Each day we feed forage to the goats. The goats maintain the dam bank which is only grass and being foragers they need access to forage. The forage comprises of different plants that grow around the property. I take this opportunity to manage areas of the property where trees need to be pruned or “weedy ” type plants that I would like to reduce from impacting on design and function. Obviously the plants need to be palatable to them . They mostly only eat the leaves of the material so each day there is a growing pile or sticks that could get to be an issue. Hopefully before the pile gets too big I chip up the materials which creates another opportunity. ‘What to do with the chip”. Lately I have been using the chip to mulch a young swale that is getting established. The mulch reduces the chance for grasses to grow and will start and assist in creating a fungal environment which will accelerate the ecology needed for trees to grow.
Chipping the left over remains from the goats forage.
Another task that I started on today was to start preparing a new bed to grow some more sweet potato.
Opening up the soil to prepare for the new sweet potato beds.
This area isn’t very fertile because up till recently I would mow and then rake up the grass as mulch for the garden beds in the garden. This means I would have been depleting the soil, which was already depleted from previous mismanagement. So today I just dug and loosened the soil which had been sheet mulched for three months to kill the grass. Next week I will build the soil fertility up.
Weekend,YAY !
©2016 Tom Kendall; permeco.org, incorporating Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, simplicity, permaculture, self reliance and homesteading, chipping mulch and sweet potato garden bed.
Author: Tom Kendall
Tom is a lifelong agriculturalist and co-founder of the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast Inc. His site "Maungaraeeda" is a Permaculture Demonstration and Education Site. He is a Permaculture Educator and Consultant, and has a wealth of knowledge about how to be truly sustainable. Water management strategies, alternative fuel generation, animal systems and numerous other Permaculture Designed Solutions are his speciality.