Wholistic

There has been a surge of spring time animals around our house recently!

Click the adorable cuddling couple for a whole photo album of emergent wildlife we have seen.

We just got back from the Queens birthday holiday weekend at Kirrah’s Parent’s new property in Koreelah. It is about 105km from our place. The drive takes about 2 easy hours.

Click on any of the pictures for the full album!

Things are always changing around here. This was a big change.

We’ve got a new cast iron claw foot bath. Well it isn’t new, but it has been completely sanded back and then re-enameled.

This means we got to pick the colour and the condition is perfect!

It also reinspired me to do the plumbing properly. The bathtub now bypasses the grease trap and goes straight into the grey water distribution system. Our old bath used to blow the lid off the box.

The other major change is the inclusion of an S bend so that swamp gas from anerobic processes in the system don’t waft up into the bathroom.

Of course there is still more to be done. I want to now get some fitting fittings for the taps.

It’s been hard work getting our gardens ready for this season. We really want to increase our capacity to grow our own vegetables.

Part of this was the decision to get 13 cubic meters of com(post)(worm)caste delivered from Tryton in Lismore.

It was just the boost our sand soils needed.

We’ve just finished now putting the last rocks that we know of on our block into place.

We have also been working away on our deck greens garden. The Broccoli, spinach, lettuce, Silverbeet, Mibuna and Onion seedlings are in!

There is more of the gardens from last year here “Here!”

Kirrah has also been keeping a journal of the gardening for her course with the Life Academy. You can view it at her spot on wholistic, http://www.wholistic.com.au/health

There is a magical fruit called the lemonade. When they are in season we buy as many as we can find and eat them everyday until they disappear again.

So today I planted out one of our own. It is in a special spot too.

For a little while now I have been stuck for a really elegant way to reintegrate the high grade nitrogen rich liquid fertilizer that we are releasing every couple of hours.
A few points of note;
It comes in a concentrated form, too much for most plants.
If not used immediately it will begin to smell.
It remains a delicate, and private matter.

Well, I think i’ve come up with the solution for our place at least. Our current bucket style composting toilet is located on the bathroom veranda near the bath and the shower. This is convenient and private enough for even our guests to use.
There is a tap located near a new bucket. Once you are finished (if we happen to go late at night - first thing in the morning) the solution is diluted about 10:1 before the pouring it off the side.

Waiting below is a piece of salvaged colourbond steel roofing that directs the torrent into a drain that runs under the path and then onto the thirsty little citrus.

In a swift stroke of permacultural elegance, a once unused waste product is transformed into a valuable resource supporting the life around us that will support us in the future. Now that it is established, it requires no extra work on our behalf.

NOW UPDATED: 28th/02/08

http://www.wholistic.com.au/?page_id=296

Our worm farm is simple enough. It works to transform kitchen organics and paper that don’t go to the Guinea Pigs into a ready to go seed mix of humus and the foods that we like.

Pumpkins flourish.

I think the most important thing is that it is convient to use. Ours is right by the front door. Which I understand isn’t for everyone but means that the whole kitchen - compost - herb garden connection involves walking about 10 meters, All undercover.

The system is a wheely bin that has a flap cut at the bottom front. This flap has a few hinges attached so that castings (and worms) can be scooped out. The main issue on a hard surface would be to catch the wormjuice - ours is on soil though so I just dug underneath the bin and fit a bucket underneath the door. The liquid runs out from there (i’ve put a few holes in the base too for drainage).

It would probably benefit from a bit more oxygen, but it smells sweet and we make sure we keep things fluffy in there. Usually a couple of pages of wet newspaper (from the guinea pigs) get layed between food scraps that get emptied every other day. The bucket is then washed and poured over the top.

I check on the worms everyday because they are my pets and I like them to be happy. I’ve had to make a few alterations to the mix along the way. Just putting food in their isn’t enough and unlike compost, they aren’t too fond of grass either. Wet newspaper is heaven to our composting worms.

The worms themselves (and their sidekicks the bacteria) were sourced from the permaforest trust’s worming operation. It is important to get the right species of worm for the job, most will not tolerate being farmed. Ours love it.

The 9th Australian Permaculture Convergence
Celebrating 30 years of Permaculture
Sydney - Easter weekend - March 20th to 25th 2008

I registered and paid my deposit for the full event today!

I was first inspired to go to this convergence upon hearing that Bill Mollison would be meeting me halfway. He is traveling from Tasmania to give several key note speeches. Listening to Bill speak is definitely one of the things to do on my journey.

It is an opportunity for me to meet some of the people that have contributed their lives to the movement. I’m looking forward to rounding out some of their personalities beyond that of the author of my text books.

I want to see if I can experience an exchange in the subtle authenticity that comes from a life well lived that loses something in the transfer to the page.

It feels so good to have this renewed flourish of energy in my career.

Find out more @ http://apc9.org.au/