How we harvest potatos

Home/Unschool Q&A - what curriculum? The answer is not what you think

How to plant and look after Brinjal , Egglplant, Aubergine

high raised, no till beds

Best way to plant seedlings - love this trick !! Recycle and Re-use

Learnt a really great way of doing seedlings at my first hands on permaculture course with the wonderful Andrew Mugford. 

Need to share with you all, just because. 
here's the video - part1 of 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdae2N34Sv4

Plant seeds out into anything really an old box, seed trays, anything you can find. 

The soil can be simple soil taken from the garden for this phase (the seeds have most of what they  need for the first 3 weeks of growth so won't need too much fancy stuff for this part) - (a note - please check my facts, they are most likely not too accurate as I tend to remember things in a visual way and play around with what I have until it works for me, never remembering ingredients or time frames but rather just how things look and feel. 

Anyone who has been with me in the kitchen when I'm cooking will confirm that.. ahhaaha).

At about 3 weeks (3 or so leaf phase) - transplant into their final resting place. 

Make little cups from rolled up newspaper (we used a recycled cardboard tube (bigger then a toilet roll inner). Wrap the newspaper around and fold in the bottom and slide off the tube. 

Pack closely together and fill with delicious soil mix.
This is a perfect job for kids to do when they are tired of digging or just feel like sitting in the sun and chatting while working. When friends visit we rope them in to help too, so if you are coming for tea get ready to make some newspaper cups. hehe. 

The soil for this phase needs to be the good stuff as the plants need lots of nourishment so that they can get a good start.

We mixed - volcanic rock dust (some people use bone meal) , soil from the garden , Vermicompost, (beautiful stuff that red worms make, we have  a worm farm made form old tyres) and some ground up horse or donkey manure. If you don't have all of the above, get what you can and play around.

Fill cups and gently put seedlings in. They stay in these cups and after about 2 more weeks go straight into the ground. The newspaper disintegrates and the roots don't need to be disturbed again.

This is our first batch this way - I've seen how beautifully it works for other people and am very excited to compare this method to the one we were using of planting straight from the first seed tray into the ground. 

Will keep you updated. 

The secret garden part 2 (Bush and thorns cleared, seedling going in, grey water! YAY!!)

WOW so much has happened in a short space of time.
Most of the thorny stuff taking over this beautiful space is out. We left a high canopy of beautiful existing trees (pics of before in previous post).
This is where we are now.

Today I had time to be in the soil for longer than usual. Hanging with my boychild, (who loves this as much as I do), getting excited about growing more stuff. Lately life has taken over and my heart was just longing to be there.

My hands are dirty, my new prennial additions are happy, boychild & I learnt something new about nurturing life and always love doing it together, my longing to be outside has stopped until tomorrow
 & resisting big AGriculture and their corrupt GM and poisons and CONTROL.

Its all pointless to me if I'm not creating a solution in my own space and with my own family. #resistanceisfertile .#theorganicrevolution

dirty therapy

Here we have cut up the branches of the trees that were suffocating our other trees and used them to make a fence to hold the leveled out a piece of the land for sweet potatoes soon soon. this is as you enter this space.
YES I KNOW - the bare soil freaks me out too don't worry - IT WILL NEVER BE BARE AGAIN that I can promise you.

Theres a baby grapevine near the little out house on the left and will be planting more soon soon. (our dream to have it covered in grapes and sit inside on a big puffy outside chair with a book in the dappled light, picking sweet grapes straight from the vine, hehheehehhe... DREAM BIG PEOPLE)

 Below the other half just getting beds ready for mulching up and planting seedlings and perennials for our bushy layer. trees are recovering from being suffocated so will bush out soon soon.

The last corner in progress. Poor trees!!! rescued and will be leafy soon soon. we used the thorny plant on the edges as a windbreaker and are going to grow creeping plants over them. Maybe Su su, granadilla creeper, cucumber, pumpkins...

And this is the other half that we have been working on the most... As before, trees in rescue phase. beds in with thick Blanket of dried grass and seedlings in!!

Check out this cool use for old recycled pallets.. Our main pathway.. We used some fo the others for a gate.. love them to bits

 Below -  using our GREY water!! YES - finally we managed to stop the precious water from our baths and showers from going into the septic tank and into an outside accesable tank instead. We have so much precious water now and water seedlings everyday!.

To think that all of this that precious water was just going no where!! NEVER AGAIN.

The climate is so perfect in that secret garden space.. high canopy, just enough shade and sun.. Just going to get some herbs and medium sized layer going..
Much excitement.

Such a beautiful breathtaking space in our secret garden. Those pesky thorny vines are down mostly, Seedlings so so happy! High canopy prrrrfct! Beautiful soil and thick blanket. Working wonders. Still working on our bushy layer. 
There is nothing like growing food. Seeds are organic. We catch them and reuse and are learning seed saving techniques slowly but surely soon we will be able to share the love with you again 

PLEASE notice the rich black soil! this is from being in a natural forest system with the leaves falling and sticks and mulch over years. We won't use and abuse what nature has given us here by not filling the soil with more leaves and Gods Blanket. Worm tea, mulch and more.

Thick blanket of dry grass - keeps the moisture in.
squash, pumkin and cucumber growing nicely but I think that it might be a bit late in the year to hope for no mould.. We can only wait and see I suppose. Lettuce and swiss chard. LOVING this space.

Staye tuned for part 3 - as we go Ill update..