How to make manure tea (For Plants)

Here's a quick and easy recipe to make your own probiotic fertilizer.

Step 1.

 Find a beastie with a gut full of microbes and grass.

Step 2. 

Find some poop from said beastie. 

Step 3. 

Mix the poop with some water. We do about 4 parts water to 1 part poop. There's no firm rule.  Once it is mixed let is sit for 1 to 3 days. The long the better I suppose. 

Step 5. 

That's it. Water you plants and watch your plants shoot skyward ecstatically. The microbes in the manure will colonize your soil and boost it's vitality and productivity; the organic matter will be digested by worms and other critters who will build your soil with their castings. 

Taking back our food system

Mob Grazing Alpacas

These are the results of our mob grazing alpaca experiment so far. The principle of mob grazing is that the animals eat the energy rich parts of the plants and trample the rest into the soil. This may seem like a waste but the trampled grass will feed the soil and worms and make the soil more productive in the long run. 

Lal's Marsh

     Below is the proposed site for Lal's Marsh created by a project developer from Ducks Unlimited. The marsh would increase the bird habitat on the property and help to drain the fields. 

Proposal for the marsh. 

     Last week we were taken on a tour of the bog by Jonathan from Ducks Unlimited. 

Gord scampers through the undulating squishy bog. Lal wasn't so sure this was a prudent action. 

The bog is quite lovely once you get into it.  

     A bog is basically a pond covered by a surface layer of moss and hydrophilic grasses and shrubs. It feels like walking on a water bed. Jonathan demonstrated the structure of the bog as we watched with growing concern. "Sometimes there's no bottom" he exclaimed non-chalantly as he plunged his leg into the sludgy abyss.

This is the proposed site for the marsh. The trees in the centre will become an island for duck nesting.

     This proposed site for the pond and bird habitat is next to the bog. We can't build it too close to the bog due to environmental regulations. Bogs are best left alone anyways as they serve more a more important purpose as a natural water filter.

The type of grass indicates the hydrological properties of the ground. Here sedge grasses indicate a high water table; perhaps a small spring flows from here.

    We hope that this marsh will attract and harbour bird and amphibian species.  This is part of our longer term goal to increase the vitality and biodiversity of this land. We believe that healthy land leads to healthy people and communities.

A tour of the greenhouse

Here is the greenhouse on the south side of the house. It was built for $32 and has since provided us with several months of daily greens. You don't have to spend a lot or travel to the supermarket to get fresh greens. Our salads are astonishing!

It is also used as a place to start seeds in planting trays. 

Here we have some radishes ready to go into salads.

Our tomatoes are starting to flower. 

Greenhouses are an excellent way to extend your growing season. They can be build with loose change and will reward you with months of fresh greens and veggies.

The basics of mob grazing in under two minutes

Moving the alpaca tractor

Until we acquire the cows these alpacas are cutting the grass. We want to try out the principles of mob grazing, i.e. high density herd formations with frequent moving, with these alpacas on our pasture. It certainly can't hurt. They are putting out good fertilizer and they seem happy.

Steering the tractor into position. The alpacas were little confused, trying to figure out how the earth could move while their fence remained stationary.

A proprietary alpaca tractor steering system. 

The alpacas are eager to gorge on the new grass. 

The alpacas have landed . . .

Herding the alpacas was interesting. 

Once you get one in the truck the others follow more willingly.

Once we got on our way they embraced their fate and enjoyed the air breezing through their hair.

Here they are in their new home - the world's first known alpaca tractor.

They quickly forgot the trauma of a forced shaving and kidnapping and got to business eating grass.

Looks like a happy alpaca.

Alapaca taxi done

Gord finished putting together a livestock box for the alpacas today. This is an up-cycled livestock box made from rubbish lumber. It gives the truck a nice hill-billy look we think. 

Tomorrow we pick up the alpacas. We'll keep you posted on how it turns out . . .

Intro to making raised beds

Start with some soil cleared of previous vegetation. In this case a grassy field was ploughed over. Start by loosening the soil with a pitchfork or shovel.  Ply the soil with the tool. The objective here is to loosen the subsoil to prepare the way for adventurous vegetable roots.

We dug ditches around our beds for several reasons. First, we have very high clay content in our soil which causes the soil to drain very slowly. Digging ditches lowers the water table allowing the beds to drain more effectively. Second, the excavated soil is piled loosely on top of the beds creating a loose soil medium for plants to root into. Finally, it exposes more surface area to the sun to warm them up faster. 

We break up the chunky soil further with a rake or three pronged hoe and add equal parts of lime and compost to ameliorate this sticky clay soil. Despite being farmed organically the past several years the soil has little organic material in it. A few years of permaculture and mob grazing cows should fix that. However this first year we have to do the cows job ourselves and suffer the back aches.

This is one of our beds planted with strawberries. It's best to plant your prepared beds as soon as possible before the soil compacts under the pressures of wind, water and wellies. It is also best to cover the soil with compostable material. This hampers weed growth, slows evaporation, and creates a hospitable environment for worms and other critters who will feed on this organic litter and build your soil for you while you're sleeping. 

We built a hoop house to cover the tomatoes planted in one of our beds. 

That's it. We are gardening students so please share any thoughts or suggestions with us. 

How to build a simple solar water heater

http://krisdedecker.typepad.com/files/large-area-solar-heating-system.pdf

These successful dairy farmers are mob grazing

http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0103/california/mcafee/index.shtml

http://www.agrinews.com/dairy/farmer/says/mob/grazing/works/great/for/his/herd/story-2792.html

Govinda's Farm is now a cruise ship destination!

Pedal Power - We could run our farm with old bikes

Pedal powered farms and factories

How to make an enviro-pot

1 Find a small container to shape your pot.

2 Wrap a newspaper, folded at the pot bottom, around your container.

3 Roll up the bottom toward the container to form the base of your enviro-pot.

Remove your container from the newly formed newspaper.

Voila! The finished product. 

Make lots. Give them away as gifts.

Put soil and seeds in them and give them warmth, light and water. 

A good overview of the potential of mob grazed cows to rejuvenate the land.

Alpaca tractor prototype complete

Installing the wire to keep the ghastly beasts out and the wooly ones in.

Home made skids from scrap metal and bolts.

Abandoned rusty bikes dismembered and put to use.

Alpaca tractor in its finished state. All it needs is a paint job - and some alpacas.

Alpaca tractor under construction

Almost done. Tomorrow we will put on the wire and the tarp for wind protection.