Biodynamic treechange (homesteading)

Meet the new site supervisor at Near River

Many of our CSA customers and Friends of Near River will remember that a year ago we bought a Mareema puppy to bond with our chicken flock - they are great guard dogs. Unfortunately, that dog was killed by paralysis ticks, a very real problem not only here on the Mid North Coast, but up and down the eastern seaboard.

So a little over four weeks ago we decided to start looking for a replacement. Besides keeping the wildlife away from the poultry and vegetables, I could use some added companionship during the week while Therese is in Sydney - it's not as crazy talking to a dog as it is talking to 75 chooks.

After about 15 minutes spent searching the web, a suitable prospect was there on my screen - a 2 y.o male Border Collie Belgian Shepard cross - perfect. Made the arrangements to collect him, and aside from a minor problem of him jumping out of the back of the car while we were crawling along the M5 freeway, we made it home.

Everyone meet Max - here he is relaxing at the end of the day, and hard at work supervising during the day.

And he really is perfect - well trained, doesn't hassle the poultry, still thinks he can catch wallabies, and does catch rabbits.

The only downside are the ferocious paralysis ticks that are around this season. They've had a good go at Max already, so it's a regular body search for these tiny assassins, at least daily.

For any of you with pets living on the eastern seaboard beware - this is shaping up to be an intense season for ticks. Here are some links for further information, and check your pets regularly. We'll be doing that with Max.

Sydney University Dept of Entomology site

NSW DPI tick fact sheet

 

'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!

Buzzing Bees and Lush Perfume Herald Spring's Arrival

This time of the year is one of my favourite - everything comes alive, and there's no place more alive at the moment than our citrus grove.

Located on the northern side of our property, and bathed in sun all day long, the grove contains 12 mature citrus, being a mix of oranges, mandarins and a lemon. We will be augmenting this extensively in the coming year by extending the orchard into the adjoining paddock, but at the moment these dozen trees provide us and the local wildlife with more than enough citrus fruit.

These easy to grow small trees generally provide fruit through the cooler parts of the year, and given their high vitamin C content, and it's use in the prevention of colds and flu, the winter bounty they provide is timely. However, by planting a range of different cultivars within each species, you can lengthen your harvest period extensively. For expert advice, you should contact your local nursery or fruit tree supplier.

Blue Eggs Lead To Black Chook

About three weeks ago, you might remember my story about our broody hen and a dozen blue eggs we bought for her (Blue Eggs and ...What?).

Well, say hello to our first little black chook!

An Araucana chick, it looks as though this will be the only member of the clutch, as her 'foster' mum hasn't been that keen to stay on the 'nest' and hatch the remaining eggs. We were warned that this was a possibility, and given that this is our hen's first go at hatching, not really all that surprising - not an ideal outcome but a good experience none the less. And we've still got a way to go yet!

Our next step is to find out how and when to let this one into the main run and mix with the other chooks. Madly posting on a few key chicken and poultry forums for tips and hints.

It would be ideal if we've got a hen here that we can then add a few more Araucana chooks to over the coming summer. We'll keep you informed.

Do You Want The Best Tasting Food? Start Saving Your Seeds.

Earlier this year we had the delight of picking and eating our own tomatoes - truly one of life's joys - and hand grown, chemical-free produce is one of the sweetest taste sensations I know. And we are looking forward to an abundance of taste sensations to share with our customers in the coming months.

The image at left shows some of the first pickings from the tomato patch earlier this year, and they came from a mixed pack of heirloom seeds that Diggers Seeds supplied. Containing six varieties - Red Sugarlump, Black Krim, Orange Jaume Flammee, Yellow Peach, Green Zebra, and White Cherry - the seeds were not individually wrapped, so we didn't know what we would get until each seed had sprouted, grown and fruited.

Olive! They've Got's Me Spinach!

This is the best part of what are doing here at 'Near River' - harvesting, preparing and then eating our own produce. Well someone has to do quality control!

At the end of last week we received a big dump of rain, 100 mm (4 inches) in around 12 hours, which had us worried that we'd lose some of the crops and beds that we've been tending. Thankfully that wasn't the case, and this morning I went out to harvest our first bag of spinach. Cutting the plants at ground level, and then bringing them in to quickly rinse before loosely bagging them and placing in the fridge. I can't wait to cook them up tonight for dinner - hmmm, yum.

Yippee, It's Our First Anniversary

This week marks the end of our first year here at 'Near River', and what a year it's been!

That said, this post is about where we've come from,  people we've met along the way, and what's next - some reflection and acknowledgement.

What we are doing here is following a dream, with the aim to be the most productive, efficient and profitable bio-dynamic farmers in the country, supplying the highest quality produce to our community. And while matters have not progressed as far as we had hoped, we've certainly had some real wins and are moving in the right direction.

Surely You've Got Room For One More?

Yes we surely do.

Yesterday morning Dixie's step-sister was born, so now both mums, Jenny and Cindy have calved, and the new arrivals are doing well.

Eat the View

One of the more interesting 'campaigns' in the current US Presidential election (Are we there yet?) is by a group called Eat The View whose aim is to plant healthy, edible landscapes in high-impact, high visibility places, whether it's the 'First Lawn' or the lawn in front of your child's school. 

A project of Kitchen Gardeners International, a Maine-based network of 6500 gardeners from 100 countries who inspire and teach people to grow some of their own food, Eat The View are urging the next President to show leadership on global issues such as climate change and food security by converting part of the White House's 18 acre grounds back into an edible landscape.

It made sense in the past for the 'First Family' to eat foods grown close to home and - given the climate challenge - it makes sense again. Previous tenants of the White House have taken this on, most notably Eleanor Roosevelt, who planted a Victory Garden at the White House, inspiring many others to follow across the country.

Roger Doiron has taken the lead and created a short video, showing by example how to turn your white house lawn into a garden. Entered in the Climate Matters competition at vimeo, which is a Brighter Planet initiative, and titled 'This Lawn is Your Lawn', it is here for your viewing pleasure.

 

This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

 

Blue Eggs and ...WHAT??!!

(With apologies to Dr Seuss)

Recently one of our hens has gone broody, and all the others have gone off the lay in support, or maybe because they are worried that she'll steal their eggs, or for whatever reason causes chooks to go broody.

At least the bantams are smart enough to know what's going on and are still laying their eggs.

Previously when this has happened, we've isolated the hen from the rest of the flock for a few days, and then they've come to their senses and gotten back on track. But as Mahatma, our gander now resides in the old duck shed that we've used for that purpose in the past, a new strategy was needed.

We were about to try the practice of dunking her in a big bucket of water, when a good friend suggested using her to raise some fertilised eggs. Having never done this before, that hadn't occurred to us, but makes perfect sense.

So yesterday I headed over to see Morna at Pembrooke Plants and Poultry and collected a dozen eggs.

 

Hmmm ... these are blue. That's different.