Category 21

Pig & Earth Farm: Put To Pasture

Getting access to pasture-raised pork is far harder than it ought to be, but there are two young Victorians working hard to make a living out of ethical farming.

Will and Emma’s work is really important for humans and animals alike. If you were a pig you would go to extraordinary lengths to live on their land, for they raise pigs on pasture as opposed to dark concrete sheds. Will butchers the meat they grow and it’s sold it through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model.

They both have off-farm jobs; Emma works full-time as an environmental campaigner and Will works at a nursery. Their Pig & Earth Farm is located on Dja Dja Wurrung country, just outside of Kingston in Victoria. They are young, passionate and committed to farming that cares for land, pigs and people.

Local Travel: Here To Stay

In the midst of a pandemic and a rapidly changing climate, holidaying might not spring to mind as a positive or necessary activity. But getting away can have profound benefits to your mental health and, viewed with a different perspective, it’s far easier – and closer – than you think.

Despite early predictions the technological revolution would lead to an increase in leisure time, things in the western world haven’t exactly gone to plan. Back in 1930, John Keynes, one of the founders of modern economics, predicted five-day weekends would exist by 2030. Nine years out from that date, we are working more than ever. In fact, economist Juliet Schor estimates pre-industrial workers had more time off than modern workers do now. She hypothesises they had anywhere from eight weeks to six months off work annually – though being a medieval peasant wasn’t all holiday selfies. Regardless, it’s fair to say our modern lifestyle hasn’t lived up to expectations and our addiction to work comes at a cost.

Milk Kefir: Counter Culture

This understated star of fermented foods has been around for centuries, providing extraordinary bacterial assistance to the human microbiome.

If you’re into living, probiotic foods and you already have a sourdough starter bubbling away on your kitchen bench or a kombucha ‘mushroom’ gracing a dark shelf, then dairy kefir will need no introduction. Known as dairy kefir, milk kefir or simply kefir (pronounced kef-fear), this unlikely fermented food is thought to have appeared many thousands of years ago in Central Asia, when people began domesticating and milking animals.

While the culture itself looks like innocuous little cauliflower florets, it packs a big punch in terms of probiotics, with a list of beneficial bacteria and yeasts as long as your arm, far outweighing anything you will find in the highest-quality commercial or homemade yoghurt.

Letters To The Editor

Letters to the Editor

We’d love to see if we’ve inspired you to embark on any projects. The letter of the issue will receive a limited-edition Pip magazine print featuring archival inks on textured, 300 gsm rag paper. Email your letters and photos to editorial@pipmagazine.com.au

Start where you are

Thank you for sending me a copy of your first magazine. I loved every page because Pip speaks to everyone who wants to live sustainably and not just to those who live on acreage.

I was listening to David Holmgren way back in the 70s and I wanted to live his way then, but it wasn’t to be. Now, at 74, I can and at last I am starting to put together a new and better way to live. It will take me a few months to get into the growing and habits of my new life.

I have so many ideas, I have just finished a course with Milkwood and I learned so much. I’m so glad I’ve found Pip to keep me on the right track. My youngest daughter lives on acreage and she and I are going to help each other – I’m on a small suburban block. I love what you and your team are doing to make a difference for so many people who have ideas and just need the way forward.

Native Ingredients: WARNDU MAI

By using native Australian ingredients in your kitchen, you can prepare food that is better for our environment, is more sustainable and celebrates truly local food.

Damien Coulthard and Rebecca Sullivan are a South Australian couple who, through their company Warndu and book Warndu Mai, aim to regenerate culture, community, tradition, health and soil. Warndu means good in Damien’s traditional Adnyamathanha language, which is native to the Flinders Ranges country, with mai meaning food.

Rebecca has completed her Masters in International Rural Development and Sustainable Agriculture and is currently undertaking another masters in Food History. Damien is a teacher, an artist and proud Adnyamathanha and Dieri man. Together they’ve produced a cookbook that makes native ingredients accessible for all Australians through otherwise familiar recipes. The foreword is written by Yuin man and author Bruce Pascoe.

International Projects

Mexico’s first permaculture ecovillage, Huehuecoyotl was set up on 15 acres some 40 years ago by a group of artists, musicians, teachers, permaculturalists and green architects. The founders were part of a travelling group of actors called the Illuminated Elephants who were looking to put down some roots, and so created a beautiful space brimming with creative energy. The name Huehuecoyotl is inspired very aptly by the Aztec god of music, poetry, theatre and dance.

The ecovillage is located in Tepoztlán, in the hills just an hour south of Mexico City. it is part of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas and home to the revolutionary Gaia University. Currently host to 20 residents, Huehuecoyotl is open to more, features 14 natural homes, a large theatre and communal house, a shared kitchen, permaculture gardens and edible forest, waste water management, biofilters and guest rooms. When it’s possible to travel again, Huehuecoyotl warmly welcomes visitors.

Growing Peas: Keeping The Peas

growing-peas

Biting into a sweet, crunchy pea pod straight from the vine is a highlight of any gardener’s year. As diverse as they are versatile, the humble pea is a nutritious and easy-to-grow annual that deserves a space in every home vegie garden.

Peas belong to the Fabaceae family of flowering plants, grown for their pods and seeds for thousands of years. Domesticated in Egypt and the Middle East before spreading throughout Europe and Asia, evidence also suggests their pea-predecessors may have even been eaten by our Neanderthal ancestors. Aside from being delicious, peas are a great source of fibre and protein and are high in vitamin C, iron, potassium and magnesium, making it easy to see why they have been included in both ancient and modern diets.

Varieties

There are many pea varieties, commonly broken into two groups; peas with edible pods and peas which need to be shelled before eating. Within these groups, peas are either a bush variety – great for windy conditions and for growing in pots – or a climbing variety, which grow to two metres tall and require trellising or staking.

Shelling peas (sometimes known as garden peas) are a traditional pea and, unless picked very young, require the pods to be split and the peas removed for eating. They include varieties like Greenfeast (bush), Massey Gem (bush) and Purple Podded Dutch (climbing) which has pink flowers and deep purple pods that split open to reveal bright-green peas inside. There is even a curious variety of leafless pea, called Novella. This pea produces masses of tendrils instead of leaves and requires no staking as the tendrils use each other for support.

Frogs

As both predators and prey, frogs are an important link in the food chain. Encouraging them to take up residency in your garden is beneficial and easy to do.

Of nearly 8000 species of frogs worldwide, Australia is home to more than 230. Hugely diverse, they can be found anywhere from the top of a tree in an inner-city backyard, to a metre underground in the desert as burrowing species look to escape the summer heat.

But all frogs play a really important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, both on a global scale and within your own patch. With numbers declining all over the world, it’s a good time to start thinking about building a safe and appropriate habitat to encourage Australia’s amphibians into your garden.

In the garden:
August-November

map of aussie

Seasonal garden guides for Australian climates

Moon planting

The moon’s phases and its associated gravitational pull has a significant effect on the behaviour of tidal oceans, so it’s easy to understand how the moon can have a similar effect on the moisture in our soils and plants. By planning what you sow to coincide with the phases of the moon best suited to the type of vegetable and how you’re planting, you’ll give yourself a higher chance of success as well as increase your yields.

Onion Weed

onion-weed

This prolific weed has an instantly distinguishable aroma, outing it as a versatile substitute for leeks, onions and even garlic.

Onion weed (Allium triquetrum) is pretty edible which has many uses in the kitchen. All parts of the plant are edible; from the flower right down to the bulb and they make an excellent alternative to young leeks, or while you’re waiting to harvest the first of your garlic.

Onion weed thrives in wet and shady areas and is often found along creek edges, roadside drains and backyards. Onion weed reproduces two ways, which is why it’s so prolific in some areas. It spreads by seeds which form after flowering and also vegetatively, by the production of numerous underground bulblets.