Off Grid Living.

Our friends Elaine and LJ live on a 7 acre smallholding about 10 miles away from us. Living the good life for about 7 years now their wooden clad house is warm, cosy and welcoming despite having no mains electricity or water, things most people can’t imagine living without.

Electricity for the house comes from solar panels and a wind turbine atop this pole. Sorry, I cut off the wind turbine, crap pic, anyway you get the idea! Water is gravity fed from a well on their own land, some rainwater is also collected.

There are 2 polytunnels for vegetables and also an orchard. Slowly this land which was only ever used as grazing for cows is being converted to a haven for wildlife. No chemicals are used here, nature rules. Elaine and LJ call their philosophy “Permaganics, a combination of organic and permaculture techniques.”

Their 2 donkeys Floyd and Bowie have the run of the land that isn’t being cultivated, about 4 acres. I think the names reveal a little about their owners musical tastes too!

 Willow cuttings planted last year have taken well, they help to divide the land into separate spaces and take up excess moisture from the ground. More will be planted over the coming Winter. Willow grows easily from cuttings planted in frost-free weather in Autumn or Winter. Here they have been formed into overlapping semi-circles to form a “fedge”.

This willow lined pathway leads to a magical woodland area. One can imagine Nymphs, Fairies and maybe even Leprachauns having their abode here. They will not be disturbed.

This pic was taken walking back to the house from the woodland.

In the orchard the Apples are ready for picking.

A Sunny Summer Morning in Arigna.

The Forest Garden area is coming on nicely, plants are filling out and more are being planted all the time. Everything here is perennial, a mixture of herbs, fruit bushes and flowers. Comfrey is interplanted throughout, chopped and dropped around the base of the plants to provide fertility. Rushes strimmed from the fields provide the mulching material, eventually rotting down to build up the topsoil. Permaculture techniques at work. 

This little pond at the bottom of the polytunnel provides a paddling pool for the many frogs that have made their home in this microclimate. They in turn pay for their keep by gobbling up any slugs and other pests that invade their area. Nature working without any human interference.

I recently bought some plants for this pond as it tended to have a lot of algae. Now that they are becoming established the algae problem has disappeared. The little water Forget -me-not has just started flowering, pretty little thing. There’s also Water Lettuce(bottom left), Water Violet(bottom right) and a Flowering Rush beside the Forget-me-not.

Outside the back door Buddha keeps watch over this little pot of Sedum and Sempervivum slips. These plants grow easily from even the smallest piece.

In the field the animals relish the abundant Summer pasture.

And a curious Donkey comes to check out the camera or maybe see if I have any tasty morsel for her.

Comfrey is a valuable plant @ Prospect Cottage.

Comfrey is such a valuable crop for anyone growing organically, it is easy to grow and can be harvested up to 4 times a year. This barrowfull was harvested from only 3 plants.It will be used to make a liquid feed. Nettles are also added to the brew, this gives a perfectly balanced fertiliser for all crops. The taproot from Comfrey travels down about 10ft bringing valuable minerals to the upper soil levels and to the plant itself.

To make the feed put the chopped up leaves, comfrey and some nettles, into a black dustbin. A smaller container if you have a small garden. A black container is good as it holds the Sun’s heat helping the mix to break down quicker. Cover leaves with water, use a stick to push the leaves down. Cover and wait 2 to 3 weeks. A WARNING! Don’t put the container near the house as the mix will stink, especially so when agitated! DO place it in a sunny spot, it will break down quicker. Use to feed any plants that need a boost. Dilute until the colour of weak tea. I use it on all veg crops, about every 10 days throughout the growing season.

Another way to use Comfrey is “chop and drop.” This is a term most often used in permaculture. Comfrey is planted near the crop it is to be used on, chop down to about 3 inches and spread around the base of the plant. It will rot down quickly providing mulch and nutrition for the plant.

The variety we have is Bocking 14, developed by Lawrence D Hills in Bocking, Essex. This variety is very high in nutrients and sterile so it won’t spread like mad. Propogation is by root cuttings only.