S ome months ago, a friend, co-worker and fellow communard Joshua Hobby received an email from an organisation in East Timor called HIAM Health.

2009: Josh surveys an inhospitable site.

In early 2009, Josh worked with HIAM to establish a 'home garden' (toos uma-hun) at HIAM's new premises in Dili. Over 6 months Josh and several Timorese worked with an inhospitable and infertile site to establish a garden infrastucture using Permaculture design methods. After this work Josh left East Timor for a time, eventually returning to Australia. The recent email from HIAM was a request that he return and assist with further training in Permaculture and organic gardening techniques as soon as possible.

2010: The Home Garden (Toos Uma-hun) today.

Josh was uncertain whether this would be possible, having just begun a business (Design to Produce) but, not closing down options, asked whether I would come along to assist him if he decided to go. With a bit of time to think, both of us decided that it was something we could respond to and began to make plans.

We didn't know quite what to expect before we arrived or what elements of systems and infrastructure which Josh had helped to establish remained. Arriving a week earlier than I, Josh reported that things were 'better than expected.'

Making pots with mana Nita

I arrived in Dili on the 22nd of July and after getting settled in joined in with the garden work. Though I had nothing to make a comparison with, I was certainly surprised to see how well the basic design of the garden had been maintained, given the perceived need for urgent assistance. We had thought that we may have needed to make some major design changes but it has been unnecessary. We are in the process of tweaking the design, having undergone a design process with the HIAM garden workers, which included a trip to other Permaculture and agroforestry projects in the highlands.

Maun Aldo and mana Nita double dig a garden bed.

Josh has been here for three weeks and I have been here for two. The first part of this time consisted of (re-)establishing relationships and observing the current systems. We conducted some skill-sharing workshops on bio-intensive gardening methods and hot composting while propagating many leucaena (ai-kafe — Leucaena spp.) seedlings, a leguminous tree which is present in abundance, in anticipation of later design changes.

Maun Amandiu cuts mana Nita some cinnamon bark. Nita holds a pepper vine (pimenta) seedling.

Last week, we made two day trips — a short trip to Dare to visit an agroforestry project and a long trip to Turiscai to visit some of the projects of Timor's Permaculture organisation, Permatil (Permaculture Timor Lorosae). These were very valuable excursions, not least because we were able to get some valuable plant material, including calliandra (ai kaliandra — Calliandra spp.), vetiver grass (duut — Chrysopogon zizanioides), mexican marigold (Tagetes minuta), cosmos (Cosmos spp.) and elder (ai funan mutin — Sambucus nigra).

Maun Sabastiaun de Jesus' garden in Turiscai.

This week, we have been re-designing together, in light of our trip and the things we learned and beginning to put the new design into action. This has included digging a large diversion swale along the top of the garden, planting it out with vetiver, leucaena and mint (ortelaun — Mentha spp.), and establishing a banana circle in the 'wet food forest area'.

Re-designing together.

There is, of course, a lot more to say but I'm sure that's as much as will be digested in a blog post. Hopefully more soon on our mountainous journeys and details of garden works and systems.

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I am interrupting the defeaning silence of this weblog to let you all know about the "Introduction to Permaculture" at City Farm Perth which is being co-facilitated by me and Brooke 'Sparkles' Murphy. See flyer below. Introduction to Permaculture - July 2010

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In Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', the artbute tree is among the trees which characterise his 'Golden Age' - an age in which the earth yields its fruit of its own accord. There is doubtless some irony in this, for the arbute is not among the most palatable of fruits - despite being known as the 'strawberry tree'. Nevertheless, this picture of a lean perennial abundance appears profound to me, for surely this is the nature of an 'abundance within ecological limits.'

Another ancient reference to the arbute fills out this picture. In
book II of Virgil's 'Georgics', where he begins to write of trees,
there is the line:

"By grafting the rough arbute yields the walnut ..."

His point is similar to the one I would make. He writes that:

"The trees that lift themselves spontaneously
Into the realms of light are blithe and strong,
For power is in the soil, but prove unfruitful."

but by skills such as grafting might be brought to a desirable yield.

The grafting of walnut into arbute may be wholly in the realm of imagination but stands as a potent symbol of skill turning the lean abundance of nature to the products of culture. That is, it is by design, skill, knowledge and imagination that a future golden age of 'abundance within ecological limits' is sought.

I ts not quite time to harvest the seed of most of the vegetables planted in the cooler months but its time to get ready. Many things have probably bolted with the onset of warmed weather. I have broccoli, coriander, chard and lettuce all in flower and it won't be long before seed sets. The guide below is a very basic beginning point. It gives you some tips to get you started straight away with simple vegetables and direction for further research once you have mastered the basics.

Seed Saving Basics

You are welcome to use this document in accordance with the Creative Commons license. That is, you can do anything with it so long as you acknowledge its authorship.

Check out The Seed Savers' Network for information and inspiration.

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"From excellent seeds grow excellent fruits, while good fruit seldom grows from bad seed..." — Herrera, Obra de Agricultura, 1513

I take perverse pleasure in making a task difficult from the outset. That being so, I have learned over a number of years to raise my own seedlings from seed. Such a thought may be intimidating to some of you and you may want to begin your tomato vigil by sourcing good quality seedlings, but I want the opportunity to make a case over the next few posts for having a go at home-grown seedlings. It is a challenge worth undertaking. We will look at sourcing and sowing seed to raise healthy, home-grown seedlings, beginning with quality seed.

Provenance, or 'where your seeds comes from'

This year, my tomato seed was derived from five sources; those saved from last year's crop and those from four seed merchants:

• The Digger's Club
• Yilgarn Traders
• Eden Seeds; and
• Gardeners' Pride

Last year, we grew only one tomato variety in our home garden; an Amish heirloom called 'Brandywine.' I saved the seed and have sown it this year also. This is the ideal — sowing and saving endlessly, keeping an eye on the best plants and saving seed from them. This way, the variety can acclimatise and adapt to other local conditions. Herrera adds to his wisdom on the relationship between seeds and fruits, saying:

"... seed should come from lands that are similar to those being sown: hot to hot, cold to cold, dry to dry, temperate to temperate, humid to humid, and so forth." — Herrera, Obra de Agricultura, 1513

My remaining four sources cover most of this spectrum of climatic conditions, making it all the more important that I am diligent in saving the seeds of as many of the 17 varieties I am growing this year. Yilgarn Traders from hot, dry Geraldton is the best of these suppliers climatically given Perth's meditteranean conditions.

I have tried where I can to get chemical free seed, although I am not overly concerned where it is my intention to save the resulting seed. This attitude derives from the relatively loose standard of the certifying bodies. For example, NAASA's standard says:

"Seed and plant materials shall be propagated under organic management one generation, in the case of annuals" — NAASA Organic Standard 13th of May 2008

That is, after a year grown in your garden under organic conditions, the seed is as good as the lowest standard of certifiable organic seed. Saving and growing your own seed is the beginning of healthier plants and safer food.

Next post we will look at getting these seeds into some soil.

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T hough the Spring we have had so far has been unusually wet, with 'the longest recorded stretch of daily September rainfall since 1915' (BOM) it has certainly been warm enough to inspire me to garden action; a propagation fenzy in fact. I thought that I would share with you a little booklet I have put together with some details of some of the most popular vegetables and herbs that can be propagated and grow in Spring time.

What to Grow in Spring

You are welcome to use this document in accordance with the Creative Commons license. That is, you can do anything with it so long as you acknowledge its authorship.

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