Flores Permaculture

We are taking a break from construction to return to the gardens this week. Above, Alex clears the jungle that is encroaching on the Banana Patch. Good ventilation is crucial to minimize fungus and rot on the newly forming fruits.  This year we have about 150 trees and we will continue expanding as we clear more jungle.  Everyone adores bananas.  We always run out no matter how many I harvest.   Estrella, Samantha, and Alex remove the weeds that are choking out the Taro Patch and opening new land to expand the existing patch. The Swiss Chard is going strong still, providing a tasty and healthy green leafy vegetable to eat daily. Everybody lends a hand to remove the weeds before topdressing with fresh compost in the Zone 1 gardens. Nadine hauls weeds from the gardens to the compost bin, where they will be recycled until next year. Jasmine is organizing the Zone 1 gardens with fresh compost, irrigation,and seeds. ...

Spring is upon us once again.  Time to shake off the cold and the cobwebs and get back to work. The Guinea Fowl that were bred last year all survived the winter and are healthy and noisy as ever.  Watch the clip below for an earful of their amazing alarm system.  Our first woofer for the new year arrived, Sofie. We taught her how to catch trout in the front yard of our farm, along with many other skills. We butchered our Sheep from the previous summer.  Very tasty mutton. Our second woofer joined Sofie to help clear some jungle and plant new gardens.  Sofia and Sofie, what are the odds?  :) As usual, Odin observes the work and offers helpful observations. The strawberry patch overwintered well in the newly cleared jungle and is ready to explode with growth now. Sofia and Mitra plant Kale in a sunny location that was jungle a few weeks earlier.  The large trees are left to decompose on the ground and pr...

This year we managed to clear the largest flat area on our farm and plant it with Sweet Potatoes. I planted five varieties and all did very well. Above the brush fire is still smoldering as we turn the twigs into ash for fertilizer.   In the photo above you can see the massive Eucalyptus trees that still need to be cut down. For now 'ring-barking' them makes the leaves fall off, allowing the sun to enter the gardens.   A freshly harvested row shows the fantastic forest soil we begin with, now just to keep the natural balance intact and the gardens will keep giving forever. Sabrina helps to unearth more rows of yummy food.  The leaves are also excellent to cook with. Mitra is a huge help at gathering all the sweet potatoes as they are unearthed and gently placing them in a bucket for transport. We dry them in the sun for a day or three, until going into storage. At the present we have to sto...

Last year I had a good Sweet Potato harvest, but not nearly enough to keep my family fed through the winter.  This year I have cleared more land and planted about 500 slips of 5 different varieties. Above the forest trees are cut down and then the exposed roots are cut to kill the tree.  As it dies and rots it will feed the soil for me. Above is an experimental patch using recycled cardboard as a pathway mulch and fresh cut grass to mulch the Sweet Potatoes.   Another forest patch above. Above is the Super Bowl garden with Figs and Banana on the hillside and Sweet Potatoes on the drier level areas before the land drops into a boggy Taro garden. A row of a new experimental variety is above. The tools of my trade.  I am an OG (original gardener) .  A mattock and a hoe are all I need to take virgin forest land and transform it into fertile beds, just like my ancestors before me. A steeper garden cut into the m...

The 20 Guinea Fowl eggs that I ordered on the internet 2 years ago, hatched four healthy keets under a broody hen.  This year the four adults are breeding well and are giving me 2 fertilized eggs daily.  There was a power play by the males, and now one male gets both hens and the other male is lonely.  Those guys fight rough!  I thought the loser was going to die for sure. Above are my two year old adults and genetic starting point for my new flock. The guineas boss around the chickens, but the rooster still gets his fair share of food. So far, I have 8 new keets and hopefully more coming before summer ends.  I keep them in their own cage to be sure they do not stray into the jungle and get eaten or lost. Above the keet pen is seen within the larger adult fowl pen. The parents patrol the area, keeping  threats far away.  Apparently they can take on snakes, rats, cats and dogs. I had a fun surprise in the ...

Magnus has been working diligently to remove the jungle and debris from a great location on our farm for several years.   The first steps were taken in earnest last year and recorded at  this blog post from 2016. With the help of AviChai, Magnus managed to get the "Super-Bowl Garden"  cleared of large trees that had accumulated over the years. This year with the excellent help of Anne and Matts, the garden if functional and beautiful. Above Anne uses cut Canna Rocha ( Hedychium gardnerianum) to mulch around freshly planted Taro . While Anne mulches, Matts pulls all the cut wood out of the stream bed and stacks it for future compost. Above, the scope of the garden can be seen, with a beautiful spring fed stream running through the center. Banana trees are planted near the mountainside, with Taro in the boggy areas and fig and avocado in the dry areas. Young Taro transplants are growing their true leaves now and harvesting the sol...