A New Design, Access and Tomato Jars - Week 13 - ESC Project - The Polyculture Project

You may remember that we built an irrigation pond over at the crew house to provide for the water needs of the plants growing in the garden, as currently the garden doesn't have access to the mountain stream. The pond was fed by harvesting the rainwater from the roof of the main house and directing it through guttering pipes directly into the pond, as seen in the below image. In 2019 this was very effective and the volunteers that year were able to transfer the water from the irrigation pond to the plants using a pump.

Since then, things haven't worked out quite so well with this design. Firstly, we encountered problems with the actual guttering which requires maintenance at least twice yearly, and secondly, one of the stones placed at the edge of the pond to help support the liner fell in and ripped the material. Three failed attempts were made to fix the liner, which eventually started to deteriorate in other places due to being exposed to the strong summer sun. From then on, the water level only reached around 30cm in depth and although it became a haven for frogs and grass snakes, essentially we were left with a gaping hole in a prime piece of land, and no solution to the irrigation issue.  So earlier this year, we decided to dig in the pond, salvaging what we could of the liner, and are now in the process of creating a new design for the area which will include a small wildlife pond.

The area has grown up, mainly with wild native plants

Together with the ESC volunteers, we have identified 3 main purposes of the new design, listed here, in order of our priority;

1. To produce food in both annual, perennial and possibly mixed polycultures. The area is close to the house and composting zones so makes perfect sense when considering zoning.
2. To enhance biodiversity. Our aim is to include a variety of different habitats within the design.
3. To be aesthetically pleasing. This area is the first place you see as you enter the property, and 

Access is one of the most important aspects to consider in any design. Some of the main things to consider when designing access include:

Visualizing Future Growth - Visualize the mature size of the growth within your polycultures when designing access. Will the access you have put in place be overwhelmed by plant growth? Will you be able to harvest effectively when the plants are mature and what pruning management might be required to keep the access clear? Plants can grow very quickly and even after rearing 1000ʼs of plants, it's still surprising to see how fast certain plants quickly dominate a space.

Avoid Compaction - It's extremely beneficial to keep the access within your polyculture restricted to the same area to avoid compaction. In fact, one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to create healthy soil and plants is to avoid compaction. Compaction reduces the spaces between the soil particles. These spaces store vital gases when the soil is dry, water when the soil is soaked and are the primary habitat for the soil microbes that protect and feed the plants and that build long term water and fertility storage in the soils. So permanent fixed access should be a priority of your polyculture design

Comfortable Access - Access should be comfortable -  even, smooth ground, without the need to duck or swerve as you walk, and should drain well to avoid puddling during wet weather. You should be able to comfortably reach where you need to for management task such as chop and drop, pruning and harvesting without stretching or treading on the soil. The below measurements are some recommended widths for general purpose access;

600mm - comfortable for one person

800mm - comfortable for one person with wheelbarrow or trailer

900mm - allows two people to just pass

1200mm - allows one person with wheelbarrow and other person to pass

We'll be posting more about this design in the coming weeks and photos of our progress as we start to implement it so keep an eye out for that :) You can also check out the ESC volunteer's personal blog of their experiences here.

Welcome to our Online Store where you can find Forest Garden/ Permaculture plants, seeds, bulbs and Polyculture multi-packs along with digital goods and services such as Online Courses, Webinars, eBooks, and Online Consultancy.  We hope you enjoy the store and find something you like :) It's your purchases that keep our Project going. Yuu can also find our full list of trees. shrubs and herbs for forest gardens on our website here 

 Enter Our Store Here

Plants, Seeds, eBooks, Consultancy, Bulk Fruit and Nut Tree Orders for Permaculture, Polyculture, Forest Gardens and Regenerative Landscapes.

The hot balmy weather broke this week with huge thunderstorms and at last, significant rainfall. I love the first rains after the summer that bring about a spring like quality to the garden again, along with a new flush of edible greens. 

Green School Village, co-funded by Erasmus hosted a 10 day seminar here in Shipka this week all about the ESC initiative and what is involved in hosting volunteers and project writing. The participants seemed very inspired and hopefully have gone off with a lot of ideas and thoughts about how they may integrate an ESC project into their own creative ventures. 

Speaking personally about our own experience, the community building aspect of the ESC project we are running with Green School Village has been something that has created a lot of joy and solidarity among both the volunteers and the local people. It's been great to watch that inter-generational and cultural exchange, and of course, be able to help local people in need while learning skills from them and observing how they garden.

Markus, Ru and Fanny helping an elderly family to pick figs

We processed tomatoes this week, jarring them to experience that taste of sun drenched summer in the middle of winter. Of all the food we process, tomatoes is definitely a firm favourite because they are relatively easy to prepare, keep well and form the basis of so many meals.  

To prepare the tomatoes for jarring, wash the fruit and gather clean large jars. We cut the tomatoes into quarters and push them well into the jar, almost compacting them to be able to store a good amount in each. Add a teaspoon of salt to each and then close the lids,  making sure the rim of the jar is clean and dry.  Rusty lids can contaminate the tomatoes so avoid using any lids that have visible rust on the inside. 

We have a wonderful industrial sized pot for jar water baths. I always place a towel or other suitable material on the bottom, and then add the jars, cramming them in quite tightly to avoid them moving around. Lukewarm water is added that must fully cover the lids of the jars by a few centimetres. Stones are placed on top to prevent movement, as when the water is boiling the jars have a tendency to start moving around.

Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course 

Want to learn how to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes?  Join us for our Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course from May 1st to Sep 13th, 2023. 

We're super excited about running the course and look forward to providing you with the confidence, inspiration, and opportunity to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes, gardens, and farms that produce food and other resources for humans while enhancing biodiversity.

Regenerative Landscape Design Online Course

You can find out all about the course here and right now we have a 20% discount on the full enrollment fees. Just use the promo code RLD2023 in the section of the registration form to receive your discount. 

We are looking forward to providing you with this unique online learning experience - as far as we know, the very first of its kind. If you are thinking of reasons why you should do this course and whether this course is suitable for you, take a look here where we lay it all out. Looking forward to it!

The water should boil for 15 minutes before carefully removing the jars and placing upside down on a protected worktop, to help create a vacuum seal. Once sufficiently cool turn right side up and voila - you can look forward to delicious lasagnes and sauces all through the winter months.

Thanks go to Ruhsar for the tomato photos :)

Check out our range of seeds, tubers and cuttings available all year around - delivery worldwide.

Grow your own permaculture polycultures -  seed, tubers, bulbs and cuttings

Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course 

Want to learn how to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes?  Join us for our Regenerative Landscape Design - Online Interactive Course from May 1st to Sep 13th, 2023. 

We're super excited about running the course and look forward to providing you with the confidence, inspiration, and opportunity to design, build and manage regenerative landscapes, gardens, and farms that produce food and other resources for humans while enhancing biodiversity.

Regenerative Landscape Design Online Course

You can find out all about the course here and right now we have a 20% discount on the full enrollment fees. Just use the promo code RLD2023 in the section of the registration form to receive your discount. 

We are looking forward to providing you with this unique online learning experience - as far as we know, the very first of its kind. If you are thinking of reasons why you should do this course and whether this course is suitable for you, take a look here where we lay it all out. Looking forward to it!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We offer a diversity of plants and seeds for permaculture, forest gardens and regenerative landscapes including a range of fruit and nut cultivars. We Deliver all over Europe from Nov - March. - Give a happy plant a happy home :)

Our Bio-Nursery - Permaculture/Polyculture/ Regenerative Landscape Plants 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support Our Project 

If you appreciate the work we are doing you can show your support in several ways.

• Make a purchase of plants or seeds from our Bionursery or Online Store 

• Consider joining us for one of our Courses or Online Courses

• Comment, like, and share our content on social media.

• Donate directly via PayPal to balkanecologyproject@gmail.com or via FTX Pay