Ringo's Permaculture Adventures

Watching Seasonal Patterns

2011-11-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

Project: Tiger Hill Permaculture

Posted by Paul Kean about 17 hours ago

Observations at Tiger Hill during November 2011

Swifts are building their nests and Kookaburras are teaching their young to hunt.Apples and Plums have set.I hope I can beat the Possums to the harvest.Lupins,Hairy Vetch,Clover and silver wattle are in flower here at Tiger Hill.The Gourse in the area is also flowering and such a beautiful sight.Apitty it is such a problem for some farmers.Hope to be around to gather seed this season.Red Currents and Rasberries are setting and a hardy old Rhubarb is still kick'n.

Some good sunny days in between scattered showers.I like the rain,its soaking in and keeping the dams full.Need to start being mindful of the warm weather and active snakes.Plenty of places for them to hide here

Bumble Bees are everywhere but a non presence of honey bees.I'm sure they are here,just haven't seen too many.The grasses around the house are rampent with the rainfall I'm getting.Good thing though cause then I have a great source for composting.

New lambs are about two months old now and shearing season is apon us here in Buckland Tasmania.

Recycling Urine

2011-11-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

Project: Tiger Hill Permaculture

Implementing a urine trough.

For so long I have wanted to recycle what I could but sharing homes with people made it not so easy as they didn't understand and always equated it only to house rubbish.Not to say this is bad but I have always looked at recycling on a much bigger scale and not having my own place before made it difficult as I had to conform to someone else's rules.Now I have my own place and plenty of space and the freedom to do what I want I can try to do my bit.

A few years ago when I stayed at Djanbung Gardens on my journey searching for inspiration,I was introduced to compost toilets and urine troughs.Humanure was collected in wheelie bins and when full placed stored for 3-4 months till it decomposed then emptied.So simple.I intend to do something similar here in the near future.The other collection was urine.Basicly a rubbish bin was filled with saw dust and set into a private enclosure within the gardens and gents visitied it and the urine soaked into the saw dust.As I hadn't ever used the female system I was not sure of its design.A lid was placed over the top to stop rain water getting in.When the saw dust was fully soaked it was used straight away in a compost.At times the when the lid was lifted of the bin to make a deposit,amonia gases would be strong and this was the extra source being harvested for composting.

The carbon (saw dust) and nitrogen (urine) produced amonia which would activate the compost and put heat in.This is handy if you have limited green material as nitrogen.

Fast track to the present and with the recent address at TEDx seminar in Sydney by Nick Ritar of Milkwood Permaculture, Nick Ritar’s TEDx Canberra Talk: Two things you can do Every Day to save the world ,I was reinspired to do something I always wanted to but was restricted by someone else's rules.My idea was to place a container off my back landing and instead of urinating into the flush toilet I would just walk out the back door on the edge of the garden and collect it there.Would also save going out in the rain and peeing on a tree.

I had been to a local garage sale and purchased 2 x 200L plastic drums with the lids cut off for $5.A good resource for alot of things.I also went to the local landscape supplies and got 1m3 of saw dust.Cheap enough at $20 for 1m3 as I haven't found a local mill to get it for free.Two 90deg PVC fittings and 500mm of 25mm PVC pipe and an old 2l juice bottle cut into a funnel and some buct tape and I had what I had desired.200L of amonia breathing carbon for my future composts.No glueing or drilling,just one cut with a hacksaw.You might think it would be awakward to move but I am fortuate to have a 1ton hiab on my small truck that I can lift it and tip it straight into a compost pile.I have also put a 25L bucket with lid in the bathroom as a convenience and have saved litres of water by using these collection places.At present I am on the farm by myself so I don't have the privacy issue.As more people come here I will implement another system to collect straight urine as well as a saw dust bin.

Will update later to give feedback on the compost made from this resource.See pics below for a simple set up.

Soil Erossion

2011-03-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Coalition of the Willing

2010-11-17T00:27:00.000-08:00

Coalition Of The Willing from coalitionfilm on Vimeo.

Earthships

2010-11-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

http://youtu.be/3ENIhmDskmY

Watershed Organization Trust

2010-07-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)

It is believed that wars in the future will be fought over water. As and how this precious resource gets scarcer, our survival is what will matter more than all the technological and economic developments put together. Finally, it will be man and nature once again – like being back to the basics.

In fact, if you were to undertake a tour of the drought-prone regions of India, you would realise for yourself how water and its availability becomes the prime concern of people staying in a ‘dry’ area. Women and children walk for miles in the blistering sun to be able to get just a pot of drinking water. Men dig deep into the hard ground to be able to locate a brackish water resource. Taking a bath or washing clothes is considered a luxury that no one in such regions can afford. Parched throats yearn for a drop of water. And the arrival of a water tanker can even lead to ugly fights.

Farming, a traditional occupation in most villages of India, can become an unreal notion in the face of such water shortages. People therefore begin to migrate to cities in search of livelihoods. Some villages turn to nothing more than landscapes of ruins. Some turn into the final abode of the sick and the elderly who wait for the merciful hand of death.

These then are the realities that led Fr. Hermann Bacher, a Jesuit priest, and Crispino Lobo to establish the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) in 1993. Fr. Bacher had committed himself to change the lives of the rural people handicapped by the shortfall of opportunities and resources in their villages. Crispino Lobo gave up bright career prospects and instead decided to work for the impoverished. Under them, WOTR organised and capacitated villagers to regenerate their watersheds so as to trap whatever little rain that fell in their area and use it for farming and personal use.

With its head office at Ahmednagar, WOTR has, over the years, turned barren landscapes into forests. And this magic has happened not just because of the technical guidance and funding that it has provided to several villages across Maharashtra but for the fact that it works with a holistic picture in mind. WOTR gets villagers committed to watershed development. It convinces them about the need for collective participation and voluntary labour. WOTR gets the women population involved too in the process of decision-making and governance.

And there’s more. With its objective of reducing poverty in villages, WOTR looks at the bigger picture that involves providing educational inputs for children, entrepreneurship opportunities for women, preservation of the environment and creating such a self-sustaining ambience in every village that none of the villagers would want to go to the overloaded cities to eke out their living.

Since 1993, WOTR has also added two more organisations viz. Sampada Trust and Sanjeevani Institute of Empowerment and Development (SIED) to focus on specific activities such as entreprenuership, micro-credit and implementation. In present times, WOTR has moved on from just watershed development to including the effects of climate change and what needs to be done about this big issue. It has ventured into rural renewable energy and community based rural tourism.

From Maharashtra, WOTR has also spread its reach and work to villages in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In statistical terms, WOTR has so far implemented 198 watershed projects in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan covering an area of 142,000 ha (6/09).

WOTR grew of a fortuitous confluence of factors that arose in India and Germany in the early 1980’s. There was also a growing realisation that despite huge amounts spent on poverty alleviation programs, the absolute and relative number of people living in poverty remained stubbornly constant. Both sides realised that despite their best efforts, something critical was missing and had to be addressed if a difference was to be made.

In 1987 the German government launched a special study in India - the Indo German Pilot Program (IGPP) - to assess the effectiveness of official assistance in fighting poverty. Both governmental and non-governmental development agencies involved in policy-making, funding, implementation and research on the German and Indian sides participated. Findings highlighted that aid was most effective when it reached the poor directly, but it had a spread effect when the government ably supported it. Following the German Parliament’s resolution to support by way of grant aid any program that addressed poverty reduction, environmental regeneration, self-help and women’s empowerment, Fr Hermann Bacher, who was involved in the entire IGPP study, conceived of a large scale community-driven program for poverty reduction, centered on regenerating the environmental space of villagers along watershed lines in Maharashtra known as the Indo-German Watershed Development Programme (IGWDP).

Given Fr Bacher’s credibility and experience, he was successful in convincing both the Indian and German governments to accept, approve and fund the project. The first official agreement was signed in 1989 and the Indo-German Watershed Development Programme (IGWDP) was launched in late 1992.

When the IGWDP began, there were barely any capable NGOs who could take up the programme. In 1993, it was decided by a group of prominent NGO leaders to set up a new organisation to cater to the capacity building needs of the IGWDP and to create a movement for participatory watershed development in India. And that’s what led to the birth of WOTR on December 20, 1993.

1955 Keyline Movie

2010-07-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

For those interested in building soil fertility,the Keyline Plan is the best practise out there.

Keyline Farming 1955 from RegenAG on Vimeo.

The following links can be sourced for consultation and training in Keyline methods.

http://www.permaculture.biz/

http://www.yeomansplow.com.au/basis-of-keyline.htm

http://www.yeomansplow.com.au/yeomans-plows.htm

http://milkwoodpermaculture.com.au/courses/details/19-milkwood-spring-kfw?gclid=CI6l4_nmiKMCFRAZewoduTCGeg

KEYLINE PLANNING PRIORITIES.
The development of living soil can be done most economically in a landscape, that is specifically designed to achieve these results. The Keyline Scale of Permanence provides a priority guide to planning the various factors considered in the design of the landscape. In this scale the utilisation of the water resources of the landscape is designed after considering the climate and topography (land shape). Then the location of roads, trees, buildings and fences may be logically planned in this order.

The Keyline design is unique to each property so the plan is always custom made to the property. Thus Keyline reveals the potential and develops the uniqueness of the property. The design process often reveals unsuspected potential and dispels illusions. Experience is necessary to reveal the full potential of any property. Design is done both in the office and in the field. The initial office work speeds the assessment and uses the information derived from detailed contour maps of the area. On the basis of the initial assessment, key points within the apparent design potential of the property are selected. The vertical relationship of the features of the landscape can then be established. Preliminary plans and designs can be formulated. The practical design work starts from the key points and revealed relationships. During the initial on site survey of a property, contour or grade lines are pegged, as required, from the key points previously selected. Dam sites may be chosen, pegged, volume estimates made and the best irrigation areas delineated. This work is best done on site and usually the first stage or starting project of the plan is laid out on the land.

The hallmarks on the properties of successful Keyline farmers are lakes with water birds, contour and ridge line roads and contoured and strip forests, dark fertile soil, luxuriant healthy green crops and feed. Well-designed landscapes can be beautiful and highly productive. Keyline techniques increase profits by increasing soil fertility, improving farm water utilisation, reducing production costs and increasing productivity.

One of the primary objectives of Keyline planning is to enhance the swift development of deep biologically fertile (living) soil in a designed landscape systematically planned for permanence. Keyline methods rapidly develop the biological fertility and structural stability of the soil and reduce water loss from the land. Keyline is the natural way to defeat the menace of soil erosion and salinity, simply as an incidental to total landscape betterment.

The Keyline Plan is to prepare the land to quickly absorb, and hold by way of increased field capacity, increasing amounts of rainfall, and to store surplus run off water, where ever practical, in large, on farm storages each equipped with a 'Lockpipe System'. The Lockpipe System is a large pipeline positioned under the dam wall, which when opened, releases the water rapidly for use by gravity powered irrigation. Keyline irrigation is quick, not labour intensive and functions to enhance the development of deep, living, fertile soil.

AERATION AND WATER ADSORPTION
Keyline uses cultivation, irrigation and stock management techniques to greatly speed up the natural process of living soil formation. Conversion of subsoil into top soil may, under natural conditions, occur at 10 to 15 tonnes per hectare each year. On Keyline farms, during the conversion process, this figure may increase beyond 10 to 15 hundred tonnes per hectare each year. The numbers may be surprising but annually deepening the topsoil by 10 to 15 cm (ie 4 to 6 inches) achieves this result. It is a practical short term goal to deepen the living top soil to 30 and 45 cm (twelve to eighteen inches).

Changing the subsoil conditions to better suit aerobic soil organisms enables the conversion of sub-soil into topsoil. These organisms need warmth, space for air and moisture plus a plentiful supply of high protein food.

Loosening the soil and applying dung is a long standing method to improve agricultural production (see Luke 13:8). Various tools can loosen the soil and provide additional space for plant root expansion, air and moisture in the soil. Plant roots and organisms easily grow and multiply into this space. To loosen the soil on a farm, use equipment that does not invert the soil. Improving the living conditions for soil organisms also requires a food source for them. An exceptional high protein food source is the root systems of pasture legumes, but this food supply is not available during plant growth. For rapid soil development some of the roots must die! Use stock to quickly eat down most of the above ground parts of the plant. Mowing is a poor substitute because it lacks the return of manure to the soil. The presence of animal manure can also greatly increase the growth rate and size of earth worms.

The best time for eating down pasture is when the selected plants are preparing to flower and set seed. At this stage of growth, the root systems are at or near maximum size. The larger root systems provide a better supply of accumulated energy for the plant to recover from being eaten and more roots to decay and provide feed for the soil organisms. The plants' energy and nutrient reserves were for seed production. Eating down was a shock but the plants recover to try again. Following the eating down, and especially in conditions of warm, moist loosened soil, re-growth will be fast and replacement roots develop as the plant re-grows. Stock must be moved on, to another area, to prevent them from eating the early regrowth. During this regrowth phase inspect the soil with a spade. The new roots look white compared to the darker, brownish, old and dying roots. The soil organisms eat the dead roots and produce humus. This is a process of recycling the raw organic matter of the dead plant roots and the dung. Repeating this cycle of growth and decay builds the soil's biological fertility.

The best time to loosen the soil is when the optimum combination of heat and moisture is immanent. Repeat the process annually for three years in combination with the other management techniques. When irrigation water is applied quickly to loosened soil it can speed up the building of living soil.

Soil loosening requires suitable agricultural equipment and P. A. Yeomans was the first to manufacture a chisel plow tough enough for Australian conditions. In the 1970 a new breakthrough came with the development of the Bunyip Slipper Imp with Shakaerator, a vibrating narrow tyned sub-soil loosening plow. This plow won the prestigious Prince Phillip Prize for Australian Design in 1974. Many patented new developments have been added to the plow by P. A. Yeomans' second son Allan J. Yeomans, who now produces the plow at his Yeomans Plow Company on the Gold Coast of Queensland. These plows deeply and efficiently loosen the ground. They need less power to loosen more soil and produce less surface disturbance than the old chisel plows they have replaced.

CONTROLLING SURFACE WATER MOVEMENTS.
Physically loosening the soil will leave some sort of pattern etched into the surface and this pattern will influence surface water movements. The direction that water will flow is always down the maximum slope and this is at right angles to the contours. However run-off water will tend to flow along any furrows left by cultivation that produces anything from 100 to 500 or more furrows per hectare depending on row spacing. The furrows influence the way surface and sub-surface water will drift across the landscape. The surface disturbance may be comparatively slight but it will still alter the direction of flowing water. Then ripping is made deep and into the subsoil it will sculpt a corrugated pattern of furrows into the undisturbed subsoil. Water trapped in the furrows can slowly move along them.

Contour cultivation is an attempt to create a pattern of furrows that are all parallel to the contour. The logic is that contour furrows trap the water and allow it to soak into the soil and this usually increases rainfall absorption. However, at a farm scale, true contour cultivation, on land with visible shape, is not possible. The reason being is simply that adjacent contour lines are not parallel to each other across the surface of the land. Contour lines are parallel vertically but the horizontal spacing varies according to the slope of the land. Any pair of contour lines will be further apart where the land is flatter than where the land is steeper. The result of this changing horizontal spacing of the contours causes cultivation, done parallel with one contour line, to become off the contour cultivation the further away it progresses from the initial contour guide line. What starts out as contour cultivation quickly develops into an 'off the contour' cultivation pattern. Run off water will flow down the furrows towards wherever they lead.

As a result of the Keyline land shape discoveries, the development of the furrow pattern is now predictable. One realisation was that working parallel on the top side of a contour will result in a pattern that moves water from the steeper slopes to the flatter areas. Working parallel on the lower side of a contour guide line will produce a pattern that moves the water toward the steeper areas from the flatter areas. Why is this? With cultivation done parallel on the top side of a near contour guide line, each pass across the area will have the equipment more quickly gaining height up the slope wherever the land is steeper than where the slope is more gradual. In a similar way cultivation done parallel on the lower side of a contour or near contour guide line, will lose height quicker in the steeper areas than on the flatter areas. Run off water will tend to flow along these furrows.

Although rainfall tends to distribute moisture evenly onto adjacent ridge and valley shapes, the water does not stay evenly distributed. Natural drainage removes the water from the ridges to the valleys very efficiently. As a consequence of this, ridges tend to be drier than valleys. Any compaction of the soil worsens the problem. The soil in the valleys does not necessarily benefit from this moisture. An imbalance of water and air can cause aerobic soil organisms to die out and be replaced by anaerobic organisms. The soil will then become sour. Tussocks and water weeds in valleys are indicative of this problem. It is important that this result is not treated as a problem of excess moisture to be drained away but as a symptom of water probably being squandered from the upper slopes. Solve the problem at the source.

Most people don't have any difficulty appreciating the undesirable imbalance between the moisture of valleys and ridges. Keyline pattern cultivation is a simple way to solve the problem. It is a farm cultivating pattern that keeps the water on ridges longer and spreads water whenever it reached the valleys.

Keyline pattern cultivated land looks like contour cultivated land, but it is more than it appears. The Keyline cultivation method produces an amplified contour pattern. The cultivated furrows loop higher through the valleys and sweep lower across adjacent ridges. This pattern of cultivation increases the moisture absorbed on the ridges and reduces the concentration of water in the valleys. The late P. A. Yeomans made highly significant conceptual breakthroughs to enabled him to discover how to theoretically achieve this incredible water spreading pattern. He was practical enough to turn it into a practical reality of international significance.

The corrugated furrows of Keyline cultivation form a pattern which direct run off water and sub-surface flows toward the ridges from higher points in adjacent valleys. When water eventually reaches and starts to flow in Keyline pattern cultivated valleys, it takes the form of a stream that is uncommonly wide and shallow. This wide shallow stream is far less destructive than that which normally forms. One Western Australian wheat grower claims Keyline pattern cultivation produces a 30% to 50% increase in yield compared to the conventional round and round the paddock cultivation method. The steeper country produced the greater increase. Astonished government officers confirmed the results.

The usual round and round the paddock cultivation method produces an undesirable pattern of furrows. These furrows concentrate surface flows into the bottoms of valley shapes and onto the diagonals leading to the lower corners of the paddocks (fields), often causing soil wash and erosion.

THE SIMPLE WATER SHAPES OF LAND.
THE MAIN RIDGE
In Keyline lingo, a 'main ridge' starts at the junction of two creeks. The centre of this ridge is the water divide line between the two adjacent creeks. This main ridge will eventually branch as it creates the water catchment area of each creek. The catchment area of any creek always follows a main ridge.

PRIMARY VALLEYS
Small valleys intrude into and drain the sides of the main ridge. These are 'primary valleys'. The relatively larger section of the main ridge that remains on either side of the each primary valley is a small ridge in its own right and is called a 'Primary ridge'. When several primary valleys join, without forming a creek, they form a 'secondary valley'. The ridge between secondary valleys is a 'secondary ridge'.

'Primary ridges' are relatively larger than 'primary valleys' and main ridges dominate the landscape.

HILLS AND SADDLES
High points along ridges are 'hills'. A 'saddle' occurs at the low point between hills, along any ridge line.

THE KEYLINE PATTERN OF CULTIVATION
Ridges have a pattern to their contours and valleys also have a pattern to their contours. By understanding the pattern we can then learn how to produce a Keyline water distributing pattern of cultivation on ridges and valleys. Keyline pattern cultivation is one of the keys to the regeneration of the landscape.

The centre line of a ridge is the water divide line. It is usually flatter than the land sloping away to each side of the ridge. The typical spacing of contour lines across a ridge is wide at the centre (water divide line) and closer together off to the sides. To produce the Keyline pattern of cultivation, where the land has a ridge shape pattern to its contours, plow parallel on the upper side of any contour, or near contour guide line.

Valleys are somewhat like upside down ridges in that the centre line slope is flatter than the sides. The drainage line down the centre line of valleys is flatter than the land rising up on the sides of the valleys. The spacing of any contour lines marked on the land, or on a map, will be wide down the centre of the valley and closer together up the sides. This is a typical valley pattern and where the land has a valley shape pattern to its contours the procedure to adopt is to cultivate parallel and on the lower side of any contour, or near contour guide line.

Primary valleys result from the intrusion of valley shapes into the sides of main ridges. The land above or perhaps we should say beyond, the limit of intrusion of the valley shape, is still main ridge and has a ridge pattern to its contours. This area may have a basin shape and the contours be concave but the contour pattern is that of a ridge. The normal valley pattern, namely having a flatter centre line than sides has never been formed in this area so the cultivation of this area, at the top of a valley, should be the same as for other ridge shaped land. Namely parallel upwards from a contour guide line. Cultivate the lower portions of a valley parallel downwards.

The Keyline of a primary valley is the highest contour cultivation guide line that will produce a water distributing pattern on the valley below it. The Keyline is also the contour line across the valley with the most exaggerated curve up into the valley. Cultivation parallel with it, will thus produce the desired off contour cultivation both above and below it as all other lines have less curvature. Cultivation done parallel on both sides of the Keyline, both up and down produces the desired water spreading pattern automatically.

A Keyline used as a cultivation guide is a valley feature. A Keyline does not extend out on to the adjacent primary ridges. It stops on either side of the valley where the contour line, selected as the Keyline, changes direction (the horizontal inflection point) from the concave curve of the valley to the convex curve of the ridge. A Keyline can not exist on a ridge shape.

(A confusing concept called a "common Keyline" was included in the 1954 book 'The Keyline Plan'. It referred to a method of subdivision of land where the Keylines of adjacent valleys happened to occur on a similar level. When this occurs channels, roads, trees and fencing could be linked across the landscape. The connecting line was called a common Keyline. This is common in the mutual sense not in the usual sense. Some have mistakenly considered that Keylines therefore can exist on ridges and could be used as a cultivation guide line for the land on the ridges below this line. The "common Keyline" idea was never written into subsequent publications but the publishers of the beige coloured edition called 'Water for Every Farm Using the Keyline Plan' carried a reprint of the original chapter and diagrams and unfortunately reintroduced this term.)

In choosing the location of a Keyline, the Keypoint is chosen first. From here one can peg the Keyline out in both directions from the selected Keypoint.

The cultivation done parallel to and above the Keyline, results in each pass with the equipment gaining height faster in the centre of the valley. This causes the development of a pattern that will drift any run off water out towards the more gradual slopes of the adjacent the ridges and away from the steep centre of the valley and the slopes above it.

The cultivation done parallel to and below the Keyline, results in each pass with the equipment losing height faster on the steeper sides of the valley. This causes the development of a pattern that will spread any run off water out from the flatter centre of the valley towards the steeper side slopes and the adjacent ridges.

The unique thing about a keyline from a cultivation point of view is:

1. The Keyline is it the lowest contour line that crosses the valley that can be used for parallel upwards cultivation of the head (upper reaches) of the valley area; and

2. The Keyline is also the highest practical contour that can be used as a guide for the valley cultivation below.

In both cases the cultivation pattern that will develop will tend to drift run off water away from the valley and out towards the ridges beside it.

Most of the landscape is ridge pattern. This being the case nearly all cultivation should be done parallel with and above any contour guide lines. This procedure will develop the Keyline pattern automatically in all areas except the lower portions of valleys where the cultivation should be done parallel to and on the lower side of any contour guide line.

KEYLINE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS.
Keyline Pattern Irrigation
Keyline Pattern Cultivation has made practical the low cost watering of undulating country and hillsides by the 'Keyline Pattern Irrigation' system.

Previously the only method of fully controlled flood irrigation of undulating country was by the use of terraces, such as are used to create rice paddies.

Keyline pattern irrigation uses irrigation flags to block the irrigation stream flowing along an excavated channel. The water overflows the lower lip of the channel onto the land below. Keyline pattern cultivation will keep this water on the ridges and prevent it being lost into the valleys. Keyline pattern cultivation transforms 'wild flood irrigation' into fully controlled Keyline pattern irrigation and enables the use of astonishingly large streams of water for rapid irrigation.

Keyline irrigation techniques are also applicable to flatter lands. In flatter country the storage ratios of farm dams are usually better, which means that more water can be stored in proportion to the earthworks in the dam walls.

In suitable flat country, the unique 'Keyline Contour Irrigation Channel' has enabled:

FloodFlo Irrigation
FloodFlo Irrigation may be the fastest, fully controlled, one man, gravity powered, irrigation system in the world. Raised banks of the channel keep the bulk of the water above the height of the natural surface. The water is released through special irrigation gates which enable irrigation flow rates of around 10 megalitres (8 acre feet) of water per hour to irrigate at the rate of 20 hectares (50 acres) per hour when applying about 55 mm (2¼ inches) of water. Inundation times during irrigation are preferably kept to less than half an hour. Traditional methods of slow flood irrigation used in most large scale irrigation schemes drown aerobic soil organisms, cause crop deterioration and promote salinity.

South India Oddessy

2010-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/pointReturnVideos

Mobile Chicken House Construction

2010-05-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I was living and working at Dalpura Farm in Moriac,Victoria a 100 or so acre silvapastoral project.The client George Howson was interested in implementing an aquaponics system so we all went for a day and a half trip to Melbourne to attend a seminar on the subject.

Leading up to this I had started gathering chickens and roosters from the local area from people giving them away for one reason or another to start using as workers on the farm.At that time I had sourced 21 birds,a third being roosters.The plan was to eventually separate them into tractoring groups to reduce the competition and fighting of the roosters.Long term they would go into a set of 4 cell grazing areas and rotate with crop systems.Even longer term the roosters would be our meat source and hens kept for egg production.

I have always been an avid poultry enthusiast and had raised a good flock in past years in Humpty Doo,NT.I always loved to just sit and watch new chicks making their way and learning from their parents.The breed I had were 'Old English Game Fowl' and the hen (Ruby) and rooster (Rudy) were a fantastic pair for parenting and protection of their young.

We had always been present on the farm during the day and the chooks would free range after being let out of their house in the mornings.Everything was great and eggs were coming daily and the animals seemed happy.Unbeknown there was a menace lerking.

On the day we left for the seminar our next door neighbour Carley was asked to close the door on the chooks in the evenings around 6pm on her way past the property.We set off and didn't give the farm another thought.Everything was in good hands.

On returning to the farm from Melbourne I found the entire housing envelop covered in chicken feathers.Carley was on hand and explained that when she came to close the chicken house door the previous evening there was one rooster running around scared and the rest had been attacked by a fox(s).She was clearly upset as she felt responsible for the event but she was not to blame.I was devastated as the flock I was rearing was now gone.A huge feedback loop.The fox had obviously been casing the joint and the first opportunity of no action on the farm and he took his chance.

So with this I had to redesign the system to still do the same function as before but to include fox proofing into it.For one,the old cattle race being used would need to be made secure as this is where the 4 cell grazing pens were.More importantly the chicken house needed to be located a bit more user friendly to this to reduce the amount of time it took us as workers to put the chickens to work.I considered a chicken tractor within the cell grazing pens but this would have meant a lot of moving so I went back to the drawing board.

Ralph our next door neighbour is a collector of all things from the rubbish dump and I found an old trailer with a very rusted floor in amongst his collection and asked if I could have it.Ralph being a great bloke brought it over to our workshop.I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with it yet.

One day on the drive home fro the store I noticed an old water tank rusting away on another property and went and asked the owner if I could salvage it.She was ever so pleased to have it taken away as it was no longer serving its purpose keeping fire wood dry.It had been turned on its side with the roof cut out and fire wood stacked inside.The entire bottom side was rusting out but I could use it for something.When I got it back to the farm I unloaded it from the trailer and for the moment just set it atop the old trailer Ralph has dropped off in front of the workshop till I figured out where I would put it long term.

Its funny how some things just click.The next day I walked past the workshop and a creative light came on in my head as I noticed the tank and the trailer sitting their.The rusted part of the tank was about the same size as the dimensions as the floor space of the trailer.What if I set the tank on the trailer and put a door on it,would this keep the chickens safe and be mobile?I went about putting my idea into action.No design or sketches,just a vision in my mind.

I cut the rusty floor out of the trailer and it revealed that the rest of the body was in not too bad shape.Not good enough for highway use but good enough for the farm.I then cut the rust out of the tank and with some 2m garden stakes to prop the tank from collapse.

There was about 60mm surplus length on the tank and when it sat atop the trailer that 60mm was panel beated to sit inside the trailer body.

The site gets a lot of weather from the west so the back of the trailer would be placed against the weather.Some ventilation will be needed in the tank so a couple of flaps were cut into the metal and bent out.It is amazing what you can do with a 6 inch angle grinder.

Some old roofing iron was sourced from an old hay barn due for demolition on site and again the 6 inch grinder came in handy.The roofing iron was exactly the same width as the trailer as well so it was a no brainer when fitting it.Everything was secured by metal roofing screws as they have the tip that screws into steel and made all connections even stronger.

Next came the door way.As I have seen with so many chicken houses,it is always a struggle to get in or out as access points are always too small for most people.They seem to be designed for kids as the kids always want to collect the eggs.After a while the novelty wears off for the kids and the adults end up doing it.Thus the door is too small.I always over design what I do to make easy for anyone who follows after me.So I took some 50mm poly pipe to use as the door jam but it is hard to keep straight.I remedied this by taking two 2m garden stakes (1 inch X 1 inch) and sliding them into the poly pipe.It took some hammering but thy went.This made the door jam very straight and strong.The poly was cut in a way that the ends were a tag so they could be secured to the trailer and the top of the tank.Chicken wire was cut and secured to all openings and an old screen door was sourced from Ralph and screwed to the door frame.

Some perches were added using some off-cuts of silver oak from a recent coppicing harvest.They were sourced for the size that a chicken can get their claw around easily as well as to fit into the 50mm poly.The poly is cut to fit over the branch with a tag left on the end that is folded back and screwed to the tank.Very strong and secure.All up there can be 30 chickens housed in this structure and the perches have been placed so they assist the birds to get elevation.

Some 25 liter containers were placed on the floor for nesting boxes and straw place inside.

I was so happy with this construction and it only took me a day to build entirely by myself.It is to date my most creative construction.It was handy to have all the tools available in the workshop as well.One handy tip though.”When in doubt,tech screw it”.Tech screws are an amazing invention.Even better than sticky tape.When recalling the cost of this construction it was less than $50 for materials as the tank and trailer were free.I think we had to put a tube in one of the tyre,small amount of chicken wire (left overs from wiring the cattle race),screws,4m poly pipe and a cutting disc and a days labour.

So the chicken house went into the cell grazing system which will eventually become a walled garden of fruit trees and vegetables.

Parts of the old cattle race will be disassembled to allow access to each pen as a pathway and the chicken house will move on to develop other cropping areas.These last pics are at present state 3 years on.

Looks like happy chooks and healthy veg and fruit.

Intro to Permaculture Course in India

2009-09-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,

below is an invite to those wanting training in Permaculture in India being facilitated by a colleague, Rico Zook.Please check the attachment to this post for the course flyer.Contact can be made directly to Ameli and her details are below.

Cheers,

Ringo.

Hello fellow Earth lovers,

I am happy to invite you to a hands on residential permaculture workshop in Mysore October 2-4 and on to Punarvasu (near Udupi) October 5-9th. Those of you not familiar with permaculture philosophy it is a sustainable design system for zero waste organic living.

During the three day course in Mysore you will learn all the basics of permaculture philosophy and get hands on experience with regenerating tropical soil, roof top garden beds, grey water re-use systems, vermi compost box and other fun urban greening projects.

I hope you can join us. After the Mysore workshop the facilitators will continue on to an organic farm, Punarvasu where they have been implementing permaculture design for the last three years. They will be checking their progress and implementing some of the larger permaculture concepts like water management, inter cropping of farm lands, etc.

Interested attendees should register themselves before September 15th. Flyer is attached, please pass the word around to your eco minded friends!

Hope you will join us!

Ameli
9900269756
beejalife@gmail.com

World Environment Day in India

2009-06-24T00:33:00.001-07:00

World environment day celebration in Green path

Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!

When translated it means

I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!

In the rapid pace of development we have inflicted serious damage to the natural resources and consequently we are now faced with questions as Where is that Sujalam ( clean water) ? Where is that Suphalam ( healthy crop) ? and where is that malayaja shitalam ( refreshing air) ? These questions have given rise to a process of serious thinking to safeguard the environment and the quality of natural resources for sustainability. As a result more and more emphasis is being given towards returning to nature and adoption of organic agriculture.

We celebrate Diwali, Ramzan at our homes, our neighborhoods, our streets, why not celebrating environment day?

Are speeches, presentations are only the way to sensitize ourselves to environmental issues?

The Green path Serviced Apartments, Bangalore tried to celebrate World Environment Day differently.

We have forgotten to touch the mud from where we are come from!

We have stopped watching clouds, stars, plants growing, birds nesting…!

Our minds are to tuned to consume the goods and services without knowing to what extent they are polluting our environment and our health in the process of production and consuming!

Celebrating environment is nothing but questioning our lifestyle and coming out from “Vismruthi” forgetfulness

It was a lovely evening on the day of June 5tht.. Program started under the able guidance of Mr H.R Jayram promoter of an organic farming and an environmentalist.with his magnetic personality and charming persona he encourages people to join hands for the good cause.. The clouds in the sky were playing by drizzling rain now and then.

We the staff of Green Path, Era organic; neighbours, well-wishers and others assembled in front of Green Path. Every body was curious to know what is going to happen. As pot making wheels started turning, Kumbaranna the pot maker taught the children to make their own pots. The children who were denied every time playing in mud enjoyed pot making game. Dr.L.Narayana Reddy, pioneer in teaching and practicing organic farming, inaugurated our Shop on Wheels – Organic food shop on green painted cart. He lighted the lamp and performed Rashi Pooja – worshipping minor millet-food. The other supporters of this great cause were preekh bhai and mr janardan.they also joined hands with all the members present and made the evening a huge success.

Let us stop comodification of music… let us play our own music…Children and adults were given different kinds of drums and even buckets, plates to produce some music. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of the participants particularly children. Ms.Sangeetha and Babu from World Music Center facilitated the drum circle.’. The audience started dancing for the drum beats.

In between children were enjoying their Environment Ride!!! On HORSE TONGA. Everyone enjoyed organic food soon after the music programme.

For us at Green Path and Era Organic it is passion to see a world with harmonious relationship with mother earth and fellow human beings. We always love to meet people, talk to people, work with them in this regard.

the evening celebration was an outstanding success ,created by the involvement of Era Organics and Green Path networking members and the residence of Seenappa Layout.It was the opportunity for all to become children and to create music to mark the special day,which was shown on the faces of all the participants.We look forward to creating opportunities to inform people of issues concerning the environment globally as well as locally.

Thanking you,

Greenpath Team

Preparing for Permaculture in India

2009-06-09T02:01:00.000-07:00

Whilst in Thailand last year I had an insight to what I can do to further my work and continue on my path with teaching Permaculture.I was sitting in an internet booth in Khao San Road,Bangkok when a vision came to me of doing mobile consultancy throughout India on a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

I had come to Thailand after having to leave Japan due to visa issues.Thailand was relatively close to get to to regroup on some ideas to continue learning more of sustainable agriculture.I had been emailing anyone I could find an address for from Permaculture sites around the world to offer my services to help in anyway.

I had been getting few results from this so I started to dive further into my vision and create a realistic goal to work toward.I had been offered a position in India when I was in Japan for the following year in April,from a visitor to Fuji Eco Park,but that was still 10 months away.The way I saw things was I had to create my own situation to move ahead.I mapped out the idea I was having to weigh up the pros and cons.The Idea was to find the cheapest way back to Australia and work 6 months in the mining industry which is my normal field and pays well.This work is a means to an end but will get me closer to my goal sooner.

As much as Permaculture was in demand in these developing countries,no-one was in a position to be able to place me on a project where my skills could be utilized.Mind you,I had a good offer and opportunity to work at Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge in Ethiopia, but negotiations broke down due to the amount of financial support they would offer to get me there for a 12 month gig.I was getting broke and it seemed I had to return to Australia to organize a visa for Ethiopia.This ended up being an expense that neither the project nor I could afford at the time.
(http://zionbytheabbay.blogspot.com/2007/08/strawberryfields-eco-lodge.html)

I set my plan in place and started to cross off items as I reached a positive result.
The plan was to purchase a rotating laser level (for surveying) and a projector (for presentations on the road) and some other tools that would assist me on the adventure I was embarking on.I considered having a sidecar on the motorcycle but didn't know the real possibility of this in India.I started researching for these tools for the best price and the most durable products.As the plan was to buy a Royal Enfield Diesel,the tools I would purchase needed to stand up to the horrific road conditions in India.I had seen heaps of docos from India and got a fairly good idea of what I was in for.The other reason behind the Enfield Diesel was to demonstrate making biodeisel to fuel my journey.

On returning to Oz I landed a good position as a Trainer/Assessor,which I hold a Cert 4 in,doing fly-in/fly-out work to mine sites throughout Western Australia.This work involves training site personnel in the safe and productive operation of heavy mining machinery (bulldozers,excavators,graders,haul trucks ect).I have been involved in this type of work most of my life until Permaculture hit me and I saw the ways that I was contributing to global warming and my own health.Like I have said,it is a means to an end and following more on a career in Permaculture I am hoping to balance things out by re-foresting the earth and teaching people to grow their own food where I can.

I bought my ticket to India in November 2008 as soon as I could afford it to secure the plan.Once I purchased it there was not turning back or I would lose the cost of the ticket.I was committed now.Return on a 12 month ticket cost $1064.00 with Quantas/Jet Airways.I found this flight through STA Travel then took the pricing to their competitors and got it even cheaper.It pays to shop around.I ended up getting the ticket for Magic Carpet Travel in Perth,WA,and they are located under the Indian Consulate which made it very easy for me to get them to arrange my visa at the same time.

I continued to work through the months leading up to April and in that time was hearing less and less from the project where I had the job offer where I was asked to supervise and implement water harvesting strategies in Hartola,Uttar Pradesh.Around about the same time I was contacted by Rico Zook,whom I had previously contacted from Thailand months earlier,offering me to project manage the implementation of an eco village in the south near Coorg,Karnataka.After some long distance calls to get info on this project I redirected my energy to this as the long term goals for both the project and myself were win win.The plan changed slightly but was in full swing to materialize.

I was nearing completion on the research for projector and laser level and was ready to finalize a purchase.I opted for a Spectra Precision LL100 laser level.This comes as a kit in a lockable carry case with tri-pod,staff,laser level and receiver all in one.It is very light weight (15kg)and the case is very durable.It is designed to be dragged around building sites to work in all conditions.I purchased it for $1600.00 with remote which was great value.I had to import it from the US as suppliers in Australia weren't bringing this model into the country.
http://www.laser-grade.com/spectraLL100.htm
Check this link for info on this unit.So much can be done with this tool.From large scale dam/swale earthworks set out to building foundations and wall truing.

Secondly I looked at the lightest most powerful ultra portable projector.I found a dealer with a Casio XJ-S35 on clearance sale and picked one up for $1100.00.A great investment and it weighs about the same as my laptop(1.3kg).A review can be found on the link below.
:http://www.projectorcentral.com/casio_xjs35.htm

With all these things sorted and the major expenses covered I contacted Geoff Lawton from the Permaculture Research Institute,Australia(http://www.permaculture.org.au/) to see if they could arrange an extra Permaculture Teacher Training Course to follow the Aid Project Workers Course scheduled in early April.These courses compliment each other but were not being held consecutively and I wanted to attend both before leaving.The P.R.I was very generous in assisting with my request and a 4 day intensive program was added to their calender.Thanks again guys for your help.Covering these courses would give further knowledge for working in other cultures as well as using the template from the Master Plan for Permaculture projects.Even though the project I was going to be working on was not an aid project,I could still use the ideals in the implementation of it and potentially have it running sustainably after 3 years.

With all this arranged and just several weeks of work to go I had to organize vaccinations.I had used malaria drugs before but with terrible side affects.I have opted this time to go with homeopathic remedies for malaria and updated for typhoid and collera.I also purchased MMS as a counter measure against malaria and for balancing pH in the body.This stuff is amazing and it's curing capabilities don't just work on malaria.
http://www.themmsexperience.com.au/

I also was advised by others with past experience in India to travel with a water filter.Great sense and something I hadn't thought of.The type I was told of was the Waterworks II.It is a ceramic filter which will take out all baddies above 2 microns.
http://www.msrgear.com/watertreatment/

Well all the organizing was completed and the courses attended and bags were packed.I had also arranged a train ticket from Bombay to Bangalore for the day after I was to arrive in India.24 hours on the train would give me a good chance to see a bit of the country.All that is needed now is to purchase the motorcycle in country.It has all gone fairly smoothly for me as I planned everything the way I had visioned it to be then used common sense working around timing and other issues.My friends family have all been very supportive and I have made some great contacts for when I hit the ground.

Permaculture Thailand :The Panya Project

2009-06-09T01:05:00.000-07:00

Since my last post I have traveled thru Thailand doing some consultancy and mapping near Chang Mai and spent a couple weeks at The Panya Project.Things were quiet at Panya as it was wet season and everyone had dispersed to more suitable climates.The project manager was on-site and we conducted gerneral maintenance on the property to keep the jungle at bay.

The food forest here is doing really well and banana’s were tidied up and their prunings were mulched around nearby trees.Basic chop and drop here to minimize effort and energy.Very hot and sweaty work.A lesson learn’t here is to always look at the branch being cut before cutting.The reason being that green ants make their nest in the banana leaves by folding the edge of the leaf to the stem and creating a weather proof cocoon.If this is not noticed,the ants get mad and attack.To use this to an advantage,we cut these particular branches and then ran them to the cat fish pond where the cat fish gladly took care of them.One great way of using a surplus of one system to support another element in the system.

We also planted out the western boundary of the property with banana’s to act as a fire break.Used in this way the plants don’t burn as they are full of water.Mangoe’s are growing on the lee ward side whichare also fire retardant plants.The banana’s will act as a wind break during the mangoe’s flowering period so as to get maximum flower set.

The boundary is on a farely sloping track with noticable erosion coming down the track.I organized the others to put in mini swales slightly off contour to divert water onto the property rather down the track with very abrassive result.The banana’s were then planted above or below these mini swales to feed from the water being held in them and to also feed from any accumulation of organic matter in them.Again connecting cycles of energy for elements to have many functions in a system.

The Panya Project( http://www.panyaproject.org/)is one of three communities located around a small village in the north of Thailand practicing organic agriculture and Permaculture.The next door communities Pun Pun and You Sabai home are education facilities conducting earth building workshops and P.D.C's as well as cooking classes.There are some amazing structures at Pun Pun in the way of small homes.Mud brick and cobb rendered walls with bamboo roof structure covered with palm thatch.Very cool indoors and shaped with creativity.A very simple way to construct for this climate.

Tokyo Families Visit Fuji Eco

2008-06-12T23:39:00.001-07:00

Recently we were visited by three families on a week-end excursion from Tokyo organized by a travel agent that promotes eco tours and farm stays.When we were given the information that we expected guests we brain stormed ideas for activities that might interest our visitors.The info given was that there were 15 people,half were children aged around 10-12.So we came up with a plan to keep everyone busy and learn about sustainable living.Rain was forecast for the day the visit was arranged,so we also had to come up with an indoor strategy should it bucket down.

We greeted our guests,7 adults and 4 kids, and Waka san gave them a tour of the house and explained the passive solar design behind its construction.Waka san was here in the early days and helped build the house,so he was best suited to explain it.The building is cleverly designed and has an exhaust fan in the ceiling that sucks warm air from the ceiling,generated from the fire place,and blows it to below the flooring and is allowed to heat the floor.

Around the farm is a set of notice boards,about 20,with information in the form of an eco quiz.We planned for the children to explore the farm and answer the quiz and the winner would receive an eco prize.We determined that the visit was purely aimed at the children experiencing farm life.Upon finishing the quiz,Toshi got the answer sheet and went about finding the winner.Not to have any of the kids feel left out,they all received a recycled ,from paper, plant pot with a cosmos plant from our nursery.The kids eyes lit up when they all got one.

Next we went to the chicken house with the kids to collect eggs.The parents didn't come with us as the mothers were scared of the chickens.The travel agent helped me with the kids and we all had a ball running around searching for the eggs.A little secret,we kept all the eggs from the previous couple of days without dates on them to make alot more to collect for the kids.All up the found 25.The same amount we put in there for them to find.

After the egg hunt,we headed over to the nursery where I showed the kids how to make potting mix and to seed pumpkin into pots for growing on the farm.The parents had been in already and potted up one tray,so they stood by with smiles on there faces as they watched the kids having such a fun time.One older boy wanted to be best so he seeded really quickly,I even think that during his racing two seeds may have been put into one pot.Not to worry though,they were all having fun.

The rains started coming down heavy so we headed back to the house for mint tea.The mint harvested fro the garden.We had organized for the children to make a drawing of theirdream for the future and color it in.When finished they all took turns presenting their picture to the adults.The kids had dreams of living in the country some day and their drawings were of that.

In all our guest seemed to have a great time.Everyone was laughing and the kids liked to get their hands dirty.We hope it is a start of a good relationship with the travel agent and they bring us more visitors in the future.

Basic Aquaponics

2008-06-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

I noticed in the pond the other day a flash of red.The pond is usually fairly murky as it gets run off from a dairy up the catchment.But I was very surprised to say the least.On making an inquiry as to the sighting I was informed that a coy was living there.

This started to get me thinking on how I can use this information.I am a real fan of a guy in Perth,Australia by the name of Joel Malcolm and his Backyard Aquaponics system.Before leaving to come to Japan, Joel gave me a DVD on his system and I have an interest to make a system here.

If there is one fish in the pond,there has to be fish poo.There is actually a heap of tadpoles at the moment due to a good breeding season of the local frogs and some guppies.This all adds up to nutrient being available to grow something.As I am not quite ready to start a full blown system I thought I would give a basic system a try and see what results were produced.

For those not aware of Aquaponics,it is a system combining aquaculture and hydroponics to grow fish and vegetables in the same system.The fish effluent feeds the vegetables and the vegetables clean the water of nitrates before it returns to the fish.Joel's kits work fantastically with some outstanding results.

We have so much lettuce in the nursery at the moment and we are still preparing beds in the garden to put the seedlings so there was an opportunity to use some of these for the experiment.Having attended and aquaponics seminar in Melbourne a couple of years ago ,I learned that lettuce was a good extractor of nitrates from water so it made sense to use them.
I found an old foam box from the grocery store and cut 4 square holes in the base as recesses for the pots I was going to use.I cut down an older pot tray to fit the holes and once fitted they could not fall straight through.I made up a potting mix and filled 4 small pots and placed them in the holders in the box,then added the lettuce.

I am expecting the roots to hang into the water,so the pot holder sits about 2.5cm below the base of the box.The only difference is that the system will not be a flood and drain system as conventional hydroponics would be.I have seen floating raft type setups before and they were working fine.I hope to put in a few more of these little grow beds in the coming weeks as I get the results back.So far things are looking good.There doesn't seem to be any pests yet and if there is the fish might eat them.

Water Harvesting

2008-05-26T02:46:00.000-07:00

Water is one of the most important factors when considering any type of growing food system.As the earth is getting warmer due to the effect of Global Warming,we as Permaculturists and citizens of the world have to look at water as a gift not a right and preserve it as much as possible.In Permaculture we harvest water from the landscape and use it as many times as possible before it leaves our properties.We need to design our systems to be drought proof so we have water stored for extended periods when there is low or no rain events.

One way is to store water is in the soil through designing into the the landscape swale systems,which are differently constructed depending on climate and soil type.The other way is to harvest water from catchment areas and store it in containers.Now containers can vary from dams,ponds,lakes,tanks and even as small as sauce pan catching water from a leaking roof.

Whilst driving to a local village recently I noticed 3 X 1000 liter tanks sitting in a farmers field and wondered if it was possible to get hold of some like that to use on the farm.I asked Toshi to inquire to the near by home owners to who owns the tanks and if he could tell us the supplier.He was able to get the phone number of the farmer and upon calling him he said we could have these tanks for free.I promptly jumped into the truck as to not miss this opportunity.

We took a dozen eggs from the farm and a leg of deer someone had just given us (Toshi didn't know how to cook it anyway) and headed off.On closer inspection we found the tanks needed minor repairs but they were easy fixed.The farmer was shocked to receive the eggs and deer and pointed out there was a fourth tank we could also take.He happened to be a strawberry farmer and gave us two tubs of strawberry jam into the deal.In a matter of minutes we had the capacity to store 4000 liters of water.

The farm doesn't have a irrigation system and the guys here have usually used a 500 liter tank to water crops.This is a very time consuming task and this year we are growing more vegetables than before so we have to think seriously about where we can collect and store water so we can use gravity to transport the water to the crops.It does rain alot here but there will definitely be periods when we can't rely on rain to service our crops.

Firstly as we didn't have a hose to reach the crop area,we designed a tank stand out of railway timber easily and transported the 500 liter tank of water to the stand.Getting it off the truck was a mission as now it weighed at least 500kg.

We thought more and redesigned the tank stand to be located under the roof of a small structure that houses worms.We put guttering on the edge of the roof and now catch water off the roof.The tank now stands about 1 meter higher than the cropping area so when we can afford drip irrigation there will be enough head pressure to be functional.

As this garden system is set out on contour we can easily fill each path with water to filter slowly through the soil.I have also installed one of the 1000 liter tanks onto the tank stand and filled it with a comfrey and water solution.Comfrey is a dynamic accumulator of silica,nitrogen,magnesium,potassium,calcium and iron and it grows wild around here so it can be used as a compost tea.I am just letting the comfrey rot down and the use the water on the crops.The minerals will be the returned to the soil more efficiently.The simple observation of plant and season cycles can produce free fertilizer.A bit of research can find this information and a bit of networking and being resourceful can come up with the materials for it to happen.Imagination can move mountains.

I also have a 200 liter barrel on the tank stand with dandelion rotting down for a similar purpose also filled from the roof.All this water and fertilizer located really close to the crops.So much time and effort saved.Clever design.Things need to be redesigned again as funding allows but we can see a clear path to the potential of our ideas.

Patterns in Permaculture

2008-05-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

In Permaculture we make observations to try to understand connections between nature and her inhabitants.We look for natural rhythms and cycles between seasons and plant and animal behavior to determine a course of action that will best suit a design.Patterns play a very important role in nature and we see them everywhere we look and most times they reoccur in smaller detail within a bigger pattern.

At Fuji Eco we try to use patterning where possible for the benefit of the design as well as in structures that are pleasing to the eye.A favorite pattern used within Permaculture is the 'Herb Spiral'.Spirals occur in nature in so many different applications.Try looking closely at a fern leaf.The tip of the leaf is curled up in a spiral.Whirlpools are another form of the spiral.A herb spiral can be constructed from many different resources including timber,tires,
soil,rocks,tiles,straw bales just to name a few.Using your imagination can come up with so many more.

There are several herb spirals on the farm and keeping with my philosophy of spending extra energy initially for less energy or maintenance later,gave us the opportunity to rebuild one herb spiral using this philosophy.

The herb spiral is close to the center house and was is bad shape.It had been constructed out of Masa's favorite resource,'roofing tiles'.There is nothing too wrong with roofing tiles as long as they are used effectively.Here they weren't and the garden had to be stood on to harvest herbs which compacted the soil and made the tiles fall over.Another high maintenance activity with the original design was the introduction of lemon balm and mint.They had both taken over the garden and created a nightmare to weed.All the tiles had to be removed just to get to the roots as they had gone everywhere.I set about redesigning the garden to be easier accessed, more esthetically pleasing when viewed from the house,a reflection of Fuji san in the way plants were located and to be of solid construction.

I drew up a quick sketch in my journal of how I saw it looking and we all set out to gather resources.Waka san was going to teach me how to build a stone wall without cement.I had my reservations about this as I wanted to be able to stand on the wall without it collapsing.So the lesson started.

We were going to use rocks again as there were lots left over from the key hole garden and they were very close.I really like using rocks because the gaps between them are homes for creatures and plants and so much edge is created.The original spiral was about 1.5 meter diameter and maybe .5 meter high.Not a lot of dimension to it but things were going to change.Because we were using rock the wall was going to be thicker so we had to compensate and make the whole foot print wider or we would have had no room to plant.I dug the trench in which to place the footing rocks and as a guide and set about removing the grass so it would not grow up into the garden later.We didn't remove the grass sod completely,just turned it upside down so the grass would rot and the roots couldn't penetrate the soil.It is good to do this as it saves a lot of headaches later when weeding.

We assembled the rocks in a way that small ones went first working around to larger ones to give the dimension of spiraling up as well as spiraling flat.We didn't need to use cement here as the rocks were only single height.As the rocks were placed,smaller rocks were wedged in behind to fill gaps and to support larger ones.Then soil was back filled to the edge so the rocks retained it.

As we now had a wider foot print we were going to need more soil.We are slowly running out of soil to use like this on the farm but we are planning to build a composting bay system into a slope ,so we took the soil from there in preparation for that job.More on that later when we do the design.

We had made it right around to the start and it was time to start spiraling up.We had to use medium size rocks here as large ones would have covered too much planting area and were too heavy to carry.Work smart not hard.It was time to test Waka sans no cement concept as we were going to stack rocks two high.Two truck loads of soil were brought in to the garden to get a good and even effect for the dimension.We compacted the area where the rocks would sit and put in the trench for them to rest.Once each rock was in place soil was compacted behind them to secure them into place.A three tier bed system was created and the job was almost complete.

With all the heavy lifting done it was time to dress the spiral up a bit.As it was now much bigger,we needed to put in the paths or stepping blocks as per the design.We used timber blocks 200mm X 300mm as the paths and a little bit spaced apart so that ground covers could fill the spaces.Six access points were put in so as either side of the path could be reached with ease.The entire garden can now be accessed with minimal surface area lost for planting.No soil compaction here and definitely no mint or lemon balm.We took the old mint and lemon balm plants to area where they could run free without maintenance,close to the kitchen for a brew when needed.

So then it was time to plant.We already had herbs in the nursery that Masa had brought.A mix of things like basil,sage,oregano,thyme,nasturtium,chicory,echanasia,artichoke,margarum and borage to name a few.Lettuce,cucumber,beans,peas and rocket were also included.Teepee structures were added for the cucumber and peas to climb which will shade the lettuces from the hot sun during summer.

The plants were laid out in a design that would resemble Fuji san when fully grown.By this I mean that low growing plants at the outer edge of the wall,medium height plants in the middle of the bed and higher plants at the inner base of the second level wall.I am hoping that it will perform this way.Mediterranean type herbs like thyme and oregano are situated at the edge of the rock wall and on the south face to get warmth from the rocks.Yarrow is planted at the base of the entire spiral to act as a ground cover.When it is stood on it will release an odor that may repel unwanted pests.

The complete garden was mulched heavily with straw to suppress weeds and given a good watering for the following couple of days.Looking at the herb spiral is now is very pleasent to the eye as it is uniform in its construction and it really stands out.I took us 1.5 days for 3 guys to build.A bit of effort for a long term low maintenance garden.

Permaculture v Agriculture

2008-05-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

Recently we had 140 students from an Agriculture school in Tokyo to the farm for a visit to get an understanding of Permaculture and sustainable living.

The night before the visit,staff and wwoofers as well as Masa and his wife were busy cutting vegetables and other ingredients for the lunch that was going to be served on the day.

We were making curry and rice to a measured quantity prepared by Kayco (Masa's wife).It included mushrooms,potato,carrot,onion,garlic,pork,cabbage,broccoli and Japanese curry stock.We had we very large pots in the kitchen on burners and it resembled a back alley soup kitchen.Kayco had everything very well planned though.Masa bought a plank of pine wood and Waka san and I cut it in half and carved out two paddles to use as stirring paddles for the curry.

Also we prepared apples, milk and rice for the lunch which is fairly typical of the package for a group visit.

The students arrived at the farm and Masa introduced himself and I and set about explaining a bit about sustainability including his pet harvesting solar and wind energy.They were told about worm farming and were able to inspect a couple of worm farms up close to see how soil can be built the natural way.The kids were also shown the composting toilet system and how the cycling of a waste product can be useful in a Permaculture system.

What we grow we eat and what we eat goes back to the soil as compost to grow the food we eat.A closed loop rather than the mainstream system of flushing wastes out to sea.

Throughout the farm is a series of reference boards that pose questions about the environment with a multiple choice answer key.The visitors here wander the grounds reading and answering the questions to get an understanding of our systems and the correct answers read out at the end.The winner receives an eco gift from the farm.

I did a small talk on Permaculture and an explanation on how we use the system to harvest water into the soil and grow with companion plants to help with pest control.I explained to the students that it was important to challenge the system they are learning and asked them to look for alternative and more sustainable ways to look after the soil as modern agriculture is responsible for so much pollution and soil loss.

As Masa is an electrical engineer and builds electric cars,he has been able to get 30 electric scooters donated to the farm for educational purposes.We charged the scooters before the visit and parked them out in the field for the students to ride.There were some pretty close calls as most of the kids have never ridden a scooter before.Toshi had given them a crash course in how to ride but he is blood type 'O' so anything could have happened.

The students had the curry lunch that we prepared and must have liked it as they mostly all went back for seconds.We had so much left over though,we were eating curry and rice for days after.

Permaculture Key Hole Garden

2008-05-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

At Fuji Eco Park there are so many systems that need maintenance as any evolving system does.In Permaculture we say,from new something can deteriorate a 1/3 then it needs repair or maintenance to bring it to a manageable condition then down a 1/3.Like the pattern of a saw blade,wwwwww.

I notice things and think of ways to make them maintenance free where possible.

Which brought my attention the this following project.A key hole garden bed that was unlevel,very poor access and a border that needed alot of maintenance.After some discussion with the staff at the farm and a design brain storm we decided to put our rock wall building skill we used on the Glass House Garden to good use again.

We were going to need rocks,so we fired up the old Komatsu and loaded some rocks into our truck.We were looking for rocks that were large enough with a flat face and hopefully a flat bottom.We needed about 3 truck loads most hand picked.We also went to town to get sand and cement.Ending up we needed 10 bags of cement and a meter of sand.Relatively inexpensive,about $3.50 a bag and $40.00 for the sand.All our rocks are free and we have wwoofers for all the hard work,ha ha.

We disassembled the old border of the garden which was made from clay tiles.Not really working that well in this application as they weren't really retaining the soil.The shape was also running down a slope and so too the dirt behind the border making the tiles collapse.

Next we dug a trench for the rocks to sit in so they wouldn't slip from the bottom.As we were going to level the garden,the end of the wall was going to be raised 1 meter to give easy access without bending.The design also will make the paths wider for access and reachable at arms length from anywhere you stand.Very ergonomically friendly and no need to stand on the soil.
I used my string line bubble level to determine the wall height and pegged out the area.Things started to look a lot bigger than we had anticipated but we progressed.In went the largest rocks to marry in with an existing boulder formation and to take up some bulk height.Foundation rocks should be solid as possible to avoid movement of rocks that will be positioned higher.Selection of rocks is critical to get a nice display face and a firm footing.This is one thing I had to explain to Toshi several times.He just put any old rock down and hoped for the best.I explained that if he was going to carry a heavy rock for placement,make it count so he wouldn't have to move it again.Work smart not hard.Toshi is blood type 'O'.The joke here is that people with blood type 'O' forget easy or they don't really care about the end result.I'm working on him.

Lots and lots of small rock were needed to fill gaps behind the foundation rock and to make level platforms for the second,third and so on layers.We mixed cement, 3 sand to 1 cement for our morter a used it to set rocks into position for strength and to fill any gaps.Slowly the wall was taking shape.We had all hands on deck gathering rocks,mixing cement and placing rocks to get the job completed on schedule.It was starting to look really good and worth the effort.A good amount of effort now and a lot less later is the plan.

When we finally completed the wall,the garden bed needed topping up with soil and compost so we scoured the farm for some good soil and put in 2 truck loads.

Next we had to put in areas to walk that we could reach the garden bed center from anywhere in the garden.We have a heap of timber blocks about 30cm X 20cm which were perfect for the design.We dug them in so they are same height as the soil with about 100mm gap between each.Previously the old paths were at ground level,but making them at bed level we gain more surface area for plant.A trick I picked up from a colleague mate Cam Wilson.On ya Cam.Now we can access anywhere in the garden easily,not compact the soil and once everything is grown we can sit in amongst the beautiful herbs.

Next we mulched heavily with straw and put in 120 vegetables and herbs that will companion each other.The main veg being lettuce,we companioned it with cucumber,dill,basil,beans,oregano and strawberries.There are so many more things in there as well.

The last thing to do was make a set of stepping blocks onto a rocky outcrop and fill the gaps between the blocks with vegetation to stabilize them.
The pond that the garden is near will reflect the suns heat and warm the garden so we will be able to grow warmer climate plans for longer when it get cooler.Mediterranean type herds like thyme,oregano and basil have been planted on the south facing wall to capture the heat from the rocks and tall herbs have been positioned so they will protect the lettuces from the hot summer sun.

A really good job buy all involved and I am happy with the finished result.It suits the rocky outcrop at the pond like it was meant to be there.

Here is a diagram and plant list for a garden.Change the plants to suit your own area.Don't be afraid to experiment.Have fun,live a little.

A. Snap peas, pole-type 'Sugar Snap', 1 seed packet

B. Edible flowers (calendulas, pansies, violas)

C. Cabbage, 'Ruby Perfection', 6 plants

D. Cauliflower, 'Amazing', 9 plants

E. Spinach, 'Tyee', 6 plants

F. Garlic, 'Chesnok Red' and 'Spanish Roja'

G. Broccoli, 'Premium Crop', 8 plants, and Romanesco, 12 plants

H. Mustard, 'Giant Red', 6 plants, and 'Green Wave', 3 plants

I. Carrots, 'Babette' and 'Bolero', 1 seed packet each

J. Onions, 'Walla Walla Sweet'

K. Radishes, 'Cherry Belle' and 'Crimson Giant', 1 seed packet each

L. Swiss chard, 'Rainbow', 9 plants, and 'Ruby', 2 plants

M. Kale, 'Winterbor', 6 plants

N. Lettuce, curly endive, 'Dark Lollo Rossa', 'Lollo Rossa', 'Sierra', and 'Tom Thumb', 6 plants each

O. Ornamental kale, 26 plants

P. Herbs (assorted)

Glass House Garden

2008-05-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

19/04/08

With the further transformation and development of the systems here at Fuji Eco Park there is always opportunity to make a garden.On the farm there are several small cabins to house wwoofers when they are here.One particular cabin has bottles built into the walls as a decorative effect as well as a heating quality.The sun heats the bottles and the air in them and creates stored heat energy and acts as a thermal mass.

This is not the first time I have seen bottles as walls.I first encountered the concept at Rainbow Vally Farm in New Zealand.Joe Polaisher and Trish Allen use the technique through out their home and outside compost toilets.The system could be used anywhere really and the construction can really get the creative juices flowing.

The cabin here is next to a huge hot tub set amongst rock walls and looks fantastic.It is south facing and during summer I expect it would get quite warm inside but it could be used as a sauna also.Some trees can be planted to shade it a little during the hotter period though.

Masa asked me to design a garden utilizing the unused spaces around the hot tub and cabin that would be beautiful with herbs and vegetables.

We took a look at the work area in question and as it is south facing it is protected from the northerly winds.Alot of rock has previously been used around the area so we kept with that theme and put in a small wall at the bottom of an excavated slope to retain the dirt from the excavation.The wall was to be about 600mm high so it was comfortable to reach over into a garden area behind it.We dug a small channel in the soil to keep the rocks from slipping out from the bottom and packed smaller rocks around the bottom layer of rocks to support them.
I learned this type of wall making when I was studying in Australia at the Permaforest Trust.We had a guy come in to do a workshop on one of our activity based training days and built several walls after that.

A young Japanese wwoofer was staying with us at the time and he was great at lifting the rocks and putting them into place.Where possible,we looked for nice flat rocks for the face of the wall and that they sloped back at the top.A lot of positioning of the rocks is needed to find the best way for the rock to sit.The wall was continued to meet an existing wall and a series of different levels has added some dimension to the whole garden.

At the bottom of the newly constructed wall a path was added and a lower level garden bed was created using a railway timber as the border.In areas where the reaching distance to the center of the garden was uncomfortable,we added a small flat timber as a stepping plate..

Now we have a nice terraced garden full of herbs to lookat when we are in the hot tub and a heap of vegetables mixed in there also.It took 3 guys to construct this garden in 1 day.A lot of material had to he bucketed to the site as we couldn't get a wheel barrow in.A lot of rocks also had to be carried into the area and they weren't light.But we managed.

The most enjoyable part is putting in the plants and watching their progress.I know the wwoofers helping do the work like planting because it is easier than carrying rocks.When each of these jobs are complete,Waka san(an older Japanese worker) stands back and says in a rough English 'beautiful'

Three Sisters Permaculture Garden

2008-05-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

22/04/08

We noticed a underutilized resource at the chicken house recently so I put on my thinking cap and came up with a solution to the problem.

The chook house sits on the west of the property boarder and has a fairly good flow of water running thru or near it when it rains.The chickens are fenced with a dog run around the outside to protect them from foxes.They don't get to free range as the neighbors are concerned about influenza spread by birds so they stay in the pen always.I am designing a tractoring system to get them into the gardens,but more on that later.

Because they have been housed there for so long,manure has built up in the soil and gets washed thru the soil when it rains.I saw this as an opportunity to look at using the Three Sisters technique (corn,beans,squash) here as corn requires chicken manure and is a heavy feeder.We can get our fertilizing done with little or no energy from us.It will be all done by the chickens and the rain(nature).This is using "Relative Location",a principle of Permaculture where we locate things at the best appropriate place for utilizing energies.It also lets us use elements of the system to do more than one function for the system.Here is a quick run down of how I see it working.

The chickens will shit and the rain will wash it thru the soil making it available for the corn,beans,squash and other plants.The fence protects the chickens from the fox and is a trellis for cucumbers and beans that will also shade the dog in his run.The dog will protect the chickens from the fox and protect the corn from the deer that usually eat it.The corn will act as a trellis for the beans and protect the chickens from the wind.The position of the garden is also good as the corn will get good afternoon sun which it likes.There are heaps of other functions happening in the system and we are always coming up with more ideas.

So we started building the garden after Masa was so excited with the conceptual plan.We got the resources we needed in the form of compost and straw from a nearby dairy farm.There was a large pile of rocks in the way so I attacked them with the excavator we have on site to give us plenty of room for wandering pumpkin vines.Next saw me leveling the area as it have a bit of slope and I wanted to create beds that would hold water when it rained.Once we leveled the area we found that we had a stepped area separating what was going to be one big garden.A quick redesign and we put in a small rock wall utilizing the rocks from the pile and adding a feature to the garden.We added the compost into where the rows of the garden and rotary hoed it into the soil.A little bit of work saw the bed separated into rows that the corm will grow and then finally straw to mulch the beds to retain moisture.And there it is completed and ready to plant.

We had seeded up lots of the required plants for the garden and wait for them to br ready for transplanting into the garden.We will consecutively plant the crops so we have a continual supply to the kitchen over the harvest period and it will also look nice with the crops at different growing stages.

Borage has also been introduced to the garden as a companion ,as has German chamomile.Some flowering herbs like cosmos and marigold or calendula will also be added for color and to attract bees to pollinate the fruiting vegies.So we will have a very mixed garden that will function well and all the plants will help each other in some way.Some small rock structures will be made amongst the garden to attract lizards and frogs to live and they will be predators for the insects that come to munch on the plants.

A recent clean out of the chook house has created a surplus of chook poo which we will keep stored for compost making and then feed the plants with that compost.All the resources are very close to the chook house so we can make it right there and use it right there with minimal travel to the garden.The nutrient from the compost pile will go into the soil also and feed plants that are up slope from the chickens.

According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash in the same mounds, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations. Growing a Three Sisters garden is a wonderful way to feel more connected to the history of this land, regardless of our ancestry.

Corn, beans and squash were among the first important crops domesticated by ancient Mesoamerican societies. Corn was the primary crop, providing more calories or energy per acre than any other. According to Three Sisters legends corn must grow in community with other crops rather than on its own - it needs the beneficial company and aide of its companions.

The Iroquois believe corn, beans and squash are precious gifts from the Great Spirit, each watched over by one of three sisters spirits, called the De-o-ha-ko, or “Our Sustainers". The planting season is marked by ceremonies to honor them, and a festival commemorates the first harvest of “green” corn on the cob. By retelling the stories and performing annual rituals, Native Americans passed down the knowledge of growing, using and preserving the Three Sisters through generations.

Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following years’ corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops’ chances of survival in dry years. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans. The large amount of crop residue from this planting combination can be incorporated back into the mound at the end of the season, to build up the organic matter in the soil and improve its structure.

Corn, beans and squash also complement each other nutritionally. Corn provides carbohydrates, the dried beans are rich in protein, balancing the lack of necessary amino acids found in corn. Finally, squash yields both vitamins from the fruit and healthful, delicious oil from the seeds.

Native Americans kept this system in practice for centuries without the modern conceptual vocabulary we use today, i.e. soil nitrogen, vitamins, etc. They often look for signs in their environment that indicate the right soil temperature and weather for planting corn, i.e. when the Canada geese return or the dogwood leaves reach the size of a squirrel’s ear. You may wish to record such signs as you observe in your garden and neighborhood so that, depending on how well you judged the timing, you can watch for them again next season!

Early European settlers would certainly never have survived without the gift of the Three Sisters from the Native Americans, the story behind our Thanksgiving celebration. Celebrating the importance of these gifts, not only to the Pilgrims but also to civilizations around the globe that readily adopted these New World crops, adds meaning to modern garden practices

Success with a Three Sisters garden involves careful attention to timing, seed spacing, and varieties. In many areas, if you simply plant all three in the same hole at the same time, the result will be a snarl of vines in which the corn gets overwhelmed.

Training a Sheep

2008-05-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

At Fuji Eco Park there are about 40 chooks, 2 ducks, also 2 wild ones that fly in each day and swim in the ponds, a dog, a couple thousand compost and earth worms and one sheep.

Before I arrived, 3 wwoofers spent about an hour cutting grass and weeds for the sheep.This didn't make sense to me as am a logical and creative being. It took these peoples energy to walk to the other side of the farm with a wheel barrow and then the time to cut the grass and talk about whatever crisis the world is in and then walk to the pen where the sheep is housed as part of a crop rotation.

I saw an opportunity to reduce the time to get the grass cut and use the extra energy saved buy the wwoofers to do other more constructive tasks.I figured that the area the grass was being cut could also do with being fertilized and as it is on a ridge,if it were fertilized and it rained the nutrient would wash down the slope into the soil and enrich a lot more area and we would save even alot more energy.Letting a natural energy cycle do the work for us is what we are trying to replicate using Permaculture."Relative Location".

This is where the sheep come into play as an element having many functions.

I also figured that if I trained the sheep to be caught and walked to the grass cutting location it would save time, energy, get the field fertilized, get the grass cut, bring people closer to the animal and teach the sheep something new also.So we tried it out.

At first the sheep was shit scared of people.She didn't mind the wwoof girls because they brought the food to her daily.But when anybogy else got in the pen it was on for young and old.It took 5 of us at first to corner the sheep and get a rope around her neck and then quickly get a chain around her neck.When the walking started she wanted to run straight off,then get stubborn and not want to move at all.She learnt quickly that if she pulled on the chain it would be a little unpleasant.

We have several electric golf buggies here as Masa has a business maintaining them for golf courses about the place and we get the 'hand me downs'.They are great as we charge them from the solar powered house and the batteries last ages.Great for carrying things quickly around the farm.Anyway,we use one of these as the anchoring point for the 10 meter long chain as it is very easy to relocate and to also carry the water bucket each day and the sheep can't tow it away.Perfect.

So each day it became easier and the sheep seems to like going for the walk.She seems to know that the good grass is at the end of the trip.Now it takes one person to move the sheep in the morning and return at night.I love working with animals and take her most days and she comes now when I call her.She just needs a big scratch behind the ears and to be talked to calmly and she walks without getting skittish.

A wwoofer 'Ayako' was putting her away recently and she got away on her.When we cornered the sheep Ayako dived on the chain in the dirt to catch her again.She had just arrived on the farm and I don't think she wanted the sheep getting the best of her.What a gem of a lady.

This system will only be used short term until we rotate the sheep to another pen with more food for all those wondering about sheep's rights.It is a solution to the problem until we can get the system right.With all the time saved we been able to do so much more constructive jobs and the wwoofers get to do less mundane tasks.

And no, I'm not a Kiwi.

Permaculture in Action

2008-05-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

11/04/08

The sun was out in force today. I got a look at the majestic Mt Fuji to the east of the farm for the first time. Still covered in snow, it looks so beautiful.

Waka san and I went to his sisters dairy farm to collect cow shit (manure) also. The cows are all kept indoors and their shit is cleaned out and stockpiled to rot down in time naturally.

When Waka san turned the pile with the loader, it was very alive with life. Lots of worms and bugs. This is a great resource to have so close and it is free.We will take eggs and produce to the sister in exchange for the shit. We also can get bales of straw from her. The ones that are old and wet the cows won’t eat it and they can get sick if they eat the rotting material.

We were planting potatoes today. Waka san had prepared the beds and was putting out the seed potatoes when I noticed the row spacing’s. We all had a discussion on how things are usually done and I offered some advice to utilize less space.

Waka was using 4 rows of space for one row of crop. I redesigned the bed spacing’s so we used two rows wide of crop and one row wide of path. We put extra shit into the required rows for planting to aid in the growth of the plants. We have 3 wwoofers on the farm at the moment, so it makes light work of getting a lot done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato

We will mound as per the normal way but will use straw also to cover the plants as they are growing. This will add organic matter to the soil as the plants are growing and is less laborious as apposed to digging. The potatoes will be cleaner also saving labor on cleaning.

I had found yarrow growing in a part of the farm so we transplanted some at the ends of the garden beds to act as companions to the potatoes. Yarrow is also a good compost activator and it will be closer now to the compost making area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarrow

These three ladies were wwoofing from Thailand and did a wonderful job helping out. Hopefully their experiences will have taught them something about sustainable living.

26/05/08

Well it has been about 5 weeks since all the above action happened.Since then we have had other wwoofers in and they have helped with mulching the potatoes and planting other veges as well as a ton of weeding.The potatoes have been mulched in a way that it is mounded rather than using soil.Sort of like a volcano then inside filled with compost.

We planted a heap of lettuce and companioned it with radish,beans,carrot,dill and cucumber growing up a teepee. We have also direct sowed spinach and companioned them with spring onion.Corn has just been introduce along with lettuce and chamomile and zucchini.Beans will be seeded in a few weeks as the corn takes off.

The yarrow is really taking off at the end of the beds and the potatoes seem to like it being there.We have also planted another two rows of two different types of potatoes to have a good supply after the first batch have been harvested.More corn is waiting to also be planted.We will wait two weeks before continual plantings.
13/06/08
Progress is being made and all the crops are doing well.The potatoes have been continually heaped up with straw and got a good fertilize with compost recently.As of today(13/06/08)the potatoes are flowering and look so beautiful and healthy.I have been making fertilizer for dynamic accumulating weeds from the garden and the first batch was 100kg of comfrey into 1000 liters of water.It took about two week to break down and I am expecting the nitrogen to be released to the plant more readily than normal composting.

The paths have been doing a great job harvesting water when it rains.I trimmed them up a little to make them more level and they look great.I have said previously about the yarrow at the ends of the paths and how well they are working.Now after a few more weeks have passed,they look fantastic and are starting to flower.Not much sign of pest insects yet but I am keeping a watchful eye.I have the charcoal spray at hand.

We have also been making garlic spray as well as soap spray.Some others Wakasan has used in the past are coffee and milk sprays.I have done some research also and found that animal urine is good for deterring pests.I can't seem to catch the sheep when she is having a piss or keep up with her,so I am trying human urine.

Another thing I am trying is 'potato towers' using old car tires.It is another way to demonstrate growing potatoes and also recycling in Permaculture.The tires should produce more potatoes that the conventional method as the stem of the plant is continually covered promoting root growth from it.It is a means of growing vertically by stacking the tires.We will use less growing surface area for hopefully a higher yield.No pun intended.
The second batch of corn went in yesterday and was in-filled with lettuce as we have so much of it and the corn will do a good job of shading it as the weather is getting hotter.In the first bed of corn I have planted chamomile,parsley,lettuce and zucchini.The lettuce has been planted on the shadier side of the corn,while the zucchini is on the sunnier side.The chamomile in the middle.I am waiting a while longer till I plant beans.
As I am always looking to recycle anything I find and resourcing is my hobby, I saw an opportunity to salvage some timber from a tractor/machinery repair place.This garden above gets a real hammering from the sth and nth winds on a regular basis.I had noticed the timber every time I passed by that business and kept on thinking of ways to use it rather than just picking it up and just keeping it for a rainy day

The most viable and easy way that would serve both the wind and the recycle issue was to use the timber for a wind break.Because we are growing corn in this garden I want to protect it as much as possible.The timber is positioned in a way that the sth wind will hit it and be slowed down and then deflected around to the left where it meets a smaller panel and so forth.I am searching for more timber for the nth side to complete the design.I still have a while as the corn is still young.I think it looks great and we will also use it as a vertical growing space for peas and beans and anything else I can fit into the space.The fence will also act as an accumulator of resources at its base.Any leaves or straw will build up there and act as a mulch,saving us work.

Permaculture Water Harvesting Swale System

2008-05-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

12/04/08

Today saw the start of a very ambitious exercise. Turning a ridge parcel of cropping area into a raised bed/swale system. This is done by surveying the area using several different methods to gain level pathways on contour. It also gives us more planting area as the beds will now be curved following the natural contour of the land. Giving us more “edge” in the process. By doing this we also allow water to sit in the path areas and absorb into the soil slower than normal. Soil stores water more efficiently than any other means. With the soils here being volcanic, I would hope that silt will be transported into the soil and hold water for longer.

I brought from Australia with me a hand level, string-line bubble level, GPS to assist in these processes and to teach people how to use them. Masa sourced a staff (a 5m measuring stick) and we went about marking out beds and pathways.

Now, as contour lines in the landscape are never always parallel, we had to do some figuring out how we would make the system accessible as well as practical. Everywhere that the bed got wider than we expected we put in key-hole paths to gain appropriate access to the wider path to be able to manage working the bed at easy reach. This gave us more “edge” again.

One way to look at edge is to have two lines drawn on paper over the same distance. One line straight, the other curved like a radio wave. Line one might measure say 10cm, but if you measure all the curves of line two over the same distance it will always be longer. Imagine if you stretched line two out straight, it would be longer.

One way to measure level is with an “A” frame. This is a device that can be made from almost any material, keeping in mind its’ maneuverability.

Firstly, we got two pieces of timber the same length (1.4m) and a third piece that we would cut according to the size of the ‘A’ we wanted. We laid the two 1.4m pieces on a flat surface in the shape of a V and measured down the outside edge of both pieces 0.9m and made a mark in pencil. This mark indicates the height that the third piece of timber will cross the other two. Holding all three pieces firmly, screw the third piece to the other two. The two longer pieces should be checked for even and touching together before screwing the third.

The top of the ‘A’ needed some support, so we cut some 1.5cm ply board to suit and screwed it all together. Now we had a measuring device for the job, all we had to do was make sure it reads level. We found a known source of flat level ground and using a piece of string hanging from the center of the top of the ‘A’ with a weight on it (a plum bob), we were able to determine a point of level. We made a mark in pencil on the third piece of timber where the string crossed and then turned the ‘A’ frame on itself and made another mark in pencil. The measurement was the same place as the first. If the measurement was not the same, we would have halved the distance between both and made our mark and that would have been our level mark.

We took this out to the field and started using it. Armed with bamboo stakes, we marked the ground once the weighted string touched our level mark. This process is continued down the slope leaving behind a maze of sticks resembling a slalom ski course. It can get a bit confusing if there are too many stakes out so we dug our paths as we went to save the headache.

Another way to do this is using a hand level which you hold up to your eye and look through to sight the bubble and cross to match up. Someone holds the measuring stick(staff) and you sight a mark on it then get the person to move away from you up and down the slope till the recorded measurement is reached. Then put in a stake and repeat the process.

Also this can be done with a string line and bubble level. The bubble level attaches to the string line and is raised or lowered till the bubble is at a level mark. When the swale is dug out, you use a tape measure to measure the depth from the string line over the distance you want to be level. Very simple and accurate to use.

We expected the job to take a couple of days but it took longer due to weather and other work needing to be done. We used several different ways to dig the paths as well. As there is an excavator on site and manual digging being hard work, we had a go with it to see what result we got. As a lot of Permaculture is experimental, it is always good to try different methods of doing things so you can learn from your mistakes and go with solutions that have proved to work.

As it turned out, it took quite a big bite and made the path too wide. One good result was that it gave us more surface area on the sides of the bed to plant. We learnt from this experiment and stayed with digging manually for a tidy finish. We also used the tractor to help define the paths, but found it was still best to dig ourselves.

We got rain after we finished and all the paths held water for two days and most were fairly level considering the tiring work it was to dig such a big area. We mulched all the beds to suppress the weeds and stabilize the soil till we can get seed to plant. It has been quite hard to source bulk seed here, especially non-hybrid seed. We will probably use soba (used to make soba flour for noodles) as it is fast growing (3 months) and it is sort of like a buck wheat.

Nursery Work

2008-05-06T03:33:00.000-07:00

I took some time recently to go to the nursery to pot up some seeds that Masa and I had got from the local seed museum in Kawaguchicko. We were able to source some rue, borage, marigold, rocket, parsley, spring onion, tansy. A lot of these are good composting plants as they are activators in the composting process. Most can also be eaten and are also good pest repellents also. One Permaculture principle covered here. An element with at least 3 functions to offer the system.

It pays to have everything need at hand when seeding in the nursery. Having a good potting mix in a wheel barrow ready and some seed trays and small pots is essential. As well, have a permanent marking pen handy for writing on the name tags.

The trays and pots can be filled prior to seeding to save time. Most big seeds can be put in single. Some smaller seeds can be put in a couple at a time. If more than one are seeded together they can always be split up when putting into the ground or potting up.

Always read the seed packet to see how deep the seed needs to be for good germination and for any other information that may be useful.

It also pays to label each different tray with the name of the seed, the variety, the date it was propagated and your name. This stops any confusion for others knowing what is in the trays, as I first found when working in the nursery here. Lots of trays hade been seeded but no way to tell what they were or when they were done. I promptly showed everyone a way to record the system and now it is working well.

A way to record is using old water bottles cut into strips and written on. This recycles a waste product and is very durable. Other plastics or cardboard can be used, but plastic is best and won’t end up in land fill as it can be used again and again.

If continual planting is required to have constant food available for the kitchen, propagation must be carried out regularly. Normally when seeds have sprouted is a good time to germinate the next batch. This will also depend on the type of seed also.Corn may take up to 2 weeks to sprout, whereas spinich or bok choy may take 4 days. Always seed more than you need in case some don't sprout, or in the case of legumes, they can always be cut down when they flower to add nitrogen to the soil and also as mulch.

Early days at Fuji Eco Park

2008-04-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

After a good night sleep I awoke to a very pleasant morning with birds chirping and general country sounds. At 7:00 am a musical chime is broadcast over the district to let the farmers know what time it is.

I met the other staff of the farm and took a walk around the property to see what was happening. So many systems are in place but all mothballed from the winter months.

The property is 7.5 acres and a lot of work has happened over the past 8 years but a lot of misunderstanding or break down of Permaculture along the way. There is solar and wind electrical generating systems and Masa is right into converting vehicles into electric drive, with some great success.

We wandered around the property and I made observations along the way and offered some consultation toward bettering some of the systems. Design and redesign as we all have been taught. The initial design saw an existing dwelling as Zone 0, but now the Center House is another Zone 0, so some effort is being made to make closer zones to it.

There was a lot to see and for me to get stuck into. Designing a parcel of land for some cabins, retro fitting an old oil storage tank into accommodation, building a compost bay system, surveying and swaling a ridge for crops, getting the nursery up and running, designing crop systems, using less oil based energy systems.

Touch down Narita, Tokyo. Japan

2008-04-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Tokyo Wednesday 09/04/08 and was greeted by a very happy Mr Imai (Masa). Customs were very good and efficient and I had no dramas as I had nothing to hide anyway.

Masa took me into Tokyo city and we went to Tokyo Tower to view the city. The Tower was built some 40 years ago and is akin to a radio tower but much bigger.

After Masa drove to a very famous temple where we tossed a coin into the prayer box and said a quick prayer. The temple area is famous for its architecture and vending stalls selling all types of rice crackers and tourist stuff. We then took lunch at a restaurant that specializes in eel. Every part of the eel was served and it was so delicious. I love Japanese food and am looking forward to trying lots of other dishes including sushi.

Later we went on a river cruise to a famous Tokyo park. I was able to find things growing there that I didn’t expect. Vetch and other plants that make that system function well. Lots of Bonsai trees everywhere as well.

After a very busy day of flying and sight seeing we headed for the farm at Fujigane. We stopped of briefly to get dinner at a family type restaurant for sushi. Oishi(yum). It was well and truly dark when we got there and I was very lost for bearings. I would have to wait till the following morning to see where I was.

A brief description of my work

2008-03-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

This is a brief description of the work I have done in the last few years.I en devour to expand on all areas in this blog but it may be a bit mixed.

In 2005 I ventured of overseas during a study break from the Permaforest Trust www.permaforesttrust.org.au/ ,where I was studying Cert4 in APT Permaculture Design.I have always loved traveling and saw this time as valuable to get out there and practice what I had learnt.
I contacted a few agencies and ended up getting a posting in Aceh,Indonesia 12 months after the Tsunami,Boxing Day 2004.I spent 2 months in a place called Lamsujiin about 50km south of Banda Aceh as a volunteer assisting the Permaculture teacher Steve Cran.Greenhand Field School, Aceh Index

The Greenhand field school was being developed to train local displaced persons in Permaculture Design.As this was my first overseas gig,culture shock hit me as I had not done any real preparation on understanding this culture.
After Aceh I headed overland and sea thru northern Sumartra to Malaysia and then Thailand.While in Thailand I contacted a guy I met in Australia ,Darren Doherty,permaculture biz ,who had been working in Vietnam on a project to see if I could visit,seeing how I was so close.After some arranging I was on my way thru Thailand,Cambodia and into Vietnam.I met with Daz and ended up staying on the project for 3 months taking care of the earthworks being done on site, as I have experience in this field.
We extended a dam 4 meters deeper and used the material to buttrace another dam wall and build some road ways.We also constructed some culverts using cement and poly pipes,a ferro cement fertigation structure,2 coconut circles,installed irrigation to caccao plantation,installed poly pipe underground from a creek to a header tank.
I generally managed the contractors and oversaw the progress until Darren's return every month.
By this time I had learnt what to expect from different cultures and settled into doing what I think was good work.
I headed back to Australia and started my own business in earthworks consultancy and worked on another one of Darren's projects called Dalpura Farm.A 140 acre silva pastoral,agro forestry project in Victoria.
I did many things there including keyline ploughing,gardening,building wetlands with a bulldozer,planting forestry,managing forestry ect.
In search if knowledge I headed off again to New Zealand to do a PDC at Taranaki Environment Center.I ended up teaching the earthworks chapter as the teacher organized did not make it.I was very nervous but it was a good challenge.I was going to stay for the course for two weeks but ended up staying in NZ for three months.After Taranaki I went ot Rainbow Valley Farm as a volunteer helping with the maintenance of the property and managing the international wwoofers.www.rainbowvalleyfarm.co.nz/

This was a fantastic experience learning from two truely inspirational people.
Anyway,now I am back to do more out there in the world and looking for opportunities everywhere to do good.

Building a ferro cement structure,Vietnam.2006

2008-03-12T22:58:00.001-07:00

Dr Tuan, from the Forestry Science Institute of Vietnam, asked me to design a structure over the fertigation system (a basic ventury setup) downhill from the 40,000 liter water tank so stuff could be stored and locked without the worry of theft.The locals are pretty light fingered around the farm.While doing some earthworks here,the dozer broke down with a broken fan belt and over heated.I couldn't really move it without further damaging the motor so I had to leave it where it was.The next morning I went to the machine and both batteries and the alternator were missing.Some local people had been there during the night and pinched them.

Anyway,as some tanks had been constructed here by Darren and the workers I thought I would try a building from ferro cement also.I drew a quick design for the contractor based on something similar in Australia we use for a nursery,minus the cement.
The structure was to sit next to an access way to the ridge dam.I designed one side of the building with a retaining wall to retain the material for the access track.As the majority of the traffic on this track was motorcycles,and the track was quite wide,the retaining wall should hold well.The steel wire would go on the outside of the blocks used for extra strength.So the steel wire was straightened (as it comes rolled up in 200kg parcels) and the foundation laid after I went in with the Komatsu 'baby' excavator (baby meaning small) to dig and level the footings.
Local rock blocks were used and cost about 10c each.The manual labour involved in this task is amazing.Boulders are sourced from however far away then people start chiseling away with hammers and spikes to break them down.No hydraulic rock breakers used here,just good old fashioned jail yard toil.As the boulders split or fracture they are then broken smaller to about 200/300mm X 100mm X 100mm.Then they are loaded by hand onto a farm tractor trailer and brought to site and again unloaded by hand,usually where the tractor parked,not necessarily where exactly needed and then possibly moved by hand again to their final resting place.
The local contractor had also built some culverts for me also from the same rock.Usually one load of rocks is about 500 pieces.Any more than that the tractor gets out of controll on the road.
Above is Mr Sun who worked for the contractor.He was a really bright young bloke and a great worker.I was supprised one day when I saw him all dressed up riding a motorcycle outside the farm when I had also only just saw him working on the structure.I found out later that he is a twin.His brother totally opposite to he.Liked wearing fancy clothing,didn't like work and a real casanova.Really great guys though.
So the steel wire was joined together in a 200mm grid fashion and then snake wire was layed inside and out to be the support for the mortor when it gets applied.Some supports were fitted temperarily inside the structure to stop the roof from collapsing under the weight of the mortor.Mind,the complete wall thickness was only 25mm,but when set is as strong as.The mortor is applied to the outside and allowed to set and then repeated on the inside.The mortor has a good rough bonding surface on the inside from the outer layer being forced through the snake wire.

Then we had a finished product.It was really cool inside and a good place to have a rest at lunch.Dr Tuan was really happy with the finish as was Darren.It was also possible to mould some gutters onto the side to collect water from the roof and store in a small tank for hand washing.A door was put on and then ready for use

The finished structure was able to hold my 90kg weight and some more.All it needed was a coat of white wash and some plants to shade it.A great job done by all.

Ringo teaching at Rainbow Valley Farm

2008-03-07T02:07:00.000-08:00

Teaching some local Steiner School students how to plant vegetable seedlings.We discussed how some plants need a bit of shade when they are young so we chose a shady position for the seedlings for the hottest part of the day.We also talked about the importance of using mulch to keep moisture in the soil and to keep the soil cool.In warm climates you could use grasses or leaves.In cooler climates gravels could be used to warm the soil.

Here we planted the seedlings in a slightly shaded position,under a palm,to protect them from the harsh summer sun.We then 'companioned' the plants.This means putting different families of plants together to help with pest control,adding nitrogen,and supporting needs.Here we used tomato,basil and lettuce.The basil assists the tomato in fending off pests,adds lovely color and the lettuce acts as a lower storey ground cover,keeping the soil shaded.This will be a three tier system.The first tier is the lettuce,then the basil as the second tier (a bit of trimming required when in pots) and then the tomato,staked and tied to grow as high as you can reach comfortably.
The kids really had fun and loved getting their hands dirty.Every one got to plant their own seedling and they mixed up the colors of the plants to make it look nice.We mulched and watered in the plants and went off to make recycled toys with Joe.This is one of the toys Joe taught the kids to make.It is constructed from banana leaves.Pieces are cut from banana leaves that were trimmed off the tree and are normally used for mulch.One fatter piece and one thinner piece are joined together with pieces of willow twig to form an outrigger,the type of boat used by island nations.Another piece of willow is pushed up into a leaf and stood upright into the fatter piece of the outrigger.This becomes the sail.There you go a free toy.When the children are finished playing with it,it becomes compost,thus continuing the recycling process.The finished, working toy in the creek running thru Rainbow Valley Farm.
Building a potting table for the nursery.I used a local timber that was sourced from the farm by Joe and milled locally.The timber does not rot quickly.

Organizing for Mt Fuji

2008-03-07T01:38:00.000-08:00

I currently await word from my new found friend 'Cecilia McCauley' on my visa application to Japan to fulfill a role at 'Mt Fuji Eco Park' demonstrating Permaculture and developing students English skills.What a great way to learn about urban Permaculture.
Mt Fuji Eco Park has been set up using Permaculture principles,Care for the earth,Care for people and distribute surpluses.It is in its 8th year and this year sees the education side of the project kicking off into another phase of the ever evolving design set out by the land owner Mr Imei.
Join me here as I prepare to set of on what I hope to be a most excellent adventure traversing the globe in the search for inspiration and knowledge.