Over the years Mr. Snyman has noticed a decrease in the number of farmers countrywide due to ever increasing input costs. He mentioned that one of a farmer’s major expenses is the purchase of fertilizers and pesticides (many farmers of his time were brought up and taught at university to farm with these products). His son, Peter, B.Sc Agric (Hons.) farming in Zambia, also noticed that after a number of years of the soil been treated with fertilizers, it had become infertile, infested with eelworm and nothing would grow at all.

They began to wonder if there was another way – a way which would require a new way of looking at farming in a new light. They realized that they would need to replace the biological component in the soil.

This eventually led Nico to (the now late) Dr Pieter Cloete, a D.Sc. (Agric) Biochemistry and eventually a medical doctor who discovered that when he took a soil sample from a totally undisturbed forest or wildlife area and was able to reproduce the organisms and introduce them into infertile, poor or damaged soils, that he started experiencing astonishing results.

Dr Pieter Cloete also discovered that plants feed anaerobically from deep soils. He proved that by applying organic material and his anaerobic organisms, he could regenerate orchards of peaches, citrus, mangoes, apples, paw-paws and bananas miraculously.

Soils which were polluted and depleted, suddenly had new life within them. Nico tested the organisms on various crops (mealies, vegetables) and noticed a marked difference and improvement in soil quality, plant growth and yield. eg. his mealies had grown to over 3 metres tall and he was also getting a double increase in his yield with the additional deep feeding.

Mealies towering over Nico and Janie

Nico explained that if the soil is healthy and balanced with the necessary soil organisms, the surrounding environment is in equilibrium too – ie. pest populations are non-existent or are limited in numbers and plants and trees are healthy and acquiring the necessary nutrients from the soil. “As above – so below” now took on the perfect meaning.

Janie got up to go to the fridge and sat down again at the table with the bottled organism mixture from the bio-bank (which smells of molasses). I was a bit taken aback at what she did next. She poured herself a cup and drank it. Janie explained that it was even beneficial for humans and animals too; that it was a pro-biotic.

After this meeting and back at home again, I stayed in contact with Janie. She emailed this to me a few days later:

The GROW AGRA bio-organisms and trials can restore depleted and eelworm infested lands within 2 years without chemicals. We think that Dr Pieter Cloete, posthumously, deserves the Nobel Prize in Agriculture and that his findings of anaerobic feeding of plants and trees and the establishment of such a bio-bank is in the same category like the findings of Albert Einstein. I am forwarding the pictures of our old peach tree which had on top of its old age, Hyvar X contamination, which affected a huge Karee tree behind it on the right in the lapa to such an extent that it died completely. The picture (2nd below the text, on right hand side) shows on the far left the Grow Agra compost heap on which the peach tree, (in the picture covered in green leaves and immature peaches) fed without our help. Isn’t it great!

Janie told me that after 50 years of the old peach tree presumed dead/dying it had started growing leaves again and then had all of a sudden started producing fruit. She put it down to the tree’s roots been able to reach and feed off the compost heap (which had these soil organisms within it).

The old peach tree

I’ve also included 3 articles written by Nico, below. They are in Afrikaans but the English versions will be included once they are all translated.

ORGANIC? BIOLOGICAL? NATURAL FARMING?

By NT Snyman B.Sc. Agric (Agron.)

• ARTICLE 1
  Download this article here…
  
• ARTICLE 2
  Download this article here…
• ARTICLE 3
  Download this article here…

Background: Nico Snyman

Nico is a scientist and researcher at heart, apart from being a farmer. He started off on an engineering degree but switched over to (( B. Sc. Agric. (Agron.) Pret)). He was also a Tractor Dealer and during that time introduced the Stubble Mulch and Minimum Tillage idea in the Bothaville / Viljoenskroon area years ago (1970) for the wind blown and dusty fields. He was also Head of Extension services & Head of Research and Development for many years in the tobacco industry.

After retirement he built a few revolutionary machines like a High Crop Tractor, Sugarcane Harvester, and low profile Stope Drill Rig for the mines. He is currently working on a proto-machine for commercial farmers to introduce the GROW AGRA straight into the soil together with organic material in one shot. There is however a lack of capital for further research and development until a grant can be obtained somewhere. In the meantime he carries on with the vegetable and maize trials (for the 5th year) and does cross breeding of maize and sugar maize for a more tasty and edible green mealie.

Qualifications: Dr P.W. Cloete

M.Sc org chem., D.Sc.(Agric. Biochem.), MB.ChB., ACAM (dipl. Cand.)

Nico & Texas Grano onions. It was the 5th consecutive trial where the soil is now fertile enough that it does not need GROW AGRA for the time being, only raw material for food for the organisms. The image on the right: a single onion was placed on a side plate with 18cm diameter. These onions are too big for the market, but sweet and tasty. We donated 10 to the church fair where it fetched R4-00 each.

I’ll keep you all updated but there is sure to be a follow on post very soon. As I was putting this article together, an update came through my RSS newsreader from the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia; and yes, you guessed right, it was all about soils so I’ve decided to include it as well.

Bio-Agriculture – a Solution to Climate Change

by Craig Mackintosh

If I were to compare industrial, monocrop agriculture with permaculture or organic biological agricultural methodologies, and then boil my observations down to their base differences, I would describe them thus:

* Industrial agriculture focusses on feeding the plant
* Permaculture and organic biological agriculture focus on feeding the soil

For the industrialists, if they have a big green flush of foliage, in their mind they’ve succeeded. Whether the plant is healthy, or tasty, or whether the soil is being depleted, eroded, polluted and salinated in the process of growing it, is of secondary importance. The industrial system is about standardisation, transportability, externalised costs and instant gratification — or instant profits. Such plants normally have nutrient imbalances, and trace mineral dificiencies, that make them prone to pest and disease attack and make them less healthy for animals and humans. In addition, industrial agriculture turns our vast agricultural lands into carbon sources. Nitrogen fertiliser inputs systematically ‘burn up’ carbon rich humus, sending it into the atmosphere to act as a greenhouse gas rather than the foundation of soil fertility it was meant to be. Indeed, this form of farming should not be called agriculture at all, as ‘culture’ means to refine or foster, to bring about an improved state. Industrial agriculture does quite the opposite.

Read more here…

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Outeniqua Trout Farm (Near Knysna, Western Cape)

Contact Andrew or Hazel at info@permaculturesouthafrica.com to find out more.

Outeniqua Trout Lodge
E-mail:  info@permaculturesouthafrica.co.za
http://www.outeniquatrout.co.za/ and
http://www.permaculturesouthafrica.com
Tel: +27+44-752-3034
Fax: 086 652 5515
GPS Co-ordinates: S33°49′16.2″; E23°10′55.6″

SEED (Cape Town)

Tel/Fax: +27(0) 21 391 5316
http://www.seed.org.za/

Cape Flats Office

Rocklands Primary, Cnr Park Ave & Capricorn Way, Rocklands, Mitchells Plein, Cape Town
E-Mail Address: admin@seed.org.za
Or
SEED Coordinator: Leigh Brown
Tel: O82 335 4110
Email: leigh@seed.org.za

Berg-En-Dal (Klein Karoo)

http://berg-en-dal.co.za/
Contact Marliese at (028) 55 11 678 (please leave a message if no-one answers).
Marliese: 082 413 4907 (sms only, limited signal).
Email: mrlsmaritz@gmail.com

Tlholego Eco-village and Learning Centre (Rustenburg)

Check our website for regular courses in permaculture design, rainwater harvesting earthworks, compost toilet construction and natural building.
www.tlholego.org.za or visit us on Facebook

Contact Stephne at: stephne@tlholego.org.za or stephnefain@gmail.com
Telephone: +27-72-118 7357

ONLINE PERMACULTURE COURSES

ACS Distance Education

http://www.acseduonline.com/search.aspx

Permaculture Visions

http://www.permaculturevisions.com/Pm-desc.htm

OTHER RELATED COURSES

Insynch – Sustainable technologies

http://www.insynch.co.za/

Florian Kroll at Biosynergetics

http://www.biosynergetics.co.za/

John Nzira

Ukuvuna Urban Farming (permaculture courses also offered in the Johannesburg zoo)
http://urbanfarming.yolasite.com/permaculture.php

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

Afristar Foundation

To educate, train and engage the people of Southern Africa in the development of sustainable models for ecological human settlement and local economic development that facilitate the ethics of care of people and care of the earth. To promote and demonstrate sustainable solutions to everyday problems that can be implemented by anyone. To catalyze a transformation from a world of scarcity, poverty and conflict to one of abundance, prosperity and peace.

Contact: Nicholas Heinamann
Tel: +27 (0) 11 706 5614
Fax: +27 (0) 86 605 3333
E-mail: nic@afristar.org.za
PO Box 68562, Bryanston, 2021
www.afristar.org.za

FTFA, Carbon Standard & Global Carbon Exchange
(Food and Trees for Africa)

T:  +27 11 7846399
E: progreen@telkomsa.net
http://www.trees.co.za/

Food gardens foundation

http://www.foodgardensfoundation.org.za

Contact Barry on:
ph: 27(0)11 880-5956
cell: 27(0)72 659 5765

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sepp Holzer has a remarkable permaculture system – he has also been able to grow tropical plants on his farm which is situated high up in the mountains in Austria. All that he learned, was through simple observation of nature; this was way before the term, permaculture, was even coined.

He inherited a farm that was known to be ‘unproductive’ (the soil was ‘bad’ and it was situated on very steep slopes) but over time he transformed this area into a productive, self sustaining system.

A short article from a visitor to the farm.

Sepp Holzer’s website:
http://www.krameterhof.at

Geoff Lawton takes us through a 300 year old food forest in Vietnam which has been in the family for 28 generations. Even he is a bit awed by the whole experience as he’s never seen anything like it.

Geoff Lawton’s website:
http://permaculture.org.au

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

His no-nonsense, direct approach to the topic, I think, is great. It’s all practical, down to earth knowledge that anyone can implement in their backyard garden (young or old). He includes, at the end of each chapter, a ‘further reading, reference, resource’ list and the appendix includes a ‘useful permaculture plants’ section to help you get started.
I’ve since bought, Permaculture: A designer’s manual, but have found that the intro book is sufficient to make good progress.

What’s inside:

1.)    Permaculture principles
2.)    Broadscale site design
3.)    Pattern understanding
4.)    Structures
5.)    The home garden
6.)    Orchards, farm forestry and grain crops
7.)    Animal forage systems and aquaculture
8.)    Urban and community strategies

To give you more of an idea of what Introduction to Permaculture is all about, I’ve taken a few points out of each chapter and provided a short explanation.

1.)    Permaculture principles

“A philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating elements as a single-product system.”

• Elements serve many functions
  eg. When placing a plant, structure or animal, it should serve as many functions as possible. If you happen to have chickens: they would provide manure for the pond (which in turn would provide nutrients for the aquatic animal and plant life) and when let into the orchard, would provide a good pest control and weeding service (in return the orchard provides a food source; insect, fruit, nut).
• Good energy planning
  Planning your zone areas for energy efficiency eg.
  Zone 1: water tanks, herb garden, glass house
  Zone 2: small fruit orchard, poultry sheds
  Zone 3: main crop area eg. potatoes, larger veg.
  Zone 4:  rivers, pastures
• Using biological resources to do the work and for energy efficiency
  eg. Ducks for weed control instead of lawnmowers, green manures eg. Comfrey instead of nitrogen fertilizer
• Small scale intensive systems
  eg. Creating food guilds, also known as food forests. Placing your plants so that all benefit as a whole, placing according to their size, whether they are climbers or shade plants; for instance an acacia tree provides shade and nitrogen, comfrey would be an under canopy shrub for weed control and mulch, nasturtiums for groundcover and beans which climb larger shrubs or trees.
• Edge effects
  “By noting how edges trap materials in nature, we can design to take advantage of the natural drift of materials or energies in our system.”
  eg. Creating a dam with a few islands in and around water: the point where an edge of an island and the water meet would have an edge of reeds which provides feeding for fish from the water side and shelter for ducks from the land side. Other edge examples would be: land/water, crop/orchard, estuary/sea.

2.)    Broadscale site design

“By observing the landscape we draw inspiration from the survival strategies followed by natural systems, and imitate them using species of more direct use to us.”

• Observation
  Understanding sun, wind, fire and flood paths/directions in order to place structures and vegetation. eg. At fence lines, where birds have perched, droppings on the ground below provide nutrients for plants to start growing.
• Climate and microclimate
  Paying attention to topography, winds, water masses, structures, soils and vegetation.
• Soil management
  eg. Improving soils by adding organics, changing the pH etc.
• Water
  Storing and distributing by way of swales, dams and tanks.

3.)    Pattern understanding

“In a natural landscape, each element is part of the greater whole, a sophisticated and intricate web of connections and energy flows.”

If we can spend more time observing nature, we’ll see patterns everywhere (a spiral in a seashell, the rings of a tree, the gentle flowing curves of a sand dune) – I guess you could call nature one great geometric pattern with a variety of smaller patterns making up the whole. My favourite chapter as I’ve developed an interest in sacred geometry over the last few years.

• Pattern in nature
  A tree is used to demonstrate the system into which all basic patterns in nature fit.
• Pattern in design
  Understanding how we can apply pattern in the way we design in order that it flows and works efficiently. eg. in very dry areas, villages along a river system, would be placed or found in a zone where there is good water run-off for storage and sediments for growing food.

4.)    Structures

“Although permaculture may seem to be labour-intensive to start with, it is not a return to peasant systems of annual crops, endless drudgery, and total dependence on human labour. Rather it focuses on designing the farm (or garden, or town) to best advantage.”

• House design
  Looking at the temperate, tropical, drylands and plant house. A few examples:
  - This idea, which I’d love to create: a bathroom greenhouse. Picture having a shower while surrounded by a small jungle. A pebble bed keeps plants moist and it can all be attached to an existing bathroom.
  - Dried and partly compacted sea grass is a low fire risk insulation for walls and roofs.
  - A trellis on all walls in hot climates provides a cool air source.
• Using waste resources from the house
• Technological strategies
  eg. Insulated box cooker, low pressure sodium lamps for long lasting energy conserving lights. Refrigeration/food drying: solar food dryer. Water conservation: low water shower nozzles.

5.)    The home garden

“The American lawn uses more resources than any other agricultural industry in the world. It uses more phosphates than India, and puts on more poisons than any other form of agriculture. If we put the same amount of manpower, fuel and energy into reforestation we could reforest the entire continent. A house with two cars, a dog, and a lawn uses more resources and energy than a village of 2000 Africans.”

• Layout
  Placing of food areas that are visited often eg. Your herb garden/herb spiral can be found outside your back door, whereas your potato and bean beds would be a bit further from the house. A few designs shown: keyhole beds, creating a living windbreak barrier hedge, trellis varieties, creating your own tyre pond.
• Instant garden
  No digging or weeding to get going, it’s a matter of sheet mulching.
• Apartment/flat/city gardening
  Even if space is limited and you don’t have a garden; you can still grow your own food by way of containers.
• Designs for cold area, tropical and dryland gardens

6.)    Orchards, farm forestry and grain crops

“In any forest we should leave a section that is not managed. We are able to contemplate nature here, and to learn about ourselves in the natural world. Those of you who have been alone in a forest for a long time – more than five weeks – know that you can totally lose your identity as a human being. You can’t distinguish yourself from the trees, from the animals, or from any other living thing there. You become simply a part of all life.”

• Orchard design
  Placing elements to complement one another. eg. Intercropping: citrus trees under taller trees as they can withstand shade while the under storey can be used to grow green manure crops. Attracting animal life into the orchard by placing small ponds here and there (this will attract frogs which will control insect and pest populations).
• Structural forests
  Timber crop, firewood, hedgerow barriers.
• Grain and legume crop systems
  No dig, broadcasting the next crop seed into the maturing crop.
• On farm fuels
  eg. Fuel as methane, and trees that are sugar producing (these convert to alcohol to produce liquid fuels).
• Commercial systems
  eg. Selling unusual seeds, providing craft supplies.

7.)    Animal forage systems and aquaculture

“The problem is the solution: we are the problem, we are the solution. Turn constraints into resources. Mistakes are tools for learning.”

• Placing animals
  Observing their characteristics, needs and products in order to incorporate into your design eg. rabbits, pigeons, ducks, bees
• Aquaculture and wetlands
  Design of ponds for home and commercial use. eg. In Asia, pig and chicken houses are built in such a way over the pond, that manure falls through the slatted floors into the water, providing fertilization.

8.)    Urban and community strategies

“People who force nature force themselves. When we grow only wheat, we become dough. If we seek only money, we become brass; and if we stay in the childhood of team sports, we become a stuffed leather ball.”

• Growing food in the city, planned village/townhouse homes, community recycling, community land access, ethical investment

How I’ve benefitted by learning more about permaculture:

• I’ve overcome my garden/food gardening/plant reluctance as I felt overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to
• Growing your own food doesn’t have to be a time consuming and expensive exercise: it’s not necessary to have to buy so much stuff, you realize that you don’t actually need it (if you’re correctly mulching/feeding/companion planting etc. then you’re doing well already). Your plants will be healthy both from a feeding and pest prevention point of view.
• Built my own herb spiral: planted herbs from seed and from seedlings.
• Planted my own vegetable beds from seed.
• Become more aware of nature, appreciating that every living part is needed (one part isn’t seen as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than another): slowing down and enjoying the outdoors, observing life at grass level (you’ll be surprised how ‘alive’ grass is, all those ants moving about), really ‘seeing’ the beauty in a flower or leaf, truly appreciating the smell of a lemon blossom…learning to just be.

“To become a complete person, we must travel many paths, and to truly own anything we must first of all give it away. This is not a riddle. Only those who share their multiple and varied skills, true friendships, and a sense of community and knowledge of the earth know they are safe wherever they go.
There is no other path for us than that of cooperative productivity and community responsibility. Take that path, and it will change your life in ways you cannot yet imagine.”

You can get Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison from Amazon (I ordered mine through my local online bookstore, here in South Africa) or directly from Tagari Publications.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I bought my lemon and lime trees from the local nursery and planted my lemon tree in a bed near the pool while the lime tree went into the very first bed that I’d made when I started out. Both areas in full sun with good drainage.

Lemon and lime afflictions: leaves yellowing and dropping off (usually an iron deficiency)

I planted lavender, gazanias and rosemary as companion plants for my lemon tree. They all like a Mediterranean climate so it’s not too serious if I’m not watering them regularly.

As time went along, I started seeing the regular ailments and pest afflictions that occur to lemon and lime trees. Firstly, the leaves yellowing and falling off as well as a few hungry munchers (the ‘pillars) and those small flat buggy things that like the underside of the leaf and cause leaf shrivel and leaf pox.

About 90% of my lime tree’s leaves fell off before I decided that I needed to add more iron and Epsom salts to really have an effect. Both my trees now are looking good and we’ve had some good G & T’s compliments of our little lemon tree (so many and quite large, I was impressed). My lime tree though has struggled a bit (we had 2 limes when I bought it, and then no fruit at all thereafter when the leaves started falling off) but now that it’s looking healthy again I’m hoping that we’ll get some fruit soon.

Lemon and lime trees looking healthier

What has worked for me so far (care for lemon and lime trees, every 2 months or so):

1. Epsom salts, 1 cup per bucket of water
2. Multiflora, 1 spoon per bucket of water
3. Iron filings (you can buy these in a plastic bottle from your nursery); sprinkle out as much as it takes to cover the base area near the stem of your tree, dig in and then water.

If your trees are looking and feeling healthy, there’ll be fewer pests about (pay attention to the companion plants and feed if things are looking out of balance in the colour and state of your trees).

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Seedballs: the final result

Both of these concepts: guerilla gardening and seedballing, drew an instant fascination for me (even though I felt the guerilla gardening concept had quite a goody-nerd feel to all of it).

Guerrilla gardening: the idea that empty, plantless or shabby areas (whether in the city, towns wherever) get a makeover but usually done secretly as most of these places are private property. Most of the time, a group will get together at night, nip into an area, pull out their spades and pop in the plants or flowers they’ve brought along.

Seedballs are a combination of compost, clay and mixed seed rolled up into a marble sized ball. Because the seeds are protected within the ball, birds and other creatures aren’t so likely to get to them. They can be scattered out onto the ground surface and will germinate usually after the first good rains arrive.

The beauty of these little things is, that it’s just a matter of throwing them about and letting nature do the rest; no digging and no worrying about watering (they can sit about for ages until rain arrives, and when it does, they’ll start growing soon thereafter).

Though, if you are planning on doing something like this, pay attention to what you’re throwing around as I’m sure it wouldn’t be appreciated if the lucerne seed you threw out eventually carpets the lovely local park’s flora. Make sure it’s indigenous and will be beneficial to plants in the vicinity.

And I’ve just found a link to our own gardeners out there, although it dates back to last year:
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/wordpressblog/?p=145

How to make your own seedballs

Ingredients
•    1 part compost
•    1 part terracotta clay (check out the clay suppliers in your area)
•    Mixed seeds (try a veg, herb and flower combination)

Method:
•    Mix compost, seed and clay together
•    You can also add a bit of peppermint or chilli pepper to deter any pesky bugs that might get at the seedballs
•    Add water and mix, making sure it all binds together nicely
•    Roll into marble sized balls
•    Put out to dry for a day or two
•    You’re ready, start throwing out some colour

2 Nov 09

After I’d written this post, my dad offered his comment (thanks dad), thought I’d add it in here:

I used the same technique while commercial farming to sow lucerne seed. We used to lay the seed out on a flat surface, add the nitrogen producing bacteria (which can be purchased from the local seed store or farmers co-op in small packets) sprinkle with water and then mix well . Lay out (not in direct sunlight) in well aired shade to dry.

The seed must be sown as soon as possible and rolled into the surface soil. The nitrogen fixing bacteria aid the lucerne off to a flying start to producing its own source of nitrogen which is why lucerne is such a great fodder plant. You do not have to fertilize it with nitrogen at all.

In the case of lucerne we did not use the compost/clay balling method as we had large acreages to sow using commercial sowing machines designed for fine seed. After sowing it is essential though to roll the soil surface. In the case of gardens a raking and watering will do the trick.

Lucerne is a deep rooted plant that prefers sandy loam soils and does definitely not like clay or heavy soils. It will get rootrot in wet soils. I have seen lucerne roots penetrate down to over 4 mts underground!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ever wondered where to find free rocks; especially here in Joburg? I was dying to build a herb spiral and needed to do it on the cheap. And guess who came along? Grudgingly though because I was cutting into his gaming time.

I’d been going on and on for a few days about needing rocks and eventually B agreed as he couldn’t bear the thought of me been out there all alone rock gathering and wondering if there were any weirdos hanging about – he’s so caring.

Rock hunting can also be quite tiring on the ear; you’d never say, but geez was I getting words after an hour of driving around without any success.

But then finally… we hit rock heaven in the form of a reject rock quarry/dumping ground. At about the same time the wind decided to hit and stir a few things up the wrong way – the sand and B’s patience. Though, in the end all turned out well. My homeless reject rocks found a happy home and I had my long awaited herb spiral.

Spots to find free rocks:

• the quarry grounds out near Fourways, going towards Lanseria
• any illegal dumping spots (shouldn’t have a problem finding those).

Where I didn’t go rocking around:

• the veld or where things still looked natural ie. Where nature is still nature which is obvious but had to mention, just in case…
• the big house which had zillions of rocks outside their front wall (tempting when you’re fed up and driving around with no success).

Now onto the best part because I know you want to know how I built it so I’ve laid it out step for step and also the stuff that you’ll need if you ever decide you’d like to try it as well.

Building a no-dig herb spiral (1m diameter x ½ m in height)

Things you need:

• More rocks than you think you’ll need (whatever fits into an Opel Corsa, seats down, x 2 loads)
• Newspaper/cardboard
• Small stones/gravel to cover the bottom of the spiral base
• 3 – 4 bags compost
• 2 – 3 bags manure
• 2 bags wood chips
• Herb seeds / seedlings

How I built it:

• Started by marking out the border, 1 metre diameter
• No need to dig out anything, I just sprinkled some bonemeal over the surface and laid down cardboard and newspaper over the top (this is to suppress the weeds and grass). Make sure you don’t have any spaces, that grass can be a pest when it comes through.
• For the wall: biggest rocks to the bottom, layering them on top of each other to fit well (was having to do a bit of undoing and redoing now and again to make sure it was all snug)
• What I was aiming to do was create a rock slope border from the bottom rising a half metre uphill ending in the middle of the spiral.
• As I reached a quarter of the way I got ready to feed my spiral with the stones, compost, soil and manure
• I covered the base well with all stones
• Chucked on the compost (at least 20 cm depth), then manure, then more compost
• Spiral looking good and stable and then…
• B popped in with ‘advice’ and suggested I add some decor which was this kitschy 3-tiered fibre glass bird bath that was hiding at the bottom of the garden. Don’t know how I was conned into putting that in.
• Best part, seed time. I put in rocket (probably wasn’t the best idea, they really take off too quickly, never mind size), Italian leaf parsley, sage, purple leaf basil and a few others.
• Google ‘companion planting’ to make sure that your plant is beneficial to its friend next door. Also, herbs that like drier soil to the top, wetter conditions to the bottom. Eg. Rosemary to the top, parsley at the bottom.
• Lastly, I topped it with bark chip (keeps all the moisture in and just to make it look pretty as well).

Cost to make: approx. R150 – R200

Cheaper if you have a cow or horse wandering about and also if you put in seeds which I did. I got my seeds from Mahlathini Organics (Durban area) and also Food Gardens Foundation (in Parkhurst). But I later found out those Mayfair seed packets you get in Spar are also organic and just fine to use.

A favourite site of mine, Urban Sprout (good resource by the way), has a seed directory listing all suppliers: http://www.urbansprout.co.za/directory/offering/seeds/

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Forlawn isn’t it?

Here it is, our spacious backyard – looks deceptively large in the photo for some reason but in reality it isn’t. Though, when I first decided on going ahead with this whole project experimentation I did feel a bit overwhelmed. Where to start?

So I focussed on a small area nearest the house and of course nearest to the tap. I was at that stage reading an Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison and decided to start putting a few things into practice. I’d also picked up a bit on forest gardening as well and used a mix of both methods.

One thing I’m sure you know is that I’m not really for uniformity – so no squareness at all in this garden. I picked a wall corner and marked the bed border as going from one wall to the next ie. A round bed.

I sketched out a small drawing of where things were to go and what layers they had to be in. Now I was going mostly by the Intro to Permaculture book, particularly the section called, ‘The instant garden’. No digging involved at all (my kind of garden); the grass does not get removed, just covered up.

The only small dig I had to do was to plant the lime tree (easier to do in the beginning rather than afterwards with all that mulch on top). Then a sprinkle of bonemeal over the whole bed area and putting down the sheet mulch – I used cardboard and newspaper, dampened a bit so it didn’t blow about  – Bill also mentions using non-synthetic carpet as well. This all breaks down to provide nutrients for the plants. There must not be any spaces at all through which weeds or grass can pop up through so I tore up newspaper to get into the awkard spaces, especially around my lime tree. I watered and then added the stinky layer which instantly attracted two hovering specimens (the flies and Bobble who was bemused at the whole sight and stench of it all). He couldn’t understand why I wasn’t taking the grass out never mind putting down newspaper and thought what I was doing was all wrong.

I modified it a bit and also added compost as a layer, another manure layer and then a dried leaves and fine twigs layer as well which I borrowed from the forest gardening method. The top most layer I covered with bark chip. I then planted my other small plants, gooseberry to the back, then jalapeno and the smaller ground plants last. I’d also read up on plant guilds and companion planting to make sure I’d placed everything in the right place.

The end result, how pleased was I?!?

Coming soon: Rockhunting in Joburg – how to find free rocks and how Bobble got roped in (grumbling of course) for a bit of a hunter-gatherer session or two.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Bill Mollison and Masanobu Fukuoka

These words from Fukuoka’s book, The Natural Way of Farming (The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy), caught my attention. I had come across his books after first discovering permaculture and Bill Mollison (but, more on that in another post).

Masanobu, a farmer-philosopher (and former scientist) states:

“No cultivation: the earth cultivates itself naturally by means of the penetration of plant roots and the activity of microorganisms, small animals, and earthworms.

No fertilizer or prepared compost: careless farming practices drain the soil of essential nutrients. If left to itself, the soil maintains its fertility naturally.

No weeding by tillage or herbicides: weeds play their part in building soil fertility and in balancing the biological community. As a fundamental principle, weeds should be controlled, not eliminated.

No dependence on chemicals: harmful insects and plant diseases are always present, but do not occur in nature to an extent which requires the use of poisonous chemicals. The sensible approach to disease and insect control is to grow sturdy crops in a healthy environment.”

I really like his way of thinking and would like bring in a few more excerpts from his books into future posts as well as including Mollison’s methods in permaculture.

Another Fukuoka book that I do recommend reading is, The One-Straw Revolution (An introduction to Natural Farming). Here he expands more on his ‘do nothing’ farming method, his life and how he came to natural farming, as well as his philosophy on nature, food and other topics.

As the preface states:

“Readers who expect this to be a book only about farming will be surprised to find that it is also a book about diet, about health, about cultural values, about the limits of human knowledge.”

You can download the pdfs for free from the Soil and Health website here.

I’ve just noted though, that ‘One Straw’ is not available anymore (it used to be). But, you can buy it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/One-Straw-Revolution-Introduction-Natural-Farming/dp/0878572201

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

See the latest ‘Greening the Desert – Revisited’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Hfxeh3t6I

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.