This Sustainable House

In the case of TSH, we have approx. 20,000…

This week saw the arrival of a hive of bees, plus some additional equipment, thanks to a friend of mine. It’s great to finally have bees on the property even if they are only agisted at this stage.

The bees that arrived are European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and they are currently living in a top bar, as opposed to the usual langstroth, hive. The top bar hive is really very interesting as it was developed to make a hive which more closely simulates the bees natural building methods, but also to create a hive which is easier to build. If you have ever put together a langstroth hive you will know that, should you wish to build one from scratch, you would need to be a master cabinet maker. The dimensions of the langstroth are quite exacting, to the very ‘mm’.

Of course they get around this by making most of the pieces in a factory where jigs and computers can be used to reliably cut the pieces to size. All the beekeeper needs to do is to put the bits together, and bingo he has a hive. Unfortunately, all this effort increases the cost of the hive considerably making them unavailable to a good portion of the worlds population. Enter the top bar hive.

The top bar hive is a very simple construction that uses simple tools, and no timber more complex than a sheet of ply. I am told, having not had the opportunity to turn my hands to making a top bar hive yet, that a full hive can be built over an afternoon in the shed.

The key difference between the top bars, apart from their shape, is the fact that it is a frameless hive meaning that the bees will built their own honeycomb from scratch. More like nature intended it to be.

In the meantime I am just going to enjoy our new arrivals, and learn more about beekeeping with top bar hives.

Note: For more information on top bar hives head over to Biobees.

Beyond the Brink is Peter Andrews’s sequel to his best-seller ‘Back from the Brink.’ In this much-awaited sequel he sets out a radical, yet achievable, plan to bring our landscape back to life.

Never having read Back from the Brink I cannot comment on that book but I have to admit that I found Beyond the Brink… well underwhelming!

Don’t get me wrong, Peter outlines some very important (if not essential) philosophies concerning sustainable agriculture but mixed amongst these nuggets is a lot of unsupported rantings, and misinformation. This could obscure the main point if it wasn’t read critically.

The key point that Peter makes is that the basis of all fertility are plants, and that farmers (of whatever type) need to recognise this. He argues against laying paddocks bare to ‘fallow’, for the planting of tree on high points (so as to spread fertility below) and for the growth of any type of plant that will correct the imbalances in the soil. Especially if those are ‘weeds’.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone involved, or interested, in sustainable agriculture. Just remember to separate the ‘wheat from the chaff.’

One a recent post I mentioned that I have just reintroduced chickens into the permanent run. These were hybrid girls, and I was looking for a handsome Rooster to join them. Well the ‘prayers’ were answered…

Today I picked up a pair of very handsome Australorp roosters from a local breeder. It was pure luck, or not depending on your beliefs, that I found a breeder literally around the corner with a few ‘boys’ available.

I collected two boys and they are now living with their little ‘harem’ in the permanent run.

Picture of one of the boys and his girls

Well it has been a couple of months since my previous flock of chickens had met with a grisseley end, but in that time I managed to fix a few problems and anticipate a couple more. So the time came to get some more chickens.

The girls came from a breeder in Hill Top, and they are a motley crew of Hybrids. It’s different having hybrids, I’m usually a pure breed kind of guy, but I do have to admit that the mixture of colours and personalities is rather nice.

They arrived approx 3 weeks ago, and are settling in rather nicely. Mind you, a handsome rooster amidst their august company wouldn’t go astray… Anyone have a lovely boy they are looking to re-home?

The next step is to get them into the chicken dome for spring? And then to turn the permanent enclosure into a grow-out area for meat chickens.

There’s always something to do…

On Monday 21st a new WWOOFer ( Willing Workers On Organic Farms) arrived to help me with a few tasks. So far she has been exceedingly helpful with providing feedback on a course of study (pregnancy testing in cattle), assisting with animal husbandry, fencing and a few odd jobs.

Whilst she is here, a little more than a month or so, we will also finish the chicken dome, acquire a couple of new cows (perhaps) and fence a couple of new paddocks.

For more information on the WWOOF scheme, please go to the links page.

This weekend we were blessed with the most incredible weather and it seemed a shame to waste it. It’ll be very cold all too soon!

So this weekend was spent pottering, doing a few homey things such as planting seeds, chopping wood and building strawberry towers. In fact, the strawberry towers are what this post is all about…

So what is a strawberry tower? Well in this case it is a length of PVC drain pipe (100mm diameter x 1400mn length) with a series of small holes drilled in the side (24 in all). The bottom of the tower is capped, the cap having drain holes drilled in it, and the top is hung by chain from the verandah fascia.

The strawberry crowns are planted in the holes, into enriched potting mix, and are watered by a central ‘weep’ line down the centre. The top section, where the chain joins the pipe, is then filled with clean straw to minimise evaporative losses.

The concept is that the strawberries grow against the clean PVC outer, allowing one to just pick and eat. They are also at an easy height for picking without bending, are kept free of the ground and therefore snails and slugs, and take up very little floor space (the strawberries are growing in the vertical space like a vine). In fact there is still room beneath for a pot of herbs, say mint, which cab collect the drainage water from the tower.

This concept of ‘stacking’ is very important in all permaculture designs as it allows us to significantly increase the yield from all available space. For example, if I planted the strawberries in the garden (using the same area of about 30cm diameter) then I’d have room for 5 plants yielding about 1.75Kg of strawberries (~7 punnets). However by planting the strawberries in the vertical plane I have managed to squeeze in 24 plants which should yield about 8.4kg of strawberries (~33 punnets) AND a herb crop such as mint from the pot underneath. All up this is an increase of yield of over 400% which is just phenomenal.

A fact sheet detailing the design/construction of these pots will be available on the Green Phoenix Permaculture website in the next few weeks, so if you are interested in creating some strawberry towers then head over to there.

UPDATE

Today I noticed a ‘fault’ with the irrigation system. Essentially the piece of ‘weep hose’ which watered the towers has failed leaving the plants dry, and some dying. Unfortunately I think I’ll lose about 6 crowns due to the failure, but they can be replaced.

I had honestly thought that this might be a problem, the chance of the tubing clogging with small particles was always pretty high. As a result the ‘back up plan’ was to place a dripper in the top of the tower, and let gravity do the work. So that’s exactly what I have done… I’ll let you know how it gets on.

HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth – our Earth – as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world.

This is, quite possibly, one of the most powerful documentaries ever created… it is essential viewing for every human being.

Watch the trailer below

To watch the whole movie go to http://www.youtube.com/homeproject.