Biodynamic treechange (homesteading)

Have you heard? - The Near River CSA is having a one-off, mid-season intake. You'll need to be quick.

That’s right, as the headline says, we’re having a one-off, mid-season intake. So you’ll need to leap at this opportunity. Read on for details.

We supply boxes of chemical-free, wholesome and nutritious vegetables each week to families in the Hastings Valley here on the Mid North Coast, and to families in Sydney, four and a half hours down the highway. This will continue through to the end of this year’s season in late June 2009, before the next season starts in September.

The produce is grown by us here on our 22 acre property, ‘Near River’, and by joining our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture, you’ll have a direct connection with who is growing your food, where it’s being grown, and how it’s being grown. And for some of us in this day of global food and beverage conglomerates, supply chains and over processed foodstuffs, this is very important.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is very popular in Japan, where it started in the mid-70’s, in Europe, and in America, where it continues to grow apace with over 2,000 CSA’s listed on various directories.For more information about US based CSA’s and the concept, Local Harvest is packed with details and links.

Here in Australia, CSA’s are yet to bloom, but we think their time has come, and we are looking to lead the way.

You can join our CSA, Near River Produce, by downloading and filling out either the Sydney brochure for people in Sydney’s northern, eastern and inner western suburbs, or the Hastings Valley brochure for people in the Port Macquarie and Wauchope region.

Further information can be found on this site by viewing earlier posts here, here and here, and by visiting the Near River Produce page. Readers from other Australian states who are interested in contacting CSA’s in their local area, can email us at andrew@nearriverproduce.com and we’ll forward you contacts that exist in each state.

And remember, you are what you eat! (Do you want pesticides with that?).

Garlic harvest

Long time followers of Biodynamic Treechange will know that one of the first crops we planted was a bed of garlic.

Earlier posts detailing the garlic planting and progress can be found here, Garlic's Up and here, Is That A Hardneck, A Silverskin, A Serpent, Or A Purple Stripe? Garlic That Is.

In all we had about 35 sq metres (380 sq ft) planted, mostly with a variety that does well here in the Hastings Valley, as well as a few Elephant's and Italian's.

Now we have to learn that there is so much more to this game than just growing plants - the post harvest operation is SO important. Removing the soil from the bulbs to prevent disease, and drying them correctly meant we had the overhead fan going for virtually 4 weeks non-stop!

But the results speak for themselves.

What has come out of the ground has been so inspiring and pleasing.

I'll let the photo's do the talking.

 

'Near River Produce' now coming to Sydney

We are very pleased to announce that we will be bringing our boxes of nourishing, chemical-free, hand grown vegetables to your door in Sydney from December 1st!

Each week a box of approximately seven vegetables will be personally delivered to you, containing produce that will have been harvested, field washed and packed the day before, ensuring that the nutrients and goodness are at their peak. And you'll be surprised how long the goods will retain their freshness.

Based on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model that has proved so popular in Europe, America and Japan, when you join our CSA, you'll be purchasing a share in the harvest that comes from our market garden here in the Hastings Valley on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.

Further details can be found in our brochure, but in short you can sign up for the full 30 week season, or take out a month by month share. The box will contain enough for two adults and then some, so maybe you'd like to split your share with a friend or neighbour. Initially the quantity will be modest, quickly rising as the summer vegetables come on line, and maintain that quantity and variety through to the end of autumn with this year's season finishing at the end of June 2009.

Note that this is different to box systems that have existed for sometime now - through Community Supported Agriculture you will have a direct connection with the people who are growing your food, and know how it is grown and where it is coming from. Visits to the farm at 'Near River' will be welcomed, and annual subscriber 'harvest' events will be held.

This will also put you back in touch with the seasonality of food, and have you try some interesting types of 'new' vegetables, or different types of old standards.

Our predicted range of vegetables and herbs are listed in the brochure, and will expand over time.

Our December boxes are expected to contain:

Tomatoes (4 types) Zucchini Lettuce Rocket Beetroot Onion/Leek Carrots Fennel

and a range of herbs - Parsley Coriander Dill Basil

We anticipate delivering either late on Thursdays or throughout Friday, so you'll need a cool place for us to leave the goodies!

There are up to 25 'shares' available, so jump in quickly, and if this is not for you, pass this onto anyone you know who may be interested in having fresh, nutritious, chemical-free vegetables delivered to their door. Heck, it would even make a great Christmas gift!

We are sure that you'll have some questions, so please contact us after you've read our brochure, either by phone - 02 6587 6004 or 0412 995 256 - or by email andrew@nearriverproduce.com and we'll answer your concerns.

And remember, you are what you eat!

... And Then There Was Three

In April this year, we took delivery of the first two cows who have become the start of our Dexter herd here at 'Near River', and as regular readers know, last week I was away from the farm on a bit of a road trip.

Both girls have been carrying a calf since they arrived, so when do you think our first calf was born?

Yep, that's right, when I wasn't there. But that's no panic, as Dexters are re-known for many positive attributes, one being easy birthing. And further details about Dexters can be found in my earlier post Sustainable Cattle Called Dexter.

Called Dixie, our latest arrival is settling in very well, and although we first thought her to be a heifer, it now looks as though she'll be a steer! And we're looking forward to her sibling entering the world any day now too.

I think we might have to look into changing her name though - can't have him ending up with a complex like Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue'!

image credit organic maven

Big Drumroll Please ...... Introducing Asparagus Spears

I will have been away from the farm (and this blog) for a few days by the time you read this, as I've headed interstate to attend a weekend seminar and catch up with some friends along the way.

The last thing I saw as I did my circuit of the market garden before I jumped in the car had me rush back and grab the camera.

Little plump asparagus spears poking their heads up through the mulch!

This is very exciting!

What seems like only last week, I posted about planting out our asparagus crowns in Who Is Mary Washington Anyway?, so to see these little beauties reaching for the sky already is surprising, but great none the less.

And now for the hardest part - not picking any of this year's spears so the crowns can develop strongly for the years ahead.

Looks as though all the effort we put in to ensure the crowns had a great bed to start from will pay dividends.

Okay, that's all for this post. I'm off on a roadtrip.

image credit organic maven

Is That a Hardneck, a Silverskin, a Serpent, or a Purple Stripe? Garlic That Is.

Regular readers of Biodynamic Treechange will know from an earlier post in April, Garlic's Up, that we were pretty excited about having our first crop in the ground and watching it grow.

I thought it was about time for a progress report, and all in all, matters are moving along very well, as the images here show.

Since the Garlic's Up post, where we'd planted half the bed with seed garlic, we've been able to find a few more varieties from a couple of other local growers, namely a rose pink French variety and a Giant/Russian variety, so we now have a full bed of garlic.

A Lady Who Loves Getting Her Hands Dirty

One of the best sources of up to date information that is available to farmers is in the form of Field Days and Workshops. These are usually organised by the local Dept of Primary Industries office, or the Catchment Management Authority or Landcare office, or similar organisation. Interested attendees gather, view the talk and interact with the presenter, often with some pretty lively discussion! The other part of these events that make them so worthwhile is the interaction with other farmers and attendees.

Such was the case a few weeks back when I headed down to the Manning Entertainment Centre at Taree, to a seminar organised by Manning Valley Landcare led by a very effervescent lady, Carolyn Ditchfield.

It was clear from the outset that Carolyn was passionate about her topic, knew her stuff, and presented what can often be a dry topic in a way that was both enjoyable and inspiring. Here was a lady who loved to get her hands dirty!

Do We Need a New Organic Standard?

Over the last few years, there has been much discussion, robust debate, and dialogue between the various bodies that represent organic and biodynamic growers, producers, processors and distributors, and indeed the members of those bodies, about the need for one all encompassing standard that covers Organic and Biodynamic Products.

At the present time, there are seven certifying bodies in Australia, all with their own standards, certifying criteria, and logos, which makes it extremely confusing for every day consumers to know exactly what is organic. The other problem is that anyone can use the term organic on a product regardless of the processes involved in it's production, and whether or not the processes have been performed by any certified practitioners. This is hardly a good state of affairs.

As you can imagine, with such a diverse range of entities and the individual agendas of each, reaching any sort of agreement between these bodies was going to take some time and a large amount of diplomacy. But it is pleasing to say that the end is in sight.

The draft Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products has been released and is available for public comment.

Free Rangin' Rhode Island Reds

One of the many delights of having some wide open space where we live is the opportunity it provides to run some poultry flocks, and the fun and wholesome produce that this provides.

The initial flock of ducks that we had for a short while chose to move to other surrounds, but since then, the chickens that we've been running in a couple of locations have been a great success.

In all we currently have 6 birds, and they are providing us with a great quantity of eggs, usually between 3 - 5 each day now that they are laying again. And I mean some of the richest coloured, best tasting, freshest eggs you've every had the joy to eat.

There's is a whole world of poultry out there to explore including a vast multitude of breeds, and egperts, with a range of web-sites and forums available as resources for information. My favourites include Feathersite, Organic Chickens, and the Organic Chickens Yahoo group. Australian publications include Alannah Moore's egcellent book "Backyard Poultry, Naturally", and Jackie French's "The Chook Book" - both are worthwhile obtaining.

What's the Hottest Stuff For Natural Pest Control?

Mustard!

Yep it seems that stuff we love to eat with hot dogs, is one of a few natural sources of Brassica plants that release compounds that suppress pests and pathogens.

At a recent Symposium, researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries shared the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds – a technique known as biofumigation.

The conference convenor, Australian CSIRO’s Dr John Kirkegaard, says "The compounds, which most people would recognise as the ‘hot’ flavour in mustard or horseradish, are released in soil by green-manuring, soil-borne pests and pathogens can be suppressed and the yields of solanaceous vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants can be increased by up to 40 per cent in some cases.