I can't remember who, but one of the great permaculture pioneers says that the best time to plant a tree is seven years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. LOL I love that!
I have a mate, he virtually market gardens and makes a reasonable living growing Limes, he grows a huge variety of Limes, he both supplies them in bulk to the markets and also supplies pre cut Limes the Pubs and Clubs.
I wish I could tell me the same thing two years ago! Actually the advice on a new property (if you ask a permaculturist) is to plant water first. Any earthworks, any pond, any contour line, ditches, irrigation systems, rain harvesting pathways, etc, should be the very first thing to do. Second step is to start small. Failures are unavoidable, so better to fail small. It can be a small market garden or a small tree guild or a small herd, whatever, but it has to give a rewarding experience. The right choice is the one that is going to give the better yields with the least amount of effort. Easier said than found out. In retrospect, planting more shade trees would have been a way the right choice for us, since we lack the resources for any of the above.
Love your comment Abraham! Really resonated as we also lacked the resources for the above so felt quite defeated. If you can plant trees and thus plant shade, effectively you are planting water. For us in this climate, trying to get that quick growing shade to reduce the effects of evaporation was key. Wishing you much success with your tree planting! Alex 💚🌿
Thanks so much! Such kind words! Hope you’re enjoying your own beautiful garden. I’ve finally posted an update of the property.. everything has grown so much! 💚🌿
I also started with the animals. I wish that I would have started planting in 2014 when I bought my property. I started planting in 2019. I’ve also realized that my soil is not good for growing stuff at all. It was depleted of nutrients by years of commercial farming. I was able to get wood chips for the 1st time this year. I’ve been putting them out since the beginning of summer. Everything in my food forest is really benefiting from the wood chips. My more orchard style food forest doesn’t have a wood chip mulch bc I have chickens in it. It is where I planted my 1st trees and it’s not doing as well as the food forest with mulch.
Yes the wood chip makes such a difference, I can’t wait for wet season to start where I do my first proper chop n drop now the support trees are up. Wishing you all the best with your property! And I’m sure your soil will keep improving over time with all the goodness you are giving it. Alex 💚🌿
I’m curious if you could just lay a thin layer of wood chips in the other, chicken orchard. So that grass still pokes through, but you get some of the wood chip benefits, albeit in a lesser capacity. Or perhaps, you can leave a pile of wood chips to break down for a year, and then spread the more broken down mulch into that food forest. Or just spread them around the trees and leave areas bare? What are your thoughts, rickers?
See the studies done in Victoria after the Ash Wednesday fires, the exotic non native trees survived much better than the natives. Btw, don’t forget Figs, you will have to net from the bats. Btw, give me a heads up if you want the Carob seeds. I recently came home after spending 3 months in Arizona, I was surprised to see White Mulberry being extensively planted on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, no water, semi desert, they thrived. This surprised me because I’d seen them in Turkey, where they grow them for silk worm feed, in very rich well watered soil.
Great advice. Start with trees, select drought and frost tolerant (super tough) trees. Growing plants that can help feed chickens is a great idea that I haven’t heard before.
I recently found your videos Alex. I love seeing what you have achieved and watching how your propogate plants. I would also be interested in your techniques for getting plantsbto grow in hard clay. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much Tracy! Really appreciate your comment. I have an area that is heavy clay between our two dams and is a frost pocket. I haven’t developed it yet but stay tuned as I want to plant it out (I’m talking within a year or so, not next week!). I’ll have to do more research but I think it would be useful as the heavy clay can be a challenge as you know! All the best with your garden, Alex 💚🌿
Hi there from NZ. Trees first...for sure IMO. Animals can go in as well if you have the paddocks and infrastructure. But, you need very little infrastructure to plant trees. If you are prepared to dig and water by hand you have a starting point that costs very little. Great practicle video. Thanks very much for sharing that. You confirmed my conclusion. I think trees and shrubs are the single biggest component that can change your environment and are the most valuable compared to input cost!
WOW! We’ve just found your site and are two families getting our homes together in a southern nsw city for sale to combine resources and do what you have done and buy in the country. Not sure of the acreage yet. A big drawback is we have been beach people most of our lives except for 9 years when I lived pretty close to you in Bonalbo. Land close to, say three quarters of an hour from the ocean is prohibitively expensive. Our daughter and her husband are the other household and they already homeschool our 3 grandchildren and have done for three years now so that’s one thing they already have going. BTW, I’m the only one who has any experience on the land and that is pretty limited.
This is so inspiring Pat! If it’s any consolation, I spent 10 years living and working on yachts (I had a basil plant in a pot and that’s it!) and we also moved to Kyogle from a suburban block on the coast. If you can volunteer at a local nursery you will learn heaps, but I’ll keep posting videos that will hopefully help! I created this channel for people just like yourself Pat, so welcome. Wishing you all the very best finding your property and please keep me updated on the progress. My very best wishes to you and your family, Alex 💚🌿
Hello from Nth Canterbury, New Zealand👋. So excited to discover a new southern hemisphere homesteading channel! I foresee some binge watching over the next few days :) I think your videos on tree growing and slopes will be very helpful as I look out on our north facing slope of old pasture grass that hasn't been grazed for a decade or so and try to plan what to do with it.
On chicken feed - have you ever tried growing teff? It's a cereal grass with very small grains native to eastern Africa, it seems like something that would grow well intercropped with pigeon pea or other legume and be a good animal feed. It's good people feed too but idk how much work it takes to thresh and process. The small grains do come loose very easily so it often seeds itself, which might be a problem if you only wanted to use it as a cover crop though.
Yes I’m keen to experiment with teff! I actually have some seed to sow.. it’s a super fine seed. Might have to trial it in a veggie bed first to see how it grows, not sure it would germinate in our heavy clay soil or not.. will be interesting to see 🌿
Hello I love your videos im learning so much from you, thank you. We are in our first year on our property and have planted many f trees and now they are all flowering
Sorry I didn't finish they are all flowering. Do I knock off the first year's flowers so the tree can concentrate on growing especially because we are going into a dry spell or leave them alone and let nature do its thing?
Been farming since 2004, and concur, food trees are the best investment. Fruit trees and pastured poultry perfectly compliment each other so if you can plant the trees with pastured poultry in mind, you will maximize the benefit of the treed area.
Thanks so much Wayne, really appreciate your comment. Especially knowing you have 20years farming experience and still believe food trees are the best investment. And yes we definitely want to run poultry through the system. Sadly we have lost some chickens to wedge tailed eagles, but once that canopy is up they’ll have much needed protection and shade. Thanks again, Alex 🌿
I totally agree, and wish I’d planted more trees when we bought our 3 acres in 2012. Can you imagine the forest I’d have now! But, never too late to start, especially with your wonderful and inspiring videos to guide me 🌱🌿🌳
Woooooooo, now I'm a bit seasick, as I had to walk backwards fast to keep up 🙃😂 I also started with the trees and shrubs, followed by perennial veggies and now I'm out of space for annual vegetables 😆 But my garden is tiny, compared to yours - the whole plot is about 830m²...
Haha!! Love this Martina!! Oh your garden sounds magical. I’ve just subscribed to your channel so I’m looking forward to a video tour of your garden!! 😉😉 This is what I would like to do with the space where I ripped out the raised beds. More wild with lots of perennials. You have inspired me!! 🐞💚🐝🌿🦋
I wonder how those Mulberries would be in Switchel? I've started drinking home-made Switchel as my 'gatorade' after a hard day's work and can't believe how invigorating it is. Right now, I use honey or molasses as the sweetener, but I'm always on the lookout for something different. I know in olden times they used whatever fruits they might have on hand. There's a drink called the Shrub that relies on fruits for its flavor/sweetness, so I think mulberries would be good for Switchel, too. Certainly a good way to use up some of that bountiful harvest you have going on!
I love this, I had never heard of this drink. I was just saying yesterday I was after a refreshing drink we could make after a hard day’s work! Do you have a recipe you can recommend? Really enjoying your comments, learning so much from you. Thank you! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen If you've never drank Switchel, get ready to have your mind blown. Switchel is an ancient drink. Our ancestors were drinking it at least as far back as the 1700's. It's often called Haymaker's Punch because the people working in the fields all day would take their breaks and sip some to revitalize themselves after sweating in the hot sun. 1 Gallon of Water + 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (w/Mother) + 1 Tsp Ginger (powdered storebought or grated fresh) + 1 Cup Honey/Molasses/Sugar. The Apple Cider Vinegar is the foundation of the drink, full of Magnesium, Potassium, and other things that you need after sweating your butt off outside. The Ginger adds a little heat to the mix, but not in a way I can really describe. Without the ginger, the Switchel just doesn't taste right. The "lore" says that the ginger settles an upset stomach, thus preventing you from getting any stomach cramps usually caused by drinking plain cold water after you've been working hard. Honey or other Sweetener is a personal preference. Every natural sweetener was used by our ancestors. It's just a question of what they had on hand. How sweet you like it is a question of taste and you should feel free to add more. I've found that Maple Syrup does a great job of blending things together and usually add a dollop to my gallon of Switchel. I wouldn't use it as the only sweetener, but it pairs well with every natural sweetener I've tried so far - honey, brown sugar, molasses. Serve chilled. A quick way to try it, I've found, is to buy a big jug of juice at the store. My local store sells juices in 2.7quart jugs. Weird amount, but I like the thin jugs for how they stack in the fridge. Anyhow, pour the juice in a 1-gallon container, add your ACV+Ginger, top off with water to make a gallon. Serve right way over ice or let chill in the frigidaire. Apple Juice is great when turned in to Switchel. The old classic Arnold Palmer (half sweet tea, half lemonade) turned into Switchel is exceptional. I've even added Prune Juice to my glass of Switchel to make the PJ more palatable, and it worked! A gallon of Switchel will last me a week. Using locally-grown honey can be expensive since it takes about a Pint of Honey to flavor a gallon of Switchel. Around here that's like $5 just in the honey. Real Maple Syrup is also pricey. Light Brown Sugar is pretty economical. I'll add at least 1/2 Cup to my Gallon of Switchel, and maybe a dollop of Maple Syrup to the jug to help even out the taste. If you use Molasses, I've been told to only use "Unsulphured". I have no idea what that means, but it says that right on the label so that's what I buy. I don't find Molasses to be particularly sweet or enjoyable, but it does make a good "base" sweetener. Honey is the top sweetener, imo. Followed by Maple Syrup. A blend of the two, to your taste, is quite pleasant. The Maple Syrup is strong and doesn't take much to really show itself. Your berries got me curious. How sweet are they? Have you juiced them before? The Switchel is delicious, imo. Feel free to play around with the amount of ACV and Ginger until you get it to where you like the flavor. Obviously, you can't get rid of them since they're what do the work of making you feel rejuvenated, but how much you need is probably going to be different from a guy like me. The ACV is just Acetic Acid. If you look on the label of a lot of tart foods, soda pops and the like, you'll see Acetic Acid in the ingredients. To me, the Switchel tastes a lot like a soda that's gone weirdly flat. A Ginger Ale that's just a little off, flavorwise. You get that weird "burn" feeling in your mouth, but not the carbonation bubbles popping. I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on the drink. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it and feel refreshed... especially when it's flavored with your own berries.
This is amazing! I think it’s my new favourite drink already. So appreciative you took the time to write this. I’m really looking forward to making it. I haven’t tried juicing the mulberries but I’ve planted so many trees around the property that next year I think it will be a necessity as the freezer just isn’t big enough! Thank you so much! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts once you've made a batch. Using berries seems like it'd be fun, and something to be proud of. I know I've become rather addicted to the stuff. Maybe I was missing something in my diet, but I feel gobs and gobs better now that I've been on the Switchel for a month or so. I hope you'll be able to say the same.
I swear, this is my absolute favourite drink now. The combination of flavours is absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to make it with other fruits from the property. The fresh ginger from the garden is a must. Thank you so much!!! 💚💜💙
Not sure if you use them or not but worm castings are a natural way to regulate the moisture content in your soil. They retain water. I live in South Louisiana USA. And we have had drought conditions for several seasons now. I use the casting to help control how water i have to use plus the casting puts microbes and fungi in the soil which will benefit the plants. Again not sure if you already use them or not but it might be worth looking into. Martys Garden is in Australia. Look up his channel and he can give you more info for your area.
Thanks so much for your wonderful advice Esmy! Great hearing what’s worked for you, especially in drought conditions. Funny you mention this, a friend who has been a market gardener for many years gave me the exact same advice. I gave her a heap of fruit trees from my nursery and she loaded me up with compost worms and a heap of really good quality compost to re-do the veggie patch. She’s all about the microbes and fungi in the soil too! I will check out Marty’s Garden. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated! Alex 💚🌿
Hi Alex, thanks for taking the time to inform us all on your gardening journey. Perhaps you could advise me on a problem I'm having. I live on a property 300 k's south of you and have been for the last six years, only recently I've been invaded by the Red Shoulder leaf beetle are you dealing with this horrible pest? Like you I've spent a lot of time and money establishing my garden only to find that much of it is being severely damaged. I'm looking for an organic way of dealing with this pest any suggestions? Cheers.
My pleasure! Yes, it was decimating my avocados, mulberries, even my rose bushes?! We found a miracle organic solution so I did a video on this: th-cam.com/video/nTsPVXsEwqo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4WB8qXgp6JqaawAk If you email me at alex@dreamsofgreen.com.au I will gladly send you some seed and some leaves. I feel your pain but don’t worry there’s a solution! Best wishes, Alex 💚🌿
Thanks Alex. I'm sure the suppliers of commercial pesticides will be hoping no body views your channel especially this post. Looking forward to more gems from Dream of Green.
New sub here, love your videos. Im curious as how do you protect trees from the wind in the open areas? When we purchased our property, we planted fruit trees first, only bc we didn't know where our veg garden was going to be placed, i too, am so glad we did those fruit trees first
Thanks so much and welcome! Oh wonderful, great you got your fruit trees in. If you can put a living wind break in of something local, fast growing and tough - here in northern NSW acacias and bottlebrush work well. But in the meantime, I used 4 tomato stakes around fruit trees and wrapped them in 50% shade cloth (not too dark to allow sun in). Then I secured the shade cloth with zip ties. Hope this helps and wishing you all the best with your property! Alex 💚🌿
I don't know what sort of mulberry we have. The fruits turn dark purple or black from red but their leaves are bigger than yours. I don't know why they aren't more popular than eucalypt for biomass because ours just has so much it's hard to believe another tree can outproduce it. Our neighbors have been chopping theirs so much it seems to me that they're trying to kill it and it just keeps springing back to life and producing more.
I know, they are such an amazing tree. I’ve actually been planting a heap more in the food forest. Such great biomass AND our freezer is full of mulberries. We had an absolute bumper crop this season! 🌿
@@dreamsofgreen I forget but do you have eucalypt as well? If yes, what are your observations regarding comparative biomass production? We're getting the mulberry numbers up on our property but the goal is for biomass and for livestock feed, not so much for fruits.
I planted mulberry, tipuana tipu and ice cream bean along our boundary specifically as additional fodder for next door’s cattle to graze on. It never gets to self sow as they eat it all the time and it keeps growing back. Three fast growing species that coppice over and over. And the others are nitrogen fixing soil improvers. Win-win! We do have eucalyptus, but for edible biomass for fodder I recommend the above, hands down 🌿
Can you do a vid on how you plant your baby fruit trees? Our soil here in qld is such awful dry hardpan clay, I only dream of not having to water my trees multiple times per week :(
Yes I need to make that video! All I can say for now is try to time your plantings with the rain. I can plant at LEAST 5 times as fast when the soil is wet compared to trying to bust myself digging into hard clay. So I feel your pain! Then when the soil is wet, plant with some compost, cover with cardboard or newspaper, wet it down well then mulch and you shouldn’t need to water anywhere near as much. We are lucky in a way as the clay holds onto the water so you shouldn’t need to water as much as with sandy soil. Try to plant lots of pigeon pea and acacias in amongst your fruit trees to help break up the soil and to shade and fertilise your fruit trees too. Hope this helps and all the best with your plantings! Alex 💚🌿
If you have poor soil than plant heaps (2-3 per meter) of support/pioneer speices (local acacia are always a good choice) but anything than can be heavily pruned. once established enough, chop, drop and repeat. Once you have built up a gopd layer of mulch you can pull it back and plant away. A good layer will moisten soil and hold that moisture as well as feed your new plants.
@@dreamsofgreen thanks guys! I've been working on increasing my number of pioneer plants, my first pidgeon pea plant finally produced so I've just planted tons of its seeds haha. And I finally got some tagastaste seeds to germinate too! Hopefully these will help turn things around for me. Another thing I've been doing to help my baby trees survive is digging circular watering channels around them. Since I have to irrigate them so much right now, it seems to really help the trees if I'm filling the channel with water instead of watering at the direct base of the tree. That way it encourages the roots to move outwards through the soils! Sometimes I even fill the channels with seaweed, which holds onto the water like a sponge :D
Great question Annie! We had problems with fruit fly with our capsicums in the veggie patch and I couldn’t grow the large ones so had to grow mini capsicums. I haven’t noticed it with the fruit yet but I will be running the chickens under the fruit trees as my cleanup crew. Alex 💚🌿
Hi Adam! Only light frost once established and I would definitely protect them from frost the first couple of years when they are young. I’ve used the grass baskets to protect them but you can also use a couple of stakes, a chicken wire basket and some shade cloth. Pioneer species such as pigeon pea and acacia around them help as well. Hope this helps and good luck, Alex 💚🌿
Hi i started a comment about my new property and pressed send before i finished. I was wondering on grafted trees do you pick first year's fruit off so it can concentrate on growing or just leave it along? Thank you
Hi Tony, our Meyer lemon we let produce fruit in its first year however the tree itself was struggling a bit so perhaps I should have picked off the fruit. However our lemonade tree was packed full of fruit in its first year and thriving. I tend to let nature do its thing so if the tree is thriving I leave it, perhaps if the tree looks like it’s struggling a bit you can give it extra compost and pick off the fruit to help it along. Hope this helps Tony. Alex 💚🌿
Thank you. Yes I always think let nature do its thing but grafted trees aren't natural so im a little confused. They have been in the ground about 6 months and now are full of fruit and not sure if the root system or tree is up to the job. Thanks for your advice and yes I'll just keep an eye on them. Oh there is so much to learn haha.
Great job! Very inspirational. We just bought 2.5 acred in Southern California (hardiness zone 8b) here are some questions: How did you grow the grass that is protecting the young trees? When exactly do you plant your seedlings? It is amazing to see them grow without irrigation. Thank you for sharing all this knowledge!
There are quite a few California native grasses that'd work to mimic what you see in the video. Bouteloua gracilis is a great example and really beautiful. Muhlenbergia rigens is drop dead gorgeous, imo, and should be in every yard. And don't forget the sedges like Carex praegracilis which often work better in a lot of circumstances. Local landscaping outfits will likely have them since there's a big push in CA to have more yards 'naturalized' with native plants that are easy to grow and efficient with their water needs.
Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge, much appreciated @threeriversforge1997 Yes, the grasses were already here in the paddock and so I just mowed the corridors and the rest came up naturally. As for planting your seedlings, I timed my plantings with the rains. When the drought broke I forgot about everything else on the property and just planted trees whilst we had the rain. Also we had fairly high clay content which helped retain moisture along with mulching around each tree. Make sure you clear at least a 1ft diameter around each tree when you plant so the grass isn’t choking them too. Also I tried not to plant just before a heat wave or frost to maximise success rates. And definitely start with fast growing hardy pioneer trees that grow well in your local area to get that fast growing shade to shelter your trees and reduce the effects of evaporation. Wishing you much joy and success with your new property! Alex 💚🌿
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I can't remember who, but one of the great permaculture pioneers says that the best time to plant a tree is seven years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. LOL I love that!
Yes!!! One of my favourite quotes. Wisdom I live by!! 💚🌿
I have a mate, he virtually market gardens and makes a reasonable living growing Limes, he grows a huge variety of Limes, he both supplies them in bulk to the markets and also supplies pre cut Limes the Pubs and Clubs.
Trees, trees and trees. This is what we have done since we have arrived 18 months ago. Thanks for the reminder and confirmation.
Absolutely Martin! What you are doing is admirable and a model for others in such challenging conditions 💚🌿
I wish I could tell me the same thing two years ago!
Actually the advice on a new property (if you ask a permaculturist) is to plant water first. Any earthworks, any pond, any contour line, ditches, irrigation systems, rain harvesting pathways, etc, should be the very first thing to do.
Second step is to start small. Failures are unavoidable, so better to fail small. It can be a small market garden or a small tree guild or a small herd, whatever, but it has to give a rewarding experience. The right choice is the one that is going to give the better yields with the least amount of effort. Easier said than found out.
In retrospect, planting more shade trees would have been a way the right choice for us, since we lack the resources for any of the above.
Love your comment Abraham! Really resonated as we also lacked the resources for the above so felt quite defeated. If you can plant trees and thus plant shade, effectively you are planting water. For us in this climate, trying to get that quick growing shade to reduce the effects of evaporation was key. Wishing you much success with your tree planting! Alex 💚🌿
My new favorite channel! Really hard to find regular videos on homesteading in an Australian context. Keep going!
Wow, thanks so much James! Really appreciate the encouragement! Alex 💚🌿
It's so helpful and so true! Thank you so much!
When I found your channel, I felt like I had found a treasure! So much knowledge that was missing!
Thanks so much! Such kind words! Hope you’re enjoying your own beautiful garden. I’ve finally posted an update of the property.. everything has grown so much! 💚🌿
I also started with the animals. I wish that I would have started planting in 2014 when I bought my property. I started planting in 2019. I’ve also realized that my soil is not good for growing stuff at all. It was depleted of nutrients by years of commercial farming. I was able to get wood chips for the 1st time this year. I’ve been putting them out since the beginning of summer. Everything in my food forest is really benefiting from the wood chips. My more orchard style food forest doesn’t have a wood chip mulch bc I have chickens in it. It is where I planted my 1st trees and it’s not doing as well as the food forest with mulch.
Yes the wood chip makes such a difference, I can’t wait for wet season to start where I do my first proper chop n drop now the support trees are up. Wishing you all the best with your property! And I’m sure your soil will keep improving over time with all the goodness you are giving it. Alex 💚🌿
I’m curious if you could just lay a thin layer of wood chips in the other, chicken orchard. So that grass still pokes through, but you get some of the wood chip benefits, albeit in a lesser capacity. Or perhaps, you can leave a pile of wood chips to break down for a year, and then spread the more broken down mulch into that food forest. Or just spread them around the trees and leave areas bare? What are your thoughts, rickers?
See the studies done in Victoria after the Ash Wednesday fires, the exotic non native trees survived much better than the natives. Btw, don’t forget Figs, you will have to net from the bats. Btw, give me a heads up if you want the Carob seeds. I recently came home after spending 3 months in Arizona, I was surprised to see White Mulberry being extensively planted on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, no water, semi desert, they thrived. This surprised me because I’d seen them in Turkey, where they grow them for silk worm feed, in very rich well watered soil.
Great advice. Start with trees, select drought and frost tolerant (super tough) trees. Growing plants that can help feed chickens is a great idea that I haven’t heard before.
Thanks very much and glad you enjoyed. Yes the chickens love the pigeon pea and it’s high in protein too! Alex 💚🌿
I recently found your videos Alex. I love seeing what you have achieved and watching how your propogate plants. I would also be interested in your techniques for getting plantsbto grow in hard clay. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much Tracy! Really appreciate your comment. I have an area that is heavy clay between our two dams and is a frost pocket. I haven’t developed it yet but stay tuned as I want to plant it out (I’m talking within a year or so, not next week!). I’ll have to do more research but I think it would be useful as the heavy clay can be a challenge as you know! All the best with your garden, Alex 💚🌿
Hi there from NZ. Trees first...for sure IMO. Animals can go in as well if you have the paddocks and infrastructure. But, you need very little infrastructure to plant trees. If you are prepared to dig and water by hand you have a starting point that costs very little. Great practicle video. Thanks very much for sharing that. You confirmed my conclusion. I think trees and shrubs are the single biggest component that can change your environment and are the most valuable compared to input cost!
Absolutely love your comment, thanks so much for sharing. Couldn’t agree more!! Wishing you much success with your trees in NZ. Best regards, Alex 💚🌿
Absolutely beautiful mulberry tree. Didn't know the leaves were edible!
Thanks Mike! And yes, a friend uses the white mulberry leaves instead of grape leaves for dolmades! Alex 🌿
Start with trees, veggies and herbs by putting in syntropic rows. So much more water efficient than a straight vegetable garden
Thanks Rowena! Couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope it’s the future of farming! Alex 💚🌿
we shake mulberries on a cloth we put to the ground
Great idea 🌿
WOW! We’ve just found your site and are two families getting our homes together in a southern nsw city for sale to combine resources and do what you have done and buy in the country. Not sure of the acreage yet.
A big drawback is we have been beach people most of our lives except for 9 years when I lived pretty close to you in Bonalbo. Land close to, say three quarters of an hour from the ocean is prohibitively expensive.
Our daughter and her husband are the other household and they already homeschool our 3 grandchildren and have done for three years now so that’s one thing they already have going.
BTW, I’m the only one who has any experience on the land and that is pretty limited.
This is so inspiring Pat! If it’s any consolation, I spent 10 years living and working on yachts (I had a basil plant in a pot and that’s it!) and we also moved to Kyogle from a suburban block on the coast. If you can volunteer at a local nursery you will learn heaps, but I’ll keep posting videos that will hopefully help! I created this channel for people just like yourself Pat, so welcome. Wishing you all the very best finding your property and please keep me updated on the progress. My very best wishes to you and your family, Alex 💚🌿
Hello from Nth Canterbury, New Zealand👋. So excited to discover a new southern hemisphere homesteading channel! I foresee some binge watching over the next few days :) I think your videos on tree growing and slopes will be very helpful as I look out on our north facing slope of old pasture grass that hasn't been grazed for a decade or so and try to plan what to do with it.
Oh wonderful, makes me so happy to hear! Look forward to hearing about your progress and wishing you much success! Alex 💚🌿
I purchased a self watering garden bed. About$500 . Works great. Uses very little water. Blue in Toowoomba sells a good one,.
Love this! Thanks for the great suggestion. Alex 💚🌿
Oh! By the way. I got my new phone. I'll learn how to use it, and be able to share Yard Farm with you.
Yes!!! Looking forward to it Bill! 🌿
That makes great sense. And I appreciate presenting that, because I have also not seen others talk about putting in trees first.
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback. Alex 💚🌿
On chicken feed - have you ever tried growing teff? It's a cereal grass with very small grains native to eastern Africa, it seems like something that would grow well intercropped with pigeon pea or other legume and be a good animal feed.
It's good people feed too but idk how much work it takes to thresh and process. The small grains do come loose very easily so it often seeds itself, which might be a problem if you only wanted to use it as a cover crop though.
Yes I’m keen to experiment with teff! I actually have some seed to sow.. it’s a super fine seed. Might have to trial it in a veggie bed first to see how it grows, not sure it would germinate in our heavy clay soil or not.. will be interesting to see 🌿
Hello I love your videos im learning so much from you, thank you. We are in our first year on our property and have planted many f trees and now they are all flowering
Sorry I didn't finish they are all flowering. Do I knock off the first year's flowers so the tree can concentrate on growing especially because we are going into a dry spell or leave them alone and let nature do its thing?
Oh that’s wonderful! Thank you so much and my best wishes for your property! Alex 💚🌿
Been farming since 2004, and concur, food trees are the best investment. Fruit trees and pastured poultry perfectly compliment each other so if you can plant the trees with pastured poultry in mind, you will maximize the benefit of the treed area.
Thanks so much Wayne, really appreciate your comment. Especially knowing you have 20years farming experience and still believe food trees are the best investment. And yes we definitely want to run poultry through the system. Sadly we have lost some chickens to wedge tailed eagles, but once that canopy is up they’ll have much needed protection and shade. Thanks again, Alex 🌿
Yeah! Start with your trees. What wonderful advice. Thanks Alex!
Thank you Wendy! 🌳💚🌿
I totally agree, and wish I’d planted more trees when we bought our 3 acres in 2012. Can you imagine the forest I’d have now! But, never too late to start, especially with your wonderful and inspiring videos to guide me 🌱🌿🌳
Thank you so much Sharon and I’m sure it won’t be too long before you get your forest! 🌳💚🌳
@@dreamsofgreen I was in town today, and funnily enough, was looking at trees in a different way - looking for seeds 🤣🤣🤣
Fantastic advice. Looking forward to propagation vids.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed. It’s really exciting starting to propagate from fruit grown on the property. Alex 💚🌿
Woooooooo, now I'm a bit seasick, as I had to walk backwards fast to keep up 🙃😂
I also started with the trees and shrubs, followed by perennial veggies and now I'm out of space for annual vegetables 😆 But my garden is tiny, compared to yours - the whole plot is about 830m²...
Haha!! Love this Martina!! Oh your garden sounds magical. I’ve just subscribed to your channel so I’m looking forward to a video tour of your garden!! 😉😉
This is what I would like to do with the space where I ripped out the raised beds. More wild with lots of perennials. You have inspired me!! 🐞💚🐝🌿🦋
@@dreamsofgreen oh, how nice of you, but I don't do videos on gardening. There are just a few very old dog training and sitting related videos :)
I’m hoping when your feijoas fruit you’ll be so excited you’ll just HAVE to make a video haha! Have a beautiful weekend in your garden Martina! 🌿
I wonder how those Mulberries would be in Switchel? I've started drinking home-made Switchel as my 'gatorade' after a hard day's work and can't believe how invigorating it is. Right now, I use honey or molasses as the sweetener, but I'm always on the lookout for something different. I know in olden times they used whatever fruits they might have on hand. There's a drink called the Shrub that relies on fruits for its flavor/sweetness, so I think mulberries would be good for Switchel, too. Certainly a good way to use up some of that bountiful harvest you have going on!
I love this, I had never heard of this drink. I was just saying yesterday I was after a refreshing drink we could make after a hard day’s work! Do you have a recipe you can recommend? Really enjoying your comments, learning so much from you. Thank you! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen If you've never drank Switchel, get ready to have your mind blown.
Switchel is an ancient drink. Our ancestors were drinking it at least as far back as the 1700's. It's often called Haymaker's Punch because the people working in the fields all day would take their breaks and sip some to revitalize themselves after sweating in the hot sun.
1 Gallon of Water + 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (w/Mother) + 1 Tsp Ginger (powdered storebought or grated fresh) + 1 Cup Honey/Molasses/Sugar.
The Apple Cider Vinegar is the foundation of the drink, full of Magnesium, Potassium, and other things that you need after sweating your butt off outside.
The Ginger adds a little heat to the mix, but not in a way I can really describe. Without the ginger, the Switchel just doesn't taste right. The "lore" says that the ginger settles an upset stomach, thus preventing you from getting any stomach cramps usually caused by drinking plain cold water after you've been working hard.
Honey or other Sweetener is a personal preference. Every natural sweetener was used by our ancestors. It's just a question of what they had on hand. How sweet you like it is a question of taste and you should feel free to add more.
I've found that Maple Syrup does a great job of blending things together and usually add a dollop to my gallon of Switchel. I wouldn't use it as the only sweetener, but it pairs well with every natural sweetener I've tried so far - honey, brown sugar, molasses.
Serve chilled.
A quick way to try it, I've found, is to buy a big jug of juice at the store. My local store sells juices in 2.7quart jugs. Weird amount, but I like the thin jugs for how they stack in the fridge. Anyhow, pour the juice in a 1-gallon container, add your ACV+Ginger, top off with water to make a gallon. Serve right way over ice or let chill in the frigidaire.
Apple Juice is great when turned in to Switchel. The old classic Arnold Palmer (half sweet tea, half lemonade) turned into Switchel is exceptional.
I've even added Prune Juice to my glass of Switchel to make the PJ more palatable, and it worked!
A gallon of Switchel will last me a week. Using locally-grown honey can be expensive since it takes about a Pint of Honey to flavor a gallon of Switchel. Around here that's like $5 just in the honey.
Real Maple Syrup is also pricey.
Light Brown Sugar is pretty economical. I'll add at least 1/2 Cup to my Gallon of Switchel, and maybe a dollop of Maple Syrup to the jug to help even out the taste.
If you use Molasses, I've been told to only use "Unsulphured". I have no idea what that means, but it says that right on the label so that's what I buy. I don't find Molasses to be particularly sweet or enjoyable, but it does make a good "base" sweetener.
Honey is the top sweetener, imo. Followed by Maple Syrup. A blend of the two, to your taste, is quite pleasant. The Maple Syrup is strong and doesn't take much to really show itself.
Your berries got me curious.
How sweet are they? Have you juiced them before?
The Switchel is delicious, imo. Feel free to play around with the amount of ACV and Ginger until you get it to where you like the flavor. Obviously, you can't get rid of them since they're what do the work of making you feel rejuvenated, but how much you need is probably going to be different from a guy like me.
The ACV is just Acetic Acid. If you look on the label of a lot of tart foods, soda pops and the like, you'll see Acetic Acid in the ingredients.
To me, the Switchel tastes a lot like a soda that's gone weirdly flat. A Ginger Ale that's just a little off, flavorwise. You get that weird "burn" feeling in your mouth, but not the carbonation bubbles popping.
I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on the drink. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it and feel refreshed... especially when it's flavored with your own berries.
This is amazing! I think it’s my new favourite drink already. So appreciative you took the time to write this. I’m really looking forward to making it. I haven’t tried juicing the mulberries but I’ve planted so many trees around the property that next year I think it will be a necessity as the freezer just isn’t big enough! Thank you so much! Alex 💚🌿
@@dreamsofgreen I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts once you've made a batch. Using berries seems like it'd be fun, and something to be proud of.
I know I've become rather addicted to the stuff. Maybe I was missing something in my diet, but I feel gobs and gobs better now that I've been on the Switchel for a month or so. I hope you'll be able to say the same.
I swear, this is my absolute favourite drink now. The combination of flavours is absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to make it with other fruits from the property. The fresh ginger from the garden is a must. Thank you so much!!! 💚💜💙
Amazing advice!
Thank you so much! Alex 💚🌿
Not sure if you use them or not but worm castings are a natural way to regulate the moisture content in your soil. They retain water. I live in South Louisiana USA. And we have had drought conditions for several seasons now. I use the casting to help control how water i have to use plus the casting puts microbes and fungi in the soil which will benefit the plants. Again not sure if you already use them or not but it might be worth looking into. Martys Garden is in Australia. Look up his channel and he can give you more info for your area.
Thanks so much for your wonderful advice Esmy! Great hearing what’s worked for you, especially in drought conditions. Funny you mention this, a friend who has been a market gardener for many years gave me the exact same advice. I gave her a heap of fruit trees from my nursery and she loaded me up with compost worms and a heap of really good quality compost to re-do the veggie patch. She’s all about the microbes and fungi in the soil too! I will check out Marty’s Garden. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated! Alex 💚🌿
well thats good news cuz i wanna plant all the fruit trees everywhere🤪lol
Love it! Go for it Tyler and let me know how it goes! Alex 💚🌿
Hi Alex, thanks for taking the time to inform us all on your gardening journey. Perhaps you could advise me on a problem I'm having. I live on a property 300 k's south of you and have been for the last six years, only recently I've been invaded by the Red Shoulder leaf beetle are you dealing with this horrible pest? Like you I've spent a lot of time and money establishing my garden only to find that much of it is being severely damaged. I'm looking for an organic way of dealing with this pest any suggestions? Cheers.
My pleasure! Yes, it was decimating my avocados, mulberries, even my rose bushes?! We found a miracle organic solution so I did a video on this:
th-cam.com/video/nTsPVXsEwqo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4WB8qXgp6JqaawAk
If you email me at alex@dreamsofgreen.com.au I will gladly send you some seed and some leaves. I feel your pain but don’t worry there’s a solution! Best wishes, Alex 💚🌿
Thanks Alex. I'm sure the suppliers of commercial pesticides will be hoping no body views your channel especially this post. Looking forward to more gems from Dream of Green.
New sub here, love your videos. Im curious as how do you protect trees from the wind in the open areas?
When we purchased our property, we planted fruit trees first, only bc we didn't know where our veg garden was going to be placed, i too, am so glad we did those fruit trees first
Thanks so much and welcome! Oh wonderful, great you got your fruit trees in. If you can put a living wind break in of something local, fast growing and tough - here in northern NSW acacias and bottlebrush work well. But in the meantime, I used 4 tomato stakes around fruit trees and wrapped them in 50% shade cloth (not too dark to allow sun in). Then I secured the shade cloth with zip ties. Hope this helps and wishing you all the best with your property! Alex 💚🌿
I told my partner, if I die planting a tree, I'll be content.
I hear you Claudia! Yes I think I may have said the same thing to my partner once or twice..😉🌱🪴🌳
Keep up the beautiful work! Alex 💚
You too, Alex. You do such a great job in such an unforgiving climate!@@dreamsofgreen
I don't know what sort of mulberry we have. The fruits turn dark purple or black from red but their leaves are bigger than yours. I don't know why they aren't more popular than eucalypt for biomass because ours just has so much it's hard to believe another tree can outproduce it. Our neighbors have been chopping theirs so much it seems to me that they're trying to kill it and it just keeps springing back to life and producing more.
I know, they are such an amazing tree. I’ve actually been planting a heap more in the food forest. Such great biomass AND our freezer is full of mulberries. We had an absolute bumper crop this season! 🌿
@@dreamsofgreen I forget but do you have eucalypt as well? If yes, what are your observations regarding comparative biomass production? We're getting the mulberry numbers up on our property but the goal is for biomass and for livestock feed, not so much for fruits.
I planted mulberry, tipuana tipu and ice cream bean along our boundary specifically as additional fodder for next door’s cattle to graze on. It never gets to self sow as they eat it all the time and it keeps growing back. Three fast growing species that coppice over and over. And the others are nitrogen fixing soil improvers. Win-win! We do have eucalyptus, but for edible biomass for fodder I recommend the above, hands down 🌿
Can you do a vid on how you plant your baby fruit trees? Our soil here in qld is such awful dry hardpan clay, I only dream of not having to water my trees multiple times per week :(
Yes I need to make that video! All I can say for now is try to time your plantings with the rain. I can plant at LEAST 5 times as fast when the soil is wet compared to trying to bust myself digging into hard clay. So I feel your pain! Then when the soil is wet, plant with some compost, cover with cardboard or newspaper, wet it down well then mulch and you shouldn’t need to water anywhere near as much. We are lucky in a way as the clay holds onto the water so you shouldn’t need to water as much as with sandy soil. Try to plant lots of pigeon pea and acacias in amongst your fruit trees to help break up the soil and to shade and fertilise your fruit trees too. Hope this helps and all the best with your plantings! Alex 💚🌿
If you have poor soil than plant heaps (2-3 per meter) of support/pioneer speices (local acacia are always a good choice) but anything than can be heavily pruned. once established enough, chop, drop and repeat. Once you have built up a gopd layer of mulch you can pull it back and plant away. A good layer will moisten soil and hold that moisture as well as feed your new plants.
@@dreamsofgreen thanks guys! I've been working on increasing my number of pioneer plants, my first pidgeon pea plant finally produced so I've just planted tons of its seeds haha. And I finally got some tagastaste seeds to germinate too! Hopefully these will help turn things around for me. Another thing I've been doing to help my baby trees survive is digging circular watering channels around them. Since I have to irrigate them so much right now, it seems to really help the trees if I'm filling the channel with water instead of watering at the direct base of the tree. That way it encourages the roots to move outwards through the soils! Sometimes I even fill the channels with seaweed, which holds onto the water like a sponge :D
Do you have issues with fruit fly?
Great question Annie! We had problems with fruit fly with our capsicums in the veggie patch and I couldn’t grow the large ones so had to grow mini capsicums. I haven’t noticed it with the fruit yet but I will be running the chickens under the fruit trees as my cleanup crew. Alex 💚🌿
You and your family are probably super healthy eating so much fresh fruit right off the tree. 🤩
Where do you get your water for washing , showering and drinking ?
We collect rainwater runoff from the roof and store it in water tanks 💚
Hello Alex! Do Citrus trees and mango tolerate frost?
Hi Adam! Only light frost once established and I would definitely protect them from frost the first couple of years when they are young. I’ve used the grass baskets to protect them but you can also use a couple of stakes, a chicken wire basket and some shade cloth. Pioneer species such as pigeon pea and acacia around them help as well. Hope this helps and good luck, Alex 💚🌿
Hi i started a comment about my new property and pressed send before i finished. I was wondering on grafted trees do you pick first year's fruit off so it can concentrate on growing or just leave it along? Thank you
Hi Tony, our Meyer lemon we let produce fruit in its first year however the tree itself was struggling a bit so perhaps I should have picked off the fruit. However our lemonade tree was packed full of fruit in its first year and thriving. I tend to let nature do its thing so if the tree is thriving I leave it, perhaps if the tree looks like it’s struggling a bit you can give it extra compost and pick off the fruit to help it along. Hope this helps Tony. Alex 💚🌿
Thank you. Yes I always think let nature do its thing but grafted trees aren't natural so im a little confused. They have been in the ground about 6 months and now are full of fruit and not sure if the root system or tree is up to the job. Thanks for your advice and yes I'll just keep an eye on them. Oh there is so much to learn haha.
Great job! Very inspirational. We just bought 2.5 acred in Southern California (hardiness zone 8b) here are some questions:
How did you grow the grass that is protecting the young trees?
When exactly do you plant your seedlings? It is amazing to see them grow without irrigation.
Thank you for sharing all this knowledge!
There are quite a few California native grasses that'd work to mimic what you see in the video. Bouteloua gracilis is a great example and really beautiful. Muhlenbergia rigens is drop dead gorgeous, imo, and should be in every yard. And don't forget the sedges like Carex praegracilis which often work better in a lot of circumstances. Local landscaping outfits will likely have them since there's a big push in CA to have more yards 'naturalized' with native plants that are easy to grow and efficient with their water needs.
Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge, much appreciated @threeriversforge1997
Yes, the grasses were already here in the paddock and so I just mowed the corridors and the rest came up naturally. As for planting your seedlings, I timed my plantings with the rains. When the drought broke I forgot about everything else on the property and just planted trees whilst we had the rain. Also we had fairly high clay content which helped retain moisture along with mulching around each tree. Make sure you clear at least a 1ft diameter around each tree when you plant so the grass isn’t choking them too. Also I tried not to plant just before a heat wave or frost to maximise success rates. And definitely start with fast growing hardy pioneer trees that grow well in your local area to get that fast growing shade to shelter your trees and reduce the effects of evaporation. Wishing you much joy and success with your new property! Alex 💚🌿
Thank you!@@dreamsofgreen
Great tip as you can waste a lot of time doing unproductive activities on the farm...
Thanks Andy and so true! Alex 💚🌿
Grummy charmer? Is that a local name googling it brings up links to cat vids.
Grumichama, a tropical cherry. Absolutely delicious 💚🍒
slow down you are consuming all interesting stuff fast
Appreciate this, thank you for letting me know! Alex 💚🌿