7 December 2018 Three Sisters

I have devoted a garden bed to the three sisters system of planting. I’ve planted corn (heritage seeds from Koanga Seeds) in a mini corn field. Next to each corn seedling I have planted beans i.e. white beans and brown spotted beans. I had saved seeds from the last harvest. I use them as shelled and dried beans. In between the corn I have planted squash seedlings which will grow between the taller plants and help as a ground cover to conserve moisture in the warmer months. I have also added a fourth “sister” which are Cleome flowers. These are meant to attract pollinators and beneficial insects. I also couldn’t resist adding some sunflowers to climb to lofty heights together with the neighbouring corn and beans.

Three sisters planting of corn, beans and squash. 

4 December Peach jam

I always have an excess of early peached (Orion peach) in Nov/Dec. So I make lots of small jars of peach jam to give to friends and family.

Peach jam

3 December 2018

In the first year of the forest garden’s growth,  the dominant plants are herbaceous perennials such as borage, comfrey, crimson clover and artichokes. The new fruit trees are reaching about 1 m in height. Smaller herbs such as lemon balm, sorrell, catnip and lavenders are spreading out to fill in gaps.

30 Nov 2018 Pathways

I wanted to create a central patio where the paths converged. This took some planning and construction work to bring to fruition. I used recycled broken concrete, and some hand made small square pavers to create a spiral pattern around a central circular river stone. I hand made the large 600mm square pavers at a fraction of the cost of retail pavers.  I could also personalize some pavers with leaf imprints or pebble designs. The red brick edging was all recycled from  a building site. The circular crazy paving patio was set in cement mortar for stability. The square pavers have bark mulch between them and I’ve planted creeping violets and herbs to soften the edges.

At dusk this circular patio looks quite magical with the solar lights around the edges, under the full moon, with the evening scented plants, in the stillness of the forest garden. Truly magical.

 

12 Nov 2018 Designing the garden

I based the design on circles and spirals.

Round area

10 Sept 2018 Pathway Design

I plan to add a central ‘plaza’ or ‘landing’ where the 5 pathways will converge. I want to make this a special place so it will be a round paved area made with recycled ‘urbanite’ i.e. broken concrete driveway pieces from a neighbour. I plan to create a crazy paving round design with s spiral motif.  After some research about constructing a solid base of coarse stone, then sand, using an edging and slope for drainage, I started work.

The site is slightly sloping. Making the transition from discrete garden beds in the lawn, to paths in one big garden.

Here you can see the 4 out of the 5 pathways entering the ‘plaza’ or patio. I have used recycled bricks (from renovated courtyards) and homemade large stepping stones (much cheaper to make than to buy). The casuarina mulch is from the nearby horse paddock. The next job is to dig out 10 cm for the coarse base substrate. I’ll relocate the top soil into the adjacent beds.

 

4 Sept 2018 Making Maple Syrup

I have just found out that my Box Elder tree which I thought was only useful for hanging my hammock on, is also known as the Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo).  This tree is closely related to the Sugar Maple so after a bit of research I realised that I could tap maple syrup from it. I collected some items e.g. 8mm tubes, clear hosing, power drill and 8mm drill bit, bottles and bucket. I only needed to drill two holes and the sap started to flow (slowly). My trunk diameter is only 35cm approx. so I only drilled 2 holes. I had read that the best time of year to tap maple trees is at the end of winter and start of spring when the sap rises, so Sept is the right time in NZ. It took three days to get 4 litres of sap.

Then I boiled it down for 3 hours. I kept the kitchen well ventilated because I read that the steam can make a sticky mess in your kitchen. I kept it at a rolling boil (note the jam making thermometer). It takes 40 parts of maple sap to make 1 part maple syrup. After 3 hours it had reduced down to 120 ml and was light brown coloured and a bit thicker.

After cooling I filtered the syrup through coffee filter paper to clarify it. then bottled it. So amazing to be able to make my own maple syrup, although at three days production to produce 120 mls I won’t do it too often.