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

 

Look. Up In The Sky. A Flying Fox. A Fruit Bat. A Possum With Wings.

One of the many joys that come from living in the country is the close contact you get to have with the surrounding wildlife.

And from time to time we get to 'share' the efforts of our labour with alot of them - birds eating seed and fruit, wallabies and hares eating grasses and vegetables, and these guys, flying foxes, eating fruit from the plum and peach trees.

As you can see, this guy got caught in the barb-wire fence right next to the orchard, which only goes to prove that unlike true bats, 'fruit bats' don't have radar / sonor to direct them away from such things.

We helped him out of his predicament, and he spent the rest of the day hanging in the tree recuperating.

Further information on these creatures can be found here at Wikipedia, here at Living Harbour and here at Flying Foxes in Australia.

And I still think they should be called possums with wings.

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?).

Our First CSA Harvest at 'Near River'

Earlier this month we started our first deliveries for our Community Supported Agriculture project from our 22 acre property, ‘Near River’, in the Hastings Valley on the Mid North Coast of Australia’s eastern seaboard.

I need to say that it has been a very anxious time!

Not too dissimilar to being expectant parents, but in this instance people had put their trust in us, and parted with money, and now we had to deliver what we promised – fresh, wholesome and nutritious vegetables to their door each week.

So many questions and variables came up; would the produce still be fresh and un-wilted by the time we delivered the boxes to our Sydney clients 12 – 24 hours later? Would the handful of hares and wallabies that have yet to discover our crops suddenly realize what they are passing up? Would our customers perceive the amount in each week’s box to be of value to them? And why are the chooks going broody so often and messing with the egg laying schedule we’d been expecting?

The first Thursday in December arrived, and the harvest began. Up early with the sun to pick the leafy greens first - rocket, baby beetroot leaves, and stands of silverbeet and rainbow chard; rinse, and bunch them and then into the fridge to remove the field heat. Then some onions and leeks, move through the zucchini beds,and lastly some beetroot. Later in the day, the herbs and flowers were picked, and similarly, they were washed and packed before storage in the fridge too.

The night before had been filled with activity, taping boxes into shape, stamping our logo on each side, placing a clean sheet of butchers paper in the base, and then the sourcing of recipes and other material to include in the first of our fortnightly newsletters.

And along the way, take a few photos to share here on the blog!

And the response has been most favourable. It seems we’ll become known for our extra tasty beetroot, and a few clients have suggested that we need a warning label on our extra zesty rocket. The recipes have gone over a treat, and the hares and wallabies are still happy with their grasses and weeds. The situation with wilting silverbeet will be addressed in the New Year with the purchase of a small refrigerated van, and an additional flock of chickens is due to arrive in the next couple of weeks.

But it’s not all plain sailing by any means – will the weather stay relatively cool and moist for this time of the year? Will a seasonal hailstorm set us back a few weeks by wiping out the lettuce and other soft leaf veggies out in the open garden? Will the schedule we are using (‘imported’ from the US) work here in Australia?

So yes, it’s a huge learning curve. Are we enjoying it? You bet. Is it fun and exciting? Oh yeah. Do we want to shut up ‘shop’ and head back to the ‘rat race’? I DON”T THINK SO!

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.

... 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

Of Geese and Men

Recently one of our neighbours heard that we were looking for some geese here at 'Near River', so their pair were promptly caught and I dropped in to them pick them up. Hey presto, now we have geese.

They are excellent foragers and during spring and summer require little additional supplemental feed. Often used for weed control in crops such as corn, cotton, ornamental plants, strawberries and sugarbeet, as well as in orchards and vineyards, geese will eat weeds without harming certain cultivated crops, however it is not known why geese do not eat certain crops. Another advantage of geese is that they are quick processors, leaving a good quantity of droppings as they move through the planting beds.

Goin' Up The Country - Our Treechange Story

Earlier in the year, I offered to write a guest post for the Aussie Blogger's site which was published in April. It's reproduced here for your reading pleasure.

 

 

 

Seven months ago now we pulled up stumps in Sydney, and relocated to hinterland of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, on the eastern seaboard of Australia, to follow a very long held dream of owning a farm and producing organic foods.

So why would two otherwise intelligent forty-something’s go into partnership with another couple, choose to live with them under the same roof, have the husbands walk away from seemingly good employment with nothing firm to go to, with none of them having any previous farming experience save for a trained urban horticulturalist? This must be some mighty strong dream we’re following.

The Return of Our Diamond Dave

When we first inspected 'Near River', our property here in the Hastings Valley, the owner and agent were sure to advise us of the local carpet snake that resided in the chook house. At the time we had far more important matters to consider rather than wayward wildlife that was choosing to reside in one of the outhouses.

When we finally did move in, there was minimal disappointment when we discovered that the Diamond Python had moved on. Given that the previous owners (and their chooks) moved out some six weeks prior to us settling, we guessed the snake went elsewhere for a feed.

A real working (long) weekend

It’s a given that as owners of a small farming enterprise who mostly work off farm during the week, we’ll get to spend our weekends labouring on the farm undertaking a whole range of tasks. And this is particularly the case at the moment as we are still starting out, (or maybe it will be that way for some time to come!) The plan is to have one of us ‘employed’ on the farm in the not too distant future, but that’s another story.

Part of our farm plan includes an orchard that will provide fruit for us and shareholders in our as yet to be launched CSA. Already the property has a fine collection of citrus in a grove, and the adjoining small paddock has been deemed the location of the extended orchard. The aspect is close to perfect (north facing, slight slope) and installing irrigation will also be easy as the supply line is fairly close by.