Macadamia

Today I had the opportunity to visit an amazing orchard with my classmates. Inspirational. A time to dream and appreciate some amazing mahi.

The macadamia flowers blew me away -and the bees visiting them.

Cob wall

Just about finished the cob infill in our small wooden shed.

First we put up lots of battens to help hold it in place then mud.

Well not just mud this mix is equal parts clay, sand and pumice with as many pine needles as we could mix in.

Plaster

The finished plaster in our small shed.
Sieved clay, sand and cow manure. Applied by hand and smoothed with an ice cream container paddle.

It was a little green to start with but turned creamy when dry.

Shady stream

The shelter around our stream is just about completely shading out the water. The bank has been stabilised and the water is a lot clearer after rain. We have been finding lots of native fishes in the pools and the children spend hours playing in the cool while I am in the garden.

The shelter is a diverse range of species with multiple functions.

Timber, food for us, stock, birds and insects as well as building soil.

Crimson clover

The digger driver thought I was mad. I followed him around with a pillowcase scattering seeds.

A few weeks later the ground was covered just as nature intended it. But it was my mix to prepare the ground for planting and nurture the many pollinators and other small creatures that like cover.

Not to mention beautiful.

Crimson clover has deep taproots and flowers for a very long time.

Seedlings

I love the energy of seedlings. One day they are not even there and a week later the seed trays are all green with life.

I am growing most of my plants from my own seed this year. It is very powerful to grow with seed over a few years.

Selecting out what you desire and seeing changes to the seed line.

This is my second try as mice ate the first lot I planted. Thanks to an amazing neighbor for a tunnel house I now have a mouse free seed raising place.

Diversity

The grass is growing and we are enjoying the diversity of stock using it. Lilly the cow goes first, then the sheep and pigs, followed by the chickens, ducks and starlings who are busy in all of the nesting boxes.

And that is just what we can see above ground!