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Thanks

Cheers mate

@@ElementsOfResilience I would like to contact you.

@@Rakibahamme0 We have a contact form on our website. If you send me a message through there I will get back to you as soon as possible! (Which will probably be beginning to mid-January due to a holiday break). Thanks

Thanks! Same here, of course. I’ll share an update at the end of the season (as a few will have to move on, they’re outgrowing their pots!)

Thanks. Start small and dream big! Good luck on your journey.

@@ElementsOfResilience Thank you. Keep up the great work..

Glad you liked this (old) vid!

Yup, can be. To me the definition for someone who stewards land can be quite broad. Ranging from a few square metres to many hectares and everything in between. It’s more about intention than size! The cool names partly come from te reo Māori; the language of the indigenous people of NZ. This means plant nerds like myself get to learn about plants in a at least 3 languages! (Te reo, English and botanical names)

Thanks. I totally agree!

Sure looks like it. Thanks for the tip! Depending on the source you read it’s either a weed that needs spraying or a beneficial ally to the garden…I guess it’s clear what side I’m on.

Thanks for you question! I guess one of the ideas was to get as many plants into the ground as possible to create a rapid closure of the canopy. Thereby outcompeting the grass. It's a no-spray, high density plant-and-forget style of planting. Healthy forests usually have extreme high density of plants as well, especially in spots where there's a clearing or disturbance of some sort. Also there was an expectation that the losses would be higher because there is no irrigation whatsoever! We figured we could deal with a possible abundance problem later on... If needed we can come in at some point and prune back heavily and feed that to the soil if needed (syntropic style of growing).

It’s a great little (secret) method that creates abundance with little to no input!

Very true!

Thanks. We share the same expectation! (And impatience?)

Tēnā koe. Nga mihi ki a koe for watching

I figured you can’t stay anonymous forever if you wan’t to get some messages across…!

Thanks! Great commitment from you down there in Canterbury! We’re lucky not to have encountered any animals in numbers that pose a threat. Hopefully it stays that way.

A little less than 4000m2, with almost 5000 plants planted…High density, high diversity is the formula! Thanks for your question, might have forgotten to mention this in the vid.

Happy to share!

Thanks! At this stage not really, the plants are still very young. But with the extremely high density of plants we might need to look into applying some of the techniques of syntropic agriculture further down the line!

Thanks!

Hi Jim. Not very obvious just yet, but a year from now they will have hopefully taken off! It feels like they're getting ready for a growth spurt next spring, especially now the water levels have restored after some beautiful rains. Hopefully all that water isn't causing any issues over at your place.

Thanks!

Thanks!

It seemed to work very well for us the past year. Remember it might be different for you project. But definitely worth giving a try, even if you don't apply it to the whole area.

Well, at least you know which plot is mine! See you in the gardens.

Our plan is definitely to keep the 'non-natives' out as mush as possible! I think because we started with a 'clean' grassy paddock we might have a head start. The grass seems to be acting as a living mulch and in that way help suppress the possibility for other plants to establish themselves from seed.

Hi Sam. Can't agree with you more on this one. We definitely have plans to provide space for the smaller (but oh so essential) small critters. There is a pond in the making. Also, Koru Wildlife Centre (who organises this project) specialise in breeding gecko and wētā. So we'll definitely follow up on making space for them. It all just takes time, which can be a limiting factor sometimes!

Yep, that's a good idea. We're doing something similar on 10 acres, we might look at introducing some feature rocks as we have both frogs and skinks around.

Thanks for your comment! It can be tricky to make the "right" decision with regards to gardening sometimes! I was especially surprised to see oxalis make a comeback in the second season, after being absent for the whole first season. Something to keep an eye on for sure. I've also heard that letting chickens run on an affected patch for an extended period can help eliminate oxalis. However, as in my case, that's not possible for everyone.

Thanks for mentioning that. I thought I shared most of them, but I see I missed a few. Future videos will have all the names, as that is also important to us! For now, please see the description for the names of the plants in this video.

@@ElementsOfResilience thank you🙌 the Māori names hold a lot of knowledge in themselves about the plants

Thanks!

Hi Ria, thanks for your reply! What's the approximate location of your project? Also, do you use any active treatments against the hares? You can find the update here: th-cam.com/video/WvQKfX2DO48/w-d-xo.html. We've had a very dry summer but the plants seem alright... Hope to post another update soon!

@@riakemp5283 We have the same problem. We put plastic shelters staked with bamboo around our cabbage trees, five finger and ribbonwood. Although we have just planted Oi Oi and Carex somewhere else on our property and they seem to be liking those too

Thanks! Good to know it was worthwhile.

Hi Jim, cheers to your honesty. Don't worry the focus will remain on the message and not so much how it's presented, as I have very little skills in that area...

Hi David, this previously was a productive paddock of some sorts. This probably allows for a relatively easy transition, as you noted most of these grasses are relatively mild compared to some other plants out there. Nonetheless, I think by choosing the right trees combined with a deep layer of mulch, many common weeds could be knocked back enough to get the trees through the first year or two. After that they're off and in the long-term they'll shade out some of those plants

@@ElementsOfResilienceYeah I do a lot of this myself. Mainly in gullies and wetland areas. I have to keep them alive for the first 2 years, then they look after themselves. Although, even then, I can get blackberry, gorse and tobacco weed come up around the edges or in the middle of wetlands at any stage. So there's a certain amount of maintenance needed forever.

Great work! Have you seen this docu about Banks peninsula and the reforestation over there? Gorse will eventually easily be overtaken by natives, and in the meantime can act as a great nursery plant.. th-cam.com/video/3VZSJKbzyMc/w-d-xo.html

Hi Jim, just wanted to let you know that on the Summer Update video I can see your comment but can't reply or like it...So, thanks for the comment and we'll keep em coming for sure!

Hi Blake, so far yes... I'm planning to do a summer update video within the next week or so. Let's see what they look like in the middle of summer!

Hi Abid, do you mean how the air exists the solar dehydrator? In that case, I talk about the air-flow design from about 4:00 onward. The cold air enters on the bottom, heats up and rises, and exits on the back end through the mesh cloth! Hope that answers your question.

I agree! Maybe you can try this in your own garden?

That's definitely the plan for the future videos!

Indeed, most grasslands left to their own accord (i.e. no humans or ruminants) will slowly over time turn into forest. It's the natural succession of things. I guess we're 'cheating' a bit and hoping to speed it up as us impatient humans tend to do. I've seen similar projects before and the grass can either act as a great support through moisture retention, shade protection etc. Or, choke and overgrow the newly establishing plants. We'll keep a close eye on them (and provide updates!) as it all unfolds.

Yes, very exciting! Curious to see how it all unfolds! I have my expectations but we'll just have to wait and see...

Thanks!

Thanks for the support!

Yes! We're heading towards the spring-explosion-phase! Pretty much perfect weather; warm sunny days with plenty of rain in between! We can't eat up all the abundance that the garden produces at this moment... Very grateful to be able to be giving away and sharing some of this abundance with the wider community.

Uhm... I'm not sure what you mean by that?

Well...we try! It sure becomes easier when you have access to an abundance of fresh veges from the garden, which we're very lucky to have!

That sounds interesting! I'd be keen to see it when it's done (or the work in progress) if you were planning to upload a video of it?