Community Garden

Saturday last week I went out to Tung Chung to visit Isabelle's friend May who has a couple of plots in a Community Garden. (Grandad's temple Lo Hon Ji overlooks Tung Chung) Isabelle also has a plot, which May will tend for her when they are established. Now everyone kept talking about the farm... but when i got there i realised that what they are talking about, we would call a community garden.
It was interesting to talk with the manager about what they would like to do in terms of organics as they are restricted by the funding and the presence of the school next door. One of the pictures shows the showcase room, which is netted against insects, concrete floor and everything is grown in boxes. Not exactly a natural system, but the funding body requires it. Then the soil outside is pretty poor and because of the school next door, they can't create their own compost, so they are getting topsoil (of which there is plenty) trucked in from a village nearby!
It was interesting to see that the sign out the front mentioned "social enterprise" and there is even a poster in the Metro that talks about social enterprise. We've got a bit of catching up to do on that front in Australia.
Afterwards we went back to May's house and had a great chat about organics with her friend from Taiwan who has been growing for the last 10 years.
I told them about the four most important things I had learnt from my growing experiences at Imago:
• Healthy plants don't get sick
• Feed the soil not the plant (difference between feeder and tap roots)
• Create a balanced soil (pH, Ca/Mg, biology etc)
• No-effort farming (self-sown)

Then we all went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant nearby, where we picked the seafood out of a dinghy. The restaurant was on an old wharf which had some of the original wooden fisher huts.. all soon to be removed by a potential bridge to china. People are protesting against the bridge because it may disturb the habitat of the rare white dolphin.

Cantonese Classes - Pt2

To graduate, we just needed to pass a test, which we were given 25mins to do and whch we marked ourselves... that probably explained my experience with the highly variable competences in the very first class.
So all ready to start Intermediate 1.2 i was wondering how i would do it. Being the only student i would get only half the time. Arlyn has started at school and Emily was back off to Taiwan for a while.
Turns out that another student joined my class, he was also born in HK but is English/Japanese. He's in his late 20's, went to International School (and so doesn't speak much Cantonese) but is fluent in English and Japanese and can speak a lot of Mandarin. Very interesting bunches of people!
We got one of the same teachers as last session... yay! But got the dreaded May for the second hour. Bugger.
In fact I was so unhappy that i spoke to the first hour teacher about it as May teaches in a very different style to all the other three teachers that i have had at the school. Without going into details i think it is not a very effective style for any student as it doesn't actually challenge the student to the work.
May had spoken to this teacher as she could sense something was up... so we'll see what happens next week.
I said (to the other teacher) that it wasn't personal with May and that if May were willing to change some aspects of her teaching style then I'd be happy. I pointed out that I'd come from Australia especially to do these classes and so it was very important to me that they be good classes.
Bit of a dilemma as I don't want to make anyone feel bad or rock the boat too much, but at the same time want to get the most out of the classes.

Cantonese Classes

On the first day of class I turned up and found out that i was an hour late... bugger. And i joined the class and did fine. The class was seven people mostly from England and America with a couple of them pretty good and the rest looked like they were struggling to me. The teacher for this hour was "May" and I thought she was pretty terrible. Didn't wait for students to answer, jumping in and answering for them, concentrating on students that were good already, not getting students to practice but just asking if they understood and if they did or didn't answer then moving on (it's very easy to say you do understand, but unless you actually do it you don't really know).
So at the end of that lesson I asked if I could join a higher class, only to find out I was now an hour late for that one!
Well this class had a great teacher and only two other students. Arlyn who is 13 years old and from the Phillipines. She really really wants to go back to the Phillipines, but doesn't want to let her Dad know that. She's just about to join the International school here and is busy learning Cantonese in the meantime.. partly to be able to speak to her Dad. She used to communicate with him via her older brother who seems to enjoy making her life difficult!
The other student was Emily from Taiwan who has also grown up in America. She's in her mid/late twenties is my guess and can read and write mandarin, so the main thing for her is pronouncing the Cantonese words. She's living with her cousin in Hong Kong and seems to fill her days with shopping and domestic chores, but only because she doesn't really know other people here.
At the end I asked if they would mind if i stayed in their class and it was settled i could stay. I was really pleased as three students was so much better than seven and we had a lot of fun during class. A bit later Laurent joined us, he was 22 years old and is Swiss Vietnamese, about to go to Beijing to do a year's research in Physics and has a girlfriend from Shenzhen living in Hong Kong.
What a great bunch... we had a lot of fun and started having lunches and dinners together.

Wilson's Trail

I was invited to go on a hike this week, and I was very pleased as it would be a great way to see a part of Hong Kong that I wouldn't normally see and to meet some new people. Little did I know what was in store for me!
I was told that we would be leaving at 11pm at night (too hot during the day), 11 people, 20km and we'd take about 7-8hours. Now I was thinking... hmmm how can a 20km walk take 7-8 hours?
I took with me 3L of water, a fold up umbrella, some dried mangoes and raisins and a torch all in a shopping bag. The others were a bit surprised when I turned up looking like i was off on a shopping trip.
Anyways off we went...
We walked up a mountain where we got some of the most incredible views over the New Territories, but for some reason we didn't stop to take in the scenery we just pointed and said wow and kept walking...?! Actually there wasn't much talking the whole trip, except perhaps to say "siu sum" meaning be careful as there were plenty of slippery bits.
After a few hours we got to the Hok Tau Resevoir and had our longest break the whole night...10mins. People even took their bags off! I was hoping for a swim but apparently you can't swim where there are no lifesavers.
So we set off on the next stage of the walk, straight up the mountainside again and here is where i found how a 20km trip could take all night. The terrain here is very steep and we went up and down up and down all night long. I was absolutely completely and utterly buggered by the end of the night. Meanwhile the others seemed to be doing fine. Much respect to Hong Kong hikers!
I've tried to give some perspective of the elevation using a Google Earth picture, however it looks like it is flat on top, which it certainly wasn't! We walked from sea level up to the top and back down and back up again. And up top there was plenty of ups and downs. Arrgghhh!

For more information and maps on the Wilson Trail see: http://www.hkwalkers.net/longtrail/eng/wtrai/wtrail.html

Guess how old I am...

When going out in the Cross the other night, I got asked for ID. Now you would have thought that being twice the legal age that the bouncer may have over looked me, but no... he didn't bat an eyelid when he looked at my license. We figured that if he couldn't count that high that we could get in.
People rarely guess my age in Australia, however I would have thought that in Hong Kong that people wouldn't have the same difficulty. But to my surprise they have exactly the same difficulty, even relatives! So that puts pay to the cultural differences rationale.
Not such a bad problem to have really.

Things I didn't realise I don't know how to do...

Being in HK with all these relatives around, with perhaps a little bit of fussing going on... I've discovered that in all these years I do not yet know how to:
• eat soup
• use a fan
• turn on an air-conditioner

Come back regularly to see what else i have yet to learn how to use!

Swine Flu

Lots of people wearing masks over here, but the most noticeable thing in relation to swine flu is that the buttons in the lift have a plastic cover taped over them and a sign above them saying they are cleaned regularly.

Errant Trousers

The apartment that Aunt Esther and Uncle Michael live in have a swimming pool. Now I imagined that being HK, that this would be a small little indoor pool. But as it turns out it is quite a large one with an egyptian theme, outdoors up against the hillside covered in jungle. The Egyptian theme means that there are water spouts and some misters giving atmosphere.

Each day Esther and I go down and have a swim. There are regulation hours and of course two life guards in case anybody gets in trouble in the pool which is 1.2m at it's deepest.

This morning at the pool side, Aunty Esther came to me and said she had something very serious to talk to me about and that she felt very upset. My mind was whirling, but then I thought being HK that it was probably not that bad...

Esther came to me to admit that my trousers had blown off the line on the verandah and were caught halfway down the building. Much relieved we had a laugh as we looked up at them flapping in the breeze.

Funnily enough they were trousers that i'd got last time i was in HK, so they'll be very easy to replace.

Hong Kong

Well, it's been a little while since i've posted, but i thought that seeing as i'm in Hong Kong on a holiday, it might be a good opportunity to start blogging again. Not farm related i know, but hopefully interesting!

The trip over was a breeze, but without air conditioning, it can be pretty hot here... it's probably just that i've gone from winter in Sydney to summer over here. Love it!

But the daily reality is that even after a swim in the pool i come out sweating as the water is 33'C would you believe.

Today, I made the terribly strenuous decision to start at beginners level 3 instead of intermediate 1 and certainly wasn't going to go with the assessors suggestion of beginner level 1... bah!

Eating like mad over here, non-stop eat-a-holics it would seem, however i think that will settle down as the new visitor status wears off.

Fencing!

Wow, exciting news! A fence is being put up around the mandala garden to help keep the wallabies out. This will be a wooden post and wire mesh fence. Combined with the electric fence that we'll put at "jumping" distance should hopefully deter the wallabies that don't mind the electric fence.
The plan will be to grow some pretty (and maybe edible) vines through the fence so that it serves a few functions.

Quiet Garlic

A quiet week on the farm... we've finished planting garlic and are seeing the shoots emerge.

Ecovillage

Some good thought has gone into the establishment of an ecovillage in the Hunter this week. The dream is to create an association of people that work together to reclaim our basic abilities to feed and house ourselves and to connect deeply with each other.

Imago Forest is one potential location, but we are not being rigid about this.

Imago Forest is on 173 acres, most of which is forested with beautiful tall Eucalypts. There are several cleared spots between 1-5 acres in size. The plan is to have hamlets in each of the clearings. The hamlets would be made up of 3-10 separately owned cottages placed around the outer edge of the clearing. Each cottage would be private and have it's own garden. In the centre of each clearing would be common land eg. Mandala Garden, Pastures etc.

Each hamlet would have its own individual characteristics determined by the people living in the hamlet.

The eco-village is intended to be flexible so that you can own/lease and live there full/part-time. Within the context of the guidelines, being able to fit into everyone's lifestyle is important to us.

If you'd like to know more get in touch: ecovillage@imagoforest.com.au

Bokashi re-visited

Bokashi is an amazing way to speed up the "composting" of food. Two weeks ago I buried a bucket of bokashi into a shallow hole in the ground. The next bokashi bucket was due to be buried and so I had a look at the previously buried bokashi... completely converted into nutritious soil!
So if you have two buckets it looks very likely that you will be able to fill the bucket over a period of about two weeks, rest it for two weeks then bury it. In the meantime you will be filling the second bucket. By the time you need another bucket the first will have been emptied and be ready for use. And the soil will be converted already so that you can bury the next bucket in the same spot. You won't need to find an ever expanding area of land to bury your bokashi.
Brilliant!
(This is an update on a piece I wrote on Bokashi at the end of March.)

Raw Food

I had a very interesting experience over the weekend which completely debunked some of the preconceptions that I had about diet. I attended an "Awakening Warrior" workshop at Imago Forest and had some trepidation, not least because for two days we'd be following a raw vegan diet.
The diet meant raw fruit and raw vegetables only. Not only no meat, but no dairy, grains, nuts and no cooking!
As it turned out I felt so good that I kept going for another day, until vegetarians arrived at Imago and we started eating ... cooked food. I really noticed how the grains sat heavily in my stomach after the raw diet.
I think that I may have taken to the diet more easily because of the amount of fresh raw fruit and veg that I have available at Imago, but I'll still be reading a book recommended to me called "The 80/10/10 Diet" by Dr Douglas Graham. This will apparently give me the knowledge to know why humans thrive on a low fat diet of whole, fresh, ripe, raw, organic plant foods in simple combination.

Paul and Hannah return!

So much has changed since we were last here with Julian at Imago Forest, firstly, everything seems to have grown and grown!
The fruit trees located throughout the Mandala garden are looking taller and wider, they’ll soon be providing more shade and some delicious fruit!
We’ve also been enjoying lots of healthy (and very tasty) leafy greens including Silverbeet, Tatsoi, Kale and Endive which are all popping up around the garden. It’s also nice to see tall bright-yellow sunflowers poking their heads up in the sunshine, the chooks are loving their seeds.
The next major change is the soil, there’s been a big improvement (it’s softer, moist and darker in colour), which makes bed preparation a lot easier. I’m sure the Italian Garlic we planted yesterday will do very well in such healthy conditions.
We were last here with Julian back in September/October 2007 and between then and now we’ve been busy WWOOFing up the coast towards Queensland and living with friends for 14 months down in Melbourne. Although we’re only here for a very short time (5 days), it’s wonderful to return to such positive sights and sounds around the farm.
Some of the other things we’ve noticed include:
• the dam is full to overflowing
• beds all look so much healthier after so much rain recently.
• Julian showed us the garlic he produced recently

Horn Manure

It's that wonderful time of year again, when the earth is cooling down and the sun is getting lower in the sky. It's a time to rejuvenate the earth after the intense spring and summer growing season.
At Imago Forest we have been putting lime, certified organic fertiliser and biodynamic horn manure concentrate out each spring and autumn to improve the soil.
The amounts of lime and fertiliser have been carefully calculated to bring the soil up to horticultural standard over a period of around 3-4 years. This makes sure that we don't "shock" the soil and natural processes have a chance to increase in sync with our activities.
The horn manure we put out is a special biodynamic preparation that is used much like a homeopathic remedy to bolster the overall strength and energy.
This process has been seeing great results and each season we notice the beds become richer and easier to work.

Scrumpers Delight

Years ago, I started to notice just how many fruit trees there are overhanging the streets of Sydney. I started marking them down so that each year I could go back eat some fruit and keep the streets clean at the same time!
Recently I realised that Google Maps could turn this into a joint community project, where anybody anywhere could place fruit trees onto the same map and allow anybody to find food in their area.
This is an untapped resource going to waste... by making the trees easily found we can help utilise the abundance that already exists in the community.
If you are interested, have a look at http://imagoforest.com.au/rs_ev.html

From just a seed...

We've previously written about how the mandala garden makes some things easy. In this case we've got a picture of giant sunflowers that have gone completely to seed. Not only were they beautiful to look at, but now they will provide some welcome variety in the chooks diet. One thing that we didn't quite get around to was to also grow beans up the sunflower stalks as a natural bean pole.
Similarly, here is a picture of a carrot gone to seed. Carrots have been a bit recalcitrant until lately... i think the soil must finally be at a point to support carrots as some of them have been magnificent. What has been interesting to learn is just how huge the flower and resulting seed heads are from a single carrot. I'll be expecting many many carrots next year from this one plant!

Beautiful Borders

Although it seems like an impossible task to keep the wallabies out of the garden, we're on a long-term mission to make it harder for them to see and get in. The concept is to plant a tall screen plant around the outside of the mandala. In the picture you can see baby arrowroot that have been propagated up from just three plants two years ago. In the second picture you can see that we have also planted comfrey. When large, both of these can be controlled by slashing down and will make great additions to a compost heap as well as providing an attractive screen.

Celebrity Citrus

I've been very pleased wandering around the mandala lately to see that the citrus have really got a good flush of growth on them and some are even beginning to bear fruit after only two years in the ground.
Up at Mt Royal it can get pretty cold in winter, and the young citrus weren't faring very well. I thought that it was possible they may not make it through. However after a couple of years of settling in, they seem to be about to thrive and should weather the cold much more easily.

Besides being tasty and able to store longer than stone fruit, the citrus are evergreen and so are located in the southern most parts of the mandala. This prevents them from shading out the garden in winter.

Bokashi

What is it? Well, bokashi is a great way of composting food, especially if you want to keep that bucket of compost in your kitchen from stinking.
You put your kitchen scraps into an air tight container and sprinkle some bran onto the scraps. The bran has had good microbes embedded into it which ferment the scraps. A couple of weeks after the container has been filled, you can dig the contents into the ground and they are well on their way to being broken down. This makes for a quick decomposition in the ground and a rich area in your garden.

Soil Preparation

This week turned out to be a week of soil preparation (and not so much garlic planting).
Having started with pretty typical acidic Australia soil, I've been put a moderate amount of lime onto the beds each Spring and Autumn. This is gradually bringing the acidity levels down and thus making the soil better able to store and release nutrients.
Rather than adding a large amount in one go, I've been spinning it out over several seasons to allow the soil to adjust and develop more gradually. After this addition, i'm expecting that I'll only need to add a small "maintenance" amount each year. The difference in growth has been noticeable this year as we've crossed a threshold!
We also built a compost heap which we'll use in spring. According to biodynamic practices, the first six weeks, when the compost should get hot, is the break down stage. The following few months, which is often left out, is the building back up stage. It is during this second stage that additional goodies are developed in the compost heap.

Gorgeous Garlic

It doesn't seem like long ago that we pulled up last season's garlic crop and now it's time to plant again. I saved 3kg of the best and juiciest garlic from the last crop to plant this year. We'll be planting on Tuesday, so if you'd like to be involved then get in touch... we'd love to have you there.
Cold weather seems to develop the flavour and texture of the garlic, which is just as well as we won't be harvesting this crop until November. And the garlic will see quite a few days of frost between now and then.
Hopefully the vampire population won't have built up too much before the end of the year.

Extreme Vagaries

Drought, followed by flood, followed by locusts? After the scorching weather, the rain was extremely welcome, however 300mm later and even the zucchinis are refusing to grow bigger. You can see in the picture to the left that the leeches were having a field day! With a bit of sun this coming week, we're expecting to see some rapid growth, however there will be a bit of a reduction in Imago produce until this happens.

Weeds work again

With all the hot and dry weather lately, it was really obvious to see what works well in retaining soil moisture. Beds that had lots of tall growth, including weeds, were growing thick and lushly.
Whereas where the plants were sparse, the sun had got to the ground and dried it out. So again, keeping weeds in the garden has filled a useful role. This is contrary to the usual thinking which says that weeds take water away from your crops.
Of course it now all a moot point as we've had 120mm of rain over 4 days! The dam is coming right up to the spill way again and we've got the fire going in the middle of summer to stay warm. Gotta go, the lasagna is almost ready.

Stunning

It really is beautiful up here at the moment. Although it is very dry, the dam is holding up well and keeping the vegies going. Millo and Shelley are up at the farm and with fresh eyes they are eagerly picking the blackberries which can still be found here and there. Look out this week for fresh berries and jam!

Inside Please!

It's been a long time coming, but some solid walls are about to go up for the wwoofers. There's a large open shed that was built many years ago, that Millo and I put some pavers down this week. After that we'll put up some walls and then the wwoofers will be able to move out of the tent and into the cottage!
It was a week of hard work as we dug the foundations, compacted the gravel and laid the pavers. Initially we were cutting the bricks by hand which was slow and resulted in many broken bricks. We then borrowed an angle grinder with a diamond head which allowed us to do the whole lot again, neater and in the same time it took us to do half the job by hand.
Thank you Millo and Simon!

Jumping for Joy

What a joy it was to come back from Christmas holidays to find the garden jumping with green vibrancy. The Bok Choy, Zucchini, Salad Mix, Tatsoi and Sunflowers are really bursting out of the beds.