Pause to boast
I recently made the enormous mistake of boasting that after two years of work I was finally ahead of the planting season, having gotten my potato variety trial in the ground a month ahead of time (something makes me think "potato variety hour" when ever I say that). I managed to source 26 different varieties for a side by side comparison of how they grow and yield (and taste) under our local conditions. It should be an interesting process to dig them up and tally the scores. From previous similar trials on sweet potato and now peas it is an emerging pattern that you get a ten fold variation in yields between strains, from pitiful to plentiful. The potatos went in after a pea/broadbean/chickpea rotation, with deep forking with a new broad fork (from gundaroo....an absolute dream to use) then application of ~4kg of coconut seed meal per 16 square meters. Anyway to get me back for my gloating the universe seems to have both sent spring down the tubes a month or two early, and also possibly given my now sprouting potatos a light touch of frost to slow them down (Ill have a look when I get home at the farm tomorrow).
Also, unsurprisingly, now that the farm seems to be settling in well, the vegetable garden is powering and performing, the orchard trees are leaping away, and the staple field crop trials are yielding real results, I find myself seriously caught up thinking about what I should do with my "career", caught between my excess qualifications, unremarkable "experience", and reluctance to work anywhere for more than four days a week. I had a minor lightbulb moment considering applying for some kind of community development grant to manage a community garden or two in the area. Three hours later of wading through endless government red tape and forms I realised that may not be as easy as I had hoped, despite the palpable zeitgeist around at the moment for better nutrition/lower food miles/better food security. Ill keep fishing around but I am not as confident as I was to begin. I'm contemplating the probability that I will never own my own property, perhaps I don't really need to. Living with your parents until they die, then being cast adrift at 50 should be a terrifying prospect. But part of me relishes the process of letting go of things and just moving on. It seems to be the longing itself that causes the most heart ache.
Shane
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August 7th, 2008
Owning your own land
Its funny how some things work out in life.I dont know if we would have owned our own land if my parents hadn't given us a wedding present of a 20 acre corner of their old dairy farm that was on a seperate deed. We settled in and I started planting trees on the bare site 27 yrs ago ( that makes me feel really old, saying that!) I thought that even if I didn't know a lot about them at least they would be grown in a few years and at least the birds would get a feed! I tried a lot of trees and realised after a lot of frosts on the paddocks and dead trees that I would have to grow a cannopy first. Sigh! Another 10 years! However, time passes and now I am planting things under it . Rainforest foods etc. The soil was bulldozed off when we built the house and I have tried to get it broken up, but it continually packs down. I just found a method called Square Foot Gardening which plants above ground in raised garden beds so I have a breakthrough.
The funny thing is that my parent's property that I thought was so secure and would be there forever was sold and they ended up living with me next door! My Dad, who had helped me over the years to establish my garden, now got the benefit of watching me do all the hard work! My Mum looks out the door of her room now and enjoys watching the birds in the trees I grew and the vege patch near the door. Families help each other as it has always been.
August 8th, 2008
"Your own land" is over-rated
Consider the goal of "owning your own land," and how you can accomplish that goal by other means.
When most people express a desire to "own their own land," what I think they really desire is what I call security of place. People want to set down roots. They want to plant nut trees that future generations will enjoy. They want to make improvements without the threat of a landlord booting you out on a whim.
There is more than one way to accomplish security of place. In fact, in a time when there is evidence that there are more humans than the land can support, "owning your own land" might even be viewed as a selfish conceit. So why not collaboratively own land with others?
We are currently seeking people who can invest about half the value of a typical North American suburban home in their sustainable future. This will give you mortgage-free security of place in a wonderful, vibrant community. People of exceptional skill with less financial resources may be welcome, as well.
There are many more opportunities to experience security of place through shared ownership. Check out the Global Ecovillage Network and the Fellowship for Intentional Community for networking.
:::: Jan Steinman, Communication Steward, EcoReality. ::::
September 3rd, 2008
Ownership
I would agree that it helps for people to think about the time frames over which they can expect to occupy a space. Gardening works across a lot of different time scales as long as you adjust your approach to the reality. At a minimum a 6 month cycle is still useful for quick annual crops, and at a maximum there is no end to how patient you can be for a tree to bear. But things work most effectively on the human scale, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of timing, so things that give quick returns are always going to get the most attention, at least to begin.
If I ever have to move on from the current place I would probably go looking for something more collective. To turn it around a collective ownership arrangement of the current place could be set up to buy out my sisters and bring others in. Lots of possibilities, so much space and so much life.