Chook Revelations

Aha! was the thought that came to mind following a visit from the vet... It turns out that chickens aren't terribly adaptable when making new friends.
My chickens have good looking combs and wattles, which usually indicates a healthy chook. But they've been pecking each other's feathers out, which i've been told indicates everything from malnutrition to lice to boredom!
I've been conscientiously working away at all these possibilities -- I know it's not malnutrition as they get a premium certified organic feed, it's not lice as there aren't any on them and it's not boredom as they do all the normal things chooks are meant to do and every two weeks get a brand new paddock to play in.
So when the vet said that chooks can't re-establish a new hierarchy after they've established one pecking order, it all made sense.
So, chooks can establish one pecking order in their lifetime. But if they are mixed up after that, they can't establish another one and will constantly peck everybody else in their confusion. Unfortunately, short of killing them, there is nothing that can be done. However I thought it would be worth letting you know as I don't think this is a widely known fact.

Wallabies revisited

With the ongoing devastation caused by the wallabies, I've put some serious thinking towards the problem... and realised the obvious, which is I need to make inside less attractive, getting in harder and outside more attractive.
So we pulled up the electric mesh fence and mowed the grass under it very short to reduce the amount of grass touching the wires and then put it back up straighter and taller. Just to make sure, I also set up a highly visible two-strand electric fence just in front of the other.
Then to provide more fresh young grass shoots outside the garden I slashed the paddock around the garden.
And finally, on days when i'm in town I leave Perra inside too.

A few days on, the number of wallaby droppings inside appears to have dropped and outside increased. And even better, the silverbeet seems to be growing whole, untouched leaves. Fingers crossed!

Shop Coordinator

A big thank you to each of you during this transition period. Change can be a bit disconcerting, however it will allow us to continue to provide fresh and tasty, seasonal organic produce to you.

It has also allowed me to get help, and so it's confirmed, Chris Searle is the new Shop Coordinator. He can be contacted at imagoforest.singleton.orders at gmail.com. I trust you will enjoy his smiling face each week.

This in turn will mean that I can start to concentrate on the farm and increasing the amount of produce grown here and therefore appearing in your boxes.

This is just in the nick of time, as I was wrong in thinking that i'd managed to keep the wallaby out of the garden. In fact there's now two of them. So in addtion to doing some nightly patrols of the garden with Perra, I'm leaving Perra in the garden on days i'm away to guard it.

Although i'm resigned to the loss of the beans, tomatoes and silverbeet, I'm concerned about the future of the Apple trees as I think there can't be too many leaf buds left to keep the tree alive.

Better go patrol the garden...!

NSW Farmers Association

I went to a NSW Farmers Association convention on Thursday and heard the President and various people speak about all sorts of things related to farmers and farming. The Association is very good at political representations and there is a lot to learn there. However it is on what the Association doesn't represent that I've been finding interesting over the last few years.
It is very clear that the Association does not represent or have part of its culture organic farming or non-Caucasian farmers. I find this "surprising" for a few reasons:
Organic Farming is the fastest growing agricultural sector all around the world. Not using chemicals makes sense environmentally and for farmer and consumer. I have yet to meet a farmer that enjoys either using or paying for chemicals. It makes sense to me then for the Association to have organic farming on it's agenda and to start including it in it's discussions.
There are over 2000 farms in the Sydney Basin and most of the farmers there are from a Non-English Speaking Background (NESB). It is reported that they contribute over $1billion/year to the economy! This is a huge missed opportunity for the Association in terms of membership and in terms of truly representing Australian farming. Be great to see a forward thinking and inclusive Association include in their corporate image pictures of non-caucasians
It's possible that I may be going to their Annual Conference, so we'll see what happens there!

No-effort Farming

Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer coined the phrase, "No-Effort Farming". He noticed that rice seeds that germinated on their own and with little/no interference from people tended to grow best. By copying the conditions that these healthy rice plants required he developed a rice ball that he just threw around the paddock which then grew with no-effort.
I've noticed a similar effect in the mandala garden. Because the beds are cultivated by the chickens at most once every six months, the plants have plenty of time to set seed. What I've also noticed is that if I'm a bit late in cultivating then planting my own seeds, an incredible profusion of plants comes up from these dropped seeds already in the ground.
So putting two and two together, I'm going to see what happens if I consciously allow all the beds to go fully to seed, then let the chickens onto them, then not dig for a few weeks and see what comes up. The first couple of beds have produced some magnificent Bok Choy. And I'm excited about a bed of silverbeet on its way.
If it works well consistently, I'm going to have to identify exactly what non-intervention results in the best seed set and germination!

Frosty reception

Only a few weeks ago I noticed that it was cooler and now we've had our first frost! I'd better get out there and pick the tomatoes that are left after the wallaby had it's feast!
I put Perra (my dog) to work for the first time in her life last week. While I was in town on Tuesday, she patrolled the inside of the mandala garden, or at least that was what she was meant to be doing. Either way, it seemed her presence helped to keep the wallaby out as it has obviously decided that the electric fence is worth braving for the goodies on the inside.
Today I got out the lawn mower to get the garden in some semblance of order in preparation for the field day in three weekends time. Unfortunately it won't be a scene of abundance following the wallaby, but at least it will be neat.
I hope you've been enjoying the flowers in your box, the picture is of a stunning flower that blossomed in time for me to see it when I got back from my travels.

Organics in Hong Kong pt.2

A few days after my visit to Apple and Jo's farm, I headed out to Produce Green which is an NGO that runs an organic farm, education centre and allotment system. Doris (left), who I met at the Hong Kong Flower Show, kindly took me out to her allotment and showed me around.
People in Hong Kong lease a patch of ground (Doris' two square metres costs $300/year) in which they can grow organic vegetables. Produce green provides them with tools, fertilisers, mentors, and watering for when you are not there. Seeds and seedlings are also for sale.
The really nice thing I noticed was how people knew each other - socialising and giving each other a hand. The "weekend" farmers would often bring their family and friends around and it would be a fun and educational day for all.
The picture (right) shows about 60 allotments!
Speaking with Doris and the resident farmer at Produce Green, I was impressed by the similarities between Australia and Hong Kong (air quality aside!).
People have the same concerns about food, health and the environment - there was talk of carbon footprinting, certification and stress... Farmers also work hard on crop rotation, getting good materials for organic composting, green manures and educating conventional customers into the world of organic produce.

For some reason I thought that things might be different, and although there may only be 70 organic farms in Hong Kong, the level of awareness is high and growing.