Plastering

I love the curves and contrasts of these walls.
The first coat of plaster seems to highlight both.

This is the first layer of plaster on our earth bricks. There is minimal cracking so we will use a fine sieve for the next layer and that may be our last.

Our mix for this layer is;
-4 parts clay.
-1 part aggregate; 1 part sand, 1 part pumice, 1 part fine pummice
-3 parts straw

All put through a 1/4 inch sieve pre-mixing.

And the tiles go on

We were lucky enough to be gifted these tiles about a year ago now by our good friend Mike O'Donnell.

It took a whole evening of mocking (participators included; sink, toothbrushes, table/bench, mirror, tiles, and a good group of people) up to decide on the final tile positions (they are going to frame a sink and mirror). The language used to define the layout was amazing. The arrangement/form emerged slowly with some tiles being fixed quickly and others as the evening rolled on.

The next morning we did a final mock up on the wall (sink and cabinet included) before setting them into a layer of earthen plaster.

Broad sowing

This bucket of potential is going to be broad sown in a paddock I am working on at the moment. 

It is full of winter legumes, mustard, wheat and some flowers that may take.

In the spring I will sprinkle another mix before pulsing the sheep through the paddock.

Plaster mix

The ingredients for our plaster mix. We are still playing a little with proportions but at the moment we are going with 1/3 clay. 1/3 agregate and 1/3 fibre.
These small batches are mixed in the wheelbarrow easily.

Bonfires

To celebrate the solstice we have an annual bonfire.
We start by sharing food from this land to honor the abundance.
We then make and shoot fire arrows with the memories of a year past.
This year a phoenix flew through the flames and then went up in flames as we set our intentions for the new year and then cooked sausages in the coals before making charcoal with what was left to return to the land that supports us.

Sausage sticks

As the nights get longer and air cooler bonfires on the beach a great evening activity.

This year there is an abundance of sausage cooking sticks.

Rainy day seed sort out

A rainy day is the perfect opportunity for a seed sort.

All of the old ones from the seed drawers will be fed to the chickens and replaced by new -which have been hanging above the fire finishing their drying.

This years labels are blue so it will be easier to see at a glance how old they are.

Beans

My four new types of beans -thanks to Setha's seeds.

These guys are dried threshed and ready to be stored for winter stews and soups.

View from the shower

The taro for giant umbrellas above your head -great for when it is raining.

The shower water drains into a shallow swale that starts under your feet. There are also tamarello, banana and assorted native shrubs and ferns creating a beautiful guild and privacy.

Bringing in the sheep

Bringing the sheep into the yards is just a call away. Because I move them most days they will follow me quite a way (as long as they are not too hungry and there is not too much food along the way).

Convolvulus Hawk Moth Caterpillar

This guy is so beautiful -found it on my kumara. Hopefully it pupates in time for winter. I am harvesting my kumara now so will need to put it next to some Convolvulus. 

Kaanga Ma

Winter goodness waiting to be hung from the roof.

Seed sieves

Just showing off a new toy from Crafty Gatherer. Thanks Tess and Marco.

It has made sorting seeds much easier.

Winter cover up

As I harvest in the autumn a cloak of green manure is sown to cover any bare earth.

This cloak will;
-out compete weeds,
- keep fungi strong (as the mycellium can only stay alive for a short time in the soil without their host -plants),
- maintain a good soil structure by stopping weathering, holding soil together with roots and those of fungi they host,
- providing shelter for soil insects, food for decomposers like worms when mulched and provide nutrients/mulch for next springs plantings (this green manure is lupin and broad beans for corn crops).

Taro flower

These guys are beautiful. It is the first time they are flowering and they are all doing so profusely. They only last for a few days but for the last month there have been flowers non stop on all of our taro.

As they are the screening for our bathroom our whole bathroom smells sweet.

Teamwork

Teamwork!!!
An old culvert was blocked and after a few days of excavation we found most of the old concrete had broken.

Working with royalty

It is very powerful to know you are an important part of a system.

This is a newly hatched Queen bumble bee in my garden. I have attempted to define the roles we play below.

She will; pollinate a few plants while she builds up her reserves for overwintering and then in early spring when out of dormancy, build up a brood of worker bees that will pollinate my garden all growing season.

I have made; nesting boxes for her 'mother' and then her to raise their brood, sure there are overwintering sites for her, made sure there are food sources available for her and her mother when they need to build reserves (early spring and autumn), sure of a diversity of food crops throughout the whole growing season to support the whole nest of workers, there is clean water and no pesticides or herbicides used.

A touch of purple

In my sea of green Hyasynth bean vines provide a splash of colour. They ramble up trellises and fences.

The pods of the bean are not very nice to eat but the flowers have graced our salad bowls all summer and provide endless bee food.

Austrian Hulless pumpkins

Austrian Hulless pumpkins.
These guys are for seed alone and need to sit for a few weeks to 'cure' before I open them and dry the seeds for winter. I have started growing these again as I have a new garden now so can grow more variety and still save seed.

Living Design Process

 

Wow!!! Thanks to Dan our Living Design Process Deep Dive has been recorded. What a great few days.

And here is a link to the lovely feedback from Catherine Dunton-Mcleod -thank you.

Spoons

Just a snapshot some of the wooden spoons that have been made by family and friends lately.

Seeds

Cloth bags are great for collecting, drying and processing seed. My greenhouse has lines of drying seed at this time of the year. It makes me feel full inside to know I have the strongest seed of my favorite plants ready for next year.

Seed saving is a true abundance. To be able to generate more and more seed each year (lines and quantity) means I can scatter them around my family, friends and community.

Who needs money bags. This is my security.

Caterpillars

This has been a crazy caterpillar year!!

I think that the wet winter killed off a lot of our overwintering Queen wasps which then in turn have not been around to keep caterpillars in check. It is very different. 

I have noticed lots of moths and butterflies in my garden pollinating for me and there has been a late season explosion of ichnid wasps, Potters wasps and other solitary wasps who have been enjoying caterpillar feasts. I would much rather have these guys around than the Common and German wasps.

This is the pupa of the Convovulous Hawk moth that likes munching on Kumara, Convolvulus and all in that family. I have not noticed much damage on my Kumara so left this beauty to do its thing.

Water out

We now have all water outlets installed. Next job water in.

Gourd wall

Another unfolding.

This one is taking a life of its own as our climbing gourds and hyacinth beans grow up a bamboo trellis. The no-dig garden is shallow and it will be good to see how the plants cope over our hot summer.

This is an edible wall that will provide shade and privacy over summer when there will be more people using this place.

Mud

I love the way three separate materials turn into one. Sand, pumice and
clay with a little stomping and then some rolling with a tarp makes a mix strong enough to make a wall.

This mix is one of the last that will be mortar for our toilet wall.

Ari and I spent the afternoon today putting up a few more layers of bricks.

Food forest

It is a food forest!!!

One of my criteria for a food forest is that they should give the workers (including me) food from the outset. Why else would you spend time there while you were waiting for the trees?

This will eventually be a guild of citrus.

In the meantime in the succession of things we will be eating pumpkin, tomatoes, chilli, sorrel, spring onions, mellow, dill, buckwheat, strawberries...........

There is also plenty on offer for the pollinators and co.