The Earth Beneath My Feet

The seasons are changing; summer is slowly making way for autumn. In the air there are still clouds of common brown butterflies & dragon flies, the flame robins look fat & happy and the eastern spinebills are keeping me on my toes as they mimic our customer beeper.
My boots repel the heavy dew that glistens in the morning sunlight; the leaves rustle as I walk through the orchard. Picking chestnuts means eyes to the ground , as well as chestnuts & their burrs around my feet I see new ant hills,

spider holes, worm castings, freshly germinated clover and a multitude of fungi.

My mind drifts off wondering about these interesting fruiting bodies that started off as a spore. When the spore germinates it produces tiny threads called hyphae. When mattered together, these hyphae form mycelium before they appear above ground as fungi. There are many types here but wouldn’t it be nice if some where edible, may be a truffle or morel or chanterelle even a field mushroom (actually there are a few patches of mushrooms) but a greater array would be nice.

Then to the bigger picture, the soil and the world it contains, since a handful of good soil can contain millions of life forms what does their world look like. To start with there are the macro organisms, the ones you can see such as earthworms, springtails, ants, millipedes, mites, and nematodes.
Then there are bacteria such as rhizobia, that fix nitrogen, bacteria that works with phosphate, mycorrhizae fungi, actinomycetes and protozoa.
All these life forms interact to build soil structure. The bacteria exude polysaccharides (sugar) which bind partials of soil to form pods and develop soil structure .The hyphae of Mycorrhizae fungi also bind soil partials .The mycorrhizal fungi also form symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants. Carbohydrates are supplied by the plants and in exchange the fungi search out nutrients and moisture for the plants. The hyphae look like fine cobwebs, around 1 micron. Mycorrhizae fungi are not host specific and often spread from plant to plant and species to species. The strands of their hyphae are interconnected and apparently travel long distances seeking nutrients for plants. In addition various helpful bacteria assist plants to get their nutrition far away from their root zones.

All these processes are enhanced by the addition of good compost which provides the material for the micro organisms to work.

While thinking of these relationships Peter Proctor suggests that in the Agriculture course given Rudolf Steiner in 1924 when talking about the preparations for the first time and how they would enrich soils & plants that in Chapter 5 these micro organisms are what he was talking about.
“Now if you treat the soil as I have described, the plants will be able to draw on what they need from a very wide area. They will be able to use not only what is in their own field, but also what is in the soil of a nearby meadow if they need it or what is in the soil in a neighboring forest”
For me this paints a wonderful picture of another world, the world under my feet which is busy building life giving soil to grow health giving food.

Harvest Delights

Now that the weather is more like autumn it is pleasant to walk around the orchard harvesting chestnuts. As your always looking at the ground there are always lots of life to observe. Spiders of various sizes scurrying around, ants busy moving things , small skinks russeling in the grass. Today this little feller was sunning himself. It's always good to see the orchard provides so many homes for these often forgotten creatures.

CRUNCH, Crunch, crunch

That is the sound of footsteps in the orchard as I harvest the chestnuts. Everything as gone crispy under foot and in the air, a strange cracking sound came from an uphill chestnut, I looked up expecting to see a flock of Adelaide Rosella in the tree but no, it was the sound of dry leaves breaking from the tree and landing on the dry grass. Such as been March so far. The record heat wave has hit this valley hard, just at the time when we should
Be riffling through damp leaves in the morning drizzle. Throughout the hills orchardist are facing this force as they try to harvest apples and pears. Since the beginning of March this is how our temperature reading has gone.
1 29 C Max 10C Min
2 33 & 10
3 35 & 15
4 37 & 18
5 38 & 19
6 37 & 19
7 38 & 22
8 40 & 23
9 39 & 24
10 38 & 17
11 36 & 16
12 38 & 28
13 39 & 24
14 37 & 19
15 37 & 22
16 38 & 23
Today’s temperature is predicted at 39 C. The March average temperatures 22.8 C Max 10.6C min. March average rainfall is 44mm so far 0
Despite the heat and dry conditions the quality of the chestnuts are very good, the yield will be down 2/3rds and it will cool down soon (I hope) and then people will want some hot roasted chestnuts .Until then they are safely stored in the cold room What the long term effects on the orchard will be only time will tell.

The Harvest Continues

As March begins many of the harvest are reaching their peak.

The grapes are all harvested,

The hazelnuts in their neat fairy dresses have fallen

to earth and been collected up

The birds left some crab apples to harvest.

Their jelly partners the rosehips are also being harvested.

The netted figs can all ripen ready for harvest

We then wait for the weather to cool; nice soaking rains to open the walnuts and chestnuts. To allow the years harvest to be complete.

COMPOSTING

At Nirvana nothing is more important than producing quality compost to ensure nutrient recycling within the farm system.

In natures ’Wheel of life’ composting occurs at the bottom of the cycle, where death processes are turned back into life processes in the form of humus.

On the farm or garden it is the deliberate putting together materials to produce quality humus of the right quality to enliven the to enliven the soil .The end result is an even, dark brown/ black, humus rich, hygienic, living substance with a pleasant smell.

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HUMUS is made up of long chained molecules that act like a sponge to increase the water holding capacity. Humus holds 900 times more water than sand. Humus binds nutrients in its structure so it is available to plants and not lost through leaching. Humus is also the home of soil organisms, who on death become fertiliser.

IN BIO -DYNAMICS there is NO ONE METHOD OF COMPOSTING within a farm or garden. There may be several different types of compost systems.

Just like there is no one way to prepare a family meal. The aim of both is to provide a broad range of ingredients to achieve a balanced meal. (For humans or the soil.)

Bio Dynamic practitioners use a broad range of composting methods. The method selected depends on:

• Types of materials available. Both on and off property.
• Quantity of materials / Available equipment.
• Crops nutritional needs.

Success with composting depends on;

The right mix of ingredients

Compost needs the essential elements of:

Organic matter: Here we have the ‘U-Klekt-It Compost Company’ to supply good quality and quantity of chook and goose manure mixed with sawdust .On its own it makes reasonable compost as its C:N ratio is about right. But the more ingredients the better the compost. We grow comfrey and nettles to add to this along with any other green material. The types of green materials vary according to the seasons. Today’s compost had good quantities of fresh nettles, comfrey and a mix of other greens.

AIR

WATER

WARMTH

All these are required in balance by micro organisms in the heap.

In addition to the above elements compost requires the human element or ‘Quinta essentisa’ .The ordering principle to collect the ingredients and put the heap together. In addition a set of biodynamic preparation are added to the heap. If you think of a compost heap as a body then when we add the biodynamic preparations the heap is organized (Like adding organs to the body) The breakdown and more importantly build up of new substance (humus) is guided and balanced.

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To help master the craft of composting draw some comparisons e.g.

Think of the process of making a cake:-collecting the ingredients, incorporating the right amount of air, baking at the correct temperature, testing for readiness, cutting to reveal the texture, moisture and complete baking.

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THE COMPOSTING PROCESS

Once the heap is completed the temperature starts to rise reaching between 30 and 50 degrees Celsius with in a few days. This heating process continues for up to 6 weeks then gradually reduces again until it stabilises at air temperature. The compost goes through 3 stages as it develops.

BACTERIA - FUNGUS STAGE

Breakdown:

• Proteins are broken down by bacteria producing amino acids and ammonia
• Carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars, organic acids and carbon dioxide.

Heat is required.

Build Up:

• The fungi ingest the free ammonia and rebuild it into amino acids contained in their mycelia.

Moisture is critical.

2. EARTHWORM STAGE

• Heating is reduced and the heat loving bacteria has produced spores and the fungi have pre-digested food for worms.
• Mixing of organic substances creating polymerised carbon chains - humus, which absorb captions such as calcium, ammonium, magnesium, potassium, and others becoming a sponge for nutrients.
• Arthropods e.g. centipedes begin to develop.

At this stage the compost can be used for heavy feeders, e.g. cabbage, corn, pumpkins ECT.

3. RIPENESS STAGE

• Humus bacteria come in. The compost turns into good crumbly humus with the smell of fresh earth. To test for this stage take a handful of compost and shape it into a ball - it should hold its shape, now drop it, it should fall apart. It is ready to use.

Want to learn more check out 2008 Courses

New Helpers

Today it’s been drizzling all day, although it won’t be a significant amount of moisture it’s a pleasant change.
The moisture as put a temporality stop to the mulberry harvest. Being covered in red juice has been the norm lately as we pick the mulberries.

Today I dusted off a couple of helpers & constructed a couple more with the aim of deterring the black cockatoos from demolishing the walnuts. They are beautiful birds so let’s hope a few scarecrows & flappy things keep them from stopping for lunch in the orchard. Not only do they take the nuts but they shred the leaves and small branches.

JANUARY

The January weather has been variable from extremely hot to morning fogs and dews. The cooler days have provided an opportunity to get some berries pruned and mowing done. It is the driest since we have been here (25 years) most of the spring fed ponds have dried up. Last week we have missed out on the storms that were associated with a very unusual weather pattern from the east.

Now the main raspberry season is over the main job is pruning the berries as well as picking and processing the ripening fruit.

Another job is removing the nets from the berries. This is one of those ‘many hands make light work’ type of job so with a group of students from the FOOD FOREST permaculture course coming for a farm tour it was an ideal opportunity to get the nets down. As well as a farm tour they enjoyed lunch in the willow house.

Picking mulberries is a messy business, they are plump, juicy and delicious but very few people are interested in buying them……So I’ll process them into vinegar and jam to sell and wine for our table. Some will be frozen for winter crumble tops and cakes. The plums have demolished by the rainbow lorikeets. Next year they will be netted, I’ve been pruning them lower to allow for netting. Which may work for the birds but what about the kangaroos? They are eating rock hard quinces plus the bark and leaves of the trees. They have been around for a couple of years now, in fact ever since a property at the back of us was sub divided and an electric fence was put around 20 acres. This has blocked the corridor through to Mark Oliphant Conservation Park. Add to this to the drought and our greener than average valley is very attractive to the kangaroos.