Nirvana Biodynamics

At this time of the year the harvests are magic, little time is required in the garde ns save for a little therapeutic weeding, planting and harvesting. There is no need to water, although there has been little rain the evening dews are sufficient. Yesterday the seeds for June where planted, some in the garden and some in planters in the cold frame, some extras where planted for Laurens new garden. See sidebar for what we planted. At lunch Quentin announced that I should create dinner out of the left over goose since I hadn’t cooked ‘for weeks’. Yes he had roasted a goose ,stuffed with chestnuts with all the vegies out of the garden on Friday for my birthday, on Saturday we had soup at the Mylor Primary School bonfire and fireworks night, Sunday we celebrated with neighbor June for her 8 years here. I had made a chestnut, chocolate and orange cake. (cakes don’t count ) on Monday he had turned the goose and the vegies I picked into a delicious stir-fry Hardly a week but now it was...

It’s always a good feeling to complete building a compost heap. I’m tired and worn out, as it usually takes the best part of a day, but with wet materials being heavier and drizzle it has been a long day. But I have a warm glow inside of a job well done. Compost is the heart of our orchards and gardens, where I (Quinta essentisa) collect the ingredients and put the heap together so that the organic matter (recycled from within the farm) is combined with air, water and warmth to create the new substance of rich black, quality humus which will enliven the soil and strengthen the plants. Click here to see how our compost is made. When visiting organic farms and gardens I’m amazed that so few practitioners make compost or have thought about how they can develop a system of creating and recycling within their own system. They are more than happy to buy in all their fertility. This is one of the main reasons I never enjoyed being an organic inspector . After 13 years of certification we ditc...

June is the time for clearing up, pruning and preparing for the winter rains. One important job that requires doing before winter sets in, is to make the biodynamic preparations. So last weekend with a perfect autumn day a few of us from the Adelaide Hills Biodynamic group set about filling the horns with fresh manure from Paris Creek BD farm, preparing the compost preparations of yarrow, chamomile, oak and dandelion. The horns where buried in their usual pit of rich soil and the horn silica (501) was retrieved after spending summer in the earth. The compost preparations in their clay pots are buried in the humus rich soil of the vegie garden. The oak is down in the wet valley. Another job is to brush cut the banks after which they had an application of cow pat pit followed by horn manure (500). I then planted some mixed legumes and wheat seeds and within 24 hours the geese where systematically grazing the banks. But really it’s a win, win situation as they don’t often graze these ste...

With the weather cooling down it was time to fire up the wood stove. My all time favorite kitchen ‘tool’. It cooks the best roasts, bread, puddings, and long slow stews and just about everything else .Cooking with wood imparts a special qualit y into the food & the stove chugging away creates a real presence in the house. It can transport you to another time that moved more slowly and in time with the seasonal rhythms. Our stove is Australian made, (actually Albury NSW.) the Themalux Supreme ticks away always ready to cook something at the same time heating the hot water (very necessary when there is no sun to work the solar panels). The system also has a tap direct from the hot water jacket that provides instant hot water for washing dishes, hands, cold feet or getting the pasta water to the boil quickly which saves the water coming from the hot water service which takes a while to come through hot. Another plus is that all the wood to run it is grown on our property. We planted...

The challenge in the vegetable garden as the seasons change is to continue to get the last of the summer bounty harvests while at the same time continue planting to ensure harvest in the months to come. At present I’m still harvesting the last of the tomatoes, zucchinis, capsicums, basil, beans and about to harvest my cardoon. The pumpkins will be harvested in the next couple of weeks meanwhile carrots, chard, chicory, lettuce, endive, nasturtiums, augula, spring onions, kale, red cabbage, celery, parsnips, turnips, beetroot and self sown garlic as a salad green are all being enjoyed. Veggies planted previously for future harvests include cabbage, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts, leeks, fennel, carrots, parsnips, Swedes, turnips, kohlrabi, spinach & an array of salad greens. The garlic, planted last month into warm soils, followed by gentle rain look wonderful already over 25 cm tall. The romanesco broccoli Kate gave me as seedlings in spring may be just getting around to setting a ...