Here is a short video made by two of our amazing interns.
For more information: http://www.theecoschool.net/workstudy-permaculture-design-certificate.html
Category Archives: Eco Thrifty Life
Progress
I never take enough “Before” pictures, but in this case I think I may have. Disaster can do that for you.
After the 2015 floods and land slips we changed the priorities on the farm, including planting 125 poplar poles (so far) on the slopes.
The stream took a beating that day, but has recovered to a certain extent thanks to a whole lot of work by a whole lot of people.
We fenced the stream off from stock in August, 2016 and since then have planted over 1,800 native trees, shrubs, grasses and flax along its banks.
A big thanks goes out to Horizons Regional Council, our farm interns, school groups, and others who have helped plant and care for over 2,000 natives and counting.
Arohanui, Estwing
Diversity: Plums
The diversity of colours among these plums is only matched by the diversity of flavours.
Big thanks to our friends Mark and Rob for providing some of these trees.
Peace, Estwing
Solstice Permaculture Update
The longest day of the year has arrived in the southern hemisphere, and it is all on for Kaitiaki Farm. Some 200-odd fruit trees are setting fruit, including apples, apricots, American paw paw, blueberries, avocados, black currants, feijoas, figs, guavas, grapes, nectarines, olives, pears, plums, peaches, persimmons, prune, and quince.
The market gardens are pumping.
We harvested the winter crop of broad beans and made about 10 litres of falafel mix.
We have been milking three goats since September and making goats cheese twice a week.
Here are the kids.
Finally, we have been selling grape vines, peach trees, muscovy ducklings, kune kune pigs. Garlic goes on sale tomorrow.
After 4 & 1/2 years, a kilometre of new fencing, and 2,500 trees planted the farm is hitting its stride. Our regenerative systems are in place and natural processes are now doing most of the work.
Happy Solstice, Estwing
Zero Tolerance Weeds
I have been farming and/or market gardening for nearly two decades. One of the first lessons I learned (the hard way) was the importance of proactive weed management. Bind weed (convolvulus) made its way onto my land (New Hampshire, USA) in a load of organic matter meant for composting.
On a tour of another small organic farm in Keene, New Hampshire, I observed first hand how it can take over entire fields of vegetable plants. Scary stuff.
Yesterday while top-feeding some transplanted feijoa trees I recognised the familiar pattern I had come to loath.
I dug it up as best I could to get as much of the root as possible.
I don’t believe in putting weeds and diseased plants in plastic rubbish bags and sending them to landfill as is often recommended – I just can’t do it. So I put the convolvulus in the solar dehydrator, which we are not actively using at the moment but will be using in another months time.
The hot, dry air inside the dehydrator will dry out and completely kill the weed. Then I’ll probably put it on an iron shed roof for the rest of the hot summer. No Mercy for invasive weeds.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Keeping weeds off your farm with a Zero Tolerance policy early on will pay off in the long run.
Peace Estwing
Kaitiaki Farm Weekend 2019: 23rd-24th March
We open the farm each year in March for tours and workshops.
Kaitiaki is an exemplar permaculture farm just outside Whanganui, New Zealand. The farm is managed holistically for food production, land restoration and water management. We focus on resilient farming and regenerative agriculture.
Saturday 23rd March
12:30-2:00. Innovative Cookers and Dehydrators. This hands-on workshop covers the use and construction solar dehydrators and rocket stoves and demonstrates three different solar cookers.
2:00-3:30. Building and Managing Weed-Free Garden Beds. This hands-on workshop covers all the steps for converting a lawn or paddock easily into a low-maintenance/high-productivity garden.
4:00-5:00. Growing Great Garlic. Learn some tips for growing delicious garlic organically. Fee includes one bulb of seed garlic and five litres of compost.
$20 each or $50 for all three.
Meals and accommodation available. Please inquire for options and prices.
Sunday 24th March
9:00-3:00. Permaculture Farm Tour. We run a fully-integrated diverse operation on 5.1 hectares integrating plants and animals in distinct relationships based on potential synergies.
The morning session covers what would be considered permaculture zones 0 – 3 focusing on eco-building and alternative energy, market gardening, hot composting, tractoring fowl, soil fertility, water management, wind breaks, and orchard planning.
The afternoon session covers what would be considered permaculture zones 3 – 5 focusing on water management, erosion control, slope and stream bank stabilization, browse blocks/pollarding stock fodder, and wetland restoration.
$75 Individuals, $120 Couples. Includes Lunch.
Register: theecoschool@ gmail dot com
Location: Okoia, Whanganui.
Primary Tutor: Dr. Nelson Lebo is an eco design professional with two decades experience in permaculture.
Bush Restoration: Permaculture Zone 5
It’s been two years since we fenced off and started planting the stream and remnant wetland on our farm to native species, with 2,000 plants in the ground thanks largely to Horizons Regional Council, our farm interns, and local schools.
Before fencing and planting the stream was in rough shape. Our stock was grazing up to the water line and putting pressure on the banks.
This is a photo of the day after the 2015 floods showing the culvert just below a bend in Purua Stream. The water overtopped the culvert by almost half a metre.
This is a photo of the same area this month. Note the two large willow trees in each photo.
We have dedicated this area, which is used for outdoor education with children, to Dr. Chris Cresswell who helped plant trees here two years ago. We call the area “Chris Cressant” because of the bend in the stream.
This week we found a giant kokopu living in the pool underneath the culvert. 
In June we found an eel just upstream of the culvert, which appears to indicate that the concrete rubble ‘fish ladder’ we built has been effective at allowing aquatic species to get through the formerly ‘perched culvert’ and upstream to the restored wetland.
Horizons is back again arranging more school plantings along Purua Stream on our farm and hopefully other land owners will do the same. What a difference it will make for everyone living downstream, which includes much of the Whanganui community.
To get your school involved contact Horizons Regional Council or contact us at Kaitiaki Farm, www.theecoschool.net
Peace, Estwing
Drainage Around the Home
When asked at 3 years of age, “What is Dada good at?” my daughter answered, “Digging!”
Both before and after the Whanganui floods of 2015 I have focused on drainage on the farm and especially around the house where pretty much everything had been done wrong – causing a lot of water to flow underneath leading to serious damage over the last three decades.
Managing water can be done well or can be done poorly. I took this photo at work one day.
It is important to direct water away from homes. Retrofitting drainage where it has been done poorly can be difficult and expensive. Along with a number of other approaches – including cutting channels in concrete – I put in a French drain on the high-side (South) of the house.
Ironically I finished the drain two days before the 2015 floods.
The perforated pipe runs the length of the south wall.
It’s surrounded by stone and wrapped with filter cloth.
Water flows through the stone and into the pipe.
Stone covers the filter cloth to keep it tidy and out of the sun.
At the southwest corner the perforated pipe enters a sump and then flows under the entire home on a gentle slope through a solid pipe to the north side, and then away from the structure.
Any amount of drainage that directs water away from a home is important!
Peace, Estwing
Making Goats Cheese
After a mid-winter break we are back to making goats cheese on the farm.
We had a cosy Friday afternoon/evening by the cooker warming the milk (and making a shepherds pie for dinner.)
We heated about eight litres of milk to just below boiling and then added 700 ml of lemon juice.
After about 30 minutes we poured the contents into a cheese cloth and let the whey drain out. (We have mixed the whey with grains to feed to the chickens and ducks.)
The final result is about 2 kg of cheese.
Thanks for our new intern, Jasmine, for taking some of these and many other great photos of ongoings on the farm.
Peace, Estwing
Building Beautiful Beds
We’ve run this workshop three times this year with great feedback. I promised to summarise the process, so here goes.
Step 1) Lay polythene for five months or longer to kill the perennial grasses and weeds. We cover our polythene with mulch to prevent UV degradation of the plastic and to make the market gardens look nicer. After 20 weeks peel back the much and reuse it somewhere, and then lift the polythene.
Step 2) Loosen the compacted soil. We use stainless steel broad forks that I had welded up by a friend for a box of beer. Any broad fork will do or garden fork. The point is to mechanically break up the soil. First go lengthwise.
Then go crosswise.
Step 3) Break up the soil cubes you’ve just formed into smaller chunks. This is best done when the soil is not too wet and not too dry. It may pay to wait a day or two before doing this step. A rake or a hoe or a garden fork or a spade can be used.
Step 4) Form beds. Standing on one side of the 1.2 metre wide bed rake the path from the other side up onto he bed. The switch sides and repeat.
Step 5) Continue to pulverise the soil and rake the beds flat with a back and forth motion to prepare a fine planting surface.
The end result is a series of raised rows in a no-dig system easily maintained with a stirrup hoe.
Peace, Estwing
Eco Thrifty Living 