Nirvana Biodynamics

Recent events at Nirvana – Diversity of a small mixed orchard . Spring workshop season ended this month with Deb conducting an extra biodynamic workshop. Nirvana als o hosted several school tours .Firstly a visit by Bridgewater Primary School who are part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation a school gardening and cooking program. Then several groups from Belair Primary who were studding the concept ‘From paddock to Plate’ and whe re and how food is grown. The basketry workshop ‘ we a ving magic naturally’ was also a successful day of learning, sharing and creating. Next event is the BERRY SEASON Where you can buy f resh berries direct fr om our farm shop. The berries have travelled no more than 300 metres. Red and white currants, English gooseberries and Raspberries in December and black currants and mulberries in January.

One of our greatest joys is going out the back door and being greeted by the herb garden. This vibrant herb garden was transformed from a drab ‘lawn’. This area also provides a great place to sit under the shade of the honeysuckle and share a drink on a hot afternoon. We are keeping it well watered at present as our bushfire plan includes keeping the 3 sides of the house where the main fire risk comes from green by regular watering. This also has helped keep the house cool during the current heatwave . The vegies are growing well but the hot weather has made it difficult for the seeds to germinate. Shade is needed to keep the area damp and increase the humidity to allow for germination. The strawberries are producing bumper crops but the asparagus has finished. The rest of the hou se garden are also filled with plenty of colour, scents and life. At least the hot weather allows me to get some sowing done as well as more basketry projects

Today I had a reminder of how dangerous some farming activities can be. While returning the self –propelled slasher to the shed via the chestnut hill (a steep slope) it jumped out of gear and started running backwards increasingly faster down the slope. I was trapped between the handles and kept running backwards until I fell and the machine ran me over trapping one of my legs under it. Fortunately the mower blades where turned off. There I was stuck and screaming out for help. Quentin, who was mowing on the other hill finally heard and came to my rescue, lifting the heavy machine off my leg. Fortunately for me I only suffered some nasty bruises and skun elbows. This is an important wake up call as I often work alone and there is no one to help. Today being a cooler day after the first ever November heatwave , which is set to continue this week , we were keen to get stuck into the long list of things to do before harvest and before Quentin’s knee operation which will put him out ...

It’s been a hectic spring with goslings and chickens hatching, a new dog to train and lots of lovely rain. Although the rain has slowed down the orchard work there is plenty to do. The horns have been retrieved yielding excellent quality biodynamic 500. The spri n g wo rkshops h a ve had a wonderful cross section of people participating and I’ve sc heduled a second biodynamic wo rkshop this weekend for those who missed out in Septembe r. We have had a rush of schools ordering fertile eggs to incubate and now primary schools are learning about food from paddo ck to plate , several tours have been booked by schools throughout November. December and the beginning of the berry harvest is not far away. There are many more things to do before then but now it’s important to enjoy and savour the season of SPRING- the green of our valley, the activity of the wildlife, the vibrant colours a nd perfumes of the flowers and the fast growth of the goslings and chickens.

With its memory of the past And it’s potential for th e future To celebrate Spring I have made this sculpture for the vegetable garden. These seeds, when planted in humus rich soil will bring forth abundant food and sustainable lifestyle so long as you tread gently on our earth, seek to understand the earthly rhythms and your part in the cosmos.

The green manure crop of oats and peas, planted in May has now been returned to the earth. Rather than digging it in I prefer to cut it down. I use a brushcutter with a steel blade this gives a clean sharpe cut and leaves the grass long. By cutting it down the roots are retained in the soil and breakdown very quickly w hile the tops form mulch which protects the soil, holds in the m oisture all of which encourages the earthworms and micro organi sms. It is then treated with biodynamic barrel c ompost (also known as cow pat pit or ccp) This year I developed a home garden method of making th is so all biodynamic home gardeners can have their own supply. To use this I took 20grams of the barrel compost and stirred it (using the usual biodynamic method) in 5 litres of warm water for 20 minutes in the afternoon wh en the earth is breathing in. IN THE VEGIE GARDEN There are still good harvests of cabbage, turnips, carrots, celery, kale , broccoli, mustard greens, lettuce, mache, ...

For most of Adelaide Sprin g is deemed to start on the 1 st of Septe mber but here in the cool Adelaide Hills it does not really arrive till around the equinox. It is very noticeable from the winter solstice that the days are lengthening, the buds start swelling, chooks start their laying season after the moult, the geese and wild birds start nesting. All sig ns that Spring is approaching but not yet here. The soil is cold and the sound of ‘ squish’ comes to mind as the valley struggles to take i n anymore water. The plants are smiling as they know there will be enough moisture to get them comfortably through the coming Summer. Such waterlogging could be a problem but the berries are all planted on raised beds. The weeding needs to be delayed to the end of September e arly October so as not to damage the soil. With the tragic los s of li tt le He be back in May we have finally found a replac ement fox deterrent/poultry guard. .Late August saw the arriv al of our new ‘f...