Nirvana Biodynamics

Now the teaching season is over, the orchard weeding almost caught up I can, weather permitting get stuck into the gardens around the house including the vegetable garden. Its been an ‘average season’ which is great as we have had a several drought years where there was no subsoil moisture. The plants especially the trees have responded well and look lush and happy. The flowers have been  abundant as have the bees. The Elder is abundant with flowers. Yesterday I made a batch of elderflower cordial and next week a couple of batches of elderflower champagne. In the vegie garden the main seasonal  harvest is of broad beans and asparagus. While many of the winter vegies are going to seed (many to be saved) there are still plenty of greens,the last of the carrots, the peas are almost ready, the garlic is looking good as is my crop of rye , planted to make a traditional dough raising basket from the straw and a few grains of rye for the bread as well. The new crops of tomatoes, caps...

The potentially devastating news that chestnut blight has been found in north eastern Victoria puts all chestnut growers on edge. In USA it wiped out the entire industry in 3 years! Chestnut blight is a fungus that enters through wounds in the bark. Which is a real worry for us as our trees are regularly smashed by the neighbour’s unmanaged Stringybark's.It grows underneath it causing a canker which will girdles and kills the branch above the infection point. The disease can kill the tree if the trunk is girdled by a large canker or several cankers growing together. The first signs of infection is often seen as wilting, yellowing and death of leaves and shoots.Yellow –brown to orange cankers on young smooth  barked trees or branches may also be early signs of infection. The fungus is spread by animals (especially humans in this global village) that come into contact with the cankers and through the air after rain. If you suspect anything  or need more information contact...

Winter seemed cold and drawn out  which means it was  a typical hills winter - grey and damp. The past few winters have been cold yet sunny. The grey meant we had average rainfall at long last so hopefully their is enough subsoil moisture to get us through the coming  summer. Now spring has  arrive d and everything looks wonderful and fresh. So good that you want to be out there all day. The morning and evening scents are also so full of fragrance ,  gentle  and refreshing. The frogs are busy calling  while the birds display their riches plumes.While weeding the berries  the blue wrens follow me along the rows chasing the tiny lives I’ve disturbed. It would not be Spring at Nirvana without those fast growing yellow fluff ball goslings that quickly turn into mini geese as they continually graze the orchards. Spring is a special time to observe and enjoy.

Via Campesina is an international movement of peasants, small- and medium-sized producers, landless, rural women, indigenous people, rural youth and agricultural workers. We defend the values and the basic interests of our members. We are an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, independent of any political, economic, or other type of affiliation. Our 148 members are from 69 countries from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. We had a wonderful visit in late June organised by Friends of the Earth for  members of La Via Campesina ,East Asia & South East Asia along with  farmers from , Japan-Japanese Family Farmers Movement, Korea – Korean Women's Peasant Association and East Timor.  US Social Forum: Statement from the People’s Movement Assembly on Food Sovereignty US Social Forum, Detroit, 2010 Over a half-century ago, Mahatma Gandhi led a multitude of Indians to the sea to make salt—in defiance of the British Empire’s monopoly on this resour...

The winter garden excels in quality and taste . The winter chill produces sweet crunchy carrots, parsnips, turnips, beetroot and salsify all planted in February and March ,all perfect for winter stews, soups and roasts. The range of greens is equally impressive but the cold has slowed their growth to the extent that they are not growing as fast as we (and the chooks) consume them. Crunchy salads are part of most meals even in winter.To ensure a continual supply of crisp greens I move some seedling from the garden into the polyhouse. It is amazing how a thin piece of plastic can change the growing conditions. Wind chill and cold temperatures outside, inside toasty warm.The polyhouse is 7 x 4 metres and contains around 15 square metres of in ground growing space and a propagating area. The beds are 80cm wide –one goes around the edge and then there are 2 beds in the centre.Between the beds are narrow 30 cm paths made from tiles and pavers. These help define the beds and add some therm...

We have had a very busy time of late with the chestnut harvest,shed relocation and farm tours. Fortunately we had some excellent help from woofers', Emanuele and Federica from Northern Italy who where keen to learn about our farming methods and sustainable lifestyle. While they were able to experience our lifestyle and farming methods first hand we learned about chestnut forests in Northern Italy and their traditional foods, celebrations and way of life. The polenta and kangaroo is a merging of the two cultures. They were keen to experience food from paddock to plate .Here they are preparing birds for the table a valuable experience as they wanted to provide quality food for themselves in the future. A few new building skills never go astray. Emanuele also put 26 years of rainfall records on the computer (something I planned to do one day but never got around to.) Now its easy to see patterns and trends in our rainfall patterns. The busy patter...

As the weather finally cools the Summer vegies come to an end its now time to ensure a bountiful supply of vegies throughout winter an well into Spring.The garden has been largely ignored over the past month or so save for harvesting meal by meal and planting as we have been busy with chestnut harvest and relocating the shed.Now its time to harvest the last of the tomatoes, pumpkins, basil ,zucchinis and beans and then  plan the winter –spring garden. I also have to ensure there is enough vacant space to bury the biodynamic compost preparations. Many of the winter goodies where planted as seeds in February and now need to be transplanted into their own space these include cauliflowers,kale, cabbage and broccoli.The tunnel house has been planted with lettuce,mache, chard and  miners’ lettuce . On the next new moon seedlings from the garden can be transplanted into the tunnel. Although all these vegies grow outside in the garden it is amazing how much extra heat  one thin...