Mid-Summer on our Farm

Summer is absolutely beautiful on our homestead.  Below you can see our house in blue with the Woofer Cabana to the right, across the valley.

We are inundated with ripe bananas this time of year.

We eat them fresh, fried, baked in breads, fermented into vinegar, and soon dehydrated.

Newly planted sweet potatoes are thriving with the protection of a hibiscus and Camilla hedge to block the winds.

Our winter onions are ready for harvest and the ground is ready to be replanted for the next crop.

This is our first year to grow them and now that we know how easy it is, we will grow many more in the coming year.

Red Mustard and Aborigines are thriving in a bed of mulched earth. 

The jungle we cleared is now full of banana trees and gardens.

A closer look reveals tomatoes, beans, onions, squash, sweet potatoes and herbs thriving in the rich jungle valley.

The food has gone wild here, with figs, ground cherries, taro, peppers, citrus, comfrey, peanuts and coffee thriving in the sun together.

A closer look at the above gardens.

Our first figs are coming after waiting a few years for the trees to mature.

And of course we have more jungle to clear and plant until we have met our entire caloric needs and have a surplus to give and sell to the surrounding community.

Finishing Touches on the Spillway

This project was inspired by heavy rains last October, when a flood wiped out our roadway and deposited mud on our roof.

Phase one was implemented when we set new tubes in March of 2016.

Phase two was built in April of 2016, when we built an iron reinforced concrete structure.

In May we finished the bulk of the project when we covered the reinforcing iron and tubes in concrete.

However it was only in July, with the help of Wells, Hadas, Avichai, and our trusty little robot, that the 6,000 pound structure was finished.

Now we await the coming storms to test our new system.

More Slash and Burn

This summer we have steadily cleared more jungle to create gardens.

Jocelyn helps keep the brush pile happily burning by throwing Eucalyptus leaves on the fire.

After the first phase of fire has reduced the hard wood into ash, Wells lends a hand to build a second pile of smaller brush to burn.

After a pathway is cleared into the old gardens, we begin clearing in earnest.

This zone is protected from the winds, but still get excellent sun exposure and water supply year round.

After removing the underbrush, the trees and dead wood can be cut and piled for another fire.

Avichai takes on the challenge of Fire Master and keeps this pile going for three days.

The area is beginning to take shape and the lay of the land can be found.

A few rogue taro have thrived in this environment for years.

Mitra hides from the smoke and flames behind his Taro guardian.

Avichai contemplating his next log toss.

Another sunny summer day makes the fire so very happy.

Cutting Canna is a tedious but necessary process before the roots can be removed.

After several days, the massive Acatia trees have burnt through and the brush pile is minimized.

Next, we remove the roots and replant the area with edible crops!

Early Summer Produce

All of the following are in abundance this time of year and all are 100% organic.

Zucchini, cucumber and cilantro.

Sweet peppers and beans.

Potatoes.

Pok Choy.

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.