.

 

To enrol click here or get further Information

phone Deb or Quentin 8339 2519

Winter in the polyhouse

The winter garden excels in quality and taste . The winter chill produces sweet crunchy carrots, parsnips, turnips, beetroot and salsify all planted in February and March ,all perfect for winter stews, soups and roasts. The range of greens is equally impressive but the cold has slowed their growth to the extent that they are not growing as fast as we (and the chooks) consume them. Crunchy salads are part of most meals even in winter.To ensure a continual supply of crisp greens I move some seedling from the garden into the polyhouse.

It is amazing how a thin piece of plastic can change the growing conditions. Wind chill and cold temperatures outside, inside toasty warm.The polyhouse is 7 x 4 metres and contains around 15 square metres of in ground growing space and a propagating area. The beds are 80cm wide –one goes around the edge and then there are 2 beds in the centre.Between the beds are narrow 30 cm paths made from tiles and pavers. These help define the beds and add some thermal mass as well. Increasing the thermal mass using water storage works well to collect the passive heat when the polyhouse is hot and releasing the energy when it cools.

Gardeners are the guardians of the plants in the gardens they create. In the natural environment of the plant world is created with beauty and purity. In the polyhouse the gardener has to provide the same wisdom to bring about a sense of beauty , develop a healthy ecosystem and reflect order throughout.This is an artificial environment established to grow plants.

Tips to ensure a healthy growing environment in the polyhouse.

The polyhouse is the opposite to the composting area and as growing is the opposite to decaying the inside of the polyhouse has to be kept clean.

• All dead plant material should be removed to the compost .
• Keep windows and walls clean remove algae and grime.
• treat woodwork to prevent decay .
• Keep clear of things that do not belong.

WATER Rain needs to be replaced in this artificial environment. Water sustains plant life and combined with light and warmth determines growth rates. Humidity needs to be controlled without developing fungal diseases. Water can be supplied via hoses, drippers , sprinklers or watering can .The garden beds have both a dripper system and a sprinkler mounted on the roof can be a substitute for rain drops. These are mainly used in the warmer weather where as in winter a watering can is sufficient.

Winter watering is best done first thing in the morning and leaves need to be dry by sunset to avoid plant diseases.A good rule is to water every sunny day-as it increases humidity , sunny days increase air temperature and raise evaporation of the soil.

During the warmer months the watering is more demanding and the drippers and sprinkler are both utilized for humidly , temperature control as well as irrigation.

SOIL I prefer to grow my plants in quality soil of good tilth, developed by adding quality humus rich compost. The biodynamic preparations are all used, after all I’m growing our food and to be of any value to our body and mind it needs to be nourished by the earth.

Soil in the polyhouse is a challenge to manage as there is no rain to develop the soil and artificial watering is never the same. The soil has a tendency to compact with artificial watering and hot +30o C cause the soil to mineralize especially if there is not enough moisture available.

Because this is an artificial environment I always add fresh compost to the beds before each crop. The compost has to be broken down to humus as growing is the opposite to decaying.Artificial environments can cause all sorts of problems if the soil is not managed. The soil needs some light cultivation every now and then to counter act the compaction.I use a ho-mi or just my fingers to lightly tickle the soil.

Over summer a heavy straw mulch is required to protect the soil. This should be removed when the weather cools.

USING BIODYNAMIC METHODS IN THE POLYHOUSE. The soil is enriched with biodynamic compost as well the full range of preparations are use . In practice the best way is to treat the polyhouse at the same time as your doing the outside gardens.When seedling are transplanted dilute liquid manure (mostly nettle,barrel compost and casuarina )is watered on for the first 3 days.

In addition use a range of sprays to support and strengthen growth forces.The plants are offered forces inherent in spray materials which work to overcome the deficiency of sun forces in the polyhouse.This results in maintaining plant growth healthy enough to shrug off diseases and undesirable insects.

The sprays are used in small amounts –a light mist spray is sufficient.A weekly spray of either valerian (BD507) nettle tea,camomile tea, casuarina.Each is stirred biodynamically for 10 minutes. I stir a couple of drops in 250ml water in a little bowl and use a simple household spray bottle.

ECO SYSTEM As we are working with an artificial environment it important to develop a balanced ecosystem to overcome weakness that occur. The bigger the diversity of plants the better- always add some flowers.Observe and encourage all forms of life which live in harmony with our cultivated crops, wild life like skinks, frogs, spiders, wasps and other beneficial insects can all be welcomed and given micro environments where they belong. Put containers of water and somewhere to hide like a rock or pipe.

THE GARDENER The plants and their environment is entirely dependent upon the gardener. Good observation of the growing plants soil and fulfilling their needs.The gardener needs to have a picture of quality produce to aim for.

While not growing out of season but by enhancing the conditions and growing the same seasonal vegetables you can have a good supply of fresh green to go with the other vegies growing outside. Working in the polyhouse is pleasant during our cold winter,getting it right is rewarding. Over the years I’ve seen my tunnel garden develop into a productive garden and using the above principles have never had either fungus or insect damage to my plants.