Imagine

Something I watched this morning and thought it worth sharing! A moving rendition of John Lennon's 'Imagine'
sung by a young man, born in Iraq and adopted as a small boy by an Australian woman. This was sent to us by Costa with a note to say that it brought tears to his eyes. I'll be surprised if it doesn't bring a tear to your eyes as well.

  5 things I'm grateful for;
                              ~ magpies singing outside my bedroom window
                              ~ fresh home made sourdough bread

                              ~ my home on a beautiful spring day

                              ~ a day spent in the garden
                              ~ a safe place to live.

 What are you grateful for?

Gratitude

 I have been prompted to revisit this long ago ritual by Amanda who talks about a gratitude journal. Five things I am grateful for today;
     ~ The love of my Partner- my best friend
     ~ A warm house
     ~ 3 beautiful daughters
     ~ Good organic food to eat
     ~ Enough of everything I need.


I  sometimes find myself too far out there trying to deal with the woes of the world. I know that I can do more 'out there' by first bringing myself into balance. The gratitude journal helps.




  Meanwhile on the Farm, it's a fruit day and I have been concentrating on capsicums. 

I bought some ripe capsicums that were on sale at the organic shop and scraped out the seeds. They cost me 50c each  and I only needed the seeds from one capsicum, which is way less than a packet of seeds, and I get to eat the capsicums!

I put them all into punnets, covered them with more seed raising mix and put them into the underheater.

Crushed basalt

 I make my own seed raising mix using crushed basalt for drainage and cocopeat for moisture retention - equal quantities of each. It costs around $5 for a barrow load.

To make potting mix I add compost so that there is equal amounts of all 3.

The potting mix goes into these pots which are the bottom half of tubestock, a hole is pushed in to the mix...

and then the seedlings are pricked out and transplanted. These are the capsicums i germinated a few weeks back.

The hardening off area. The seedlings spend a week or so here before being planted out into the garden.

The propagation house.There are many features of importance when building a propagation house. This window faces Nth to allow the sun in, in winter, the bricks provide thermal mass, and it is placed in a position that I pass many times a day so I can keep an eye on them.

There are plans afoot to enlarge this propagation house as it no longer provides enough room for the number of seedlings we require each week.

Weekend Happenings.

A Saturday morning farm tour. It was lovely to have a couple of families here for a tour- a young mum with her 18mth old daughter  and her  neighbour who is surrogate nanna, and a young couple with their nine month old son.What a pleasure to have such lovely people visit our farm. The children were delightful- full of wonder.There have been times in the past when families have visited and the children show no interest in the farm or the animals and can't wait to get back into the car where their electronic game awaits them.

The weather turned quite cool and so after the tour we lit the fire and spent the rest of the day curled up watching old movies, while I knitted. A bit of an indulgence really and very rare, but much deserved I tell myself! 

And then an evening with the littlies and their parents around a bon fire ( I got to spend the evening cuddling with the baby)

Sunday morning - an early start with a composting workshop. One of the ladies from the tour yesterday was back for the workshop. This was actually her 4th workshop with us. She is well and truly hooked!

The compost heap is started with the earth  mounded up a little at the sides to create a little well to hold all the water that we use as we make the heap. Our first layer is always a woody layer that enables air to flow into the heap from the bottom. We use tomato stakes to make the sides. They are added as the heap progresses.

We water as we go to make everything really moist, then generally we don't have to water it again.

.

You can see it getting higher. we have all our ingredients at hand and make the heap all in one go.  We  add the ingredients in layers alternating between a carbon layer and  a nitrogen layer.

Ingredients for our heaps are gathered from around the farm and include manures from all the animals i.e. horse, cow, duck, geese, chicken and guinea pig.There are always plenty of herbs and weeds to be had, and old hay. We also add rock minerals, dolomite, pot ash, crushed egg shells and at the end we add the Biodynamic preparations.The heap sits for 4months before it is ready to use.


And after a quick bite to eat for lunch we ducked over to our local LETS ( Local energy trading system - which is an alternative to the monetary system. You can read more about it here )meeting for a trading day.

We bring along things to trade and set them out under the trees and on tables.

We bought home a few books, a mower, a cot (for the new grandchild) a bread loaf tin, a mouse trap,and a knitting pattern. As usual we brought home more than we parted with!

On My Mind - Deep Ecology

Joining in with Rhonda for a weekly sharing of what's on my mind.

We run a " Movies that Matter" film night here at the farm once a month. Last night the movie was Anima Mundi

It is presented from a permaculture and deep ecology perspective. Now permaculture I know something about as we have been practising Permaculturalists for quite some time now. But for those of you, who like me are fairly new to the term Deep Ecology here is a definition from Wikapeadia-

Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes an inherent worth of other beings, aside from their utility. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependence of organisms within ecosystems and that of ecosystems with each other within the biosphere. It provides a foundation for the environmental, ecology and green movements and has fostered a new system of environmental ethics.

Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that, like humanity, the living environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning "why" and "how" and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical questions about the impacts of human life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely anthropocentric environmentalism, which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for exploitation by and for humans purposes, which excludes the fundamental philosophy of deep ecology. Deep ecology seeks a more holistic view of the world humans live in and seeks to apply to life the understanding that separate parts of the ecosystem (including humans) function as a whole.

The message for me from the movie, was that the earth exists as a being (with a soul) and if this is true or not, treating her as such will bring rewards to the inhabitants. 

‎"To the extent that people separate themselves from Nature, they spin further and further from the Center." --Masonubu Fukuoka

The movie has moved me deeply and I highly recommend it to you all.

Lesson Learnt and Good Day Out

What does one thing have to do with the other you may ask. Well we made a mistake, learnt a lesson and had a day out into the bargain.
Last week we had a phone call from a WWOOFer (willing worker on organic farms) with a dog wanting to know could she come and wwoof. Was the dog well behaved-Yes; Did she chase chickens, ducks, geese or guinea pigs- Oh no she wouldn't do anything like that! So against my better judgement we allowed her to come with the proviso that she would have to go if it didn't work out. So the dog was undisciplined, did chase all of above mentioned animals growled and barked at me and Mark every time we walked out the door and to top it off she actually took a bite at our 4yr old grand daughter, She just had to go. But here was the biggest dilemma, she had not transport and dogs aren't allowed on public transport. our WWOOFer found a host that would take her and the dog but 40mins away in Newcastle. Would we please drop everything and take her! I was really cranky by this time. I had to turn it around for my own well being otherwise it would eat me up, so we decided to make an outing of it . We put the bikes on the back of the ute, packed a picnic lunch,dropped said WWOOFer and dog off , drove to a bike track and set off.

The track is along a disused railway line, in places you can still see some of the old track

 Me in front of a tunnel

inside the tunnel- that's Mark up a head

Stopped for lunch. There are picnic tables and seats all along the track

A lizard came out to sun itself on the concrete bridge. It was a really warm spring sort of day.

Mark and I bought our bikes last year for $40 each from an Op Shop, after a decision to run a Bike Awareness day with Transition Towns. And we have tried to ride regularly ever since. I am much stronger now and can ride quite long distances -23klms- . The idea is to reduce our use of the car by riding the bike but we also enjoy recreational rides as well. Usually we take the bikes on the train if we have a fair distance to travel.Any way the lesson we learnt was to stick to our rules and not take wwoofer's with dogs, and we did have a great day!
This evening we are running the first of our "Movies That Matter" here at the farm. We will show a movie once a month. Tonight we are showing anima mundi a new movie sensation sweeping permaculture and Transition Town circles.

Now Isn't That Great?

" There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness and truth " Leo Tolstoy


A great book...

We went along to a  Permaculture meeting last week and listened to the author of this book, Leonie Shanahan talk about how she got started in school gardening projects. She started off small at her children's school and has worked up to a full time job teaching gardening in various schools in Queensland. The book is a compilation of notes and plans that she has pulled together in an easy read and doable approach to vegetable gardening with children.


And another.....

I have had this one for a while now and it is a wonderful reference book, again for working with children in the garden. It has examples of how you can incorporate the curriculum outside in the garden. Both are based on Permaculture.


A great pair of yoga socks to be found  here...


A great festival we went to on Sunday The Central Coast Footprint Festival. Great speakers- We listened to talks on no dig gardening, Natural Sequence gardening, Beyond Zero Emissions,; great food, great music- drums made out of recycled plastic containers, bands, accopella,; great stalls showpiecing handcrafts and art and much, much more. I am happiest when surrounded by people involved in sustainable practices.


                   All simple, good and truthful

Weekend Happenings

This is the spinning wheel that my dad made, quite a few years ago now. It won first place at the local Show. Wasn't he a clever man?
 He also made each of his children (5of us) a grandfather clock from cedar....

and a sewing box for his daughters and daughters in law and my mum - that's 6 plus a spare made from pine. Here's mine, next to my favourite chair where I sit in the evening to do my knitting and sewing.

On the inside of the lid is a pin cushion that my mother cross stitched my initial.

He also made each of his 7 grand daughters, a high chair for their dolls. (Don't worry the grand sons also got something. He made each of them a little stool)

Dad got started in woodturning as a lead up to retirement but really got stuck into it when he retired fully and the shed was where you'd find him, working on one thing or another. We got pens for Christmas, bowls and toys for the children and toys for charity. He made the bannister rails for the stairs in my sister's house and much, much more.
 And how did I manage to get the spinning wheel you may ask, when I have such a big family. Well I am the only one that wanted to learn to spin, and dad was so pleased that it did actually spin. He wasn't sure whether it would just be a show piece or whether it would actually work.So I took it along to a spinning group about 7 years ago and yes it worked. But over the years the timber has settled and moved and it's not working so well. I went a long to another spinners group on Saturday to see if they could help. They spent hours trying to help me, but still the wool will not draw in. It may yet be the 'show piece' that dad thought!

Can't Afford Organic Food?

I was in the supermarket the other day picking up a few essentials. I grabbed a packet of organic sultanas and as I did so a little girl pleaded with her mother for a six pack of sultanas in little boxes. You know the ones I mean? Anyway they're not organic. This supermarket shows the Kilo price as well as the unit price. My organic sultanas were $9 /kilo and the individually packaged sultanas that the mum bought for her little girl ... well they were $11 kilo.
I'm often told that organic food is too expensive. The above is  just one example that shows that this is not always true. Mark and I are not earning a wage. We live off what we make from the farm. This is not a lot, so we do have to be careful with our money, but we still eat 99%organic/ biodynamic. Sure we grow a lot of our food but not all of it. I find if I buy fruit and vegies in season that it is no dearer and sometimes cheaper than you'll find in the conventional supermarkets. If it's not in season we do without, which makes it all so more exciting when it does come into season. I buy food in bulk where I can . I can get 5kilos of biodynamic wholewheat flour for $15, That's only $3 a kilo. Organic flour at the supermarket is over $4. It does mean that I have to shop around a bit, but to me it's worth it to have clean food to eat, and knowing that I'm supporting farmer's who are, on the whole using sustainable farming practices.
What are your thoughts on the cost of organic food?

A Parcel in the Post

I was so excited today to receive this wonderful gift from Amanda. Amanda bought it from an op shop as an unravelled mohair garment. Thankyou so much Amanda the yarn is gorgeous. I'm not sure yet what I will make with it but I agree that a little natural dye project may be involved. I have only been blogging a short time and I'm blown away with all the lovely people I have met in blogger land so far and Amanda's thoughtful gift has bought joy to my heart! Please know all you dear people who read my blog and leave comments how much those comments mean to me and how much I get from reading your blogs in return. xxxx

Yarn Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Joining in with Ginny

I've finished the back, the left side and started on a sleeve of the cardigan I'm making for my grandchild due next year.And the new stitch is an easy one- Knit into the stitch below. I quite like to be able to pick up a new stitch.

The book is a light read called The Simple Life about a family moving away from the stress of city life to the English countryside, and shares the happenings of the family as they try to adjust to many things such as a smaller house, less income, new schools etc. As I said a light read but enjoyable. I found it in the WWOOFer's  (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) accommodation when I went in to check that the last wwoofer had left it clean.

Family Far, Far Away

Just reading my daughter Meghann's blog and realising how very much I miss her, and her sister Sarah. Meg and Sarah are the two in the middle. My oldest and youngest. They are both attending Uni in Melbourne. Meg is studying publishing and Sarah, social work. As mothers, we nurture our babies, care for their needs, and help them to grow into healthy, well adjusted, confident young people and then we need to let them go. Allow them to spread their wings and fly. And sometimes they fly far!

Winter Harvest

A sample of what went into our CSA boxes today; cabbage
                                                                              eggs
                                                                              turnip
                                                                              leek
                                                                              salad
                                                                              tatsoi
                                                                              oranges
                                                                              kale
                                                                              silverbeet
                                                                              parsley
                                                                              bokchoy
Can you see the salad is in a reusable container? Our customers have 2 containers for salad. I send one out each week and they return it the next week when they pick up their next box. We also have containers for berries, tomatoes, peas, etc and we use paper bags for larger items. In this way I don't need to use plastic bags!

Fast Food

Look what Mark "knocked up" in less than 30mins. Spicy pumpkin soup made from our home grow pumpkin and croutons from yesterdays sour dough. Delicious! That's what I call fast food.
We had been out most of the day at the Aroma Festival in Maitland to campaign for refunds to be put on drink containers to reduce litter and encourage recycling. More can be seen here about the Cash For Containers campaign. If you live in NSW you might like to sign a postcard and send it to Robyn Parker the Minister For the Environment.

Our friends  The Do Riders had a gig at the festival and kindly allowed us to gate crash and we sang The bottle song to the tune of Ten Green Bottles, and passed out postcards and the words to the song. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of signed postcards. People were really keen to see the campaign succeed.

.Mark wearing his Cash For Containers shirt, with Nikki from the band.
We had a great day but came home very tired, hence the fast food!

On My Mind - Summer Baby

Joining in with Rhonda.This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY.  

I am finally allowed to let you in on the secret. This is Rhonwyn, the first of my 3 daughters to fall pregnant. She is 13 weeks and due in February.This will be the 6th grandchild for us. Mark's daughter Beck has 3 children, and his daughter Jenny had darling Danielle( now in heaven) and Rhonwyn's step son Travis.We are all so very happy!

The Children Are our Future

Mark and I are passionate about educating people on how to grow nutritious organic/biodynamic food and to provide a model is one way that we do that. We have seen people of all ages come through our front gate on various sorts of tours. The retirement village brought 2 bus loads of  residents here for a tour. Some were not quite mobile enough to manage our uneven grounds and we thought maybe , for most it was just an outing, so we set up tables under the shade of the trees and served them morning tea more like a garden party than a farm tour. And for one of these lucky groups the Steiner School brought some children out to play the recorder and sing for the elderly folk while they had their coffee and cake.
We've had primary school kids, highschool kids, Kindies and pre schoolers. Some stay for an hour or so and some the day. What we do depends on the age of the child and what they are learning in class at the time. But when it all boils down to it ,it really is about showing them where their food comes from. Last year we had a 3rd class camp for 2 nights and we looked at the bees, hoed and planted potatoes, milked the cow, harvested food and cooked it for their dinner. That school has asked could they bring another class this year. It's hard work but worth the effort because you know that it means so much to them.

We also had a playgroup Play Dates For the Planet who came for the morning and we provided a lovely lunch. I love that we can provide  a place for children and their parents/ teachers to come and see what happens on a real farm.We don't have electronic games, fast rides, water slides, or any marketing paraphernalia. We allow children to be up close to animals, collect eggs, feed chickens, pat dogs, get dirty digging and planting etc.We want to provide a place that allows children to be...well children.Through our involvement with Tricia over at Little Eco Footprints we have come to know about and support Hunter Alliance For Childhood -Reclaiming childhood through Real Food, Real Play ,Real Life. They are hosting an Expo this weekend. Maybe we'll see you there.

Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny for a look at what I'm Knitting and what I'm reading.

The cardigan is from a Sirdar pattern(1707) using a stitch that I haven't used before, K1B Knit into the stitch below. A simple stitch that gives a lovely texture I think. I found the yarn in my stash and find that it's knitting up nicely. And who is it for? Come back Friday and all will be revealed!

The book is Family Friendly Farming by Joel Salatin. I love what he has to say on many things. At one point he talks about children's memories being about special events, birthdays , holidays, etc. But his most precious memories are about ordinary everyday life on the farm, and how rich they are. I like this idea that we do not need to fill our children's lives with outside experiences for them to have fulfilling , joyful lives! I was expecting a book on farming but it is so much more.

Weekend Happenings

Normally our weekends are full with Farm associated work such as Farm Tours, Sustainable Living Workshops,  Permaculture courses or just farm chores. This weekend we found ourselves with a free weekend but it soon filled with friends and family.Saturday morning there were friends over for pony rides and morning tea.

In the afternoon family arrived for hugs.....

and more pony rides.

That evening saw us on a train into the city to a  Bruce Mathiske concert, the tickets kindly given to us by a friend.The train journey was an experience in itself and not a good one I'm afraid. Young teenagers with far too much to drink and girls dressed inappropriately, fighting and swearing, at midnight, travelling back on the Sydney train.
Sunday morning I visited my mum, and then spent the day at a family picnic/ birthday party for my grand nephew's 1st birthday. It was a lovely day spent catching up with my brothers and sisters, in laws, nieces and nephews etc etc.

BiodynamicPlanting - Rhythms and Practices

In our Market Garden we use Brian Keats' Astro Calendar. There is so much information in this publication regarding naked eye astronomy, getting to know the night sky, understanding and living with the celestial cycles and weather forecasting, and of particular importance to me as the propagator , biodynamic planting-rhythms and practices.This part of the calendar is based on the research of Maria Thun who" suggests that the Moon's travel through the Zodiac influences the plant in a four fold way based on the Aristotlean Elements: When the moon is in an Earth sign/constellation the roots of a plant are favourably influenced: in a Water sign, the leaves; in an Air sign, flowery parts and in a Fire sign, fruit and seeds....Out of this work she (Maria Thun) advocates planting root crops (like carrots) whenever the moon is in Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn which are considered by her to be Earth signs.

Following this calendar for us means that all the jobs that are to be done around the farm are based on the calendar which gives rhythm and order to our days.Over the past few days the Moon has been in Leo, a Fire sign and therefore fruiting plants are the most favourably influenced. Coming into spring and summer these fruit days are our busiest. And so the last 21/2 days has been devoted to tomatoes.

I started the tomatoes here in the under heater

Here they have germinated 

This is the first of at least 3 pottings up. I've potted up 240 so far.

Here you can see that the tomato bed has been cultivated and well rotted cow manure is being spread - supervised by Aggie

Mark has weeded and fertilized some fruit trees as he goes as they are included in the fruit days.

Drip irrigation has been replace with stakes to mark the drippers and mulch added and watered in.

The beds will sit for a month or so until the threat of frost is over. In the mean time the manure will break down further and I will continue to pot up the tomatoes and the capsicums and eggplants. Tomorrow is a root day and we will look at setting beetroot, shallots, and leek seeds. Mark will cultivate beds for carrots and radish .