WEEDS IN THE GARDEN

When I meet someone new and they find I’m a biodynamic gardener the first question I get is “Well how do you get rid of………? The average gardeners go into the garden not with the concept of LIFE but the concept of DEATH. They go out to get rid of things. In order to grow a crop everything else is removed. You only have to listen to the gardening programs to confirm this.


WEEDS - THE USEFUL PLANTS.
The importance of weeds to the gardener is that:
• They tend to be stronger growing plants with more extensive root runs enabling them to gather nutrients at deeper levels of the soil.
• Weeds can provide some protection for your desired plants from wind and rain.
• They can provide alternative food source for problem pests.
• They provide food and habitat for useful predators.
• They can protect land not being currently used from erosion.
WEEDS ASSIST SOIL BUILDING

Volunteer plant (weeds) main job is colonising any bare patch to protect it from the elements. (Wind, rain, sun) This can be used to advantage in the garden when a bed is not being used usually called ‘fallow’ the weeds can be used to rejuvenate the soil.
The weed roots grow down deeply into the soil, and are able to utilise nutrients that have been leached out of reach of the crop plants. When the bed is required the weeds can be either:
• turned as a green manure crop.
• added to the compost heap, composted then returned to the garden.
• Removed, allowed to wilt, and returned to the bed as mulch.
This means that those nutrients and minerals which have been stored in the roots, stems and leaves can he returned to the soil and become available to the plants.
In this way you can see and understand how weeds can be a valuable resource for your garden - providing a means of supplying nutrients, organic matter as well as adding variety to your garden ecosystem. Of course are some weeds which are too invasive to allow free range in your garden e.g. couch or kikuyu grasses.
I have found a large range of plants; mainly annuals that now colonise my garden these include a variety of grasses, clovers, vetch, and herbs such as parsley, borage, dandelion & chickweed. Soursobs, capeweed, milk thistles etc
Alternatively you can seed any fallow bed with legumes and cereals to creative a green manure crop Therefore out competing weeds.
You can also select ‘weeds’ to grow in your garden for its benefit. Select annual plants that can be turned into valuable mulch.

WHAT IS A GARDEN WEED?
· A weed is a plant which covers damaged spaces to protect it.
· A weed is a plant which increases biodiversity- strong wild genes.
· A weed is a pioneer plant that prepares poor soil for other plants to move in.
· A weed is a plant whose growing roots help build fertile healthy soils.
· A weed is a plant that produces mulch from the growing tops as well as roots which remain in the soil and rot down.
· A weed is a plant that provides ingredients for your compost.
· A weed is a plant you have not found a use for yet.
· A weed is a plant that provides nourishment and shelter for insects, birds and small animals.
· Some weeds can bring minerals from their deep roots and make them available to other plants.
· Some weeds can indicate deficiencies in the soil.

A PLANT MY BE A WEED TO ONE PERSON AND A MOST VALUABLE PLANT TO ANOTHER
CLOVER, DANDELION, NETTLES.

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Mulching with weeds
To ensure our gardening activities are truly sustainable we should be aware of any opportunity where we can increase our diversity and provide our own fertility from within rather than importing bulky organic matter. Most gardeners find it easy to buy in hay, straw etc but they need an awareness of how and where it is grown. Maybe this material should be used on the farm it was grown. I’ve had enquiries as to where to get organic straw. No good organic farmer would part with such a resource.
So open your eyes to the possibilities in your own garden. The plants you see as weeds may make you some useful mulch.
Simply pull up weeds, and put the weeds back on the beds as mulch... Mainly annual plants fill in the spaces over winter/spring so they pull up easily. It’s a sustainable way to mulch. I actually developed an even better way several years ago that you may find useful. I used the raspberry rows; the bonus to the method is with competition the perennial weeds were pushed out. Just before the opening rains in autumn I sowed oat seeds on the surface (a bit like a green manure) over winter it grew strongly and in October I used it as above. I used it like this for a couple of seasons THEN the GEESE discovered the grain. Fencing them out was not really an option so now I just use the volunteer plants. I feel it’s important to develop ways of creating your own mulch for reasons like
· Weed seeds. (that’s where most of the weeds on our place came from)
· Possible chemical contaminates.
· Sustainability of the system producing the material. (organic farmers should not be parting with any organic material)
· Distance carted.
.In the gardens the paths as well as the beds provide material for mulch, over the years selective culling as resulted in a diverse range of annual plants that I to turn into mulch.
In the tunnel the paths are planted with annual clover. They grow; cover the soil, seed and collapse forming mulch that can be added to the next crop.
I like also using living mulches
In the orchard a there is a mix of plants that can be mowed. When you observe this material you notice the range of plants, their health and vigour as well as what creatures are living there and the amount of biomass that is being returned to the trees as mulch which normally would have to be procured and put around the trees in a separate operation. Each time the orchard is mowed all the goodness is returned and the orchard becomes self mulching.
You can also set aside an area to grow some mulching materials. Simply cut with a scythe use fresh or store for latter use.

ECOSYSTEMS
The greater the diversity in the garden the more complex the ecosystem the less chance you will have problems with pests and diseases .E.g. in the vegetable garden if their are pests, say snails and the only thing in the garden are your crops then that’s what they will eat. If there were some weeds, flowers or herbs they may have more a choice.
A good way of increasing the habitat is to have wild areas in or around your garden. These could include food plants for small birds – mainly nectar producing, Undisturbed areas for other beneficial such as skinks, lizards, frogs, and a large range of insects e.g. long grass ,logs &: rocks. Add water for small birds. Once you increase the diversity then THE BEST CURE FOR PESTS OR DISEASES IS PATIENCE

Role of Poultry in a Biodynamic Orchard

To achieve a balanced biodynamic farm the “animal element” needs to be included, to move it towards the concept of “the farm as an individual living organism.”
Nirvana is an orchard, so the logical the choice of animals is birds because birds go with trees & bushes. Both the domestic fowl & geese form an essential part of our orchard. They play an important part in composting, and producing vital ingredients to ensure dynamic recycling of nutrients.

The geese have been chosen for their grazing ability, 3 geese = a sheep. Having webbed feet they can graze the damp valley without damage. Their grazing has reduced our mowing costs by one third.

Our base flock is made up of 20 cross breed embden /touslouse. These birds are hardy & reliable breeders.
They graze the orchards each day. They prefer fine grasses, clover and other grasses when they are short. In general they do not like broadleaf weeds. However they do search out and destroy any comfrey leaf or root. Other goodies they seek out are potatoes, and at certain times of the year, nutgrass and soursobs bulbs. Fruit windfalls are cleaned up. As various crops ripen around the orchard, certain groups of geese “own” certain trees and claim “rights” over all windfalls.
Stocking rates vary according to seasonal conditions. By late summer and through winter we run 20 geese on 4.4ha. Most goslings are born Sept-Oct which coincides with the spring flush. They grow rapidly and have an excellent ability to convert feed to flesh. The flock increases to about 60. By Australia Day the hillsides are drying off and excess young birds are processed and some older birds are sold off to other land holders. This system keeps the genetics ticking over and ensures a good variation in age. We sometimes buy in or swap birds from different genetic pools. The low parts of the valley usually stay green all year providing good feed, and the property can sustain the reduced flock. This means there are fewer birds to fence away from the autumn crops and when pasture growth slows in winter months. Over winter the birds receive a small supplement of grain.

Geese are relatively easy to herd and train. If orchards are fenced, they can be moved around various areas, and kept out of areas before and during harvest. Our orchards are not fenced but we use electric fences to keep them out of areas. The berries are netted to exclude the geese as well as other birds. Their favourite food is chestnuts so during harvest they are herded into a paddock each morning & at the end of the day they are let out to take themselves home.
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Housing needs are simple - the main reason for housing is protection from predators like foxes and dogs. The extra advantage of housing is manure collection (as a valuable compost ingredient). Geese can be very noisy (especially at full moon), so careful consideration as to where the pen is positioned is recommended.
Young orchards and geese do not mix, especially in spring, when the bark is slipping - they find this extremely tasty and will ring bark trees very quickly.
I have noticed on other orchards where there are large dams the geese become lazy & don’t graze as well. Our property has several small ponds down the valley which I think encourages them to graze more evenly.

Vegetables as close as your Backdoor

Everyone can grow their own fresh veggies. The Key to success is Quality compost. Deb can share her long experience to help you have a full garden with little need of food storage, thus a empty refrigerator.
COMPOSTING & MULCHING
Sunday, October 7th 9.00 -12.30 $40
Reduce water use by learning the principles of composting & mulching, techniques & materials used & how they can be used most effectively on your garden or farm.

VEGETABLES FOR YOUR TABLE.
Sunday, October 14th 9.00 -12 noon $35 Practical guide to establishing & maintaining a productive & healthy vegetable garden

October in the garden

The shroud of winter has finally fallen away and it’s time to see what’s happening in the garden.
The green manure or compost that was dug into the soil has been worked over by all the millions of bugs, fungi, bacteria and other ‘biota’. Now it’s time to plant, ready for summer harvest and beyond.
At Nirvana we use raised beds because soil can be built up by digging out the foot paths increasing the soil depth immediately

Raised beds also warm up more quickly in spring; there is more aeration & life via micro organisms and an overall increase in growth activity.
Rudolf Steiner in ‘Agriculture’ described it this way
‘For any given locality on Earth ,there is a certain level that separates what is above the earth from what is inside the Earth. Anything raised up above the normal level for that locale will show a particular tendency to life, a tendency to become permeated with etheric vitality .You will therefore find it easier to permeate ordinary inorganic soil with humus-like material- -or any other kind of refuse in the process of decomposition- if you first build up the soil into mounds. Then of its own accord the soil will tend to become inwardly alive and plant-like.’
You may have noticed this effect in a land slip along the side of a road. Where the earth has slipped there are bigger healthier weeds growing.
If you keep the raised beds to a reasonable size you can reach across them without having to tread on the beds themselves. Smallish beds i.e.; 2m x 1m can hold one crop and be rotated to something else next season.
The best time to plant seeds is 2 days before a full moon on October 26. The full moon is associated with fertility and growth and just as it has a noticeable effect on our tides, the moon helps the seeds to germinate and surge into strong growth.
The best time to transplant seedlings is in the afternoon during the new moon phase at the time of least growth. Transplant during October 4 -11
Things to plant in October.
Capsicum, tomatoes, egg plant. Continuous plantings of carrots, lettuce, beetroot, spring onions, radish at fortnightly intervals will give you a steady supply of fresh veggies for the whole summer. Try involving the family by having a growing competition or ask the youngsters to write their name with radish seed and let them watch as their name appears like magic coming from the soil. It may even encourage some careful weeding.
Life in the garden is rampant this time of the year and unwanted plants can grow just as fast as or faster than your chosen crop. These unwanted plants can be the start of your next compost. Building compost is a bit like baking, because you need several different ingredients and they have to be in the correct ratio to work best. Unwanted plant material make a very good start, but you will need other ingredients like animal manures, dry material like straw or bedding from animal quarters, and mulched up woody material like prunings and leaf litter. If you build your heap by putting in small amounts of each ingredient it will work better and require less pushing, prodding and turning. Remember to water your heap as you build. Get it good and moist. It is very difficult to wet a heap if it dries out. Compost heaps are best built in the one day, so try to stockpile the necessary bits and pieces near the site so that you can ‘bake the best cake ‘ from the stuff you could collect.