Biodynamic treechange (homesteading)

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.

See "The World According to Monsanto" Now!

This long-awaited film release by French filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin is now finally available in the US!

The formal release of this chilling documentary is scheduled for fall 2008 with public showings around the nation, but the film is now available as a pre-publication release. 

Monsanto’s controversial past combines some of the most toxic products ever sold with misleading reports, pressure tactics, collusion, and attempted corruption. They now race to genetically engineer (and patent) the world’s food supply, which profoundly threatens our health, environment, and economy. Combining secret documents with first-hand accounts by victims, scientists, and politicians, this widely praised film exposes why Monsanto has become the world’s poster child for malignant corporate influence in government and technology.

“Devastating exposé . . . Will freeze the blood in your veins”—The Gazette

"Extraordinary documentary”  —LeMonde

“Scrupulous, thorough, and damning” —Montreal Mirror

“Presents a cogent and horrifying enough picture of the world’s leading seed manufacturer to warrant concern and fury.” —Hour

 

 

Originally screened on television in Europe earlier this year, the documentary spread like wildfire through Google and You Tube viewing's before mysteriously being pulled from those sites.

It's great to see that this vital piece of information will now be available to the American public, allowing them to finally make some informed decisions.

Further details of release dates and opportunities for community and group screenings can be found at Seeds of Deception, and copies can be purchased here.

Earlier posts here at Biodynamic Treechange including The World According To Monsanto and the follow-up Monsanto Responses, produced many comments and posts on a variety of forums and sites. This new wave of publicity is certain to do even more.

I wonder how the giant that is Monsanto will respond to this?

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.

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.

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.