  With the recent expansion of the kitchen garden, it was time to start the new planning for the expanded patch. The expansion was always part of the plan, but we had given ourselves a 10-year implementation plan for the design. This allowed us to fine-tune as we go. It brings in new learnings and aligning the system to our own patterns which ultimately makes it more sustainable over the long term. It not only helps grow food and regenerates our landscape, but grows and adapts with us as we grow and change. While I have seen many people use a spreadsheet (and ultimately all of this will go on a spreadsheet), I always start with pen and paper. It allows me to get creative and move things around in a visual space rather than just lines on a screen. We began by working out how much we eat for the year in our household, using averages and then fine-tuning to our specific needs. (How much do I need to grow to feed my family over a year?). We then break it done to when in each of those plants can be seeded (Garden to-do lists). This makes it very easy to expand the planting regime as the number of beds available expand as well.  For ease of use I have found and been using for years has been the square foot gardening method, talked about by Mel Bartholomew in his book – Square foot Gardening. We do use many different methods for feeding microbes in the soil, from compost (Home Composting), Natural Farming (Natural Farming), No Dig Gardening (No Dig Gardens), Home made fertilisers (Home Made Fertilisers), Wicking Beds (Wicking Beds), Home made Insecticides (Home Made Natural Insecticides), Organic Health Management (Organic Health Management) and understanding the water needs of the plants (Water in the Garden), which helps inform us what we need to have a successful patch. Then we add the final layer of planning how much we can plant to maximise the space. We now have 24 raised garden beds and 14 wicking beds for annuals we have a total of 744 square feet to be able to grow in. That 744 square feet will use approx. 350 litres of water per day in the middle of summer. While this might sound like a lot (and it is) we need to remember that this is in an extreme case (January, February for us). We are not using this amount of water all year. It is much less in the colder months. It is also far less than what is used growing more commercially, and the food miles is just at our back door. These figures are also based on having zero carbon in the soil, and we have far more than that (again designed for the extreme) We have two 10,000 litre tanks dedicated to keeping the soil moist over the year, which even with current rainfall patterns is enough to keep it all flourishing. Using Mel Bartholomew's methodology, it is amazing how much someone can plant within a small space. I recently had an exercise with my current PDC (permaculture design course) participants where they had to plan out a garden bed with 12 squares. They were astounded in how much food you can really plan in that space. So back to the planning. Below is just a sample of what we are planting this month in both the wicking beds and the raised garden beds. In one is 2 Zucchini, 48 radishes, 4 eggplant and 18 shallots and the other is 135 bush beans, 27 mustard greens, 81 spinach and 96 carrots. And that is just 2 out of the 38 potential beds. Each bed is planned out for the year, and yes, there is a bit of planning at the start, but once done, I do not have to do it again. This is how we were able to grow 2.5 tonnes of food per year in our small space for the last few years. With expansion and time, I am confident it will increase exponentially. The plan is having enough to feed 20 people in the next few years. All for approx. 45 minutes a day (30 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon). I do not have staff or volunteers to help, and for the most part, that is from seed to harvest. There are definitely other methods to seriously increase the productivity in your garden (bio-intensive for example). Still, I have found for the time I have available, and the yields I am currently getting, the square foot gardening method is more than enough. Good enough for now, safe enough to try. 
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  I have had a lot of questions about the things we do month by month to help not only maintain but add to our system. While the best time to have ‘planted a tree’ was 20 years ago, the next best time to start is now. Each little thing we do can and will help increase our ability to build resilient, regenerative and abundant lives. Let’s Make It Real - Here is our October garden to-do list. We hope it helps you in your endeavors Downloadable file attached at the bottom To-Do-List •Apply compost to your gardens •Make compost •Apply organic rich mulches to heavy feeders •Lightly shape lavender and any dead heading •Cut back the acacias (native fertility plants) •Take dragon fruit cuttings and strike them •Prune back the flowering shrubs •Plant out new flower seedlings and give a deep water •Lightly dig over and manure empty garden beds •Foliar feed the orchard and potager •Side dress vegetables with compost •Trim back leggy looking herbs. Dry these cuttings for latter use •Cut established asparagus •Sow seeds •Check over orchard for pests and possible disease •Mulch fruit trees as needed Seed Planting Amaranth, Artichokes, Asparagus, Basil, Climbing beans, Beetroot, Capsicum , Carrot Celery, Chilli, Chinese cabbage, Cucumber, Dill, Eggplant, Endive, Kohlrabi, Lemon balm, Parsley, Pumpkin, Radish, Rhubarb, Rosella, Rosemary, Pumpkin Shallots, Silverbeet, Sweet corn, Tomatoes, Watermelon 
 One question that came up today during the hands-on wicking bed workshop was what am I using for in-between the beds. My answer seemed to surprise the participant. While it is common for most people to use either woodchip or some other dead material what I look for, and use between my beds is a living cover.
Most people use woodchip (for example) as it can suppress the growth of weeds and 'feed the soil' as it breaks down—honestly an excellent idea in concept. But for me, it is not enough. In permaculture, we are designing for many functions, connections and uses as we can. Some of the reasons why I have opted to use a living mulch rather than a dead one * The reason I use a living mulch is that it is self-replicating. A dead mulch is something that works for a while and do not get me wrong, it does the job well, but it is something we continuously need to input and replace as it breaks down. A living mulch, on the other hand, is not something I need to keep applying as it has its own life cycle and continues to replace itself * It also has a living interaction with the soil beneath - the swapping of sugars with fungi and bacteria in its constant cycle. A diverse of life feeding a diversity of life * A living mulch will also alter the temperature surrounding it by between 7 to 10 degrees, making cooler in summer and warmer in winter. * I actually want the weeds. In permaculture, for the most part, we talk about how there 'is no weeds', and then we apply thing in our landscapes to exclude these same indicator plants. The 'weeds' are one of the natures healing mechanisms, and it tells me what is going beneath my feet, while also providing organic material for my compost and teas. * It is also a feed for my animals as well as habitat for the beneficial insect population. * A living cover also provides a surface area that will help capture mist and fog events adding another 1mm of the equivalent rainfall event. I could have just added a dead mulch. Still, by doing so, we would have missed out on all the other possibilities given using biology - above and below. We are designing not just in space, but in time and trying to make it as close looped as we can, using as much as we can, as often as we can before it leaves our systems |
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February 2021
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