Sundays are both a blessing and a curse for me. I have fallen in love with Northey Street's organic markets but they start at 6am. Not only is it difficult for me to wake up so early, it is extremely cold! Luckily Peta told me I won't have to start arriving until 8am so this Sunday had a bit of a later start than last week, which I was quite happy with.
This week I joined Peta in the Nursery for most of Sunday. It was a slower day due to the herb show and the bitter cold. I was happy to explain to a few customers where the finger limes were on the Northey Street property, how to join the farm as a volunteer, and how to acquire one of the allotments.
Because it was slow I was able to enjoy a sampling of food from the markets. An organic soy chai latte, bagel with halloumi and hummus, and chocolate croissant later, I was full, warm, and happy. It was a wonderful way to start off my Sunday and I look forward to the coming weekends at Northey Street.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Monday, 28 May 2012
Finger Limes and Good Times
Within my first few days with Peta in the NSCF Nursery, I made a wonderful discovery. Finger limes, a native Australian bush plant, produce a small fruit who's inside looks like caviar, but tastes like a sweet lime! I immediately fell in love with the plant and it's delicious fruit but soon learned that they were a dangerous plant to have around. Peta and I set out to plant clippings of the plant in order to sell them in the nursery. This is usually a fairly easy, if not boring, task that involves cutting a few branches off and cutting them down to allow them to sprout roots and grow a new plant. Finger limes, however, have an extremely sharp defence mechanism. Covered in small thorns, the plant does not make it easy to do up cuttings or to enjoy it's delicious fruit.
Saturday at the farm was much less wet than the previous day. I was able to get a handle on the register and help Peta prepare some plants for an herb show that was happening in Brisbane the following day. Planting finger limes was by far the highlight of my day but I was beginning to notice that my knowledge of plants was starting to grow. I could answer customer questions about how to keep possums out of the garden (Plant dogsbane around the edges as it is a natural deterrent.), how to best grow seed potatoes (Build up a bed and when you see the green shoots begin to spring up, cover them again until the the mound is about a meter tall. They are ready to harvest when the tops begin to brown off and it should produce about 20 kg of potatoes from 1 kg of seeds.), and how to break down hard soil and lower the pH (Gypsum, but it works slowly.). I was surprised about how much I had learned from Peta just from simple observation. A wonderful source of knowledge, I am excited to continue my work with her in the coming weeks.
Saturday at the farm was much less wet than the previous day. I was able to get a handle on the register and help Peta prepare some plants for an herb show that was happening in Brisbane the following day. Planting finger limes was by far the highlight of my day but I was beginning to notice that my knowledge of plants was starting to grow. I could answer customer questions about how to keep possums out of the garden (Plant dogsbane around the edges as it is a natural deterrent.), how to best grow seed potatoes (Build up a bed and when you see the green shoots begin to spring up, cover them again until the the mound is about a meter tall. They are ready to harvest when the tops begin to brown off and it should produce about 20 kg of potatoes from 1 kg of seeds.), and how to break down hard soil and lower the pH (Gypsum, but it works slowly.). I was surprised about how much I had learned from Peta just from simple observation. A wonderful source of knowledge, I am excited to continue my work with her in the coming weeks.
A red finger lime is hiding in the middle of all these leaves and thorns. So hard to reach without a few cuts!
Rain, rain go away
This Friday was meant to be the kick start to my Market Garden project with Simon, the farming director of Northey Street. The Market Garden is a portion of the farm that is specifically planted and harvested in order to sell food at the organic markets on Sundays. The garden, however, has fallen by the wayside due to a revolving door of management at the farm. In order to be brought up to par again, it needs some TLC.
It is my job to redesign and map out the garden. By doing so, Northey Street will be able to maintain a simple crop rotation system in order to keep feeding the soil nutrients. The "Leggy, Leafty, Fruity, Rooty" system is what is it known as on the farm. Legumes (leggys to the Aussies) come first because they produce their own nitrogen and are able to add nitrogen to the soil. Leafy greens are next in the ground due to the fact that they require a high amount of nitrogen. Fruiting plants, peppers for example, like a lesser amount of nitrogen and rooting plants, such a carrot, require the least amount. This crop rotation system is one of the principals of permaculture that can be seen all over Northey Street City Farm. Rotating the crops allows for the maximum yield without needing to clear new areas to plant. A rotating set of volunteers make it difficult to oversee that this rotation is always used but by planning and mapping out the garden, instructing volunteers with little permaculture knowledge will be made much easier.
Sadly, I wasn't able to get past the initial planning stages for the garden on Friday. The weather turned against me at about midday and it started to rain. Instead, I spent the afternoon in the nursery, learning the register and beginning to answer customer questions.
It is my job to redesign and map out the garden. By doing so, Northey Street will be able to maintain a simple crop rotation system in order to keep feeding the soil nutrients. The "Leggy, Leafty, Fruity, Rooty" system is what is it known as on the farm. Legumes (leggys to the Aussies) come first because they produce their own nitrogen and are able to add nitrogen to the soil. Leafy greens are next in the ground due to the fact that they require a high amount of nitrogen. Fruiting plants, peppers for example, like a lesser amount of nitrogen and rooting plants, such a carrot, require the least amount. This crop rotation system is one of the principals of permaculture that can be seen all over Northey Street City Farm. Rotating the crops allows for the maximum yield without needing to clear new areas to plant. A rotating set of volunteers make it difficult to oversee that this rotation is always used but by planning and mapping out the garden, instructing volunteers with little permaculture knowledge will be made much easier.
Sadly, I wasn't able to get past the initial planning stages for the garden on Friday. The weather turned against me at about midday and it started to rain. Instead, I spent the afternoon in the nursery, learning the register and beginning to answer customer questions.
As you can see from this photo, the market garden has become a bit overgrown.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Introductions and Farm Tours
My first few days at Northey Street City Farm (NSCF) were filled with introductions, a blur of people I was sure to not remember, and a sneak peek into what the rest of my time on the farm would be like. Adrian, Northey Street's Education Coordinator and my main supervisor, was stepping down within a week of my arrival and I was introduced to Murray, my new supervisor. Adrian and Murray put together a weekly schedule that would allow me to experience different aspects of life at Northey Street while also giving me freedom to learn on the farm.
My schedule is beginning to come together and has me working about 20 hours a week until I am due to leave Brisbane.
Fridays: My Friday's are scheduled to be spent with Simon, the Farming Director at NSCF. I would be working around the entire property and dealing with compost production, creating no dig beds, the planting and harvesting of crops, and other day to day farm tasks. By working with Simon I am able to learn more about the processes that are involved with large scale compost making and organic farming. Designing beds, planting, and harvesting will help me better understand the actual act of growing food.
Saturdays: Saturday's are to be spent with Peta in the NSCF nursery. I was already able to spend a day with her, learning how to propagate seedlings and create clippings. My plant knowledge will be put to the test by customers and time will tell how much I am able to learn during my time with Peta.
Sundays: The Sunday Organic Markets are the highlight of the week at Northey Street. Sundays are going to be spent helping out in the farm's market stalls, selling fresh produce from the Market Garden or cooking up food to raise money for the farm. I am excited about this aspect of my internship because I will be able to connect with the local community about fresh food, organics, and nutrition.
I have already spent a good amount of time in the different areas of the farm but I am excited to have my first full weekend working at Northey Street. I have gone on a number of farm tours and may even be able to start leading a few in the next couple of weeks.
My schedule is beginning to come together and has me working about 20 hours a week until I am due to leave Brisbane.
Fridays: My Friday's are scheduled to be spent with Simon, the Farming Director at NSCF. I would be working around the entire property and dealing with compost production, creating no dig beds, the planting and harvesting of crops, and other day to day farm tasks. By working with Simon I am able to learn more about the processes that are involved with large scale compost making and organic farming. Designing beds, planting, and harvesting will help me better understand the actual act of growing food.
Sundays: The Sunday Organic Markets are the highlight of the week at Northey Street. Sundays are going to be spent helping out in the farm's market stalls, selling fresh produce from the Market Garden or cooking up food to raise money for the farm. I am excited about this aspect of my internship because I will be able to connect with the local community about fresh food, organics, and nutrition.
I have already spent a good amount of time in the different areas of the farm but I am excited to have my first full weekend working at Northey Street. I have gone on a number of farm tours and may even be able to start leading a few in the next couple of weeks.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Life in Brisbane
As a poor college student, the thought of leaving my job for two months was daunting. Even scarier was the possibility of not having a job for two months and not having a place to live when I arrived in Brisbane. I was so stressed about these thing, overly so in retrospect, that I considered turning down the internship and finding something else that would satisfy my Capstone requirement. With encouragement from my parents and friends, on both sides of the world, I managed to pack my bags.
As soon as I arrived in Brisbane I knew I had made the right decision. From the trees to the warm sunshine, I was reminded of what a good time I had had here for Spring Break. Busses could easily bring me to any area of the city and I had found a place to live that would not only be fun, but also relatively easy on the wallet. Finding a job is still a bit up in the air but considering I've only been in the area for a week and a half, I'd like think that things are beginning to come together better than expected.
As soon as I arrived in Brisbane I knew I had made the right decision. From the trees to the warm sunshine, I was reminded of what a good time I had had here for Spring Break. Busses could easily bring me to any area of the city and I had found a place to live that would not only be fun, but also relatively easy on the wallet. Finding a job is still a bit up in the air but considering I've only been in the area for a week and a half, I'd like think that things are beginning to come together better than expected.
This is an aerial view of Brisbane. The Central Business District is easily seen just across the river. (I live a few blocks to the right of the stadium.)
How did I end up here?
For Spring Break 2012, I decided to take an extra week off of school and take a trip across the world to visit one of my best friends who lives in Brisbane, Australia. Because of this, when it came time to choose a location to look into for a project for Sustainable Food and Farms, I chose Brisbane. In my research I stumbled across Northey Street City Farm and later presented on Brisbane's largest urban farm.
When I got to Brisbane in March, I was very excited to be able to visit the place I had done research on. I had been in communication with some of the leaders on the farm about possibly coming back for my Capstone experience but it wasn't until my visits to Northey Street in March that the plans began to become a reality.
I came back to ASU, met with Sada, and began the process of becoming an intern at the farm. Luckily for me, everything fell into place and I am back in Brisbane until early July, working at an organic urban farm just outside the center of the city.
When I got to Brisbane in March, I was very excited to be able to visit the place I had done research on. I had been in communication with some of the leaders on the farm about possibly coming back for my Capstone experience but it wasn't until my visits to Northey Street in March that the plans began to become a reality.
I came back to ASU, met with Sada, and began the process of becoming an intern at the farm. Luckily for me, everything fell into place and I am back in Brisbane until early July, working at an organic urban farm just outside the center of the city.
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