swale – The Sustainable Smallholding http://sustainablesmallholding.org Permaculture, and Sustainable practices on a Lincolnshire Smallholding Sat, 11 Jul 2015 21:43:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.11 44677425 Chicken Scavenging System Ideas http://sustainablesmallholding.org/chicken-scavenging-system/ http://sustainablesmallholding.org/chicken-scavenging-system/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:30:35 +0000 http://deanom.wordpress.com/?p=2808 It’s funny how ideas, or inspiration, comes into us. This one relates to my Chicken Scavenging System. I have been using a shredded Miscanthus product for chicken bedding. It is about the same price as a bale of chopped straw, but is grown without chemicals, is a perennial, and most importantly works well. My long […]

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My Earliest Flowering Willow http://sustainablesmallholding.org/my-earliest-flowering-willow/ http://sustainablesmallholding.org/my-earliest-flowering-willow/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:24:27 +0000 http://deanom.wordpress.com/?p=1845 Two years ago I was sent some willow cuttings from the research centre at Rothampstead, who keep the National willow collection. The cuttings were for me to use to see which were the earliest flowering willows. My interest is early bee forage. I have  a lot of violet willow (Salix daphnoides), which is my earliest […]

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Polyculture Update. Late September 2010 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/polyculture-update-late-september-2010/ http://sustainablesmallholding.org/polyculture-update-late-september-2010/#respond Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:13:28 +0000 http://deanom.wordpress.com/?p=1630 Again, actual progress with my experimental polyculture has been slow, whilst my thinking has continued to evolve. In the vegetable beds, Broad beans have now been planted. These are a great example of the Permaculture principle ‘every element should perform more than one function’. They are a food crop, provide bee forage, fix nitrogen, yield […]

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Forest Garden Update July 2012 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/forest-garden-update-july-2012/ http://sustainablesmallholding.org/forest-garden-update-july-2012/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:30:06 +0000 http://deanom.wordpress.com/?p=1495 I wanted to get some current pictures of the Forest garden posted, with a short account of where I’ve got to so far, and what’s next. For those who haven’t visited the blog before, it might be worth  you checking out the Forest Garden paragraph of the Pictures, Designs, and Plans page, before continuing. The […]

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Tree Planting Update, and Look Ahead to 2011 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/tree-planting-update-and-look-ahead-to-2011/ http://sustainablesmallholding.org/tree-planting-update-and-look-ahead-to-2011/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:22:57 +0000 http://deanom.wordpress.com/?p=1101 The frozen ground has set my plans for the Autumn/Winter work back significantly, but much of the tree planting for the new Forest Garden is finished. The jobs that have slipped are the preparation of the Vegetable beds, and wood cutting. I had hoped to get all of the tree planting done by the end […]

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