REAL land life - neighbours

We've been fortunate, no matter where we lived, to reside near excellent neighbours. At Gully Grove, over the past decade, has been no exception either. There were the rare few, which - because of their actions, have raised subsequent issues for us to deal with. However, they were willing to make amends and work with us, on solutions. All except one family, but I consider them the rare exception.

I needed that disclaimer, because my desire is to avoid a rant about "bad" neighbours. I haven't really had any. Not truly bad neighbours. This post is about neighbours in relation to your land, however, and how their actions can affect what approach you adopt.

Work continues, on our drystone retaining wall

We were the last to purchase land from the developer. Both our next-door neighbours, purchased their land about a year ahead of us. They seemed to be a decade older, too. We were the young couple with a new family. We all got on well. Neighbours were regarded when they needed help, or when it came to having things like roosters and dogs. We chose to discuss with each other, what we were personally doing, to keep open dialogue and discus any negative impacts.

But then one original owner, sold about a year after we moved in. That particular location, is now on it's second set of new neighbours. The other (original owner) just sold recently. We met the new neighbours, after their 3 enormous great Danes, wondered into our yard, and started to harass our chickens.

Which brings me to what changes have occurred on our land, due to our neighbours.

• How water flows downstream. We love it when neighbours want to hold water back, especially upstream. However, they have to do it right, or risk increasing erosion on their neighbour's land, should their efforts fail. 


• Earthworks. Moving earth requires a degree of knowledge, so as not to cause land slips or funnel water onto neighbouring properties. Consider potential dam sites, should they burst and effect your infrastructure.


• Noise pollution. Music, machinery, motorbikes, fighting cats and barking dogs.


• Reduced wildlife populations. Noise pollution, and increased carnivore load, has impacted the native wildlife, present on our land. The numbers have reduced, in direct proportion with other people's domestic animals increasing. Which means less diversity migrating to our landscape, and leaving beneficial fertility behind.


• Loss of greenery and natural sequences. The more people who move here, the more changes the shared landscape, has to carry. Water pathways are interrupted, and increased infrastructure, creates more water run-off. Running water is an eroding force. So natural sequences are more out of balance - sequences, vital to establishing greenery and providing stability in the landscape.

So, even when your neighbours are decent people, don't be surprised when they impact your landscape. So consider in your property design, vulnerable areas between you and your neighbours. Especially anything that runs upstream, from you. Whether water, or earth displacement, or their wandering animals, consider how you may have to change how you're managing your landscape, to compensate.

 Visiting, male King Parrot

Also, don't be surprised if your neighbours change hands, multiple times. So you're left with a mishmash of ideas, no-one stuck around to see if they worked. It will impact your landscape too. So if moving to the country, means peace and tranquility - be sure to buy more land than five acres. Because larger parcels of land, have fewer neighbours to develop the shared landscape. Be aware however, the larger parcel of land, the more responsibility involved in managing it (for you).

Ironically, we came here for peace, tranquility, native wildlife and distance from over-development. That has changed over the years. We simply have to make the best of the situation, we can. But if you're in a position of setting up (on however many acres) consider your neighbour placement, and how you can design your property for a change of guard(s).

This can be done by:

• Note the sensitive areas between neighbours - upstream and downstream. Avoid infrastructure development, in those areas. Designate those sensitive areas, as "sacrificial" zones. So when change occurs, it won't impact your hard work.


• Correct house placement in relation to all neighbours. Regardless how nice they may be, neighbours can change hands, or have a change of heart, with former agreements


• Access roads, or easements which may be mandated on your land - avoid development in those areas, at the very least. Avoid purchasing land with those existing entitlements, altogether. It's will test relations, if neighbours, or third parties with interests on those roads and easements, decide to take advantage - and it effects your operation.


• Site house and infrastructure, as far away as possible, from property boundaries. So neighbour development cannot encroach on solar access, privacy, or risk damaging structures on your property, should any trees on their side of the fence, fall.


• Even on acreage, site your house where it can be shielded on all sides from: noise pollution, wind and water; all entering from neighbouring properties.

This list is not about avoiding neighbours, its more about sensible planning for permanence, in the face of change that will occur. There is nothing more permanent than your house, and hopefully, your land. So plan with these things in mind. Because you cannot "undo" infrastructure placement, once they start building around you.

REAL land life - water

I'm hoping to develop a new series to write about. The way life is "really" like, on the land. I show a lot of my successes, with a fringe of the failures. This is not an intended deception, rather I needed many years experience, under my belt, to determine what actually constitutes an unmitigated failure.

Unmitigated failure means, they're failures which seem to be set in stone, no matter how I address them. The approach changes, but the repeat of the failure doesn't. The information I share, is therefore applicable to my location and climatic factors. It may not necessarily apply to yours. So don't feel like anything I talk about, MUST be set in stone for anyone else, who owns land. Remember to keep it real, where you are.

First big admission: we don't grow our own food. Second (relating) admission: the land and climate, is not compatible with growing food. BAM! There it is. I've not wanted to believe this was true of our land. I thought if I just kept trying new things (permaculture, hugelkultur, wicking beds, shade cloth, buy another rainwater tank, etc) then the pendulum would eventually swing in our favour.

 Fig tree fruited when rain came in spring, but withered in summer

~we won't be able to eat these

But let's get real: the laws of physics "real". We live in an area that receives no prevailing winds from the coast, so any radiant heat, builds - making evaporation high. Plants get stressed. When we do receive rain (in very high amounts) the humidity arrives, along with the pests. Because it's clay soil too, the heat dries it out quickly, once the sun returns. And it always returns. This cycle happens every summer, and even showed last winter, when we had summer temps in the middle of it.

The opportune moment for growing food, successfully, is getting more unpredictable. Even when we DO manage to get something to crop, it's often attacked by pests, bacteria or simply falls off the plant/tree, because it's struggling with the prevailing conditions.

 What leaves are left on the fig tree, are being devoured by grasshoppers

The unmitigated failure, is the prevailing conditions, not being compatible for growing a reliable food supply. Maybe bush tucker? Maybe kangaroo and brush-turkey meat? But not fruits and vegetables. It would not be suitable for pigs even. Small livestock, such as chickens, only.

I know the missing link, that would make ALL the difference. Access to permanent water. We have 11,000 gallons of tank water, as our ONLY supply to our house. No permanent water stores, such as a creek, dam, or bore (well, for the US readers) otherwise. Which ensures every protracted dry spell, the first thing to suffer to conserve water, is the food we grow.

 Small bowl of chat potatoes, almost killed by water logging

We might get a hand-full of tomatoes, a couple of potatoes, or some silverbeet, before the dry (or even wet) starts killing off everything. But it has not been enough to sustain on. We still purchase 97-100% of our own food. Depending which season it is. We seem to get all our water at once, or no water at all.

If we were pioneers (or even indigenous) we'd have walked away from this land already. It's not yielding the kind of reliable food stores, to keep people alive. Reliable, is the key word. Therefore, it's the industrial network, still feeding our family almost, all the time. We try and source our fruit and veg, from local growers, but even that is unpredictable. With five acres, who wants to admit they're still buying up to 100% of their food, off site? It's not for the want of trying.

I thought the overall problem was my lack of understanding, how things grow. But I have succeeded, every time the prevailing conditions, allow. Very small windows exist, where the natural elements favour the foods we attempt to grow. And we've deliberately selected hardy varieties. For the most part, we lack enough natural rainfall, and prevailing winds to keep temperatures down.

 Even the watered ginger, under shade-cloth, suffered in the heat.

We CAN grow food more reliably here, we just need about $20,000 to dig a bore. That would give our family some greater food security. I'm hoping it might be on the cards one day. Until then, we have to rethink our growing endeavours. Food for another post!

So my advice to anyone seeking land to grow food on, is to ensure you have access to a *permanent* water supply. No matter how pretty that land looks, or how cheap the price tag - you won't get very far, without water. It will become an unmitigated failure, which stops anything from growing on your land too. You might be fortunate enough to live in an area, with favourable conditions. Which is great. But how long before the prevailing conditions change? Still make access to a permanent water supply, a priority, if you intend to grow most of your food. It's intended for a lifetime, remember.

I wish it were different, or another way around it. But that's REAL land life, for you. Make permanent water your priority, and you'll see food from the garden.