Autumn at the future foodforest

The future foodforest - which is a field at the moment. 

The fruit trees are out there... And the baby walnut tree 'Chiara' :)

I was hoping to be able to make some paths into the high grass this time, but we only got as far as planting the trees, organic(!) flower bulbs and blueberries we had with us, and cutting the bramble around the field.

 

Here's the Elstar apple tree I planted this spring. I hope it will grow big, strong and abundant!  On the far right of this photo you can see the blue bucket of the next photo...

I admit, it is a messy photo. Jerusalem artichoke falling all over the place, a bucket to put the tubers in and behind the bucket the sugar maple that was looking so tall in my Amsterdam garden, now dwarfed by the surrounding wilderness.

 And here's some harvest! Herbs, roots and Jerusalem artichoke to take inside.

This was the second autumn for us there. Last year I didn't even make it to the edges of the field, the grass and brambles were in such a wild state until winter. This year I made my walk around and let sighs of happiness - hello Hawthorn, hello Elder, hi there Walnut and Hazelnut trees!

Hawthorn tincture is now steeping for its six weeks.

The hazelnuts had fallen out, the walnut tree stands in knee-high nettles...  Even though I was looking for walnuts, I couldn't find them on the ground. Maybe next year?

Plant wish list* shortened

Last Saturday it was plant market day at the Hortus botanicus in Amsterdam. Could I stay away? Of course not. Whilst I'm not looking for a rare species of orchidee or geranium, I had a hunch there might be something special for me as well.

And I actually gave a tiny squeal of joy when I found seeds of Passiflora incarnata, and of Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). A grown-up giving a spontaneous squeal of joy, because of seeds? Yes, that's me.


(* You can find the plant wish list in the column, left. I'm all in for swapping seeds/small plants. Just drop me a line with your wishlist!)


Happy as a child I was eager to see if there were other great treasures to find. And as by magic, I was drawn to a stall with lots of tiny trees... Walnut trees. (and pecan nut trees, but let's stick to the walnuts now, shall we?)
But...eeh...we have a walnut tree already. And walnut trees grow huge.
"Hello. How big does a walnut tree get?"
"Oh, these will be about 7meters high in 30 years."
About a dozen questions later I walked away with our Walnut tree No.2 (on the photo on the left).
Because these, Juglans regia "Chiara" produce lots and lots of walnuts, with an oil percentage of 55%!  You can find the nursery through this link.

On my way out my eyes caught on a small pomegranate tree (Punica granatum), and after a short inner quarrel about its chances to survive the mid-European winter at 750m altitude the doubting mind gave in to the adventurous optimist and here we are, two trees more to fit in.

At the beginning of the summer holiday one tree didn't fit in the car because of all the other luggage (and plants). So I thought I'd take it along "the next time". Mental note: trees grow. Now we'll have to find out how we cram in this young sugar maple. ...It's looking quite flexible, don't you think?

Elderberry syrup

With the crazy weather we've been having lately (cold mornings, hot afternoons), everyone in our little family is sneezing and wiping their nose every now and then.
Enter Elderberry Syrup!

At the end of August I was lucky enough to find lots of elderberries, and harvested some, leaving plenty for the birds to feast on. I didn't use sugar when making the syrup, but added runny honey instead at the end of the process. I'm storing the little bottle in the fridge, and will keep an sharp eye on it in case it should go bad. So far we've been very lucky - no one's really caught a cold yet (thank you, Elder!) and there's still plenty of the syrup left.


 Here's how I made mine:

1 part ripe elderberries + 0.5 part water (I didn't have much elderberries, maybe 250ml)
a little stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove
 2 tbspns chopped, fresh ginger

Simmer and stir occasionally for 1 hour+, or until reduced by half.

Add honey at the end, when you're done with simmering the syrup (I used 1 tbsp, it could use more).
Strain, bottle and label.

Store in the fridge.

You can take 1 tsp/hr when you feel flu coming on, or make a warm drink of it by adding hot water and some freshly squeezed lemon juice to it.

Please note: be very sure of what you harvest when wild-harvesting! If you're not 100% certain you know the plant, don't pick of it. With medical conditions always consult your medical specialist!

Herbal walk

Today I enjoyed a herbal walk with Lynn from Urban Herbology at Park Frankendael. Lovely weather, a great group and a wonderful walk in a beautiful park - what more could you ask for?
We, the participants came from the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, UK and Finland (ahem!) and went back to our Amsterdam homes full with useful information. Thank you Lynn!

You can find more about Urban Herbology here:
http://urbanherbology.org/

What's brewing?

This is what I bought home the first time during the vacation. Some Nettle roots (later I found a spot where I could harvest thick, long ones), Plantain (Pantago major), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Mallow (Malva sylvestris).

I like this photo, it is illustrating 'the first touch' so very well. Tentatively, I took home a few treasures to look at, hold and wonder upon.

Later I got more close with the herbs on the wild-grown land, and felt their generosity. And I saw the abundance! With gratitude, I picked of the plants above, and of Rose petals, Goldenrod, Mullein and Mugwort.

Some are now dried, stored in glass jars, and in my medicine drawer waiting for future direct use or medicine-making. Others are swimming in alcohol and/or honey, apple cider vinegar or oil. From 6th October onwards I will be filtering the goodness, transferring them into herbal remedy bottles.

from left to right: yarrow tincture, plantain tincture, mullein tincture, rose-and mugwort elixir and the next jar :)

The longer I'm in contact with this form of art, the more my intuition opens, and old knowledge surfaces, becomes accessible again.

As I read the books and online information on herbal medicine and am in contact with the herbs, the clearer it becomes to me: this is how it is meant to be. Our human bodies are a part of the nature of this planet. Why wouldn't the interaction with plants then heal our bodies and help us in balancing the energy flows in these bodies?

It is an ecosystem of its own, with well-balanced healing agents helping other living beings (humans, animals and other plants, in a symbiotic relationship) perfectly.

Future foodforest and healing garden

Planning for the future starts with a grand dream. My dream is now nine years old, and started to materialize one year ago...hold on to your (good) dreams!!

At the moment the (hopefully) future food forest and healing garden is one big, bewildered field - many years ago it was a pasture for horses. There is also a smaller grassland with some fruit trees (and a house :) ).

Last year I started with planting some fruit trees into the field, and until now, every time we get to go there I take one or two trees with me to plant.
It has been a summer with lots of rain and warm, sunny spells - good for the growth!
On the edge of the field I had to cut my way through ferns, the ferns standing as tall as tall as I am, to get to my baby cherry tree... but all the trees were doing fine, what a relief.

It is a plum year! Some of the plum trees were so heavy the branches had broken...what a pity, and what an abundance.

The place is at 750m above sea level, something to keep in mind when planning for the plants.

I harvested some of the wild, clean goodness of healing herbs. Mullein (in the photo below), yarrow, plantain, nettles, rose petals and mugwort.

Feeling very blessed. And a little bit torn between two worlds. Here in Amsterdam I'm propagating and growing plants for there. And when we are there, one of the first tasks is to cut back the brambles creeping into the field...

It is a good lesson in patience for me. The joy of seeing such a dear dream come true gives me patience in the here&now, between two worlds.

Hold on to your dreams. They have a tendency to come true.

An Update, at last - Animal Communication workshop with Anna Breytenbach

Field harvest in July. Inside the linen towel are nettles for dinner.

Hello there!

In these digital times it is not done to be off-line for the amount of time I did...but I did.

I do recommend weeks and weeks of off-line time - it grounds, gets you back to your roots, back to who you really are.

The updates will be in separate posts, beginning with ...

 

...Animal Communication workshop with Anna Breytenbach

these photos come from the All Is Energy Academy's blog

Very early in this year I saw the documentary of Anna, the animal communicator, on the internet . 

Tears of gratitude were rolling down my cheeks - here was my proof that inter-species communication exists!

Here is a trailer of the film    (for those viewing this post on Nina's Nature website, click on the header of the post to take you to blogger = see the trailer):

I subscribed to her newsletter, and by chance, two weeks later I got the announcement she was coming to teach in the Netherlands! I jumped at the chance, and got in, amongst an international group of enthusiastic participants, learning to "get out of our own way" with the guidance of Anna, in the first weekend of July.

Anna is a very gentle, firm, informative and gifted tutor, with lots of humour and compassion.

I recommend her to anyone who is interested in learning animal communication.

My own motivation was learning to communicate (better) with plants. I thought that animal communication and plant communication would not be very different. And indeed, it is all interspecies communication, and although after a weekend I can't fluently communicate with all other beings on this Planet, I'm happy to have a solid base to practise further on. (And yes, it works!)

You can find Anna via her website AnimalSpirit.org. On her site, on the media page, you can also find more information about the documentary.