Happy Geese Season Means Swales!

It's 'Happy Geese Season' here at Cwm Goch (you probably know it as Autumn) and this past week has given us an abundance of beautiful rain with surprisingly mild temperatures. So despite being rundown with a bug, I managed to get out with younger munchkin and together we quickly built a small swale to catch the significant amount of water which was collecting down the drive.

A swale is basically a ditch which you would dig on contour in order to catch the water and hold it,  instead of allowing it to run off. I won't go into much detail because I've posted about this before. If you aren't familiar with swales there is a lot of good info here: How to build a swale on contour successfully - Permaculturenews.org
Suffice to say, our aim was to help the water gathering in large pools to wash down where we wanted it to go.

To do this, ditches were made going down the hill (making it easier for the water to flow downhill where it naturally wanted to go) and then a swale was dug across the hill on contour to catch that water in a location we wanted it to stay.  See pics.

 This photo was taken from the high point (the large driveway puddles are behind me). You can see we've guided 2 streams in to join at a fork and continue down hill. When it was raining hard, the water was moving through this very swiftly.

The joined ditch moves on another couple of metres (6ft) and parts in front of the netted plum tree you can see in the centre of the photo. We deliberately made the downhill ditches very skinny to reduce absorption and therefore loss. Then we reach a T-junction. The picture to the left shows how some of the water gathers to the right while some of it continues to the left, past this tree.

And that's because we wanted the bulk of the water to make it further down to our 2 citrus trees (a navel orange and mandarin - see right)

I wasn't brave (silly) enough to take the camera out in the pouring rain so I'm afraid you won't get a shot of the swales being full but you can see where it filled to by the darker silt marks.

A lot of water fell this week and it's reassuring to know that instead of running off to nowhere, we've caught it and it's now being stored underground right where our trees need it.
We dug a similar system at the top of our food forest, but the swale is a bigger, deeper pit. It's right at the top corner, so hopefully all the winter catchment will support some good spring growth as none of food forest trees in the top section get watered, ever. They are hardy varieties like pear, nectarine, mulberry, nashi pear, pomegranate and almond, which helps and whilst they had some water in their first 2 years, now they're on their own - with winter rainfall only. The hope is that as they grow their canopy will provide more shade, reducing evaporation and the area should become lush over time.

Will post pics of the big ditch filling up later in the season. Have a great week! Enjoy the rain if you're getting some. :)

Step Forward in Time

It's a wonderful thing, to have friends who remind, inspire and motivate you to rekindle things when they've gone by the wayside.
The Crone (of Wit's End fame) is one of those. She's firing up her blog again and in doing so has reminded me that I enjoyed blogging and have let it go.
And my feelings around that are an indicator of how much growing has happened inside and out over the past 2 years. Where once I would have felt guilt and berated myself for evidence of yet another thing I have failed to do, lacked discipline on etc, now I can smile and expect that my blog will have rests over the duration of its life, just as we all need to let things rest and pick them up again when our fancy and appropriate energy levels allow.
Amazing what a diagnosis or three will do. Family issues will be left alone here, as that is a topic for another blog altogether. Suffice to say, that wonderful changes have happened which are making all our lives easier and happier. This blog however, is not my journey but Cwm Goch's. And though small, the steps towards the Grand Plan are in constant motion.

So here are some things which have changed, grown or been learnt since our last chat.


POND
This is the highlight of our food forest. Home to tadpoles, frogs, various naturally occurring invertebrates and now 4 koi (a gift from my parents for my 40th).
It is the place I come to at the end of a hard day to sit on the tiny pallet deck with a glass of wine and a handful of koi food. Best thing I ever built. And it is little, 1.5 x 2.5m or thereabouts, it just always looks a lot bigger in the photos.
Here's the growth.

Summer 2014                                                                 Autumn 2016

It also has a small waterfall to aerate the water for the koi, but it keeps getting clogged. Haven't worked out a solution to this yet. It has a filter but there's so much slime it clogs within 24hours. Might need to encase the pump in a box that rests on the slime so the base isn't stirred. 

Buddha has also found a more fitting home, under the loquat tree which I hope will one day stretch out over the pond and provide shade on the pathway beneath it. This tree grew from a seed dropped by a bird, which grew into a small plant and which I subsequently transplanted here.

So for anyone wondering, yes, you can grow loquat trees from seed.

Food Forest

Slowly but surely the food forest is starting to feel like a forest.

There are spaces within it which are shaded, and the children have to come and 'find' me when I'm in it because there is no longer a clear view through the place.

 I had given up on under-storey for a while as the plants would die every summer, beaten by our 40+ degree days which fried everything that wasn't heavily shaded.
Things are getting to a point though where with a few strategically located toughies (arrowroot, pigeon pea etc) I'm considering trying this again.











(Bare ground - though well mulched now - ready for under-storey planting in the upcoming spring).

Also a video I watched on forest agronomy showed just how thick they were laying the 'chop and drop'. It was 30-40cm. I tried this on a small section beneath our jaboticaba (which has stayed at the 1.2m mark for 3 years) and it positively thrived during the hottest part of our summer - putting on new growth and growing!

Jaboticaba - 1.4m (Note thick mulch)

I've mulched before, but the difference this time was the thickness and the layering of green and brown - basically in situ compost layering. Not thick enough to get hot like compost (a good thing as this would have harmed the plant, no doubt) but thick enough to hold moisture and thrive with a good deep watering once every week/fortnight. Amazing given our hot summers.

This is the other side of the bare patch. Hoping to fill the space under and around the apple tree at some point. Chop and drop ongoing in this space in the hope that it will break down and create humous.



So that's the food forest, lots of growth and lots more shade, but just as many patches which need work.

Successes

Ice-cream Bean Tree
The ice-cream bean tree has finally produced pods!!!! We are just waiting on them to plump up a little  more before we try them. I've read that the seeds will sprout if placed immediately into soil so that's what will be happening as I'd like a few more of these. They are good shade trees and will grow tall enough to form canopy. Most of my food forest trees are mid-storey (peaches and such) so a few taller specimens will be welcome to form more layers and denser shade.

Pecan Tree

The pecan tree also has 3 nuts on it for the first time ever. When we shifted these bricks from the verandah area I repurposed them for a seat around the tree. It will be lovely to sit in the shade of a huge tree one day (and eat the nuts - yum!)

Panama Gold Passionfruit

Remember the old acacia that snapped and died? I convinced the husband to leave it as a frame for a passionfruit vine. Well, it took a couple of years but this summer/autumn we've had our first crop. They are delicious! And the high growing place means they are safe from foraging children who like to pick things before they're ripe and before I ever get a taste.

Feijoa

Semi-successful.
They've grown a bit and given us a handful of fruit, but to be honest I was expecting more from them by now. 

Maybe exponential growth will see us have more next year.

And that red-tipped plant is the Brazilian Cherry - barely budged in size or status since I planted it. Proof that I'm an optimist and useful for very little else.

Current Projects

French Bio-intensive plot

Inspired by our cousin whom we've shared our bottom paddock with so she can start up a market garden, I've made some 'market garden' style beds closer to the house for our own use.

This came about from my annoyance at buying vegies. It seems stupid given that we have so much space, yet our plantings in the past still only offer side dishes to supplement a meal or two a week at best. Our fruit supply gives us dessert most nights if we choose, but vegies have eluded us.

Hopefully, these beds will change this somewhat.

Seed raising

Past failures had me leave this for a while but the amount of seedlings we need for the bio-intensive beds far exceeds what I'm prepared to pay for so I'm having another go.

What I've learnt is that choosing the strongest seedlings, pricking them out and transplanting them to a second deeper container (which allows the roots to grow longer) means they take less time to grow once transplanted into the ground while taking up less resources and time to care for them in the interim.
Well, that's what the literature says, we'll see if it all works out, but it's looking good so far.

These spinach seedlings have been pricked out and will be moved into the beds in a couple of weeks.

Beside them are youngberries ready for a seed swap or to give to a friend, and my first try at pigeon peas which I'm hoping to grow for shelter and food.

And that's enough for one post. A pretty good catch-up on the whole methinks.

Good to be back, now to head over to Wit's End and see what's happening there...

Food Pond Part 1

We have 2 small ponds which we built over the last couple of years for fish and frogs. This week I got onto our first 'serious' pond which will be an experimental aquaculture pond.

I had dug out the hole a couple of months ago, but we had to wait for the budget to build up to get the liner. It's not cheap, but hopefully will last. Anyway, I thought I'd share what we're doing and how in case it's useful to someone else out there.

THE PLAN: Having read about 'natural pools' which are all the rave in the UK and US I wanted to reproduce something like that for fish. The idea with a natural pool is that if the ratio of plants to exposed surface water area is correct, the pool doesn't need filtration or aeration. Now, this may be different here in Oz as we have far more sun which means more potential algae growth etc, but the idea intrigues me. And I wonder if we may be able to grow some trout - not heaps, just 10 or so in a pond that exists this way. There are many times in the garden where I've broken the 'rules' so to speak, because the books said X wouldn't grow in spot Y. And they did. So I'm giving this a shot - worst case scenario, it doesn't work and I put in a pump.

THE METHOD
 I should add a disclaimer - I'm no expert at pond building. This is just the technique that has worked for us (having built a few I've had a little bit of practice) and as for the actual management of the pond and trout we're planning to put into it...... well that will be an experiment so stay tuned!

Ok so first - I dug a large hole! (Obviously!) Not just a hole though, a kidney sort of shape with a deep well in one end, and a 'shelf' that runs along the edge along a lot of the pond.
This provides different depths throughout the pond, and the ledge is where the plants will sit.

I cleared the bottom of the vegetation that had grown there over the last month or so. Apparently when it rots it can produce gases which will cause bubbles and your lining to rise down the track. If you dig your pond and line it straight away though, you won't have to worry about this step.

Next, I lined the bottom of the hole with newspaper and old bits of carpet. This is to prevent any sharp stones or sticks on the bottom making a hole in the lining. I feel pretty confident walking in the pond if I have to now, as the bottom is padded.

Then the liner goes in. I used a 0.7mm EPDM liner. This stuff is TOUGH! We have it in the other ponds and it has withstood a kelpie, a dobermann and geese with their claws. It's very rubbery and stretches. I wouldn't recommend using plain black plastic in Oz. The sun will break it down too quickly, and holes happen too easily. You don't want to be draining your pond to patch it if you can help it.

Fill the pond slowly. The ledge, I filled with fine gravel to anchor plants like water cress etc. Some gravel will be put in the bottom to do the same for bigger plants. NO soil goes in the water. This means the plants will clean the water because they will have to obtain ALL their nutrients from it alone.

Keep filling, levelling as you go if you're like me and didn't use a spirit level. There are some good diagrams which show cross sections of a pond if you look up 'frog pond' in Google images.

Just a tip: When you place your rocks around the pond, either choose large ones whose weight will ensure they don't shift, or make a small depression under the rear half of them so they don't go sliding into the pond when kids, dogs or anything else steps or leans on them. They need to be solid and well locked in. It's worth taking the time to do this bit right, for safety and also to stop rocks falling in and potentially damaging your lining.

Once the water reaches the bottom of the rocks, I fold up the lining behind them to make a higher lip, and fill some more so the rocks are partly submerged. I learnt from the other ponds that if you don't do this, then a bit of evaporation will have your rocks sitting proud of the water and your liner showing. Better to have them deeper to begin with so the pond always looks nice!

Heap dirt up behind the liner fold to hold the lip in place, then cover with rocks, dirt etc. Landscape the edge as desired.

I have made an entrance point to the pond which is shallower, and the double ledge acts as shallow stairs. This is for me to get in if I have to, as well as being helpful to the ducks and frogs.

There is also a runoff point on one side of the pond, which will drain excess water in the case of a downpour and direct it to the garden below.

Part 2 in a few days when the rest is done!

Swale in Action!

I was at work today while it poured, but Hubby thought of me and send me pics of the swale!

 

It's deeper at one end, which I actually don't feel is a real problem but I might try to even it out a little more.

 You don't appreciate the amount of water that runs off until you catch it. Seriously stoked about this!

A few weeks time and this place should start looking quite different.

Sweet Potato Harvest

What joy! Dug a hole today for a Pitaya and discovered a decent sized tuber. So we thought we'd dig up the small patch of sweet potatoes. What a haul!
These have got to be my new favourite veg. Looking forward to dinner tomorrow night!

Swale and 2nd Food Forest

Now that things are in swing in Zones 0-2, it's time to start taking steps in Zone 3. The plan - to have a self-sustaining food forest which doesn't rely on watering - so hardy species down here as opposed to the higher maintennance ones near the house.

The bottom paddock, as we've always called it, has sat barren for the last 15 years. We've let our neighbours sheep through it once or twice to get the vegetation down so the paddock can act as a firebreak, and we've ploughed it once to turn over the weeds but other than that it's just been a plain old paddock.

On May 25th our neighbour came over to rip some tree roots out with his backhoe. While he was here I snaffled him down to the paddock and ..voila! 5 minutes later a swale was brought into existence. It was so quick and easy with the machinery. It would have taken me weeks to dig it by hand. The swale isn't very long - about 8m. It should affect 1/3 of the paddock - which is intentional. Small nucleus to start, work outwards from there in years to come.

So, following the suggestions in Geoff Lawtons's '7 Food forests in 7 minutes' clip, I planted 3 pecans below the swale. Wide enough that their canopies should just touch when full grown. Next I sowed a winter cover crop, 1 metre up from the swale, along the mound and for about 5 metres below the swale. this should stop erosion from the mound and start providing some good ground cover. I also planted a few sweet potato cuttings.

Last night, 31st May, we had a lovely storm come over and I was dying to go down and see the swale in action, but there was so much lightning it wasn't a good time. This is the swale at 7am this morning however....

 The sand  in the bottom left hand corner is the run off from the new path the water created to to swale. Now that there is a ridge, there shouldn't be this much erosion in future rains.

 The swale is a little lower at one side - which I need to remedy however, this photo shows how deep the water seems to have been at one point (40cm). The black is silty mud which would have settled at it drained.

And here are the grains from the winter cover crop, swelling nicely in this moisture. The grains are a mix of vetch, lupins and a few others I'm not sure of.

And now we wait, for some growth, and if we're lucky, some more rain!

Bio-Char Experiment

I've been reading a lot about Terra Pretta and I have to say it's fascinating. I remember as a kid 'playing' at gardens and 'fertilising' our little crops with ash because that's what we had. I remember the peas doing pretty well.
In any case, I'm giving this a go again. Spent the morning collecting the bounties left from our Spring Equinox bonfire - plenty of ash, bits of clay, and lots of charcoal. Have mushed it up and mixed it with Green Life Soil company's veggie mix (manure, compost, minerals etc), then dug it in with a trowel in pockets through the beds. If it's all it's cracked up to be, the fertility of our soil should show marked improvement over the next few years. Which would be nice, as despite the amendments we made last season, a hot, dry season has seen it all disappear. Looking forward to seeing this through. :)

Support Species in a Food Forest

It has taken me a while to get my head around the concept of support species and how they work. All the diagrams in every Permie text I've read show cross-sections of a hypothetical Food Forest and I've always thought - "how do the larger support species not compete heavily for nutrients in the early phases when they are outgrowing the productive species (heightwise)?

I stumbled upon this video recently and suddenly it all clicked! I have now gone mad planting Tagasaste babies everywhere around my young fruit trees and filling out my forest.

Huzzah for Geoff Lawton!

Permaculture principles & Notes to myself

This blog was intended as a log of our progress on the permaculture journey. The last couple of months has seen some more changes, and the principles of Permaculture have helped to create some synergy and maximise their impact.

WOOD SHED: The small garden shed near the house has now been deemed 'The Wood Shed'.
Reasons:
1. It make sense to have the shortest distance possible to travel when you're ducking out to get some wood in the cold and wet of winter.
2. There is space immediately in front of it to chop rounds into smaller pieces.
3. The shed heats up quickly even in weak sunlight - drying out the wood inside. (Am considering building a greenhouse on the north side to further maximise this attribute)

KIWI VINE: Instead of building a free standing trellis for this new plant, I've planted them at the corners of the washing line. The plan is to train it up, past the lines, to the top part of the frame where the metal is thicker. The washing line is a great shape for a trellis, will be strong enough to support the vine, and the vine itself will provide shade to the clothes underneath in the hot summer months.

GRAPEVINE: We've had an ongoing problem with debris flying into the carport from the chook pen (and feathers from moulting geese too). The area gets messy, and then traipsed through the house. Needing to blow vac it every week to manage it. In addition the place looks so bare and dry in summer - I really want a green fence/border to cool the area down.
Solution: Grow 2 grapevines along the fence (it's north facing and high enough). These will prevent a lot of the debris flying in for much of the year. The beds they are planted in (about 60cm wide) can hold low crops simultaneously and other crops in winter (climbing beans. snow peas etc) so it will always look good, be productive and serve it's purpose!

All of these solutions have multiple uses - brilliant!

The Permaculture thing is really happening!

A while back I read a wonderful Permaculture book, (can't remember title - have lent it to my cousin) in which, in the opening chapter the author describes her meander from her car to the front door with all the glorious sights and sounds of her permaculture propery and the handful of snacks she grabs all within the 10 metre walk. Ah....bliss!

And reading this I thought 'THAT is the sort of place I want to live in' and I imagined in 20 years or so I might feasibly be doing the same. Well, looking around I'm realising 20 years was unrealisitc. our property is really starting to come along now. And things are happening in a 'permacultural' kind of way, where the progress is exponential because the systems are starting to integrate and weave their magic.

Today I planted another handful of plants, and though these will take a couple of years before they produce, in the interim we have some others which should give us a bit of produce this year. It's so exciting!

Today I bought/planted: A dwarf coffee bush (only grows to 2 metres so perfect as a mid-layer), 2 raspberries, a flame seedless grape, a green variety seedless grape, kiwi vines (pollinating pair), an icecream bean plant, another blueberry, a rose geranium, some fennel, land cress and propagated more pepino. In 3 years - YUMMO!


My compost and worm farms are happening so these plants went into the soil which was properly prepared (that's a big change from a couple of years ago!) from biomass from our own property! Everything got watered with worm tea too.

The food forest (though very young) is growing splendidly and we have no pest problems. The balance is right!

Won't be long before I can take that snack walk from my car to the door! - Reckon I'll be taking the LONG way round!