Time flies and trees grow! I am reminded that it’s easy to worry about all the things that haven’t been done when all the time there are so many improvements! The land is feeling more settled now. Birds have returned and in some cases discovered us for the first time. Frogs belt out a call from the pond – that has miraculously become the Lotus pond – covered with gorgeous flowers soaring above the water.
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| Lotus lilies |
Continuing to Plant
We have planted many trees in the past year and those that were planted previously have grown ridiculously – sometimes two or three mts a year! Our plan is to get the framework of big trees and bushes in place before spending time on ‘hard landscaping’. Trees only grow once in the ground and after 5 years, they are spectacular…left too long they won’t create a mature environment. We are lucky to have so much land and can plant large trees. We have just about planted the framework now…in 2018 we planted over 70 trees – many grown from seed – including:
6 Avocados, 2 Oak trees, 9 Liquid Ambers,7 palm trees, 1 old Cycad,1 Natal Flame tree, 2 Pohutukawa, 1 Elderberry, 1 Frangipane, 4 Hibiscus, 1 Swamp Banksia and I Giant Candles, 1 Puriri, 2 Hebes, 3 Figs, 10 Hydrangeas and 1 Ice cream Bean tree.
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| Front planter with old Cycad |
More than trees
In addition to the trees we have created a new tropical bank with a rocky herb bed, planted 30 Bromeliads, 5 Irises and several Pineapple Sage bushes. Next year we hope to finish planting by completing the tropical amphitheatre and adding to our fruit with a Lemonade tree, a red grapefruit, a Lisbon lemon and planting out the 5 Mango Oranges that we have grown from seed this year.
At last we feel that we can start to build around the house. John has build an old brick planter by the front door and completed a brick patio with a stone wall to add to the deck off the dining area. This has made a big difference to our outdoor living.
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| Old brick patio and stone wall…and Monty |
The Continuing journey towards self-sufficiency
We are pleased to be able to provide most of our fruit and veg by either growing it ourselves or by swapping produce at the weekly Greenswap group here in Matakana. However, we still need to build some large terraces across the land to grow larger things – potatoes, Corn etc. We also need a kitchen garden by the pantry door to grow salads. Herbs are already good and growing well.
If we are to make other money from the land I need a covered, weed-matted space for growing seedlings and cutting on (a small nursery). These will be initially for us but longer term for sale through our new venture ‘Kingfisher Cottage’. We have started the Facebook page and already sold a few items through it locally but are really just testing its potential so far.
Re-cycling
Our aim to cut out waste and reuse everything is a work in progress. We love the cycle of Hens poo to fertiliser, fertiliser to produce and then produce to feed us and the hens. We compost everything except for weeds, meat and fish. We are eating far less meat than we used to.
A new Member of the Family
Last February we adopted a farm dog from the SPCA. Monty loves the lifestyle on 4 acres and his runs on the nearby beach…and so do we!
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| Monty at the beach |
Summary of progress so far
- We feel that this is a retreat where we love to chill out together and with friends.
- We are well on the way to becoming self-sufficient with fruit and vegetables
- We feel part of a great community with our Greenswap friends
- 3 years into our 10 year plan and we seem to be on track
- We are becoming more and more focused on healthy eating, living and reducing waste
- We are starting to focus on getting an income from the land
- We are becoming more concerned about the effect of Glysophate sprays on small animals and birds (and us) as everyone around us takes the easy way out and sprays to save time.
- No progress on the aim to get off the grid…but this has proven to be a very efficient passive solar home…too hot in the summer! When we have more money and when the battery technology has shifted, we shall invest in both solar and wind generation making us totally power self-sufficient.
- We both love this land and the creativity needed to develop it best. We love seeing everything grow; watching the bees appreciate our plantings in their thousands; discovering new birds that have discovered us as they choose a natural home and the frogs living and calling to each other in our pond and natural waste land.
We are by no means ‘there’ but we can say that we are on the way and that the journey is far more exciting than any arrival could be if we had the money to complete this task quickly!
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| Happy and out of the ‘rat race’ for good at last! |