abiotic factors – Gallifrey Forest Farm

Rain and fog

2016/07/18 Danielle 0

I recently learned (due to a whim of curiosity during the morning commute, and the availability of Google at all times of day, except for one stretch along said commute which has no mobile phone signal) the difference between mist and fog. Fog, apparently, is ground-level cloud, while mist is something that rises from the ground (or bodies of water). Now, every time I see one or the other I have to hesitate for a moment while my brain refreshes and I remember which is which. Currently, this is every morning – it’s been a misty winter so far. […]

sector analysis

2016/04/20 Danielle 0

Back when we first bought the property, and we were starting to think about what we’d like to do in terms of building a house and putting in some productive systems, I did a sector analysis. This is one tool or technique used by permaculture practitioners in the early stages of creating a design, and it looks at the external factors that are going to influence a place. Things like winds, rain and storms, fire risk, noise, migratory pathways for birds or animals, flood risk, and summer and winter sun. It was brought to mind because someone posted […]

hot and cold

2016/02/08 Danielle 0

The climate is something that a lot of people don’t really think about much, unless they happen to be involved in climate change activism or have friends or family who are. For my family, I am that person – although my family are generally better than average in terms of awareness of climate change and the science behind it. Weeks like this – 41 degrees Celcius yesterday, and predictions of 42 – 45 degrees every day this week – make me painfully aware of these issues. The heat is unpleasant for me, but I spend my days in my air-conditioned […]

Trees and Water

2012/05/15 Danielle 2

No scheme water, and no bore or rainwater tanks in place, made irrigation over the summer a very labour intensive task. So every weekend we filled up a couple’ve barrels with water and drove them up to Gallifrey, then manually transferred the water to the water tubes around each of the trees using watering cans. We tried a few water containers, and experiment showed that the recycled plastic olive barrels fitted with taps were the best. The flexible plastic water bladders that we tried first didn’t hold much water, and sprung leaks after two or three uses. The plastic slimline […]