Eco's Lodge

[purplepear]

Thanks for sharing Eco - I feel a little ashamed that I have not contributed for some time but I love reading how things are up there.

[S.O.P]

I'd love to go check his place out one day. I'll have to work that one out.

Thanks for the updates.

[annette]

Sounds like a great PDC Echo.

[eco4560]

It's still been raining through the week so Tom's gardens are still wet and the swales still have water in them.

We covered Soil this week. We talked about minerals and trace element balances, and mineralising the soil by mineralising your animal feed. I'm going to borrow Pat Coleby's book from Tom next week to learn more about how to do this as it seems like a really sensible approach. We talked about soil biota (wee beasties as MA would call them), and different types of compost including worm farms.

We turned our compost pile again at lunch break - I think that's turn number 6 (of 9) so it's getting close to the end. A small snake was hiding in the warmth of the pile. (It was sent flying into the food forest with a fork....) The temperature has dropped a bit - it was just under 50 deg C. There really is no loss of volume (didn't quite believe that was going to work but it does!) and it is harder to recognise what is what in the pile now.

After lunch we walked through the chook runs and talked about deep litter systems and how to design things so the nutrients run down hill to a place that is easy to access when you want to remove them to compost. And we looked at the concreted area where the cows and the geese spend their nights and how the manure (goose poo is not at all like what I expected!) can be washed to a low point and collected. There are plans for a methane digester at a later point in the low corner of the yard.

We also looked at how the composting toilets are set up, what an empty bin looks like (with liquid drain at the bottom and air vent at the top) and how to keep them well ventilated so they don't smell and took a look at some that was a few months old in a compost pile. We looked at various styles and ages of compost piles, and the worm farm. And dug some holes in different areas to look at what is happening to the soil.

We finished off the day with the Soils DVD. I really liked the bit where Geoff spreads the chook food around the new fruit trees in the food forest to encourage the birds to spend more time close to the trees dropping manure. Everything is designed with conscious thought.

Next week - Earthworks! Hopefully it'll have dried out a bit by then.

[eco4560]

The rain has stayed away! There's a very definite shift in the seasons noticeable today. The sun is coming into the teaching area at a different angle, so are the breezes and there are different bird songs in the area.

In the morning we ran through some of the issues of earth moving - like cut and fill and how it alters angles and water movement and how to use that to your advantage, or at least plan for the consequences of your decisions. We looked at the importance of adequate planning before calling in the excavator and how to avoid some of the common mistakes. We've covered much of the ground work for this when discussing site, soils and water - and today it felt like the concepts were starting to gel into a usable form.

We turned our compost for the final time today - we think it is turn number 8 (but we did lose count along the way!) - but no one is going to be around for the next 2 weeks because of the Easter break - so we've decided to call it finished. The temp in the pile was 45 deg C today. It has lost a little volume since we first made it, but only about 10% I would guess. There are still a few chunky bits of manure, but mostly it is fine dark black and sweet smelling crumbles.

After lunch we grabbed some 'toys' and went and surveyed a possible spot for a new swale - where the water from the bathroom by the bus empties into a banana circle. There's a gentle slope across a grassed area and another banana circle at the end and Tom was hoping that he could connect the two with a swale - which of course will only work if they are on the same contour line. We all had a go at guessing it by eye (the landscaper in the group proved to be out by only a few cms!), and then by using an Abney level. Then we grabbed the trusty A frame and measured and marked it out with pegs. And to finish off we double checked that with a dumpy level - we were only about 10 mm off with the A frame. And yes - the two banana circles are on the same contour line. (I was rather pleased we didn't get handed shovels to dig out the swale!)

Then we hopped in the car and headed up the back hills of Kin Kin to visit a property, where the owner has asked Tom to do a design. This is our group design project, which we have to work on as a group over the rest of the course. It's 60 acres and has been in use for many years already, so there's lots of established infrastructure to have to work around. I just felt completely overwhelmed by the scale of it! I can cope with getting my head around an urban back yard, but this is truly outside of my comfort zone. I had a headache after the first 15 mins.

After a few deep breaths, my brain stopped hyperventilating and I thought back to our design session to - zones and sectors - slope and elevation - water, access, structures etc. When you break it down into smaller bits it becomes more manageable. We've taken notes, made diagrams, taken photos, talked to the owners, thrown balls for the dogs and walked up the very steep hill (well - halfway anyway!). Each of us has homework to bring back to the group.

We have next weekend off for Easter. I'm really going to miss being in Kin Kin on a Sunday! It is very peaceful sitting under the shed roof with my new friends and the dogs (who have stopped farting)...

[annette]

The course sounds fantastic echo. Although my intensive was great, I sometimes think that doing it over a longer period gives you a chance just to sit back and mull over what you have learnt before the next session. Can only be good.

Nothing worse than a farting dog...............

[Tulipwood]

Oh Eco that's terrible!! We can't have your permie brain relaxing on a Sunday! I know exactly where you can come and give it (and perhaps other parts of your body) some exercise this weekend. I'll look forward to seeing you and hearing lots and lots about your new learnings.

[eco4560]

I'll be there by morning tea time. Save me an organic Fair Trade choccy egg.
I hope you have found compost ingredients for me, or I'll start composting any old stuff that is lying around. (Phone books, underwear, husbands...)
I'll see if I can convince your man that swales are what he needs.

[sun burn]

Oh dear , looks like a lot of reading i've got to catch up on. How are you going eco. Probably good by all that up above. you survived all the wet weather i see. I bet you are glad you live on the side of a hill now.

[eco4560]

Struggling on! If only someone was paying me to stay home and garden I'd be set. Slowly I'm getting it into shape again around juggling multiple different jobs to keep the bank happy.