Biodynamic treechange (homesteading)

This weeks issue of The Current from Near River - 21.5

Rain Rain Go Away ...

Once again I find myself writing with rain falling from the sky in vast quantities, and we're told the end is not in sight.

For the third time in two months, we have a low pressure system sitting almost stationary off the northern NSW coast that is driving moist air onto the coastline and adjoining ranges, and moist air is an understatement! Huey's really throwing it down.

I suppose it could be worse!

For us, the frustrating thing is not the day or two (or three) of inclement weather that means wearing raincoats and overpants, it's the following three or four days that we need to wait before we can move vehicles and trailers around the property, collecting piles of green waste, moving compost materials into place, spreading our made compost and leaf mulch around, and even working the soil in the plots.

At least the ducks and geese get to have some fun!

 

 

Our New Team Member
The most recent recruit, actually our first, young Angus Hawkens, started with us last Monday and has keenly jumped in to tasks that we've set for him. So far Angus has been shown first hand the finer points of garden bed clearing, compost heap building, and seedling planting. His first bed of planting was some leek seedlings, and whilst his effort was grand his execution was a little crooked!! He will deal with the error of his ways when it comes time to weed the rows with his hoe.

Angus will also be caring for our poultry whilst we're away from the farm delivering the produce down the coast and in Sydney.

We look forward to watching Angus develop his skills and interests through his studies and practical work with us.

Seed Collection

One aspect of what we are doing here at 'Near River' is to build up a collection of seeds from plants that we've grown here. We are doing this for a number of reasons. Firstly, by collecting seeds over a number of seasons from plants with desirable traits (large fruit, early fruit, slow to bolt to seed, etc) we can produce a strain that is specifically suited to this property. Secondly, it means we can vouch for the authenticity of the seeds organic origin; and lastly, it is a way of us participating in the preservation of heirloom varieties of vegetable species.

So far we've selected a good strain of silverbeet, coriander and pumpkin. Over time these and other varieties that we save seed from will develop attributes or even an affinity with the precise microclimate that exists here a 'Near River' that will enable them to perform really well.

Garlic

Many of you have been enjoying our fresh garlic, and yes garlic is meant to be juicy, not the dried, chlorine-bleached, methyl bromide fumigated imported Chinese stuff that the supermarkets pass off.

Given the success we've had with our initial planting last season, we intend to make this one of our core crops, and so have planted 3600 cloves in the last few weeks. They've jumped out of the ground, as the shot at right shows, so for now, this seasons crop is off to a good start.

2/3 of the planting (2400 bulbs) will be used as seed stock for the acre or two we intend to plant out next season, with the remainder being stored and distributed through the CSA.

This week's CSA Box

Oranges Navel 6
Lemon Meyer 1
Lettuce Cos 1
Rocket Cultivated    Bag
Pumpkin        Jap            400 gm
Garlic            Bulb            1
Chili            Med        2
Zucchini            1

Radish French 3
Parsley / Dill    Pak

To close this week, a shot of an egg from one of our Rhode Island Red bantams. (It's the one on the right). They have been off the lay for some time now, and this appeared yesterday. When you haven't seen something for awhile, you often forget the marvel that Mother Nature is.

Till next week, cheers.

What's in the box? #1

HI all and very happy New Year. May it be prosperous and abundant for everyone.

The boxes of vegetables that our CSA delivers each week go to the Port Macquarie and Wauchope region on Thursday afternoon and evening, and then Sydney's far north late on Thursday night. The rest of the Sydney deliveries are made on Friday.

We were up before the sun to harvest today, and here is this week's bounty.

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?).

A Truly Most Unusual Panel Pairing

Back in September this year, at a suitable conference, the boffins at Google somehow convinced what I consider to be two of the food industries leading opponents to both join a panel to discuss ‘Creating a World That Can Feed Itself’.

One of these people was Hugh Grant, Chairman, President and CEO of Monsanto, and you can imagine the angle he took in the discussion.

The other participant was Mike Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism, UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and author of ‘In Defence of Food’ and ‘The Omnivores Dilemma’.

I’ve written about Pollan before, and am a keen supporter of most if not all of his ideals. And I’ve written about Monsanto before, and am a keen opponent of most if not all of it’s ideals.

The discussion is most enlivening and interesting. Click below to view the battle!

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!

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!

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.

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.