for your membership and or BD preps etc. You can still pay the old way by cheque or cash, But if you find it easier to do electronic transfer, we now have this option [...]
A Morning in Hugo’s Garden
When you drive the track to Hugo's garden you have to cross a steep-sided creek, and, curiously, there are robust signs indicating that floodwaters can rise to 6.0 m! One wonders what would happen if it did indeed rain upstream and if the creek rose to such high levels would there be enough food and shelter for us all to survive - as we'd surely have to wait ages for any floodwaters to recede! But these are frivolous concerns, as our day at Hugo's was wonderful by any standard; his 300 acre property is tucked into the side of a very quiet valley with his house and garden surrounded by native bush at its best, and we were treated to a wide blue sky with just a whiff of cloud, the touch of a gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun on your back.
42 of us came along to check out Hugo's garden, which (at first sight) might be better referred to as a "veggi?patch prison", as it is completely surrounded by a very sturdy 1.5 m chain-mesh fence and welded steel gates. However, this was a pragmatic requirement that Hugo had to succumb to - if he wanted to have anything to eat that is - as the garden's delicious contents were simply too tempting for the local wallabies, wombats, kangaroos, and (it seems) every other animal known to man within a 15km radius of Wollombi!
Hugo is a quiet man with a big and generous heart, and his 5 year old garden is an expression of this. His intent for this enormous veggie-patch (+ 3500 m2) was that it should be shared with any person who wished to experience the joy of planting, growing and eating fresh, uncontaminated food; as it should be. Some might call Hugo's garden alternative, perhaps even "a little different". The fact is that Hugo practices biodynamic principles (as best he can) and the results of his efforts are clear: he grows nutritious, tasty and well-balanced food via methods that enhance soil structure and ensure sustainable nutrient availability. The garden regularly receives preparations #500 and #501. There are composting zones scattered throughout: windrows, tubs, mounds, manure piles, and pieces of timber cribbed-together as bins - all teeming with worms, slaters and any number of other small critters happily crawling around the mix. And there are stands of poly-pipes sticking out from the ground, where Hugo inoculates the garden with his potent liquid manure.
One of the things I realised afterward is that I have no real idea of all of the types of plants that Hugo actually grows in his garden. Of course, as you walk around you need to avoid the long 25m rows of garlic, the various bursts of cereal crops and green leafy plants everywhere. But, this is not a garden where one simply checks-off what is grown within; rather, you have to view it as a self-sustaining environment (maybe even an eco?system in its own right) and that what Hugo grows is perhaps more a requirement of what needs to be grown in that part of the garden at that time, rather than an expectation (or desire) for a specific crop for a particular season or taste. Hugo's garden is a veritable feast for the local birds and it doesn't matter if they are native birds or chickens; Hugo lives with and loves them all. He has observed the considered (and almost polite) activities of the resident bower bird who will carefully peck away at a single nashi pear until it is all gone. Compare this with the pesky parrots that choose to sample (just a little) from every pear in sight. Hugo is resolved in his attitude toward the native birds - in that he can't control everything so why bother; he says: "I just live with them, as there are so many more of them and only one of me". He tells of the local quail gang who somehow managed to penetrate the garden's fortress-like boundary and that their cunning plans became known once they were inside the wire; they took turns in "helicoptering" up to the top of his mature sunflowers - pecking madly at the face of the flower in the few seconds they had "on-station" - thus allowing the rest of the flock to hurriedly scavenge the fallen seeds; clever.
And, just in case you were on another planet (or didn't notice), Hugo has a special relationship with his chickens, or, as he calls them: "his chooklies". This flock of 35+ chickens are a very important part of his fertility management of the garden; they are his team, his workers, they help disperse the windrows and other mulch and they fertilise as they go about it - all the while converting garden bugs and other edible snippets into eggs. Even though Hugo has only had these birds for 5 years and loves them all dearly he is very sure that they are not a permanent feature of his life.
To an engineering purist, a machine is anything that can apply mechanical power, so, technically, there are indeed some machines at Hugo's place, but they are few: the fork, the wheel barrow and other very simple implements. What are absent are the "normal" power-type machines: the tractor, the rotary hoe, the engine driven mulcher, etc. Of course, Hugo does not deny that such powerful machines have a legitimate place; it's just that at his place, his husbandry of the garden's soil biota would be disrupted by such aggressive machines. So, the earth and soil in Hugo's garden is moved, manoeuvred and coerced as much by love as by his own hand.
This garden is not a series of carefully selected plants growing in a sanitised and perfectly weed-free environment. Indeed, the question that Hugo has answered for himself is one that many gardeners still struggle with: What is a weed? Hugo's answer to this conundrum is shown by the magnificent example of the Variegated Thistle (silybum marianum) that is really thriving - right smack in the middle of the main garden. His view is that the bees love the thistle's flowers and the leaves are good for other purposes he has. Further, the plant's long tap root draws up a large amount of nutrient from deep down in the soil (that other plants just can't access), so, when the thistle is eventually mulched these nutrients become available.
In summary, Hugo's garden is a wonderful place - full of life, vitality and floral chaos, and is a testament as to what can be achieved by just one person in a few years. It is clearly a relaxed place and is just the sort of thing that each of us (and the next generation of gardeners) needs be exposed to.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI IN OUR ECOSYSTEM a TALK BY PAM O’SULLIVAN
As heard by Gloria Peacock - At the outset, I would like to say that my summary is not comprehensive and I admit that I was particularly biased in my listening to learn more about improving the involvement of fungi on a biodynamic farm.
Pam O’Sullivan, surrounded by a vast array of colourful posters and charts, spoke comprehensively and at length about fungi, a subject that she was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about. The following is a summary about what I understood from her fascinating “story” of fungi.
FUNGAL ECOLOGY
Fungi are made of microscopic threads called hyphae (pronounced hi-fee). They are everywhere and at all times: in every terrestrial habitat, including marine and freshwater ecosystems... However, most are invisible to the naked eye (micro fungi). We can see the larger fruiting bodies, such as mushrooms, puff balls and corals. We are also commonly aware of visible fungi as moss and lichen, when the fungi form a crust on the host, protecting it from erosion and offering stability. Pam’s posters pointed to the fact that fungi come in a variety of colours and textures and many weird and wonderful forms.
Fungi are absolutely fundamental to the FUNCTIONING of our ecosystem, and Pam listed their many roles. Some of the roles that caught my attention included fungi as:
• Decomposers (Sprotrophic Fungi) these fungi are the primary degraders of organic matter. They convert dead organic matter into fungal biomass, and in doing so release and recycle nutrients back into the environment. They break down the cellulose in carbon matter, and are important for retaining nutrients in the soil and increase the accumulation of humic-acid rich organic matter that is resistant to degradation. They decompose ALL organic matter, from dead animals, snake skin and hair, to garbage, clothing and other material.
• Symbiotic fungi: fungi lack chlorophyll so are unable to use the sun for photosynthesis, so they have a symbiotic relationship with plants: in exchange for carbohydrates (sugars) from the plant, they help bring soil nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, micronutrients and water) to the host plant. Thus the fungi are directly involved in the increase in root size, resistance to pests including nematodes, a more efficient use of water, and an efficient uptake of phosphorus, all of which are vitally important in our low nutrient Australian soils.
• Stabilisers: Lichen are a good example of this function. They also have a symbiotic relationship with their host: the fungus provides protection for the plant and is in turn provided with carbohydrates. Lichen are regularly used as nest material for bird and mammals, and are also good indicators of air pollution.
• Parasitic /Pathogenic fungi cause major economic losses to farmers, and which many of us are familiar with, including rots, rusts, mildews, smuts. These affect a plant’s ability to compete for limited resources of light and space by reducing growth and increasing susceptibility to other pests (I thought of the effect of sooty mould on olive trees).
• There is also a long history of certain fungi being used in Chinese medicine, and there is currently research in Australia on the use of fungi (Cordyceps sp.) in the control of cancer.
• Dung fungi inhabit or are associated with dung, mostly with that of mammals, such as domesticated farm animals, e.g cattle horses, sheep and wild mammals, both herbivores and carnivores. (perhaps why it is so essential to a compost heap?)
THE LIVING SOIL
Fungi contribute to SOIL STRUCTURE and to reducing soil erosion. They make up to 70% of the organisms living within the soil (soil biomass), and some of the benefits they impart include:
• Plant growth benefited by fungal colonization of root zones
• Promote healthier roots that improve soil structure, stability and reduce erosion
• Maximize the retention of water and air into the root zones
• Improves the nutritional status of the plant
• Boosts its ability to resist stresses from drought, disease, pests.
Fungi are also extremely important in forming SOIL CRUST in reducing erosion, by acting as a protective surface coating over exposed soils and very mobile soils, such as coastal sand dunes. They trap organic particles and build up humus’ they protect the soils from damaging winds rain and sun, provide a substrate in which higher plant seeds can germinate & provide a habitat for many invertebrates.
Fungal SOIL SUPER GLUE: “glomalin” is a fungal protein that coats soil particles and is believed to be what holds them together in small grains that indicate good soil structure. Tilling the soil and disturbing plant roots, tends to have an adverse affect on soil fungi and reduces glomalin levels.
Reports from farming studies were particularly interesting with respect to affirming biodynamic practices, such as:
• No-till corn plots had more glomalin and higher aggregate stability than soil from tilled plots.
• Soils on organic farms have a greater number and diversity of soil bugs, contributing to more efficient recycling nutrients and carbon for use by the plants and other good microbes. Insects including pest-eating spiders and beetles were twice as abundant and more diverse too. Organic farms may yield less per acre than conventional farms, but they produce more with less energy and fewer resources.
• In summary, to enhance beneficial soil fungi, Pam referred to a study which suggested the following strategies (affirmation, but no news to biodynamic farmers!):
• Reduce tillage
• Reduce fertilizer inputs, especially phosphorus, to encourage nutrient scavenging by fungi
• Increase the number of crop rotation
• Increase cover crops to maintain the presence of living roots as hosts
• Use biocontrol measure for weeds and pests to reduce the impact of fungicides and other pesticides.
Throughout her presentation, Pam encouraged us to have a good look around us in our environment and under us in our soil , “there is a lot more than meet the eye!” could have been her catch cry!