First post for 2012

All those who come to this site, please read posts in 2011.  Specially during August where we only ate what we grew on our own land.  Each day that month is documented.  Fresh, very fresh, naturally farmed produce, it changed me in so many ways.  I learned so much about myself last year.  The most important lesson wasn’t that I could feed our family, but the spiritual connection with the “aina” that comes from depending on the land and the good earth to provide your next meal.

So moving on in 2012, my goals are two fold: to personally be “in health” and for the property, to put in the remaining infrastructure in place to support our family from the land on a sustained and ongoing basis.
We are now building two more detached bedroom units in addition the one Drake currently is living in.  There will also be a central shared kitchen and living area, big enough to host small groups interested in learning about natural farming.  On the far side near the Hanawai river, we are building a 36’ by 72’ shed for animal production.  All the construction should be complete by years end and fully functional.  As those who have followed know, I think a big shift is coming to our economy and way of life because the world has reached peak oil.  Although the media tells us things seem to be recovering as I write, this is only temporary.  The math says the old ways cannot go on indefinitely.  The dollar too will crash, as the reality of a debt larger than GDP takes its course.  So why hold onto savings?  I’m spending ours on tangible infrastructure.

Personally, I’ve come a long way toward being “in health”, but have a long way to go.  At least now I am conscious of what I put in my body.  Before putting only fresh naturally farmed food into my body, I didn’t even realize that it mattered.  I stopped drinking alcohol this past February, cause I had trouble limiting my intake to the doctor recommended maximum of two a day.  Easier just to put it aside, avoid temptation.  I read a life changing book, “younger every year” that speaks to people my age, those entering the last third of their life.  Says that 70% of ALL diseases can be avoided by simply exercising 45 minutes per day 6 days per week and recommends strength training 2 to 3 days per week to eliminate all the aches and pains of old age.  I want to really enjoy the last third of my life, so I’ll be doing this every day for the rest of my life, my new job.  I may be getting older, but I don’t have to feel older or accept the aches and pains that our society claims is ‘normal’.

I've downsized our gardens, trying to minimize the size and time for upkeep.  Still, we have lots of tomatoes and salad greens.  Our fruit trees and sugar cane keep going regardless of human energy output.  We lost one cow during childbirth but she now fills our freezer, and is some of the best grass fed steaks ever.  Our other cow birthed a healthy calf so we still have two.  Our chickens give plenty of eggs.  So despite minimal effort, we still have lots of fresh naturally farmed food.

Growth Has an Expiration Date

Growth Has an Expiration Date

Check out this lecture by Tom Murphy, physics professor at UCSD.  He outlines the mathematical reasons why our economy based on continual growth must end.  It is filled with insights and well worth the 23 minute investment.

This is a must see for anyone who talks about sustainability.  It should be seen by every voter and every politician. Understanding these concepts are essential to constructing our planetary future.

Our future is now.

OCCUPY HILO

Drake thanking volunteers

My son Drake organized a positive protest this past Sunday evening October 30th.  Rather than be "against" anything, he is protesting by planting food in public spaces.

Jennifer and Julie planting taro

Over 40 persons showed up in Downtown Hilo to plant taro and other edible plants in the median strips on Kamehameha Avenue.  What had been weeds and roundup became wonderful edible landscapes in just two hours.  The vibe was so positive and the intention will reverberate and hopefully spread across the globe.

 

 

 

Transformation in Progress

This is all done using Natural Farming techniques.  Several weeks ago Drake and a few of his friends sprinkled IMO (indigenous micro organisms) in the areas to be planted. Folks showed up with plants, mulch, watering cans, more IMO's and intention to make Hawaii sustainable.

Each of us on the Island can plant food.  It will make us free from dependence.
Be the solution!

I Love Living in Hilo

Hilo town

Each weekday morning when I drive to work I pass by beautiful Hilo Bay.  On a clear day this past winter I took this photograph of snow capped Mauna Kea (13,796 ft.) from bay front.  Tonight was another clear evening that inspired me to write this post and to be grateful that I am so blessed to live here.  I passed paddlers in the bay and surfers at Alai Point.  On my return from town I witnessed a parade of color in the sky over the observatories atop Mauna Kea.  As I write this the colors are still changing from reds and purples into the night sky.  Going up to the upper garden to take a sunset shot over Mauna Kea, I was greeted by an Owl.  Too cool.

Backyard sunset tonight over Mauna Kea

I was reluctant to write this as I do not want to encourage anyone to move here.  One of the best things about living here is the uncrowded spaces.  You won't like that you are miles away and mega dollars away from your family.  You won't like that there is NOTHING to do on a Saturday night or that there are NO restaurants, and NO shopping beyond Wal-Mart.  Trust me, you don't want to move here.

But for me, who loves to stay home, loves clean air, lot's of space, doesn't mind 180 inches of rain per year, it is heaven.  I love the cultural diversity.  No body here thinks like me, looks like me or even relates to me.  Amen.  I love looking at miles of blue blue ocean.  I love the green fields.  I love that on a calm clear evening I can take off from my front lawn in my paraglider and take in the views, leaving everything and everybody below, to soak in the beauty of this paradise.

Afternoon flight above Onomea Bay

Lastly as I was about to post this, my daughter Kaitlin called me to look out from the front yard.  Puu'oo volcano is aglow, spewing lava visible from our yard.  Oh yeah, I love living in Hilo.

Chop and Drop

I want to share an effective gardening technique.  Chop and drop.  I am refurbishing older gardens.  Today I removed the remaining plants from a few gardens that had run their course and I did NOT till, just weeded.  Then I topped with IMO #4 and bio char.  On top of that I took whole branches of gliricida and covered the IMO beds.  Master Cho says IMO love 60% shade.  He also wants us to emulate nature by providing inputs on the soil surface as nature would do rather than till in nutrients as man has done in modern times.  Putting whole branches provides shade but also plenty of oxygen (because of the physical space) for the aerobic microbes to grow.  In a few weeks the leaves will dry and fall off the branches providing additional organic matter.  The woody branches will break down by the action of the aerobic microbes.  While I wait for seedlings to be ready to transplant, this technique allows me to be patient.  The microbes are at work in the garden bed.  When I do transplant seedlings, they will rocket because the soil is alive.

Plant in foreground has been pruned, the bushier Gliricidia behind needs to be pruned.

Originally I dedicated a row in my garden to gliricida.  Within that row I also have some papaya as well as pineapple plants.  The idea is that the gliricida are nitrogen fixing plants, and I would use their branches and leaves as mulching material.  I don't have to transport far, just a few feet, chop and drop.

New pond for Azolla production.

I made a pond this weekend to propagate azolla.  It is a water plant that can double in volume in a single day.  Pigs will eat it, as it is high in protein. Wikipedia reports, in addition to its traditional cultivation as a bio-fertilizer for wetland paddy (due to its ability to fix nitrogen), azolla is finding increasing use for sustainable production of livestock feed Azolla is rich in proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Studies describe feeding azolla to dairy cattle, pigs, ducks, and chickens, with reported increases in milk production, weight of broiler chickens and egg production of layers, as compared to conventional feed. 

Post experiment thoughts

I have been following Andrea Dean's blog ( http://www.andreadean.com/blog/ ) who is doing a very interesting experiment herself.  She is trying to eat food grown locally on a Food Stamp budget for a month.  I think it's about day 9 now and she is half way through her monthly budget.

It has brought up some interesting conundrums.  Isn't the goal to get folks OFF food stamps and be self-supporting with regards to food? Comments welcome.

Of course it took me years of hard work and dues paying to be able to own land to grow my own food supply.  So how do we get people who don't own land to be able to grow their own food?  Comments welcome.

Why do people purchase their food supply from Costco (you name the store) verses growing their own or buying locally produced food?  I have a few ideas.  After growing and preparing our own food for a month my wife will tell you it is a lot more work and takes a lot more time to prepare your own food.  So the convenience of store bought food is a big factor.  Eating and preparing your own food isn't for the lazy folks, which eliminates most of us.

Price is another big reason.  Local farmers cannot make a decent living selling raw agricultural products because they are competing against cheap industrial agriculture subsidized by cheap oil.  It is cheaper to grow food in a foreign country using oil based inputs and pay the transportation costs than to grow food in Hawaii.   Someone commented on Andrea's blog that foreign mangos are cheaper in the mainland than Hawaii grown mangos are in Hawaii.  Think about that.  Ask yourself why.

Variety is another factor.  Canoe crops grow easily here but people don't eat Taro.  When was the last time you at taro/poi?  Today, Last Week, Last Month, Last Year, or I can't remember????

Jennifers Reflective Thoughts

Well...it's time for me to pipe up again. WOW...it's hard to believe four weeks have passed...time IS speeding up. 

Recap- I was so psyched to do this in the beginning and enjoyed the process most of the time. I definitely had some cravings and sometimes was really sick of washing the harvest and preparing our meals day after day- I like to eat out a couple of times a week so this was a withdrawal for me. I so enjoyed perusing the gardens and seeing what was ready, what we could create. I enjoyed my time with Eric, cooking and caring for the garden. I can spend much more time than I do now in the garden...maybe when I make that commitment I will lean to an even more appreciative attitude. I found myself feeling so much gratitude to the plants for providing SO much. And SO much gratitude to Eric for keeping it all together. He is amazing..many people when they see our gardens ask if we have help. No siree...we have Eric with tremendous energy, a more than positive attitude and a heart full of love for his garden and providing for his family. A beautiful man, a gentle man. Today I told him he was a 'gentle man' farmer.

It is HUGE to know that we can do this. We have learned to be more creative with 'whatever we got' and to inJOY the results. We have vowed to eat more from the garden into the future, and are letting ourselves use coconut milk and mushrooms, and whatever else from the market can make a meal just right. We have a solid garden basis now and will continue to create and inJOY. Life is full, blessed and GOOD. 


~Namaste~