I didn't intend to be this long away from posting. Over 3 months! Stuff has happened though. How to unpack it all without writing a saga? I'll just say what you all might be wondering. We're still here and the whole family is doing well. Health hasn't changed since we last caught up, but there's always room for improvement, right? I don't believe in waiting until you NEED a doctor, before listening to your body.
Someone is finally saying, what I have been thinking all along. Trust Sweden to make rational decisions. Not the political hot-potato, countries try to juggle, so no-one gets burned. We have to face the reality that deaths WILL come of this pandemic, but what is the long-term cost of trying to hold off facing the toll? Dr Bjorn Lomborg, Danish Political Scientist, is starting the discussion, no-one wants to hear - but inevitably, society will have to face.
Happy Easter! And what an apt time to write about the Miracle tree. Or Moringa oleifera. I've been on the hunt for this tree, for a while. As I'd often heard it referred to, as the "Miracle" tree. Why would it be called that? Well, first I had to track one down! It proved to be difficult to find in my area, although many backyard nurseries were selling it on the Sunshine Coast. I eventually found a seed supplier, and was excited when several of them germinated. Unfortunately the two-year drought hit, and all died in my shade-house, except one! The tree you see above.
While writing posts on improving immunity, I wanted to share some valuable advice from other trusted sources. There's an interview with Sally Fallon, who works closely with the Western A Price Foundation. She speaks about the coronavirus and how we can deal with it, through food. It was refreshing to see some common sense used, instead of confusion around the coronavirus. There are some lessons to take from past pandemics.
Just a quick link to a Youtube video, if you're looking for some last-minute, DIY Christmas gifts. I thought these 4 ideas were really practical, doable and used repurposed items, rather than purchasing new. So for those crafters out there, looking for inspiration, I hope this helps. The first idea can be used for any number of small items, which need to be kept together for storage, or transportation. Anyway, I hope you're all getting ready for Christmas. We should be putting up our tree today!
Coming out the winter hibernation period, I've had a wave of ideas to sort through. Because normally this time of year, is our dry Spring. We occasionally get a wet one, but more likely, they're dry. Actually, since 2017 rainy season, it's been dry all round. Every season! Which presents the dilemma, of what to grow? Especially, when there isn't much water to spare.
I came across this video, about Cucamelons, or The Mexican Sour Gerkin, yesterday, after I wrote my blog post. The Google AI, must have pegged my interest in this delightful morsel, and dropped a suggestion in my Youtube feed.
Anyway, this video is made by Roots & Refuge Farm, which is a newer Youtube channel I've subscribed to recently. Not only was I surprised they grew them in the US, but also the fact she pickled them! Refrigerator pickles, no less.
If you've never heard of this cucumber before, or want to learn how Jess makes her refrigerator pickles, enjoy watching the video.
I wanted to share a small Youtube channel I've been following, for a while. They originally came up on my feed, when I searched for permaculture videos. I was excited to note they were based in Australia (WA) so would have similar hot and dry conditions, during summer, as us.
JBFromOZ
I invite you to subscribe to their channel, and share the play list to those you think, would benefit from the information. Enjoy watching a property in WA, develop, according to permaculture principles.
I use to live on an 800 sqm block in suburbia, but when I came to live on our five acres, I had to learn how to garden in a whole different way. Scale and exposure changes everything. But I still find learning about creative gardening in smaller spaces, helpful in my bigger picture landscape
So I wanted to share a video I found recently, from a channel called, "From seed to spoon". It's a small backyard in Oklahoma (US) and they're using the existing infrastructure, to help select sites for growing plants in different seasons.
I thought it was really interesting, as I'm sure a lot of people find it challenging to grow large, in small spaces. There are often too many shadows, where plants won't thrive, or excessive radiant heat, which could bake plants instead of growing them. But if you observe your environment, and change how you're growing things to meet those conditions, success is inevitable.
I hope you enjoy watching this video, and let me know if you're following any of this advice already? Or what have you learned about gardening in your own challenging conditions, to succeed?
I've been working in the yard, and haven't had a chance to write about it. Mostly because I have a dozen, half finished projects on the go. However, in between I've viewed some video's, and would like to share the ones I was most impressed with.
I've not heard of Mark Shepard before, but now I'm glad I have. Because he's the first person I've seen address permaculture on a large scale, to feed civilisation. Joel Salatin does a great job of talking about the responsibility of taking care of the environment we grow our food in, but Mark Shepard talks about the destructive nature of annual crops and seeks to address it through perennial farms.
It's very educational. If you eat food, you should watch this.
If you also want to learn more about some of the details of setting up a perennial farm, there's another video utilising alley cropping, on Mark's, New Forest Farm. It's made by the University of Wisconsin, in their series on agroforestry.
Also, in this agroforestry series, is a video on Silvopasture, which is the running of animals, in the perennial system. The difference between Joel Salin's model and Mark's is, Joel is mimicking the prairie system, while Mark brings the animals into the forest.
Watching these video's has helped me understand how farmers can change the way they grow food. It's also helped me understand, how we can manage our own vegetation better. While I won't be doing it on the scale of a farm, I can scale to size, on our five acres.
Which leads me to the last video I'd like to share. It's made by the University of Guam (not to do with Mark Shepard) and deals specifically with windbreaks, hedgerows and alley cropping.
All this information has helped me see how we can make adjustments in our landscape, with a more permanent vision in mind. I hope you enjoy watching all these videos.
If you only watch one, however, make sure it's the first one. As it's the first time I've seen the way we feed our civilisation via annual crops, as destructive. Not because of all the usual suspects, such as chemicals and fossil fuels (although that is part of it) mainly because annual crops, by "nature", require destruction, in order to eat them.
Annual crops were never meant to be our staple diet. They were only meant to be complimentary to a broader system, that is permanent by nature.
I was looking through some youtube videos recently, for some inspiration. Then I thought, why keep them all to myself? If I found them interesting, you might too.
In relation to our hugelkultur beds, I discovered an interesting take on a hugel/wicking container, being done in Alabama. I just may experiment with this myself.
In relation to simple living in a suburban backdrop, I discovered a renoun couple doing it their way in California. It just goes to show, you don't have to have a large property, to be more self-reliant.
I'm not so much of a fan of their tall palm plantations, down the street though. But I guess its part of the LA character now, so it won't be changed any time soon. I'd much rather see their streets planted with food forests.
It's still a suburban settlement, with a lot of green happening though. I found the comment interesting, that families have been keeping livestock and growing food, throughout time. It's only been since the 2nd world war, we have forgotten. Or we were encouraged to be good consumers, more than being self-reliant.
On that note, here's something from Sepp Holzer which speaks in more direct terms.
There's an interesting mix of thoughts to be had from all three videos. The first two, make the change doable. But Sepp really tells us why its essential, at the end.
