Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Fairy Food Forest and Hugelkultur







Fairy Food Forest

http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/free.htm

 

This year is fascinating!! It is a year of putting manifestations into fruition (literally fruit ion lolol). Over the last few years my beloved, Atum, and I have been studying several modalities for spiritual based gardening. It all started when I was pregnant with my now 2 year old fairy-alien child! 
Mayara Tulaya 2yr.
 Some people nest inside...cleaning and organizing getting ready for their new bundle to come. Me? I was consumed with everything plant related! We turned our whole yard (overgrown empty plot) into (a mess) a lasagna garden. I bet our neighbors thought, "What the heck are those hippies doing now?" Well...I wouldn't blame them! We trash hunted for cardboard, restaurant trash-bags full of greens, eggshells, and coffee grounds. We dumped and layered until our yard literally looked like this:


 
 
     Yup! EVERYWHERE! We spent days sitting in the hot Sept. sun pulling invasive vines, moving rocks, re-structuring, trash diving. We spent long nights watching youtube and reading different ways to do this crazy project the most effectively. We covered all of our trash gold with bags and bags of roadside leaves and grass clippings. THEN right before planting time...our city held a compost sale! $10 per truckload they fill your truck up. We got 9 truckloads of compost. A few weeks later City wide mulch sale! $10 per truckload again this time we purchased 4. My very pregnant self (8 months) was out there scooping load after load...wheel barrel after wheel barrel hyper focused on my mission. To bring my child into a world where we (her guardians) were actively trying to make a change.
    
    We had very large dreams. We dreamnt of birthing her in our home just Atum and myself. Atum was to deliver our child into this world without the help of the western world influence. We...had a dream. But like some dreams they don't always go just as you remember them. After being in labor for a month (ugh), falling up some stairs, an emergency room kidney infection (my temp was 105 degrees)...I had enough. With tears in our eyes and 11/11 passing us by...on 11/16 I checked into the hospital serious birth plan in hand. At first we were disappointed in how the universe was unfolding before us. Then I took a bath. No pain meds. No attachments on my belly. No nurse intrusions on our privacy. She was coming. Atum and I were alone in the bathroom I stood up and declared her emergence. I looked down with wide eyes I looked at Atum...and in a breath...ONE BREATH...out she came. Tiny little alien fairy covered in dna juices nestled inside a startled happy dad. He did get to deliver her. We did have a natural birth ...but sometimes the universe has a path that you least expect. 
   
     Whats this birth have to do with gardening....well to me everything!!! I would not be on this path if it were not for her. We eventually after planting that huge crazy yard garden had to move. We sold everything we owned said goodbye to the fruits of our labor and moved out to a spiritual based community church camp (The Light Center) 
   
    Now back in the city and putting into action another phase of our dream on Atum's parents property. I am confident in the notion that all of these experiences are leading towards something bigger on our path. Hopefully this will one day lead to our own land, a place where we can start teaching others how to take back our ancestral roots...growing, gorilla-ing,  and savaging our nourishment. Not just eating...not just food...but NOURISHMENT!!! 

     We have been so lucky in this technological time that all the info we need to learn and grow is at our fingertips, and I am HUNGRY!!! Some of this brain food we have been devouring includes (certainly is not limited to......) Permaculture, HugelKultur, Polyculture, edible landscaping, Food Forestry, and Bio-dynamic Farming. Of course for me...being the freaky spiritualist that I am...I would have to also include The Elves of Lily Hill Farm, Anastasia and The Ringing Cedar Series, Barbara Marciniack's Earth, Gaia's Garden...gosh it goes on and on. I am certainly a tangent follower. I would like to thank Celestine Prophecy for that!!!! Ok enough links for you? I might have more....LOL moving on.


So I found Sepp!


 I became obsessed with this style of farming/gardening. The thing with it...is its not complicated. I guess it could become complicated if you go there with it...but really its about using what you have available to you. Its about working with your land not against it. Its about planting what you can and having abundance!!! Here is a look at our progress:
Hugel #1

hugel 1 and 2. There is a trench behind them to collect water runoff from the neighbors yards! The water will be filtered with plants then trenched to the hugelkulturs.
      I will figure out how to post videos in another post, but for now, Atums parents rented a backhoe for a week. In that week the weather fluctuated from nice to blizzardy so they were nice enough to extend our lease on the backhoe a few days (very nice)!!!
Atum 
We would have liked to do this all organically, but we only had the two of us to create the scene and we figured it would take too long with just the two of us...and so backhoe it was. Atum dug trenches about 2 feet down, we used the machine to move the very very large stumps that had been cut or moved into our project area. You can see below the dirt that came out of the trench that will be used to cover the structures. This first hugel will be in part shade for now as there are some trees to the south. This is going to be the PawPaw guild (more on that as we plant it)!!!
Mural start 002Mural start 009Backhoe 020

 So above you can kinda see what we did to the land here. It gives you the Northish facing  shot. The hugel covered with yellow "straw" are Hugel 1 and 2! This pile of dirt in the far left corner is a hole where a post is going for a natural lean to structure that will collect rainwater that will trench to all the hugels. In the distance there in the white fence is the kitchen garden. Directly to the right of the kitchen garden is a large bonfire area and the opening to the fairy Berry Trail (more on that in another post). Atum is in the bobcat working on Hugel 3. To the left of Hugel 3 where the white circle is...is Hugel 4. The tiny trees you see are ornamental pear that were there previously. They will probably be removed once things get going so that when they are cut the nutrients will go down and start composting for the other plants about to go in. Meanwhile its St. Patty's Day at that point so potatoes are to go in! I found a site that had directions on how to do this. Supposedly the potato leaves will start poking out like a Medusa head!!! Neat. I planted all organic multi-colored pots that had been hiding under my sink for a few months collecting sprouts!! Nice little monsters! I planted onions around them...so far. On either side of these are 2 sets of blueberry bushes as well.
the start of 3 potato cages!

Hugel 3 Pea Guild



 I actually did not watch this first..so I do not know which one this is!!!


My daughter Calliope! Up in a tree cutting vines for the fairy structures!! She could climb trees before she could walk! Lemurian Child.


 




Atum building a fairy arch in the children's area.
 
The picture on the right is the children's area BEFORE mulch!!!

So the Nathan's hired Lawrence Tree Service  to come out and help us remove some trees that were not doing so good. One of them was hit by lightning! It was very important to us that we were able to keep ALL the mulch (and then some!!) and some of the larger trunk pieces for our project!! They were so nice, fast, and helpful!!! I would suggest them to anyone who needs tree service!! They even agreed to dump keep dumping their mulch on our property until we say stop! Sorry Lawrence Tree Service we will take it until there is no more to take!!! Ever hear of Back To Eden Garden? Plant it in inoculated mulch and it will come (said in a booming god like voice).

this is the outline for the children's area. 









 So far most of the Hugels (6 plus children's area) are created. 3 of them are covered in compost, mulch, leaves, decomposed chicken manure, and clover. It was still too cold to plant much else but the seeds are rolling in. I hit up the local Seed Fair (Kaw Valley Seed Project) this Feb.(2013). I love it so much!!! So many lovely faces and plants! There are tables where people donate seeds and you can collect seeds! Hopefully next year our goal is to have a booth there to show our Fairy Food Forest off and to teach people that you don't have to be a master gardener to grow food for your family or community!! I also want to teach people this process of hugelkultur!! I am an enthusiast what can I say!! Another dream of ours is to have a booth at our local Farmers market selling or trading all organic produce, medicinal herbs, eggs, and seeds! Finally one of my goals is to be able to make crafts and products out of the booty that we harvest!!! It is limitless the potential of abundance that you are given when you put forth the effort and creative energy!!! Speaking of creative energy.....


 

 Above you see Hugel 3. I love Hugel 3. I might say that about them all, but Hugel 3 is planted and has a fairy trellis on top. It is tethered down and I wish I would have gotten a picture of Atum swinging from the top! On the left picture in the far background you can kinda see the children's area with Calliope and Atum working on the fairy clubhouse!


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     In the Pea Guild we planted climbing peas and a dwarf pea that will climb around on the hugel. We spread clover, planted lettuce mixes, Bloomsdale spinach, parsley, Red Stem Malabar, carrots, early okra, red giant celery, and yesterday 25 strawberry plants. Later we will plant daisy and cucumber. Some elderberry might go near this structure as well. Well...its dinner time so...hopefully you will leave comments for us! Please check out the Permies.com site for any and all info. They are the LARGEST site contain such valuable information. If you are reading this and you are in my area...lets have tea and check out The City of Lawrence Compost day sale!!! Lets get together and scoop some gold!! Keep your eyes on here you never know what crazy stuff I will write about next!!!
much love many blessings!!!
~us~













































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2 comments:

  1. It's wonderful isn't it?

    Mulch day is Friday!

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  2. christee! love your blog and pictures. happy to see you working on your dreams. mayara hasgrown so much since ive seen her last. my love and i are working on we are society, community project that includes recycling and composting. we get tons of food scraps and coffee grounds if you can use them (& can transport them). all bicycle powered! working on setting up solar on our building!
    miss ya lady - much love - daniela & rion

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