Clearing Jungle to plant Taro

Odin and Mitra are showing off our latest harvest of Taro, the super nutritious wonder food that thrives on our island.

Their favorite way to eat it is fried, but we like it steamed also.

We discovered a natural spring that feeds a boggy area on our land and decided to clear it for propagation of a large Taro zone.

The first phase was to cut the trees and underbrush and then burn it to create a nutrient rich ash to spread on the area. 

After the bog was cleared it was planted with young corms to begin growing in their new home.

We have several cultivars planted to find out which ones thrive in wet soil and which thrive in a dryer soil.

The boys inspect the work with Magnus after the fire burns down and the plants are in the ground.

Compost Bin Building

Our compost bins are made from recycled pallets, available for free near any warehouse district.

Our woofers lent a hand to carry the materials and build the bins under Konswan's excellent direction.

We use the pallets to create a cubic meter area that is breathable but maintains the shape of the bin, important to achieve a HOT compost.

After reading Joseph Jenkins fantastic and informative book, The Humanure Handbook, we decided to give it a try.

In previous years we spent days hauling cow and horse manure onto our site, in order to compost it for our gardens.  Sadly we deposited our own manure into a waste pit.  Luckily we saw the light and created a sustainable system that keeps our gardens happy and our bathroom smelling fresh.

Woofer Cabana Update for June

We have been steadily improving the living quarters for our volunteer guests from the WWOOF Program.  Now we have completed the floor for the lower quarters that are destined to become a kitchen and sitting area.

A big thank you to Jose from the Public Works department for donating the wood for this phase of our project.  We have Acacia wood joists with Elm planks on top.

The wood is rough cut, but smooth enough to walk on bare foot with great comfort and ideal for napping on or meditating.

We built another wall of Cryptomeria Japonica to stop the dominant wind direction.

We are now preparing to build the back wall also.

The sleeping quarters are upstairs and can fit 4 people.

The roof is nearly complete, but still leaks in one spot during a very heavy rain.

The long side window faces East so that the sunrise if visible from the Atlantic Ocean in the mornings.

Eggs...Eggs....and more Eggs

We currently have 20 laying hens, 2 roosters (because one always needs a spare cock), 2 helmeted guinea hens, and 2 helmeted guinea cocks.

We now have a fenced in area for the fowl, so we can find all the eggs they lay and keep accurate records.  Every time we purchase a new bag of chicken feed, we start a new column of  eggs collected daily.  Below you can see the results of 5 sacks of 50kg chicken feed.  We average between 10 to 20 eggs daily.

The chickens seem to enjoy their habitat and use the laying boxes as well as the fodder crops to hide their eggs.  Below is a clutch of eggs hidden inside the Perennial Kale crop. 

We planted Tagasaste and Kale for them to eat and to provide shade during the hot summer months.  

 Both crops provide a high protein seed and leaf combination that is ideal for fowl consumption.

We also planted White Mulberry trees, which  produce a protein rich fruit for the fowl to enjoy. 

Inside the fowl pen we have limes, oranges and strawberry guava trees. The fowl like to roost in the trees at night and only eat the wind fall guava.  They keep the trees free of parasites with their constant insect hunting.

Our goal is to produce 100% of their feed on site and not have to rely on buying feed from the shop.

Every year the cost per egg drops as we provide more fodder for the fowl to consume.  Now we are able to have eggs year round at 30% of the cost of buying them in the shops.  And of course, with the satisfaction of knowing the chickens have a great life full of sunshine and fresh air and dust baths.

We are able to cut our costs of buying other high protein foods for our family and friends by incorporating eggs into all of our meals. 

Eggs are VERY healthy and guilt free source of protein and many other vitamins and minerals.

The Spillway is Complete

Magnus has been working steadily to stabilize the bridge that connects the farm to the rest of Flores Island.  Using a cement mixer and some help from friends, the project is stable now.

A special thank you to José Carlos, Elisabete, and Fernando of our local government for providing materials and transport of those materials to our site.

Over 6,000 pounds of sand, gravel, iron and cement were placed to create a massive spillway in times of flooding.  This is a continuation of the spillway project previously blogged.

Iron reinforcing bars binds the concrete into a single mass to resist erosion and allow heavy vehicles to pass safely over the tubes.

Odin and Mitra are happy to apply water to the curing concrete while  it hardens.

A temporary stairway allows easy passage to the gardens.

The project is nearly finished, only a bit more materials to fill in the exposed tubing and to guard against the water breaking the bridge.

Colocasia esculenta is thriving on our farm

Magnus has been steadily clearing and planting a boggy area on our land for the last few years. The ideal crop for this sunny, protected and wet location is a local favorite,  Colocasia esculenta, or Taro.

This amazing plant has been cultivated by humans for over 28,000 years.  Taro is the true Paleolithic Staple  food. 

The starchy root grows quickly and is an ideal permaculture plant.

Our wwoofers, Anjelika and Hannah, helped to weed the area and plant young corms into surrounding land that had been cleared earlier.

Renault took a break in the taro patch to enjoy cool spring water and bask in the shade that these majestic and ancient friends.

According to fitday, "Taro root is often used in a similar fashion to a potato, but in fact has better nutritional qualities than a potato. It has almost three times the dietary fiber, which is important for proper digestive health and regularity. Fiber can also fill you up and make you feel less hungry with fewer calories. Taro root has a low Glycemic Index, as opposed to potato which has a high Glycemic Index. A low GI means that taro effects blood sugar levels slowly, without the peaks and crashes of a high GI, which lead to increased hunger later on. Eating a diet of low GI foods can also help prevent diabetes.  Taro is nutritious, and is an excellent source of potassium, which is an essential mineral for many bodily functions. Taro also contains some calcium, vitamin C, vitamin E and B vitamins, as well as magnesium, manganese and copper."

 Mitra gave Daddy-Magnus a helping hand to harvest these giant corms....

....and lent a hand to clean the corms before processing.

After the outer skin is removed, the taro corms are cut into slices.

The corms are then steamed in our Hydro-Electric powered Slow Cooker for several hours to cook thoroughly.

After being steamed, they can be pan seared in home-rendered lard to make a tasty snack.

All the boys love taro.  Daddy likes to wrap it in garden leaves, but the boys prefer to dip it in ketchup and mayonnaise.

The local Azorean milk adds the protein, along with grass fed Flores beef.

Eating locally is so much fun and tasty too!

Stay tuned for fermented taro (poi).

Natural lactobacillus fermentation

What can you do with red radishes, daikon radishes and other vegetables in your kitchen?

Natural lactobacillus fermentation, with whole mustard seeds, juniper berries, julienned butternut squash, carrots, sliced onions, minced garlic, sliced red mustard leaves, salt, tiny bit of cider vinegar, tiny bit of brown cane sugar.