Nirvana Biodynamics

trees that fell like dominoes More trees down this morning which means 5 separate events have brought trees down from our neighbour’s scrub onto our chestnut orchard. The trees fell like dominos down the hill mostly roots and all falling on other trees creating a cascade of stringy barks piling on top of each other, spilling out and coming to rest into our orchard and some as far as the valley raspberries. more trees to clean up The weather has certainly been challenging with unusually strong winds and rain. This has come after 10 years of below average rainfall which saw our valley and springs dry up earlier this year for the first time in our 33 years here. Our Spring in March this year It was just mud In the last 48hours we have had another 39mm of rain and it’s still falling. This year’s rain fall figures Jan 73mm Feb 32mm March 57mm April 21mm May 190mm June: 228mm July:276mm August:121mm Sept:337mm . So far in October 181.5 mm in 18 days. While ou...

I am amazed at some of the things called ‘RAISED BEDS’ I see advertised or in articles, whether for sale new or plans for do it yourself, these are NOT raised beds but CONTAINERS. They are filled with all sorts of growing medium and people think they are growing healthily vegetables. Please think again. Healthy food comes from healthy soil. I know, I’ve heard it all before ‘ my soils no good’ Well the essential art of gardening is to enhance the cycle of life by finding ways to restore humus to the soil . All g ardeners find their own way to achieve this. All Soil can be improved, sure it may take time but quality produce only comes from quality soil. As you observe your soil .like any other living thing  it is always changing and telling its own story. There is more life beneath the soil than above therefore you need to encourage and cultivate its existence. Understanding your soil is a basic requirement for the success of your veggie garden . You can build tremendous satisfac...

Isn’t it interesting that if you wait long enough what you do becomes trendy. For 30+ years we have created a wholistic garden & farm, ‘Garden Quality Farming” in balance with its surroundings. Although it is a commercial orchard it is also a system that embraces the whole and provides opportunities to learn the many skills that have been lost through the generations. A successful example of such a lifestyle is rare let alone so close to a major city and costs the public purse nothing. Whether its educational farm tours that show the overall diversity & balances that can be achieved on any scale.The home orchard , vegetable & herb gardens or natural fibre gardens its all here along with the natural habitat areas, creeks and orchards. Here everything has its place under the cosmos and everything interacts with everything else creating a wholistic system. To achieve such a system takes planning, work and definitely does not happen overnight or in fact after several years. ...

During December our on farm shop can offer many unique tastes all of which are grown and made here from our quality Biodynamically grown produce..   The raspberry harvests have just begun and are available now in 200g punnets.   Chestnuts also feature with dried ones that make great stuffing for Christmas poultry, or can be used to make delicious cakes or purees. Chestnut jam is also available.   Other jams include plum and walnut, rhubarb and elderflower, fig, quince to name a few. Ever popular fruit vinegars made which make refreshing summer drinks or salad dressings are available in mulberry, elderberry or red currant. Elderflower cordial also makes a refreshing summer drink or add it to your whipped cream in place of sugar. A selections of Deb’s baskets are also available. Our farm shop is opened daily from 10am -6pm. You may have to cooee to attract attention from time to time as we will also be picking the raspberries. We DO NOT have pick your own we believ...

This afternoon we spent harvesting some wonderful honey from our 2 hives. It was great to see fully capped frames after a disappointing harvest last year. It’s always a great experience although at times a bit stressful .The next harvest will be after Christmas when the chestnuts have finished flowering. Chestnut flowers produce really special honey.

Every gardener have their own theories and growing methods.I grow mine in the same bed every year (This is the 10 year). This seems a no no according to Adelaide garden experts but I met many older , mostly Italian gardeners who grow them in the same place every year. In small gardens this is often necessary. I grow all my own seeds either from my own seeds or in the beginning ,Franchi seeds in my own seed raising mix made from my compost and leaf mulch from under the camellia tree. Seeds are planted 2 days before the August full moon.Seedlings are planted out on the September new moon into the tunnel house and the October new moon into the garden. the garden is prepared at least 4 weeks in advance with my best biodynamic compost, lime and wood ash.as my compost is sawdust based ‘raw’ in not really an option.During the first month they receive 3 lots of nettle tea. I use cages to grow them in but by the end of the season they are often trailing out of these. The first ri...

Awoke to large piles of icy hail around the place , 43.5 mm  in the rain gauge for the past 24 hours and more rain,hail and wind on the way I headed to the polyhouse to get things done.Normally in winter polyhouse there are daily harvests of greens for us and the chooks. Our flock require a large basket  full of greens to be blended into their mash daily and the outside gardens never grow fast enough in winter to keep up.   This year has been quite different as I was out of action from Spring to Autumn with firstly with a broken leg (Thanks to neighbours goat, which is still managing to climb the fence to my vegies garden.) Then a new knee! Over this time the polyhouse became covered in lovegrass whose seeds latch on to your clothes and was proberly responsible for the invention of Velcro. To remove this weed required me to wear a polyester type bee suit,and long gumboots and still some seeds ended up on my socks.Once removed the beds where dug over to remove invadi...