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Yarnauwi Farm

~ Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

Yarnauwi Farm

Tag Archives: winter

Winter work: erosion control in dispersive soils

11 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by Joel in diy, ecology, regeneration, waterways

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

building, ecology, erosion, farm, Fleurieu Coast, permaculture, revegetation, seasons, soil, water, waterways, winter

Some of the challenges of our landscape regeneration efforts have been both working to restore eroded badlands in some parts of the property, as well as to arrest continuing erosion. To make matters more complex, some sections of the property have “dispersive” subsoil. While the topsoil is relatively stable, when the subsoil becomes saturated it dissolves and begins to move, hollowing out tunnels beneath the surface that ultimately collapse into sinkholes, and eventually gullies. Of course, because it’s all happening underground, tracking or predicting which areas are vulnerable, or already cavernous is tricky.

Over the last seven years, we’ve been gradually working our way around the property installing erosion control structures, based on the work of permaculture-based landscape restoration folk like Craig Sponholtz and Bill Zeedyk. Hailing from the dry southwest of North America, Sponholtz and Zeedyk advocate applying small and slow interventions that use local materials to slow water flows and gradually heal erosion. In the permaculture spirit of viewing problems as solutions, our junk-filled erosion gullies have provided a seemingly inexhaustible supply of demolition rubble, concrete chunks and segments of brick walls that are ideal material for these structures.

This headcut just keeps moving, despite the perennial grasses and good ground cover.

One of the sections that we’ve avoided is a notorious headcut that our DIY soil tests showed us boasted slaking soil that disintegrates when moist and subsoil that was also more saline than other locations around the farm. With saline subsoil, most plants wanted to avoid getting their stabilising roots down. Tree-planting was also fraught, survival rates in the saline subsoil and cracking grey topsoil were low and  the very process of digging a small hole for a seedling can be enough to expose the subsoil so that next time there was a downpour, a sinkhole would open and swallow the seedling, tree guard and all. With the headcut moving about a metre a year and also widening, we thought it was time to get stuck in. At the very least, we’ve discovered that doing something is better than doing nothing and the act of getting in there and digging around allows for more accurate monitoring and effective intervention. Continue reading →

Deep Winter comes to the Fleurieu!

16 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by Joel in events, food, livestock, regeneration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

agrarian, conference, deep winter, ecology, farm, farming, Fleurieu, Fleurieu Coast, food, gathering, livestock, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, soil, winter

Joel dusted off his design degree to contribute a logo to the gathering.

Each winter since 2015, aspiring and established small-scale and regenerative farmers and their supporters and allies have gathered somewhere in Australia as part of the Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering to share ideas and inspiration for their projects and enterprises. In June 2019, this convergence drifted westwards to be held in Willunga, South Australia, and we were delighted to participate.

150 aspiring and established regenerative farmers, growers and their friends gathered in Willunga, SA, for the Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering.

The tone for the convergence was set with a keynote from former CSIRO microbiologist and climate scientist Walter Jehne, who spoke on the role and responsibility of rebuilding soil carbon and water cycles through agriculture and land management. Through his inspiring presentation, Jehne drew on indigenous land management as described in the work of Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe to also establish a precedent for the capacity of Australian soils to hold significant amounts of carbon and water.

Walter Jehne, in full flight.

Continue reading →

Yarnauwi Treefest 2019

10 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by Joel in diy, ecology, regeneration, trees, waterways

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

design, ecology, erosion, events, farm, Fleurieu, Fleurieu Coast, nursery, permaculture, propagation, revegetation, seasons, soil, trees, water, waterways, winter

A serial tree-planter manages to synchronise his outfit with the colouring of Eucalyptus occidentalis.

A couple of days before this year’s tree planting, I rang our friend and regular tree-planter Jeremy, and told him that three out of four family members were sick with the flu and we were thinking of cancelling this year’s planting weekend. He didn’t accept that proposal, effectively telling us that tree planting would happen regardless of our involvement, that between his family and another they would take care of catering, rally the volunteers and get the trees in the ground.

It has always been an aspiration of ours that the farm might offer a place for people to be able to develop connection with the landscape through collaboration on land-based projects – “where people and the landscape can restore each other”. I hope that Jeremy’s response, and the support of our friends and community over the last seven years of tree-planting is an indication of this aspiration in development. In this spirit, this year we were also delighted to host regenerative side projects such as Steven Hoepfner’s seed ball regeneration experiment, and provide a waterway for Sue and David Speck’s sedges, and a forever home for Greg Wood’s trees.

Steven’s seed ball project: local provenance bundles of seed and nutrients distributed across revegetation zones to germinate when the conditions are right.

Continue reading →

Farming fungi

11 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by Joel in ecology, exploring, regeneration

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

ecology, farm, Fleurieu, Fleurieu Coast, fungi, mycorrhiza, photography, revegetation, seasons, soil, southwestern Fleurieu, trees, winter

Getting excited about fungi on a wet day at Hindmarsh Falls, Fleurieu Peninsula.

In the last year or so we’ve really begun to appreciate the importance of fungi in a living landscape. The fungi (toadstools, mushrooms and so on) we see pop up after rain are the fruiting bodies of sometimes vast underground fungal networks. Some of these fungi form relationships with plant roots that are often mutually beneficial and enhance the plant’s ability to access nutrients and moisture. The Australian National Botanic Gardens suggest that some 80-90% of Australian plants form or benefit from mycorrhizal networks (fungal associations), and may derive up to 30% of their food through this symbiotic relationship. Continue reading →

Tree-fest 2018: Six years and growing

11 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by Joel in ecology, propagation, regeneration, trees, waterways

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

community, Fleurieu, Fleurieu Coast, revegetation, tree planting, trees, winter

Volunteers planting at the very first Yarnauwi tree planting extravaganza, 2013

The work continues in 2018 with new plantings amid established trees.

Six years ago we first invited friends and family to come and plant trees at Yarnauwi. They came, dug holes in a windswept paddock, hunched their shoulders against the cold and ate lunch beneath one of the property’s two big old red gums. That first year most of the plants were devoured by kangaroos and deer. Amazingly, our friends and family came back the following year and every year since, with the tree-planting weekend growing into an annual celebration of moist ground and hope for the future.

Loyal volunteers work on a windbreak

Continue reading →

Time and change: revegetation inspiration

10 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by Joel in ecology, regeneration, trees

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before and after, ecology, events, Fleurieu Coast, kangaroos, planning, revegetation, seasons, southwestern Fleurieu, trees, winter

Impatient as we are, we’ve become slightly obsessive about “before-and-after” photos in an effort to stay inspired about the possibilities for landscape transformation. About 15 minutes down the road from Yarnauwi, our friends David and Gillian have been gradually revegetating a former grazing property in the hills above Cape Jervis. Perhaps because of its steepness, the property has retained a good number of big old pink gums, together with the occasional ancient sheoak, offering the beginnings of a canopy for regeneration. Seven years ago we helped out with one of their first planting weekends, and I recently unearthed some photos taken at that time. With David, we recently walked around the property to admire the last seven years of growth.

View 1: 2010

View 1: 2017

David and Gillian have been philosophical about kangaroo grazing, with plants getting no more protection than korflute guards. Some plants have been repeatedly mowed down, reaching no higher than the tree guard after seven years, while others have finally stretched above mouth height and are now heading skywards. David notes that no plants were about adult should height for the first five years – something we can relate to at Yarnauwi. Continue reading →

The Fifth Annual Tree Planting Extravaganza

25 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Joel in ecology, events, propagation, regeneration, trees

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Tags

farm, Fleurieu Coast, permaculture, propagation, revegetation, seasons, seeds, southwestern Fleurieu, trees, winter

“Trees are the poems the earth writes upon the sky” said Kahlil Gibran. Pete, Shani and Sophie prepare to plant.

This year is our fifth on Yarnauwi, and this June saw our fifth annual tree-planting extravaganza. Over the last five years, our amazing community of tree planters and supporters have planted 5000 trees and other plants on Yarnauwi as we work to restore woodland, stabilise and repair erosion and plant trees for future timber, forage and food. Following the last four years of observation and experimentation, in 2017 our main focus was planting carefully selected species into some of the more challenging areas of the property. Each year we’ve propagated and planted trees sourced from both Trees for Life and our own seed collection. In addition to their generous labour and time, we’re honoured that Yarnauwi regulars Richard and Marg have now immortalised the annual tree-planting tradition in a musical saga, published below and sung to the tune of Loudon Wainwright’s The Swimming Song. The lyricists also pre-emptively apologise for any character assassination contained within.

Putting in soil-stabilising groundcovers around the shed.

A week or two following the tree-planting extravaganza, we were delighted to host the Permaculture Association of South Australia for a walking tour and lunch, sharing our property planning process and how we’ve approached the landscape restoration through a permaculture lens – of which these plantings are a central element. Thank you to Tree Team 2017: Anthony, Pete, Shani, Arlo, Freya, Jeremy, Claire, Innis, Sal, Mary, Branny, Richard, Marg, Nat, Jess, Oliver, Gillian, David, Geoff and Andrew.

One of the electives at this year’s tree-planting fiesta was making plaster casts of animal tracks. Here we have a collection of fox tracks from the dam’s edge.

Continue reading →

“You’re just so far away”: A tale of a farm shed

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by Joel in building, diy

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

building, design, farm, Fleurieu Coast, planning, shed, southwestern Fleurieu, tractor, winter

The Yarnauwi skyline is changing: some is grown, some is constructed.

A ‘Grand Design’ it isn’t, but the Yarnauwi farm shed has seen enough delays to make even Kevin McCloud blush. After 14 months, our simple 4-bay equipment shed is finally done. Ordered in January 2016, with the shed company suggesting an initial completion date of June 2016, this modest structure was beset with delays ranging in scale from an apocalyptic winter through to urban tradies that couldn’t quite stomach the prospect of venturing beyond suburbia.

Done!

Continue reading →

Yarnauwi Annual Report 2016

29 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Joel in ecology, planning, regeneration

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

annual report, birds, ecology, erosion, farm, Fleurieu Coast, livestock, permaculture, planning, revegetation, seasons, sheep, soil, southwestern Fleurieu, trees, waste, water, winter

img_7646

In birthday cards I often wish the recipient a coming year of “the right kind of challenge”, optimistically suggesting it will herald positive growth and empowerment through problem-solving and negotiation. This year, I got a taste of my own medicine, with a winter of biblical proportions just the beginning of the challenges.

November marks four years since we began the Yarnauwi project. Four years of attempting to regenerate the property to our optimistic standards on the weekends, of packing and unpacking the car, of ferrying and entertaining one, then two, small children, of revegetating, managing erosion, managing pasture, managing water, managing livestock, managing weeds and managing the legacy of past land managers. These are all admirable, ambitious intentions, and what we’ve achieved has only been possible through the support and enthusiasm of our community of neighbours, friends and family. Continue reading →

The Wet Season 2016

06 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by Joel in ecology, livestock, trees, waterways

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

ecology, erosion, farm, Fleurieu Coast, history, livestock, permaculture, photography, revegetation, seasons, sheep, soil, southwestern Fleurieu, trees, water, waterways, winter

The first big storm saw the dam fill and rivers broaden to ten times their normal size for an afternoon. A neighbour’s creek crossing dissolved in the flow, the rock and rubble broadcast along the river bottom. The second big storm saw our rainwater tank, still awaiting a shed to fill it, lifted vertically from its nest of stardroppers, vaulting a tractor and four or five fences before being swept off in the swollen waters of the Anacotilla River, carried across two properties and wedged under a red gum. The third storm came with days of warnings, threats of winds over 120km/h and rainfall to rival all of the previous deluges. It left all of South Australia without electricity, the farm a sucking, gurgling swamp, and me walking home through a darkened, scrambling city.

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Mist in the valleys

It’s been a demanding few months on the farm. The persistent moisture has made the ground unworkable, most of the farm inaccessible except on foot and the weather generally hostile to both our motivation and ability to do anything useful. The vast quantities of rain we’ve received however, have meant that moisture has permeated deep into the subsoil, so we console ourselves with the hope that as the weather warms, our tree plantings (including those from earlier this winter) will rocket skywards. Continue reading →

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New work in progress, honouring the joy and vibrancy the Welcome Swallow brings to the farm! A swallow family have made a mud nest in the open bay of our shed, and for the past few months we have loved watching them raise young and take their babies on test flights around the shed #welcomeswallow #embroidery
Our popular "Fishes of the Fleurieu Coast" print is back in stock, just in time for summer snorkeling at Second Valley! This is a handprinted, two colour version featuring species commonly spotted along the coast and jetties of the #fleurieupeninsula. Available through our Etsy shop now! Link in bio. 🐟🐠🐡 #print #printmaking #sea #fish #snorkeling #diving #fleurieucoast #handmade #ocean #reef #secondvalley #rapidbay #portnoarlunga #etsyseller #etsyshop @etsy @etsysouthaustralia @etsyadelaide @fleurieucoastmadebynature @fleurieulivingmagazine #fishing
🌾🌻🐝🌄 #spring #silage #hayseason #hayfever #kangaroo #joey #fleurieucoast #fleurieupeninsula @fleurieucoastmadebynature #farm #southaustralia #yarnauwi
The bees are back! Five years on from our last attempt we're having another go at beekeeping on the farm, hopefully with more shelter, shade and forage for the colony after seven years of revegetation and planting! 🌱🌧🌳🐝🌼🌻 #bee #beekeeping #bees #fleurieucoast #fleurieupeninsula #farm #forage #honey
This year we planted a corridor of Holm Oaks (Quercis ilex) acorns for shelter, forage and a future fire break. They've germinated and are growing strongly! Adapted to the dry Mediterranean climate of Spain, the Holm Oak is one of the key species of the dehesa silvopasture system. The acorns are famous as pig forage as well as being the European oak most suitable for human consumption. 🌱🌧🌳🐷🐏 #silvopasture #agroforestry #permaculture #oak #quercusilex #fleurieupeninsula #fleurieucoast #tree #acorn #farm
A few of our notes from the #fleurieucoast #festivalofnature Regenerative Agriculture through Grazing Naturally workshop with Dick Richardson and Ben Ryan. Plenty of new and challenging ideas for us to try out! @fleurieucoastmadebynature @cockatoocreekfarm @jagged.crow.farm @gumparkbeef #regenerativeagriculture #grazingnaturally #grazing #soilcarbon #soil #buildingsoil #fleurieupeninsula #fleurieucoastmadebynature #notes #illustration #permacultureillustrator #loveofdiagrams #diagram #ink #sketch
Fantastic to attend a regenerative agriculture workshop on grazing naturally led by Dick Richardson and Ben Ryan at the spectacular Ryan property. Great to meet some more aspiring regenerative farmers on the #fleurieucoast too! Thanks to @fleurieucoastmadebynature for another excellent program for the Festival of Nature. #regenerativeagriculture #grazingnaturally #grazing #festivalofnature #soilcarbon @cockatoocreekfarm #buildingsoil @jaggedcrowfarm @gumparkbeef #fleurieupeninsula #farm #agriculture
Sprouting seed bombs, created from local provenance seed and broadcast around #yarnauwi by our friend Steven Hoepfner. Thanks Steven, we look forward to continuing to watch them take root! 🌧🌱🌳 #fleurieupeninsula #fleurieucoast #fleurieucoastmadebynature #seed #seedbombs #regeneration #revegetation #farm #regenerativeagriculture
Congratulations to Asher for his winning portrait of a tawny frogmouth in the Adelaide Hills NRC Threatened Species Art Prize! 🎉🎨🖌 #adelaidehills #art #tawnyfrogmouth #threatenedspecies #bird #painting

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