So...

You think you're not into gardening or whatever - that growing veggies is not for you. I understand that, because I'm not really into it myself. But it's actually a remedy that I was lucky enough to stumble upon in catapulting myself out of home as a liberated teenager -oblivious to my youthful ignorance, without anything to remedy. Or more like being introduced to an addictive substance at an age of such naivety as to not have an inkling to it's risk.

Then becoming an addict and repeatedly getting a fix and soon everywhere you go, people think you're cool cause you know all this stuff about plants, then reveal they know even more and on occasions you get feelings of paranoia that even though you're constantly learning stuff, the more you learn and discover, the more it seems to grow smaller in the light of the vast span of more to explore.

I've tried to give it up. I lost valuable plants that I collected and carried around with me. I even forgot some of their names. But the truth is. There just isn't anything quite like the satisfaction of growing a good plant.

Sometimes I get this resistance to planting the same old stuff. The regular veggies you buy in the shops. Or worse I try something I would never normally eat and then it does well and we have so much of it, we put ourselves off it. But then you find an organic seed merchant and he's got peanuts. And I imagine roasting peanuts and they're home grown. There are so many interesting possibilities.

It's a bit like saying you're not into cars, but you still drive one, and notice others and if someone struck up a conversations about it you'd join in.

Or not being into bathing - you shower instead - you don't get some people who are into cleaning themselves and the rest, just aren't.

Growing food is not who we are, any less than anything else is. BiPolarMediocre is capturing the thrill of cultivating some life in this fascinating existence!

Contribute? Yeah....!

12 April 2011

ApTimes is coming, tjek the last one if you're curious!

This last weekend was prosperous, found great garlic starts that i wangled out of Brendan Jacklin from JacklinOrganic, he's got a good thing going on there from what i can tell...tjek it out.

Autumn!! Time to plant bulbs, root crop, cover your fruit trees if they're frost sensative, cool weather crops in protected spots, bring some pots under cover etc etc...Tjek it - a cilantro growing plan, good in a warm place!

Remember The Stray Natives?? (tjek the ApTimes). There gig was heard on the radio out loud, playing at Tanz Cafe in Fourways on Wednesday, remember, they were interviewed first in the first issue!

The way things stand...

19 March 2011

It's coming to autumn and at this time in history, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking the end of the world is here. I admit I've always leaned towards fantasizing about the imminent apocalypse, but the quake and tsunami in Japan caused tears on top of the ones I was already crying for Lybia and Christchurch in New Zealand, on top of long lists of news worthy events that seem to be micro versions of how it might be if there was a global apocalypse. My fantasies didn't include the emotion and sadness, the devastation was a default, the fantasy has always been the satisfaction of coping and succeeding despite it all. It is as if my subconscious blanked out the actual events that it knows might come and skipped right to the recovering part. Just like me, blanking out when experiencing too much emotion.

BPM is officially not going to be offering accommodation as a backpackers any more. We are in constant dialog about how we can be contributing members of the community and the ideas are many. Sometimes though, while managing the regular chores, work and growing up, the future is the ass of a giant approaching rapidly to sit on my face, seemingly oblivious to my comfort zone. Being prepared and wanting to be,are very different states of reality!

On a lighter note, I am reading Credo Mutwa's "Indaba My Children" and it's the most exciting thing I've read in a LONG time. Stories from the beginning of time, passed on from generation to generation. Even though I am hearing the stories for the first time, I can't help but get such a sence of being a part of something I denied being a part of before. As strange as these stories are, they seem as familiar as if I'd been hearing them always.

What's your status quo?? Mail me...

AAarg!!! Trying to sell veggies at a Vegan Fair was not easy!!

20 November 2010!!!!

This Spring we....

Planted Fruit trees, including 2 Pomagranates, 3 Guava's, transplanted the Grapevine, 2 Figs, Blue Berries, Raspberries,a couple of Mulberries and besides rescuing our Avo that we planted lasted year, we've germinated a bunch more for next season.

In 2011, i think our priorities are in the harvesting and Storage of water before the next rain season. guiding the grey water to water and indigenous perimeter green fence - to double as an exclusion area and make a haven for the Bushbabies. We should definately get a floor, roof and windows into the timber structure so we can start hosting feet more comfortabley, from educational courses to a rustic event venue and a space to sell local wares to the passers by. If we could get a start on generating a sustainable income but Dec 2011, we will have leaped over a major hurdle towards our ultimate goal.

May 2011 be full of success for you and your family.

An introduction to Permaculture 26 and 27 June 2010!!!

I'm so excited!!! this is going to be good!!

Come join Vivienne Brown, Tina De Waal and Paul Barker for a 2day introductory workshop for home gardeners. Your facilitators are all internationally recognised educators and have more then 25years combined experience with Permaculture design, administration and education.

Over Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th June, we will cover a wide range of tangible gardening skills and methods of Permaculture design, which you will find indispensable in designing your own gardens layout, into an energy effective and abundant system that lessens your “foot print”.

We will demonstrate how to go about maintaining your creation, easy to use methods of soil preparation, planting calendars, along with storing and preserving your produce as sources of good nutrition from your home garden.

We will cover the following:

Designing a Garden, Garden Location (Sunlight, Water, Soil and Wind), Garden Plot Design, Swales (Ditch and bund on contour), Live fencing,

Soil Preparation, Garden Maintenance, Providing Plant Food, Watering, Weed and Pest Control, Planting Methods, Succession Planting,

Food Calendar, Crop Rotation, Crop Integration, Companion planting, Small Garden Nurseries, Harvesting and produce care, Sources of Nutrition from the Home Garden

Date: 26-27th June 2010

Time: 09h00 – 16h00

Where: BackBackers Midrand

Cost: R500.00 both days

R300.00 single day

Includes: Tea, coffee and lunch will be provided.

Bring: Pen, notebook, hat and a gleaming smile

Contact: Paul Barker or Myself, Viv for booking

If you are needing accommodation to save early morning travel time...or just to have more time closer by, get in touch, we'll make sure you're comfortable!!

Directions:

We are situated in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (obviously)

For detailed directions, please contact me by mail,

or call me, Viv, (011) 022 3290

or mail Paul or call him on 072 410 8044

The Timber House....

Moving from planning to initiation in a permaculture system has been about really looking at all the elements that affect each other and how the obvious elements seem to be straight forward enough but haven't been able to really fall into place without the human factor being taken care of. Strangely, this fell into the area I thought would be a breeze, but turned out to be the pivotal point in the system, and my biggest challenge.

The first born vision was to host an accommodation venue where we could be the experimental practice runners of alternative living, in and amongst city dwellers so that the curious could come and see it in action. I got my inspiration from the CCAT house in Arcata. But we needed to also make sure we could generate resources enough to keep up the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

The human challenge showed face when I attempted to solicit a team. Having a vision and putting that vison into words well enough to represent the vision, as well as manage the effort towards acheiving the vision and putting word to action, was skill developing to say the least. It requires an understanding of psychology, project management and resoursefulness within critcal time frames and a great amount of patience and willingness to disaster manage. And when you think you've juggled all of that fairly enough, there's the element of control and a balance between being a control freak versus being careless.

Having done a Permaculture Design Course with Food and Trees for Africa 10 years back and feeling very comfortable with it supporting a natural inclination in myself to mimic nature, it seemed it would be the easiest system to implement. However, the indoctrination of gardening with excessive force to make nature do what we want it to and pouring money and installing elements that make gardening 'easier' however unsustainable, was deeper set in people than what I imagined, and for all of it's sensible principals, suggesting using them got no further than debates between us or total disregard under the broad 'hippie' label.

In July 2005 we had our 'launch' and announced our intention to our sphere of influence and people began to come in a constant flow.

The success of attracting so many people was a blessing and a curse because it highlighted exactly what the expectations were, from people, to use as guidence to finding a happy medium between 'at-home-and-familiar' with 'functional facilites'. It was a real time learning curve.

It took 5 years before we could actually take a solid step forward in terms of solidifying a plan where the flexability matched the goal.

So our big step now is the building of our accommodation in a timber structure. It will have six private rooms and a loft upstairs that can sleep 6. Camping will be welcomed and communal cooking and eating a pleasure. We expect it to be a 4 - 6 month wait before it's in ship shape for bookings.

In between getting that done we keep improving our system and managing our projects that are geared towards reducing waste and expenses and generating resourses to maintain a quality lifestyle enough for us to share with you.

author Viv Brown