@dreamsofgreen the drive is no problem. Just have something else on tomorrow. I've been down your way to visit the Weedy garden and also been to Geoff Lawton's farm. I'm actually going back there in January to have another tour and see the progress
@@dreamsofgreen my dream is to set up 5-6 acre Food forest by the end of next year. Really to show people how it’s possible to do it cheaply and how to minimise work. The time I get completed I should have ironed out a lot of mistakes.🤣🤣
@@chessman483 Love the vision!! You’ll have to send me some progress shots.. it’s going to be absolutely amazing. Oh yes and the mistakes haha!!! All good learning - like don’t try and find randomly planted young trees with a brushcutter in 2m tall grass.. and hence the tree rows were born! 😂
I love the memory you share of being in 46degree heat. I had the same experience, it was gross 🥵, I was fatigued from doing nothing, and now so many lovely pockets to cool down. I love it 😊
I love being able to sit under the shade of a tree now!! I guess going through that we appreciate everything so much more now.. those little pockets of shade are such a relief on a hot day 💚☺️🌳
Kyogle is one of my fave areas in NSW. You've done a fabulous job. We planted about 100 trees and a couple dozen native shrubs, plus veggies and fruit for our good forest. It's fun watching photos from years back and seeing the growth.
Oh that sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing what you’ve done, sounds like you’ve created such a beautiful garden. It’s so rewarding to look back at old photos and see how things have changed. Enjoy your garden! Alex 💚🌿
There are actually some already planted on the other side of the driveway.. they are just getting big enough to flower. I didn’t realise they flowered at the same time. Will be beautiful!😊🌿
Thanks very much! If I’m honest I thought we had made a big mistake when we moved here.. it was so challenging in the beginning but seeing the transformation has been so worth it. Thanks for watching! Alex 💚🌿
Thanks Doug! Yes, we’ve been so lucky with the rain this year. We haven’t had that much rain, but still a lot compared to other years! And love that, shade is life. I definitely didn’t understand that until observing the difference between a bare paddock and what we have now. It’s made a huge difference! 💚🌳
Thank you! Yes, we are definitely curious to see what happens with the microclimate as the trees mature, we’ve already noticed a big difference in the tree rows with the shade 😊🌳
I love what you have done and that you are sharing this amazing transformation with others. Taking care of the environment on a local level is so important. 🌱🌿🌳
We live in Kempsey and at the end of 2019 it was so dry we had a terrible bushfire. Fire trucks were lined up just west of our home to try and stop the fire from getting into the town. I don’t think that has ever happened before It was terrifying. A small town west of us was almost wiped out. November is bushfire season. But this year 2024 we like you have had a very wet spring so everything lovely and green.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that.. I remember driving through Port Macquarie when we first came to look at the property and it was complete devastation for kms and kms.. absolutely shocking. I am so happy to hear that everything is so lush and green for you as well 💚🌿
What you have achieved in such a few years Alex is phenomenal. You’ve honored your dreams of green. Congratulations and may your food forest courses be as successful as your property reforestation is. Keep empowering with your trees! Thank you for what you are doing. It’s very inspiring.
Quite impressive the turn around you have managed in only three years. My dream is to buy a degraded block and restore it back to life using g rotational grazing of dormer sheep, Dexter cows and chickens. The three species working in harmony can help restore barren soils quite quickly. Pair that with extensive replanting of trees on the hills and along waterways, then you’ve a recipe for success
Thank you! And this is a really beautiful vision. I hope you find your land and are able to put this into practice.. I’d love to see the progress of this system in action. Wishing you all the very best with your dream.. this is inspiring stuff! Alex 💚🌿
I hope so! And it’s absolutely amazing how much more water this system retains too!! Our paddocks used to dry out so quickly without the shade.. such a difference now 💚🌿
Hi Alex, your videos over time have really shaped my awareness of the importance of capturing moisture: Swales to get rainwater to hang around where it's useful, shade to reduce soil temperatures, and mulch to reduce evaporation. Thank you so much for being a great teacher!
An absolute pleasure and appreciate all of your support! And yes, while we didn’t perform any earthworks to dig swales (due to steep slopes and underground fibre optic cable), the planting on contour was the next best option to act like a swale to really slow the water runoff and help it soak into the soil. Over time we’ll chop and drop, building up the mulch on contour helping to retain more and more moisture and continue to build topsoil. Again, appreciate the lovely comments and thanks for watching! Alex 💚🌿
Amazing job!! Too bad I'm at the other side of the world, Spain, otherwise I'd come and see you on Saturday. We also got a good amount of rain after a 2 year drought. Looking forward to see your progress.
So happy you got some decent rain and hope your place is starting to thrive now… what a difference it makes. Too bad you’re on the other side of the world though! 💚🪴
Incredible progress in such a short time, you must be really proud of all that you acheived. Living in the UK I can only look in envy at your banana and lemon trees 🥰
Thank you very much! Yes it’s wonderful seeing the progress.. to have shade now is such a blessing. I’ve seen some beautiful gardens in the UK too though haha! Things we just can’t grow here.. but I must admit even as a child living in a cooler climate I always dreamed of being able to grow things like bananas, guavas and mangoes 💚☺️🌿
Watching this has made me cry tears of joy. Such a beautiful transformation in such a short space of time. Hard work yes, but sooooo rewarding. And those before photos still terrify me, knowing how hot and dry it can get, and I remember clearly that 46 degree day, we had over 50 where I live. But I truly believe all of us who can, need to be doing what you are doing Alex, making dreams of green a reality! 💚💚💚 I think your property will be much more drought proof, as I’ve noticed even in those dry springs and even summers, when you look near trees, they’re providing shade and keeping the grass a little bit green even when everything around is a dust bowl. Now, I’m gonna go plant some trees 🌳🌳🌳!
Oh wow Sharon, thanks for your beautiful comment. That’s crazy to have 50 degrees! It was a tough time for sure. The shade makes such a difference. I definitely appreciate just how lush and green things are now and am very grateful for all the rain we’ve had this season. Enjoy your tree planting!! 🌳💚🌿
You've completely transformed that landscape - I should think that even with the inevitable drought, your trees and water-slowing strategies will prevent the land ever looking as barren as it did when you moved there, Alex. Wish I could have popped down to visit - Reddy Bay is a fair ways to just 'pop down'. Might make a multi-day stay of it while it's still nice and have a look at your forest as well as the famous rain-forest of Kyogle. 😊
Thanks so much and yes I hardly ever get to Brisbane so I understand! Please stay in touch if you’re ever travelling down this way.. my contact details are on my website. As I’m writing this we’re covered in dense early morning fog and the huge amount of surface area created by all the trees is capturing so much more water than a flat paddock. So I’ve noticed even if it doesn’t rain, we’re capturing so much more moisture and then the shade dramatically slows down evaporation. So even though it was tough, it was a blessing when we moved here to see just how quickly things dried out with no cover. Anyway, hope to meet you at some point! The Border Ranges are definitely worth a visit too. Take care, Alex 💚🌿
We start last year planting out trees on swales we only have 2 on our 3 ac property in poppanyining wa.working on a 3 then 7 year plan to have established trees and vegetable areas with our animals helping make compost
Oh I love this.. I like that you’ve got a plan in stages too.. we had to do this to make things more manageable. Wishing you all the very best and keep going with the vision, I’m sure it will be amazing and such an asset for your community. 💚🌿
I planted trees down a road side, I own the land on one side of the road and my neighnour owns the land on the other, and willing for me to plant it up. After say 5 years at most, trees are appearing that I did not plant. I can only think because birds go in the trees and drop Acorns and other seeds that pass through the birds is the reason why they are growing with my planted trees. Trees encourage other trees and bushes.
Yes, absolutely, the birds perch in the trees and drop more seed.. I love that you planted out your neighbour’s strip too, what a lovely avenue of trees you would have created. Thanks for sharing your inspiring work ☺️🌳
Hi Alex, it’s an amazing change and yet early days. I look forward to watching the ongoing journey. Most of my mini orchard is now in but it’s been a battle to keep the trees safe from deer and wallabies so they have had to be caged (the trees). Have some rhubarb and strawberries and rocket in between. Also have had a brush turkey take over my veggie patch. 🙄 I don’t know how you keep up with so much land but you are doing a wonderful thing.
Oh this sounds wonderful! Luckily we haven’t had to deal with deer.. I’m sure it must be a challenge but hope the cages are working. Did you just use chicken wire and stakes or something stronger? I miss my rhubarb, it seems to die even in a raised bed when we get our heavy summer rains.. and brush turkeys we don’t have but bandicoots are tunnelling everywhere in the veggie patch! And while I was filming this my partner was mowing.. he’s been such an amazing support. We’re noticing in the densely planted tree rows the grass is thinning and changing species as it gets shaded out which is a real blessing. Enjoy your garden! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen re the tree guards, chicken wire doesn’t stop deer (they go berko and rip it apart stake and all) or wallabies (who gently push the wire in to the snackiest leaves and eat through the holes). Currently using 2 wallaby tree guards made of stiffer metal tied with proper metal clips to a steel stake (deer 😖). Sounds extreme I know. Also I am trying 4 tent pegs holding the cage down instead of the stakes on some. Not at all practical for your site but I think you are winning by sheer numbers anyway with all your seedlings.
U r a true inspiration. I was driving home listening to the video. But I thought this is one you need to watch not just listen to. So just eaten tea and watched. U almost inspired me to drive to Kyogle tomorrow 🤪. People hopefully will flock to you as I know you make it simple for people. To many “ experts “ leave people confused on where to start.Good luck with everything.
Thank you so much Darryl.. so kind of you. Yes like you, I like keeping things simple! And I’m thinking if you leave now you might just make it 😁 I’m hoping it will be a good show tomorrow.. Can’t wait. Always end up meeting such interesting people..I think I might need my gumboots though!!
@ ha gumboots!! We haven’t had any decent amount of rain since the one downpour. We are a little dry but certainly not serious, could do with a big rain. Let us know how your day goes.
Thank you! I’m not sure if you can search for previous satellite images from a few years back? Then you can see the transformation over time.. I’m hoping they do another update soon! 💚🌿
@@owbeer Oh wow, thank you! I didn’t even think to look up street view as they hadn’t updated it in 10 years or so.. I just looked at the satellite view. This is so great to see it from the road like this! 🙏🌳
Haha, I finally managed that as well, now that Alex mentioned Fawcett Creek :D I love snooping around Google Maps. (I'm not stalking, Alex! Just very curious)
@@Mynervas too funny!! I’ll make it easier for you - I just put my website back online and the address is on there haha! But yes, I’ve done a pretty terrible job staying incognito.. the tree rows are a dead giveaway! Anyway, it will be cool to see the google images in another few years.. I take regular screenshots so I can look back at the progress. 💚🌳
Hi Alex, I see you follow Geoff Lawton, have you heard about Dr Elaine Ingham, she is very very gooood at explaining soil and compost, compost tea, under a microscope, biology, please watch elaine if you haven't, have you heard about brix refractometer, for leaf sugar count in leaves, more or higher sugar more insect pest and bad fungi resistant you get in the food forest
Yes I know of Elaine Ingham’s work, all fascinating stuff! Thanks for the reminder, a friend of mine does soil workshops based on her methods and has achieved incredible results on her farm 😊🌿
i guess you will never be out of firewood again. good work. the looks is better but i'm also interested in the the subtil changes to soil, fauna and water stocks your trees came with. Are there any drawbacks?
Great question and suggestion. We have 2 small dams and access to the creek but they can go dry in a bad drought.. I would definitely love to do more of this though, especially with some fish. The ponds are great for bringing in more wildlife too 🦘🌿🕊️
If you make a sequence of ponds down a slope you can see if any stay wet. It was used in medieval times in England by monks to supply food.Better than losing water to next property.l lived by ‘Fishponds rd’, south London. As you say it creates bird homes etc.
@@jamespeatling7660 this is really interesting! I didn’t know the monks did this in medieval England. There’s another very gentle gulley onsite that doesn’t turn into a raging river during flooding rains. I’ve always envisage a series of smaller ponds down this slope, it would also be better to keep fish. Thanks for this, I think or would be a really exciting project for the future! 😊🌿
Glad to be of help. A digger could create several ponds in an afternoon,you just need it to be on water route.Possibly connect by gutters as overflow down slope. Canals here have ‘pounds’ on the side to store and refill locks in sets - works on same idea. Probably help keep temperature down too?
I’ve studied finance, worked on super yachts for many years in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, worked at yacht marinas and a garden centre, have done gardening work, tutored students in maths and home schooling.. now I’m starting to offer food forest courses and plant packs.. I guess I adapt to the work that is available and we live very simply 💚
I would have loved to have added swales but the hillsides are too steep and there’s a fibre optic cable running underground through the property..so I plant and mulch on contour to help slow the flow of water runoff 💚
@@dreamsofgreen Maybe you could dig out the dam and use the spoil to make small swales on some of the mulch swales. Gradually making the dam larger and the swales bigger?
Thank you so much! The primary motivation was shade when we started.. then I began researching all the different uses for the natives I had planted, as well as trees for timber, nuts, fruit etc. What I’m working towards is an educational hub where I can offer courses but also provide all the seeds, cuttings and plants from the site so people have everything they need to start their own food/timber/native forests. I’m just starting to offer the first property tours and courses now, so it will be interesting to see how things evolve over time, especially as the trees mature and start producing fruit etc. 💚🌿
Would ve giod uf something like rhus could be kicked if in every community. Community service Encourage landiw ners to donate strips which would provide shade for cattle.
There’s too many to mention here, but if you check out my other videos, I take you on a walk through the food forests and show you exactly what I’ve planted. I hope this helps! 💚🌿
Great question. We started with cattle to fertilise and get the grass down. Then we removed the cattle to let the paddocks rest, decompact and be able to plant trees. Once the trees get bigger we’ll look at reintroducing livestock, potentially a few steers, but we’ll reassess our options when the time comes. 🌿
I’d love to know, what are your dreams for your land (or future parcel of land)? What transformation would you like to see?
I'm in Brisbane but can't make it down to Kyogle tomorrow. Maybe you could put the survey up online to help gather more information.
@@christianhendry7136 yes it’s still a bit of a drive from Brisbane! This is a great idea too. I’ll work on getting the survey online. Alex 🙏🌿
@dreamsofgreen the drive is no problem. Just have something else on tomorrow. I've been down your way to visit the Weedy garden and also been to Geoff Lawton's farm. I'm actually going back there in January to have another tour and see the progress
@@dreamsofgreen my dream is to set up 5-6 acre Food forest by the end of next year. Really to show people how it’s possible to do it cheaply and how to minimise work. The time I get completed I should have ironed out a lot of mistakes.🤣🤣
@@chessman483 Love the vision!! You’ll have to send me some progress shots.. it’s going to be absolutely amazing. Oh yes and the mistakes haha!!! All good learning - like don’t try and find randomly planted young trees with a brushcutter in 2m tall grass.. and hence the tree rows were born! 😂
Beautiful change ❤❤❤
Thank you, it’s been such a rewarding journey, seeing the land transform. 💚🌿
This is fantastic progress.
A testament to a lot of hard work.
The fruits of your labour will be tenfold.
Very inspirational.❤️
Thank you very much! So blessed to have this rain, it’s making all the difference. Alex 💚🌿
this video makes me soo happy, so good to see someone putting permaculture principles into practice properly :)
Oh I’m so glad, thanks very much for watching! Alex 💚🌿
The world needs more people with your vision. You are an inspiration ❤
Thank you so much for your kind words Lynne. Wishing you a beautiful weekend in your garden, Alex 💚🌿
A beautiful testament to a lot of hard work and thoughtful planning! Love to see a before and after, very inspiring.
Thanks so much for your lovely comment.. I’m so glad I took those before photos, I had forgotten just how bare it was a few years back! 🙏💚🌿
Big progress after just a few years, also it looks more like space to live in.
Thank you, this is so true. It’s definitely a much more welcoming space now ☺️🌳
I love the memory you share of being in 46degree heat. I had the same experience, it was gross 🥵, I was fatigued from doing nothing, and now so many lovely pockets to cool down. I love it 😊
I love being able to sit under the shade of a tree now!! I guess going through that we appreciate everything so much more now.. those little pockets of shade are such a relief on a hot day 💚☺️🌳
Kyogle is one of my fave areas in NSW. You've done a fabulous job.
We planted about 100 trees and a couple dozen native shrubs, plus veggies and fruit for our good forest. It's fun watching photos from years back and seeing the growth.
Oh that sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing what you’ve done, sounds like you’ve created such a beautiful garden. It’s so rewarding to look back at old photos and see how things have changed. Enjoy your garden! Alex 💚🌿
Thanks much for sharing and please keep on sharing. You gave me hope and inspiration to do more dreaming and planting the green🙏🏼🌺🌴
So wonderful to hear that it’s inspired you! I am so excited for you, keep planting! 💚🌳
You should plant some Jakarandas between each flame tree. They bloom at the same time.🌞
There are actually some already planted on the other side of the driveway.. they are just getting big enough to flower. I didn’t realise they flowered at the same time. Will be beautiful!😊🌿
This is wonderful progress. Hard pressed to tell that the before and after photos are of the same property. Greetings from Vancouver Island.
Thanks very much! If I’m honest I thought we had made a big mistake when we moved here.. it was so challenging in the beginning but seeing the transformation has been so worth it. Thanks for watching! Alex 💚🌿
Awesome transformation, shade is life! It has been an unusual November almost 300mm in Brisbane, its going to be a good year for growth.
Thanks Doug! Yes, we’ve been so lucky with the rain this year. We haven’t had that much rain, but still a lot compared to other years! And love that, shade is life. I definitely didn’t understand that until observing the difference between a bare paddock and what we have now. It’s made a huge difference! 💚🌳
Wow, really lush. Amazing transformation in such a short time.
So much more life now that the trees have taken hold. It's amazing to see the impact of planting! 💚🌿
Feeling Thinking Desires Dreams ,Planning to buy Acre Land, Imagination , Which part of 🌏 , Will Power, Good Will Wellness
Beautiful work! It will be interest to see what the temps are like when it warms up again.
Thank you! Yes, we are definitely curious to see what happens with the microclimate as the trees mature, we’ve already noticed a big difference in the tree rows with the shade 😊🌳
Wonderful transformation!
Thank you! 🙏🌳
I love what you have done and that you are sharing this amazing transformation with others. Taking care of the environment on a local level is so important. 🌱🌿🌳
Thank you for your kind words. It's definitely a journey and I'm so glad to be sharing it with others! 💚🌳
We live in Kempsey and at the end of 2019 it was so dry we had a terrible bushfire. Fire trucks were lined up just west of our home to try and stop the fire from getting into the town. I don’t think that has ever happened before It was terrifying. A small town west of us was almost wiped out. November is bushfire season. But this year 2024 we like you have had a very wet spring so everything lovely and green.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that.. I remember driving through Port Macquarie when we first came to look at the property and it was complete devastation for kms and kms.. absolutely shocking. I am so happy to hear that everything is so lush and green for you as well 💚🌿
What you have achieved in such a few years Alex is phenomenal. You’ve honored your dreams of green. Congratulations and may your food forest courses be as successful as your property reforestation is. Keep empowering with your trees! Thank you for what you are doing. It’s very inspiring.
That's an amazing difference in just 4 years.
Very blessed to have this rain.. I’ve noticed a big difference even in the last few months! 💚🌿
Amazing and beautiful. Those are not "dreams" anymore, but reality 🌳🌳
Quite impressive the turn around you have managed in only three years. My dream is to buy a degraded block and restore it back to life using g rotational grazing of dormer sheep, Dexter cows and chickens. The three species working in harmony can help restore barren soils quite quickly. Pair that with extensive replanting of trees on the hills and along waterways, then you’ve a recipe for success
Thank you! And this is a really beautiful vision. I hope you find your land and are able to put this into practice.. I’d love to see the progress of this system in action. Wishing you all the very best with your dream.. this is inspiring stuff! Alex 💚🌿
Nice work!
Thank you! 🙏🌿
I love your survey idea😀
Thank you!! 🙏💚
Congratulations on regenerating and healing your land ... great to see you enjoying the fruits of your labour the property looks amazing 👍 great work
Thanks so much, it’s been such a rewarding journey, and so grateful to have some shade now! 💚🌿
You are actually making it rain!😊
I hope so! And it’s absolutely amazing how much more water this system retains too!! Our paddocks used to dry out so quickly without the shade.. such a difference now 💚🌿
Hi Alex, your videos over time have really shaped my awareness of the importance of capturing moisture: Swales to get rainwater to hang around where it's useful, shade to reduce soil temperatures, and mulch to reduce evaporation. Thank you so much for being a great teacher!
An absolute pleasure and appreciate all of your support! And yes, while we didn’t perform any earthworks to dig swales (due to steep slopes and underground fibre optic cable), the planting on contour was the next best option to act like a swale to really slow the water runoff and help it soak into the soil. Over time we’ll chop and drop, building up the mulch on contour helping to retain more and more moisture and continue to build topsoil. Again, appreciate the lovely comments and thanks for watching! Alex 💚🌿
You did a lot of work. All this planting looks amazing! Wish You the best of luck from Czech Republic (Europe)! Jaroslav
Thanks so much for watching Jaroslav! Yes it’s been very rewarding seeing everything grow so well. Alex 💚🌿
Amazing job!! Too bad I'm at the other side of the world, Spain, otherwise I'd come and see you on Saturday.
We also got a good amount of rain after a 2 year drought.
Looking forward to see your progress.
So happy you got some decent rain and hope your place is starting to thrive now… what a difference it makes. Too bad you’re on the other side of the world though! 💚🪴
thank you for doing this
What a beautiful transformation 💚 thank you for sharing. 😊
You are so welcome! Thank you 💚🌿
The magic of Alex
Thanks Martin! Your farm is looking so lush and green at the moment too.. lovely to see 💚🌿
Incredible progress in such a short time, you must be really proud of all that you acheived. Living in the UK I can only look in envy at your banana and lemon trees 🥰
Thank you very much! Yes it’s wonderful seeing the progress.. to have shade now is such a blessing. I’ve seen some beautiful gardens in the UK too though haha! Things we just can’t grow here.. but I must admit even as a child living in a cooler climate I always dreamed of being able to grow things like bananas, guavas and mangoes 💚☺️🌿
Nice Vlog
Thank you for watching! 💚🌿
Watching this has made me cry tears of joy. Such a beautiful transformation in such a short space of time. Hard work yes, but sooooo rewarding. And those before photos still terrify me, knowing how hot and dry it can get, and I remember clearly that 46 degree day, we had over 50 where I live. But I truly believe all of us who can, need to be doing what you are doing Alex, making dreams of green a reality! 💚💚💚 I think your property will be much more drought proof, as I’ve noticed even in those dry springs and even summers, when you look near trees, they’re providing shade and keeping the grass a little bit green even when everything around is a dust bowl. Now, I’m gonna go plant some trees 🌳🌳🌳!
Oh wow Sharon, thanks for your beautiful comment. That’s crazy to have 50 degrees! It was a tough time for sure. The shade makes such a difference. I definitely appreciate just how lush and green things are now and am very grateful for all the rain we’ve had this season. Enjoy your tree planting!! 🌳💚🌿
Incredible! Love seeing things like this, so inspiring!
Thank you for watching! So glad you found it inspiring 💚🌿
Beautiful job❤
Thank you! So rewarding to see it transform 💚🌿
What a difference!
So blessed with all this rain! It’s lovely seeing things really starting to take off now 💚🌿
Much nicer! I would have loved to have helped
What a difference you've made!
Thank you! So rewarding to watch how everything is growing ☺️🌿
Love your work and your enthusiasm.
Thank you so much! 😊🌿
Love growing gardening farming everywhere where possible ?
Well done.
Thanks very much 💚🌿
You've completely transformed that landscape - I should think that even with the inevitable drought, your trees and water-slowing strategies will prevent the land ever looking as barren as it did when you moved there, Alex. Wish I could have popped down to visit - Reddy Bay is a fair ways to just 'pop down'. Might make a multi-day stay of it while it's still nice and have a look at your forest as well as the famous rain-forest of Kyogle. 😊
Thanks so much and yes I hardly ever get to Brisbane so I understand! Please stay in touch if you’re ever travelling down this way.. my contact details are on my website. As I’m writing this we’re covered in dense early morning fog and the huge amount of surface area created by all the trees is capturing so much more water than a flat paddock. So I’ve noticed even if it doesn’t rain, we’re capturing so much more moisture and then the shade dramatically slows down evaporation. So even though it was tough, it was a blessing when we moved here to see just how quickly things dried out with no cover. Anyway, hope to meet you at some point! The Border Ranges are definitely worth a visit too. Take care, Alex 💚🌿
We start last year planting out trees on swales we only have 2 on our 3 ac property in poppanyining wa.working on a 3 then 7 year plan to have established trees and vegetable areas with our animals helping make compost
My partner is in wheelchair so making property asasable for all
Oh I love this.. I like that you’ve got a plan in stages too.. we had to do this to make things more manageable. Wishing you all the very best and keep going with the vision, I’m sure it will be amazing and such an asset for your community. 💚🌿
I planted trees down a road side, I own the land on one side of the road and my neighnour owns the land on the other, and willing for me to plant it up.
After say 5 years at most, trees are appearing that I did not plant.
I can only think because birds go in the trees and drop Acorns and other seeds that pass through the birds is the reason why they are growing with my planted trees.
Trees encourage other trees and bushes.
Yes, absolutely, the birds perch in the trees and drop more seed.. I love that you planted out your neighbour’s strip too, what a lovely avenue of trees you would have created. Thanks for sharing your inspiring work ☺️🌳
Excelent work. These before/after videos give a lot of hope. I would like my free tree tomorrow but I am at the opposite side of the planet 🙂
Thank you for your lovely words and a shame you’re so far away! 💚🌿
Great video.
Thank you so much for watching! 💚🌿
Awesome!!! Such an inspiring story.
Thanks very much for watching! I’m so glad you find it inspiring 💚🌿
Hi Alex, it’s an amazing change and yet early days. I look forward to watching the ongoing journey. Most of my mini orchard is now in but it’s been a battle to keep the trees safe from deer and wallabies so they have had to be caged (the trees). Have some rhubarb and strawberries and rocket in between. Also have had a brush turkey take over my veggie patch. 🙄 I don’t know how you keep up with so much land but you are doing a wonderful thing.
Oh this sounds wonderful! Luckily we haven’t had to deal with deer.. I’m sure it must be a challenge but hope the cages are working. Did you just use chicken wire and stakes or something stronger? I miss my rhubarb, it seems to die even in a raised bed when we get our heavy summer rains.. and brush turkeys we don’t have but bandicoots are tunnelling everywhere in the veggie patch! And while I was filming this my partner was mowing.. he’s been such an amazing support. We’re noticing in the densely planted tree rows the grass is thinning and changing species as it gets shaded out which is a real blessing. Enjoy your garden! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen re the tree guards, chicken wire doesn’t stop deer (they go berko and rip it apart stake and all) or wallabies (who gently push the wire in to the snackiest leaves and eat through the holes). Currently using 2 wallaby tree guards made of stiffer metal tied with proper metal clips to a steel stake (deer 😖). Sounds extreme I know. Also I am trying 4 tent pegs holding the cage down instead of the stakes on some. Not at all practical for your site but I think you are winning by sheer numbers anyway with all your seedlings.
U r a true inspiration. I was driving home listening to the video. But I thought this is one you need to watch not just listen to. So just eaten tea and watched. U almost inspired me to drive to Kyogle tomorrow 🤪.
People hopefully will flock to you as I know you make it simple for people. To many “ experts “ leave people confused on where to start.Good luck with everything.
Thank you so much Darryl.. so kind of you. Yes like you, I like keeping things simple! And I’m thinking if you leave now you might just make it 😁
I’m hoping it will be a good show tomorrow.. Can’t wait. Always end up meeting such interesting people..I think I might need my gumboots though!!
@ ha gumboots!! We haven’t had any decent amount of rain since the one downpour. We are a little dry but certainly not serious, could do with a big rain. Let us know how your day goes.
@ hoping for more rain for you! And yes, I’ll let you know how it goes 😊🪴
Absolutely amazing what you've done with your property, congratulations. Look forward to seeing more 🙂
Thanks very much for watching, it’s definitely been so rewarding to see the place transform. I’m so excited to have shade now!!
We are also having a wet spring/summer in south Africa, it's quite nice
Good to hear.. hope everything is growing really well for you 💚🌿
Awesome! A lot of work but this has paid off, well done ❤️
Thank you! Happy for the exercise haha! Seeing all the growth has been so rewarding 💚🌿
the river oaks are growing well near the dam
You're setting a good example of what God wants us to do.
Thank you for your kind words.. I’m lucky to be able to follow my passion 💚
i found your property on google maps, it looks amazing.
Thank you! I’m not sure if you can search for previous satellite images from a few years back? Then you can see the transformation over time.. I’m hoping they do another update soon! 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen if you go to google street view , there are 3 dates to choose from. 2008,2010 and 2024,what a difference.
@@owbeer Oh wow, thank you! I didn’t even think to look up street view as they hadn’t updated it in 10 years or so.. I just looked at the satellite view. This is so great to see it from the road like this! 🙏🌳
Haha, I finally managed that as well, now that Alex mentioned Fawcett Creek :D I love snooping around Google Maps. (I'm not stalking, Alex! Just very curious)
@@Mynervas too funny!! I’ll make it easier for you - I just put my website back online and the address is on there haha! But yes, I’ve done a pretty terrible job staying incognito.. the tree rows are a dead giveaway! Anyway, it will be cool to see the google images in another few years.. I take regular screenshots so I can look back at the progress. 💚🌳
loooooking very nice, big change on the hill hey , hope your Neighbours do the same hey
Thanks so much, yes the hillside has really started to take off now! Great to see the growth 💚🌿
Do you graze any animals on pasture between tree rows.
You have great setup for silvopasture
Thank you! Not just yet but hopefully in the future we’d love to get animals back in the system once the trees get bigger 😊🌿
Hi Alex, I see you follow Geoff Lawton, have you heard about Dr Elaine Ingham, she is very very gooood at explaining soil and compost, compost tea, under a microscope, biology, please watch elaine if you haven't, have you heard about brix refractometer, for leaf sugar count in leaves, more or higher sugar more insect pest and bad fungi resistant you get in the food forest
Yes I know of Elaine Ingham’s work, all fascinating stuff! Thanks for the reminder, a friend of mine does soil workshops based on her methods and has achieved incredible results on her farm 😊🌿
i guess you will never be out of firewood again. good work.
the looks is better but i'm also interested in the the subtil changes to soil, fauna and water stocks your trees came with.
Are there any drawbacks?
I wondered if you had made sequence of ponds should droughts reoccur. Or considered fish in reservoir?
Great question and suggestion. We have 2 small dams and access to the creek but they can go dry in a bad drought.. I would definitely love to do more of this though, especially with some fish. The ponds are great for bringing in more wildlife too 🦘🌿🕊️
If you make a sequence of ponds down a slope you can see if any stay wet. It was used in medieval times in England by monks to supply food.Better than losing water to next property.l lived by ‘Fishponds rd’, south London. As you say it creates bird homes etc.
@@jamespeatling7660 this is really interesting! I didn’t know the monks did this in medieval England. There’s another very gentle gulley onsite that doesn’t turn into a raging river during flooding rains. I’ve always envisage a series of smaller ponds down this slope, it would also be better to keep fish. Thanks for this, I think or would be a really exciting project for the future! 😊🌿
Glad to be of help. A digger could create several ponds in an afternoon,you just need it to be on water route.Possibly connect by gutters as overflow down slope. Canals here have ‘pounds’ on the side to store and refill locks in sets - works on same idea. Probably help keep temperature down too?
There is a TH-cam film ‘farmdemoeuro’. that talks about benefits of ponds.
Can i ask, what was your work background prior to this property, and how do you earn a living in Kyogle?
I’ve studied finance, worked on super yachts for many years in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, worked at yacht marinas and a garden centre, have done gardening work, tutored students in maths and home schooling.. now I’m starting to offer food forest courses and plant packs.. I guess I adapt to the work that is available and we live very simply 💚
@dreamsofgreen A Jill of all trades! Love it!
@@M.i.k.e. haha yes, not exactly a conventional career!
Did you add any swales on contour to retain water on the hills to help the plants retain water in the dry spells?
I would have loved to have added swales but the hillsides are too steep and there’s a fibre optic cable running underground through the property..so I plant and mulch on contour to help slow the flow of water runoff 💚
@@dreamsofgreen Maybe you could dig out the dam and use the spoil to make small swales on some of the mulch swales.
Gradually making the dam larger and the swales bigger?
Absolutely amazing progress Alex!
Do you derive any income from the plantings at all or was that not a consideration?
Thank you so much! The primary motivation was shade when we started.. then I began researching all the different uses for the natives I had planted, as well as trees for timber, nuts, fruit etc. What I’m working towards is an educational hub where I can offer courses but also provide all the seeds, cuttings and plants from the site so people have everything they need to start their own food/timber/native forests. I’m just starting to offer the first property tours and courses now, so it will be interesting to see how things evolve over time, especially as the trees mature and start producing fruit etc. 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen That is a wonderful goal to work towards. Wishing you great success with your 10 acres!
Would ve giod uf something like rhus could be kicked if in every community.
Community service
Encourage landiw ners to donate strips which would provide shade for cattle.
Love this idea! Thanks for sharing, very inspiring ☺️🌿
What fruit trees did you plant? 🌱
There’s too many to mention here, but if you check out my other videos, I take you on a walk through the food forests and show you exactly what I’ve planted. I hope this helps! 💚🌿
do you plan on having livestock?
Great question. We started with cattle to fertilise and get the grass down. Then we removed the cattle to let the paddocks rest, decompact and be able to plant trees. Once the trees get bigger we’ll look at reintroducing livestock, potentially a few steers, but we’ll reassess our options when the time comes. 🌿