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Green Life Sanctuary Farm

Green Life Sanctuary Farm

South African homestead dream come true

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We are currently redesigning our website. To view our old website please visit www.adamsfamilyprojects.co.za or our Facebook page or our Instagram page

2021-09-02
By: Sparky0247GLS
On: 2021-09-02

waynea_green_life_sanctuary

A passion for Earth and food security. Permaculture, regenerative, PGS Organic Assurance.

Green Life Sanctuary
'Nuf said 'Nuf said
Absolutely beautiful mole snake not happy about lu Absolutely beautiful mole snake not happy about lunch being interrupted by a passerby. This is the biggest one I've seen, at probably just over a metre. They are not venomous but can inflict a nasty bite. Fortunately our staff have been taught not to kill snakes and rather call us for ID. Each encounter is usually followed by a brief educational to make them more aware of the benefits of having them around and what their target prey usually is. He was left to do his thing after the photo shoot. ASI has awesome posters for download. I'll be putting some up for the staff to be more aware. How do you manage snakes at your site? #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Our Clary Sage hosting The Good Folk đź’š this pla Our Clary Sage hosting The Good Folk đź’š this plant has a beautiful flower and amazing health benefits
See the link in our bio for the event this Saturda See the link in our bio for the event this Saturday!
While at one of the project site visits, young Amo While at one of the project site visits, young Amo - who has been with the project since PDC training phase - asked me whether he and some of the other students could come visit the farm and help out a bit. So we organised for a Saturday morning, fetched them all and spent a great time together. They spent time meeting and feeding the farm animals while learning how we care for the animals and how the animals help us. They learned about planting and soil care. Come lunch time, they had hot dogs and were taken home. I learned later that they were very upset that they could not spend longer on the farm! So we agreed that we could make this a regular activity, perhaps once a month, funds permitting. Last photo: nasturtiums are planted all over our farm. We use them as an attractor for beneficial insects, trap crop for pests including aphids and leaf miner, and they taste great in salads! #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Badira Mmogo update - we haven't posted an update Badira Mmogo update - we haven't posted an update from our Badira Mmogo project in a couple of weeks but they have still been very busy! >We had a visit from the Department of Agriculture, advising on the process we need to take to get the project done of the things we desperately need. >The team learned about garlic harvesting and storage. >Zach has been passionately teaching groups of students about the principles applied. More and more of the students have been actively involved (See next post for some awesome news about them) Crops have started growing including potatoes, pumpkin, and beans... Exciting times! Last photo: hairy vetch is a great cover crop and green manure that fixes nitrogen in the soil. It's one of our staple cover cross here on GLS Farm. #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Food preserving workshop, including fermenting - 6 Food preserving workshop, including fermenting - 6 November 2021 The hamper up for lucky-draw grabs for those who pay online before the day (for online and in-person attendees) includes: A fermenting bottle and air lock, with salt Scoby and starter Milk kefir starter grains A few packs of seeds Value approximately R900 See our link in bio for booking information
Our most popular event to date is back just becaus Our most popular event to date is back just because you asked for it! See our bio for the link
One thing I love about Spring is that it's full of One thing I love about Spring is that it's full of little surprises hiding behind each new green leaf. #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Instagram post 18193504603184250 Instagram post 18193504603184250
Growing your nutrition event Hi, we really think Growing your nutrition event Hi, we really think you will benefit from this one! Have a look and secure your place by paying via our ticket link on the Facebook Event page. We only have a few spaces left. (psst! we will extend the early pay discount for all who pay by Wednesday 29 September, and don't forget the other discounts that apply!) https://fb.me/e/5EDNYNHfR or use the link in Linktree in our bio
The importance of keeping your ground covered. A f The importance of keeping your ground covered. A few years ago to the day, we did this test. I was still working full time and farming part time. The staff had a hard time understanding why bare soil is bad for (especially) most vegetables. Each day I would get back from work and the mulching was still not prioritised. We needed to plant seedlings ASAP! A more commercial scale mindset seemed to be still embedded even after several years of applying natural growing methods. I did a demo for them. The outside temperature was much like that of this year. 29°C at around midday. Typical spring pre-rain temperatures. Using a temperature probe pressed approximately 10cm into bare soil, the temperature reading shot up to 45°C! This is an extreme temperature for most plants and lethal for an otherwise healthy soil. Any covered soil, whether in full sun or shade gave a reading of a more optimal growing temperature of between 18 and 25°C. Besides losing more ground and plant moisture due to the heat, many vegetables can be as stunted by high soil temperatures as low temperatures. Save your soil, water, time, your plants and obtain a better yield by growing a low-growing cover crop or mulching. You are welcome to ask more questions or comment around this topic in the posts below. 💚
It's baby season! đź’š It's baby season! đź’š
Badira Mmogo progress update: in the past two week Badira Mmogo progress update: in the past two weeks since the last update, the Badira Mmogo team has been very busy! We came through to GLS Farm to sow some seeds and gather some wattle for the school veg garden. We had a nice vegetable based lunch of organically grown beetroot greens, garlic and bunching (all grown here on GLS Farm) sautéed in butter with rice. Back at the school, we have added several new beds; we started a covered trellis walkway to grow climbing veg over (effectively adding 5sqm of growing space for each set of beds); and added a channel to reroute runoff water into the beds. The local street vendors have happily supplied veg scraps to go into the double-dig beds and compost. The vendors have also expressed interest in buying from the team once they have produce ready - to support local and shorten supply chain. To crown it all off, two awesome things have arisen. We are getting more and more students and staff offering to volunteer, and one of the other schools in the community have approached the team for a similar project at their school! In a little over a month, the team have achieved a lot with very little. They are still praying for some assistance with tools and other donations to keep the momentum. Please consider assisting by donating just a few rand to help them achieve their dream of a model food garden for the community. Links are in our bio. God bless you, from the Badira Mmogo team 🙏🏼
When mommy hen is broody, none will stand (sit?) I When mommy hen is broody, none will stand (sit?) In her way! #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Friend Friday - Rosemary Sneyd from The Organic He Friend Friday - Rosemary Sneyd from The Organic Herb Company is an absolute whiz with herbs, and well, pretty much everything flora. Always ready with sage advice on medicinal, nutritional, and decorative recommendations for plants, she has been an invaluable mentor and dear friend. She has a shop at Ngwenya Glass Village in Muldersdrift, where she sells her outstanding quality herb and indigenous plants, and she also consults by appointment. Most of our herb plants have come from her. Let me know if you want to contact her and I'll put you in touch, find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheOrganicHerbCo or visit her at the shop on weekends. You really cannot go wrong! #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
In the news again today. So awesome! đź’š I'll pu In the news again today. So awesome! đź’š I'll put the link to the article on our link in the bio. #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso
Badira Mmogo - Lodirile School Project. Weekly men Badira Mmogo - Lodirile School Project. Weekly mentor day. Mehdi @medz_les1010 / @luc_grow_organics and @waynea_green_life_sanctuary did the weekly mentorship visit today and the progress in just one week has been amazing! Their steaming compost heap was turned today - looking beautiful already; we set up the worm farm - worms kindly donated by @luc_grow_organics; we set about planning the next few double-dig beds along with a walkway that will have an archway for vertical growing; Shimi (one of the co-founders, just out of hospital) and @waynea_green_life_sanctuary discussed some strategic and business ideas; The team have been finding new sources for organic material and at the same time building a potential client base... Wow, I am super impressed by the Badira Mmogo team's passion for this. They are really making a difference already. See the link in our bio to see how you can contribute to this amazing initiative! The team really needs some tools and so-on to be able to maximise their time spent preparing the food garden. Do you have anything, no matter how small that you can contribute? #nature #biodiversity #permaculture #pgs #organic #organicfood #organicagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #foodgarden #foodsecurity #selfsufficient #notill #notillagriculture #igrowyourfood #ifoam #saoso #gooddeedgiveaway2
Badira Mmogo - Lodirile School Project. Progress u Badira Mmogo - Lodirile School Project. Progress update, plus some awesome news! The Badira Mmogo team accepted the goal of getting the compatibility heap going and at least one double dig bed. We chose double dig as the soil is very sandy with little organic matter. They achieved the goal and managed another bed in the process. What made this week extra special is that a number of the pupils volunteered to help out and had great fun in the process đź’š Exactly what we were hoping for by choosing the school! See the link in our bio to see how you can contribute to this amazing initiative!
Nutrient density testing - Brix scale: what on ear Nutrient density testing - Brix scale: what on earth is that??? My question when I first heard of it a few years ago. It is a test that was first measured over a century ago. (See our link in the bio for more info). Essentially the test uses a refractometer (pic 2) to measure the refraction of light through a prism and cross referenced on a chart for various food items. The higher and crisper the line on the scale, the more sugar present. If the line is blurry too, the idea is that other minerals are present, I.e healthier, more nutrient dense. You want this kind of blurry line. We use it to monitor the nutrient density throughout the year and collaborate with a research company in the UK where we collaborate on researching ways to get you more healthy foods. I raided what the frost left of our granadilla/passion fruit to show you how it works. To be honest, considering the time of year, I was not expecting much! Pic 1- a granadilla sliced in half. This one is ripe. According to the chart for granadilla, I should expect a reading of 6 - poor, 9 - average, 12 - good and 18 - excellent. A crisp line for high sugar content and a blurry line for sugar and minerals (simply put). Pic 2- a refractometer Pic 3- the view with nothing on the prism Pic 4- calibrated with distilled water to get a crisp line at zero Pic 5&6- the granadilla from pic 1. A reading of around 16-17! And blurry to boot! Great for this time of year. We had readings of over 20 during season. Pic 7- an immature granadilla. An expected reading very low due to young fruit and almost zero photosynthesis (the process that makes sugar for the plant) from the very wilted vine. Pic 8- testing for consistency. Just one test is not enough. This was another granadilla from the same vine, but about 10m away. Similar values. Consistently good results and excellent readings, especially for this time of year. This device and consistent testing allows us to monitor soil health as that is the core of a healthy fruit/veg. This simple, insightful process is used for all our produce. Joining us for our event tomorrow? You should be! Still a few tickets left...
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