Planting Trees and Asparagus Bed

First of all apologies to all my blogging friends for not frequenting or commenting on their blogs, my internet connection is a little difficult what with us having no electricity where we are still camping in Rozovets, Bulgaria, being dependent on the good will of the local bar to re-charge the laptop, but the connection there being extremely slow.  Whilst when in the nearby provincial town the connection is faster, but I'm limited in time until my battery runs out again.  So here come the latest news from the Rozovets project:

At the end of September we visited the plant sale at the Balkan Ecology Project in Shipka, about hour's drive north of us and purchased some plants for Vasko's land.  This is a great permaculture project run by an English family and their Bulgarian neighbours.  I might get around showing you some pics from there too some time soon.  Anyway, what we bought and subsequently planted is this:

A pea tree caragna brevispina.  This is a nitrogen fixing tree growing up to 20 metres high producing edible pea-like pods.  Although it grows quite tall, it is slender with light foliage and doesn't throw too much shade.

A Cornelian cherry cornus mas.  A shade tolerant shrub, small tree producing delicious cherry-like fruit.

A Japanese quince chaenomeles speciosa.  Another shade-tolerant shrub producing quince-like fruit.

Autumn olive elaeagnus umbellate.  A nitrogen fixing small tree producing delicious and nutritious berries in late autumn.

A sea buckthorn hippophae ramnoides. Another nitrogen fixing shrub which makes an excellent wind break and produces berries rich in vitamins and minerals.

2 chocolate vines akebia quinata.  A climber producing edible leaves and fruit.  The leaves make a good addition to the salad bowl, while the fruit has a delicate sweet flavour.  Can also be grown as a ground cover.

A dewberry rubus caesius.  A small shrub which functions as a ground cover in shady areas, producing small edible berries.

 

We also bought some asparagus plants, the variety being 'Washington'.  We've seen them in Shipka and they grow to an enormous size.  It was recommended to keep them indoors over the winter before planting them, but as we have nowhere to put them we chanced it and made a nice 'lasagne bed' for them on a sunny spot.  We put cardboard mulch down, topped by cow shit and finally a thick layer collected from the pine forest above of a mixture of pine needles and horse shit.  We lined the bed with bottles of wine mostly consumed by ourselves during our stay, but as you can see, we still have some way to go...

Finally in the medicinal herb bed the liquorice is doing well (also purchased at the plant sale).

 

And the bits where we haven't planted anything in particular yet we have sown some green manure, such as in this case, buckwheat, which is growing rapidly and already in flower:

Hobo Rocket Stove

Like London buses, so with my blog posts: None turn up for ages than you get two in a row.  But I just wanted to share this little project with you, that we did yesterday: a hobo rocket stove.  It is simplicity in itself.  This is how we did it:

1. We took a dog food tin kindly donated by Eddie, the Beagle and cut open the bottom end as well as the top end (removing the dog food of course, which was appreciatively gulped down by said beagle). 
2. We took a 5litre olive oil can which we got from our recent trip to Greece and emptied it's contents into other containers.
3. Wearing heavy duty gloves (!) and using a simple tin opener off my multi-tool implement, we cut a hole the size of the dog food tin in the narrow side, near the bottom and stuck said tin about halfway inside.
4. Still wearing said gloves and using the same tool, we then proceeded to cut another hole in the top, a bit larger than the other hole.
5. Next we stuffed a little straw into Eddies tin, top by a few small dry twigs.

 Finally the test: we lit the straw with a standard cigarette lighter, although matches may also have performed the same job and put a small saucepan with approximately 1/2 litre of water on top.

I set a stopwatch from the moment we lit the fire and kept feeding it with small twigs.  All in all just a small handful was used and within a mere 11 minutes the water was boiling!

And this picture perfectly demonstrates why it works so well and why they call it a rocket stove:

The fire literally rockets out of the back of the small tin and then upwards, creating a lot of heat very quickly.  This will makes us our daily coffee at least now and save us on camping gas from non-renewable containers.

So now we're cooking hobo style:

Keyhole Bed for Medicinal Plants

We have now camped on Vasko's land in Rozovets, Bulgaria for over a month and are well finished with the survey and analysis of the land and finished the design starting to implement the first permanent design elements.  Vasko's wife Elka has a keen interest in medicinal plants and so one of the elements which we have already put in place is a keyhole bed for medicinal herbs.  The keyhole bed is a classical permaculture design, which is both space saving and pleasing to the eye.  The idea is that you plan a large round bed with a space free in the centre, so that the wide bed is accessible from either side without the need to step on the bed itself.

From the soil analysis we gathered that we he have two distinctly different soils: 1) the lower, southern part, which has a reasonable depth of sandy silt over a layer of chalk and possibly some clay a bit deeper down.  The ph is pretty much neutral and it is low in nitrogen and magnesium. 2) the higher northern part with almost no topsoil to speak of, just a rock hard chalky surface.

We decided to place the keyhole bed on the northern side, at the border between zones 1 and 2 in relation to where we intend to construct the strawbale house next spring, with the entrance pointing north for easiest acces from the house and also therefore having the path at the postion where there will potentially be the most shade from the plants.  So one of the first considerations was to create some topsoil, but first we wanted to outline the area and level it.

The dimensions of the bed are an outside diameter of 4 metres and an inside diameter of 1.2 metres.  That way the bed has a width of 1.4 metres all around and can easily be accessed from both sides with a reach of 70cm.  We had already dug a swale (more about that on another post), so we wanted it to fit below that.  With a stake in the centre and a piece of string of the appropriate length we measured the outer circle.  Then with an A-frame we measured a level diameter and placed stones around the lower perimeter with the stones from the mysterious stone-walled hole we found on the property.

Next we dug the soil from the higher end to the lower end to level the bed, a difficult and bone-breaking job, given the aforementioned hardness of the ground.  We then completed the stone circle, leaving a gap of 60cm at the northern end for the path.  Next we measured the inner circle, lined it with stones and connected the two circles to give a small path into the centre.

Now we were ready to make some soil, having also loosened the subsoil somewhat.  First we covered the area with some weed cuttings from the land to form a thick mulch.  The countryside above the land is mostly grazing land for cows, sheep and at least two herds of wild horses, so we went on numerous trips up the hill with a bucket and spade to collect their offerings and pile it on top of the mulch.  Meet some of our generous donours...

And this was the result of our efforts so far.  We also added an old hollow tree trunk we found, which adds a little height.

Finally we topped it all with some shop bought compost, as we haven't produced any of our own yet, and started planting and sowing some things, such as the hyssop in the foreground:

and the cowslip in the tree trunk:

For a full list of the herbs planned, see below.  We have also started enjoying the fruits of our labours, such as these delicious sweet and seedless grapes, more than we could eat, so we are attempting to dry them in the garage, protected by mosquito netting so the wasps don't get to them

And these small purple figs:

Now for the list of medicinal plants for those of you that interested.  I separated them into shade-tolerant and sun-loving plants and listed them more or less in descending order of height, the idea being to put the tallest shade tolerant plants on the northern side and the lower sun-loving plants on the south, if that makes sense.  I'm also giving the Latin names, their chief medical properties and other uses, as in permaculture every element should fulfill multiple functions.

Shade-tolerant plants:

• Lovage levisticum officinale - skin and digestion aid - edible, makes a good addition to soups with a celery like flavour
• Purple Loosestrife lythrum salicaria - wound herb, soothes sore throats - bee plant
• Burdock artcium lappa - skin problems, anti-bacterial, rheumatism - edible root, dynamic accumulator
• Comfrey symphtum officiale - bruises, sprains, broken bones, chest complaints - edible leaves, dynamic accumulator, bee plant
• Sweet Cicely myrrhis odorata - diuretic, aids digestion, antiseptic - edible leaves
• Clary Sage salvia sclarea - eyes, tonic, menopause - bee plant
• St. John's Wort hypericum perforatum - skin, burns, anti-depressant - leaves and seeds as tea substitute
• Peppermint mentha x piperita - digestion, headaches, colds - edible leaves, tea, ground cover
• Yarrow achillea millefolium - blood stemming, menstrual problems, influenza - edible leaves, dynamic accumulator
• Borage borago officinalis - blood circulation, rheumatism, anti-depressant - edible leaves and flowers, bee plant
• Chamomile anthemis nobilis - calming, digestion, colds - ground cover, tea, dispels pests
• Bergamot monarda didyma - antiseptic - edible leaves, tea, bee plant
• Lady's Mantle alchemilla xantochlora - menstrual problems - ground cover
• Red Clover trifolium pratense - PMT, menopause - ground cover, nitrogen fixing, edible leaves and flowers

Sun-loving plants:

• Liquorice glycyrrhiza glabra - stomach ulcers, hepatitis, insect repellent - edible roots, dynamic accumulator
• Centaury centaurium erythrea - stomach, liver, gallbladder - bee plant
• Mullein verbascum densiflorum - ear infections, coughs, pulmonary problems - bee plant, dynamic accumulator
• Tansy tanacetum vulgare - digestion, expels worms, rheumatism - edible leaves
• Hyssop hyssoppus officinale - antiseptic, tonic - edible leaves, bee plant
• Fennel foeniculum vulgare - digestion, anti-bacterial - edible leaves and seeds
• Fenugreek trigonella foenum- graecum - digestion, lowering cholesterol - edible seeds, dynamic accumulator
• Lavender lavendula angustifolia - calming, headaches - bee plant, used in perfumery
• Sage salvia officinalis -colds, coughs, tooth whitener - edible leaves, bee plant
• Feverfew tanacetum parthenium - migraines, fevers - attracts pollinators
• Lemon balm melissa officinalis - depression, cold sores, insect repellent - edible leaves, tea, bee plant
• Nasturtium tropaoelum majus - respiratory complaints - edible leaves and flowers, ground cover
•  Marigold calendula officinalis - skin complaints - edible leaves and flowers, dispels certain harmful nematodes
• Cowslip primula veris - anti-axiety, cramps, blood thinner - edible leaves and flowers, bee plant
• Thyme thymus officinalis - anti-septic, coughs - edible leaves, bee plant, ground cover
• Purslane portulaca oleracea - high in omega 3 acids, skin complaints - edible leaves, ground cover

Visiting Other Projects

While traveling around Europe recently we took the opportunity to visit a couple of other projects for new inspiration and connect with friends.  On our way to Bulgaria we took the scenic route via Hungary and visited my friend Kristina in the village of Nagyszékely (don't ask me how to pronounce it, the Hungarian language remains a closed book for me) some 70km south of Lake Balaton.

I know Kristina from my Permaculture Design Course in Italy and she shares her time between Budapest and this village, where she participates in the activities of a small community.  It is a very rural area in a gently hilly country and 10 families within the village have got together to form a small community bound by their common interest in permaculture.  It's not so much an eco-village, but a naturally grown community.  It now attracts visitors from all over Europe and other parts of Europe willing to experience their way of life.

Kristina works a great garden with a great bio-diversity, using techniques such as companion planting and mulching.  She also has a few beautifully creative elements such as this 'willow tent'.  From the outside it looks like an ordinary shrub...

...but if you creep in through the gap, you are in a wonderfully secluded shelter:

We also visited a few other members of the community.  My favourite one was a tour of a food forest by one of Kristina's neighbours (her name escapes me just now).

Around every corner, something new and productive turned up, a mixture of annuals and perennials, vegetables, fruit, herbs, grains.  Her enthusiasm was infectious and the forest truly inspiring.  I leave you with another few images:

This week we visited another project in Greece in the seaside town of Pefkohori in the Chalkidiki of Northern Greece by my blogger friend Mary.  She has followed my blog for some years, but unfortunately her English garden blog has been inactive for some time.  Nevertheless, we have stayed in contact and exchanged seeds.

The garden she works together with her parents has some big challenges.  For a start they don't have much money to spare.  The soil is very poor and near the sea (500m).  The summers are very dry.  Although they've had the property for 35 years, running water has only been installed 2 years ago and they still don't have electricity and for shelter they have a small self-built house.  So she has been experimenting a lot with drought resistant heirloom vegetables and they collect the little rainwater off their roof in a large storage tank.  Keeping ground-covering plants plants to improve the soil is difficult for them for two reasons: giving shelter to venomous snakes and fire hazard.  A wild fire last year only stopped 500 metres from the property, narrowly averting disaster.

Mary's elderly parents still very much enjoy working the land, the father usually busy with some project or other around the house, the mother watering the plants:

I love the way Mary experiments with different types of seeds.  Here she has sown sesame for seed production, which I never realised what a beautiful plant this is:

This is a really interesting long Chinese bean variety:

Also this year they started keeping rabbits for food production and chickens are planned for next year.  Mary made the cage herself from recycled materials:

After enjoying a few days of Greek hospitality and a few dips in the sea we returned to Bulgaria, more of which soon.  Thank you Kristina and Mary for your hospitality... :)

Organising the Essentials

 

 Rain seemed to have been a feature of our recent travels.  We've traveled the length and breadth of Europe, mostly on family commitments, and every time we crossed a border it started raining soon after.  First eastbound from Italy into Slovenia, then Croatia.  The brief crossing through Serbia remained dry and most of our first stay in Bulgaria.  As we headed west again the rain followed us through Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and back into Italy.  In Switzerland it rained, and in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and in England.  When we returned to rainy Holland we were told there was a heatwave there, while we were in rainy England.  Now we are finally back in Bulgaria and... apparently it never happens here in July... but, rain.  Proper rain!  It absolutely bucketed it down on Sunday.  But luckily we had shelter in the shape of a garage.

On the latest leg of our travels we have been joined by Alex, who had helped look after our land back in Italy for the last couple of months.  Now we just left Maiemi in charge of our home affairs.

Before getting into proper permaculture design of the land, initial plans include a strawbale house amongst other things, we needed to make our stay a bit more comfortable for the more immediate future.  So first projects we tackled addressed our more basic needs: food storage, disposal of human excrements and hot showers to clean ourselves after a long days work in the sunshine.  Yes, after the big storm the sun came out again, baking us.

For food storage we made a very simple mini-fridge made from 2 terracotta pots half-buried in the ground with a layer of sand between them, which is kept moist.  The evaporation will cool the contents of the inner pot which is covered with a terracotta lid.  It's small but it keeps our fantastic Bulgarian yoghurt (the BEST in the world!) and feta cheese cool even on the hottest days.

 Then came the more urgent task of constructing a toilet.  We had plenty of material and our need was great.  So we decided to build a temporary mobile compost toilet, before making any final design decisions on a more permanent solution.  So first of all we dug a hole and stuffed some straw inside:

Then, to make it all a bit more comfortable, also in view of Vasko and his family joining us soon, we built quite an elaborate portable seat.  That way, once we have filled this particular hole, we can can dig another hole and carry the whole structure to the new location and plant a tree in the old crap hole.  Here is the process:

Material of a previous house was used to make a simple 4-legged structure.

We closed the top and attached a regular toilet seat for comfort.  ...and finally the test...

...after we covered the front side for aesthetic reasons and put crosses on the other side for added stability, and moved it to its position above the above mentioned hole.  All we need now is a privacy screen, which we will install before the family arrives.

To clean ourselves after a hard days work we rather wanted to have a hot shower.  Running cold and colder water was the only luxury we had so far.  So we were given a blue water barrel from Vasko's cousin, in fact two barrels.  First task was to paint one of them black to absorb the sun's heat and therefore heat any water inside rapidly.  After a few attempts to elevate the barrel and secure it at a height we finally decided to lower ourselves.  We have an old leaking concrete water storage container, so we simply decided to clean that out, put the barrel on some old concrete posts and descend into the pit to have a shower, like so:

The eventual plan with that daft concrete container is to construct a greywater cleansing area, but more of that once we get to that point at the moment we are just trying to make the camp comfortable.  Here is a view of the bathroom / toilet area, including full action pics of Susan trying out the shower!

In the meantime, back in Italy...

I'll come back to the survey on the land in Bulgaria, but for the moment we are back in Italy and I thought I'll keep you all up-to-date on what's been happening in Italy in the meantime.  The boys we left in charge have been working... well not that hard, but don't be too hard on them.  The weather has been crap during the month we were away, unlike in Bulgaria where we had a month of sunshine and temperatures in the upper 20's, low 30's.  So they couldn't really get out that much and that combined with the amounts of rain promoting the growth of weeds, it's tricky.  Even the week we've been back, there were only really two half decent days to fight back the jungle, today being one of them.

Everything is late this year, the cherries, the plums, the figs, the pears, but on the plus side, all the trees and shrubs we planted in the food forest and elsewhere, as well as the potatoes, had a good watering in and survived happily and were glad to be freed from the encroaching weeds.

First priority was freeing the potato terraces and earthing them up.  This is the higher potato terrace, which they share with the kiwis.  One of the female kiwis died this winter, whilst Stud the male is coming down with flowers.  The surviving female still is a bit shy, I hope she'll be put to shame by Jenny the bi-sexual kiwi (she used to call herself John...), which you can see in the foreground together with Ronaldo the fig tree.

 The lower potato terrace was a creation by the late Bart inside the future food forest. Note the interesting zigzag line neatly avoiding Jenny (no relation) the Rotella apple tree, Arthur the autumn olive, Heike the gingko tree and Gina the Tuscan broom.

In other news in the food forest, Sally the service tree is doing is well:

...ably supported by Ellie the elaeagnus ebingeii (by supplying nitrogen)

...and everything else survived including Conny the Cornelian cherry and Yukako the Japanese quince:

The future pond hasn't really progressed much, but Charity the mahonia is bearing edible fruit.  Bet you didn't know you could eat the fruit of this plant which is usually grown for decorative purposes.

 

...and the milk thistles (silibum marianum) is thriving, a great medical plant for liver problems.

In final news, Paul the mulberry tree (Mull of Kintyre...) is already forming fruit despite still being in a pot rather that in it's final location the arbo-loo (a hole in the ground, where you shit in and afterwards plant a tree in).  The reason it hasn't been planted yet is that the alternative to the arbo-loo, the compost toilet, has yet be constructed too.  So the boys have their work cut out.

Wish them luck and better weather as we head off on another odyssey northwards on various family business.  Oh and for those of you with an interest in wine as well as gardening and Italy, I have started a new blog on that subject where I share my wine adventures on my travels.  Pop in on the Wine Anarchist and visit me there too!