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21 September 2013

A new start




Well,

After staying off the web space for all these years, i am here..

Yes its farmer Bren here..

Up til now kate, my farmer wife has been the online voice of daylesford Organics. She has spoken here with such a beautiful and confident voice that i am in awe of her talent, even if she continues to be one of these artists that wont see and admit how good they are..You just have to read a few comments on foxslane to see how much her voice is appreciated.
I love her more than anything in the world. She inspires me and keeps me alive and happy. I believe that together we can achieve anything we put our minds to.

So why am i sitting here typing a few words (more than i have in a long time).

Maybe because i am searching for a next step for me.
Maybe because i might be able to help others in some way.
Maybe because there are things on the farm scene that need to be said.
Maybe because like her i have so much in my head that would be better out there..It seems to be therapeutic for her.

So here goes..I'm not sure if i can be anywhere as committed to writting as she is and when i will find the time to be here but i will see how it goes.

So what can i offer you here..
Well possibly like michael Lunig said recently.."It's hard to have your fumbling experimental thoughts, your vulnerable thoughts, you're half-formed inconclusive ideas, but they are vital". When i read this it sounded like he was giving me permission to farm the way i do, and maybe..I'm not sure yet.. i should share this with you.

I think that as there are soooo many things farm related i could go into but i will leave it up to you where i start.
Poor Kate gets so many questions on a daily basis about farm/garden /chook related issues that i feel i should start my blog or "farmlog" (i do love making up new words), by answering some of your questions or requests for topics.

So go ahead. What do you want to know?

I don't by any means profess to be an expert but i can share my experience and thoughts on many matters,  as i try to do my best to work with nature in a way that will enhance life for all involved.


Thanks
Farmer Bren.


23 comments:

Jen said...

Cool - great idea!
Maybe I'm suggesting stories that Kate has already told previously, but I'd love to hear about how you guys came to farming - I have a sense that you bought the property, and if that's so, how were you able to afford to, how did you choose it, how did you choose what to farm?
Also, given that it sounds like you guys are going through some structural changes right now, I'd love to hear about the biggest challenges in connecting with consumers - perception of food, how to reach the market who will buy your product, what you think consumers need to be more aware of...
And I guess, what are the most unanticipated elements of farming (negative or positive) for you?
I look forward to hearing some of your stories :-) (whether they're answers to these queries or not!)

Glückskiste said...

Hi Bren, I'm Jutta. I love to read Kate's blog Foxlane, though my English isn't as good as it should be. I've read all about your journey and now I'm curious about your new planes with the farm and your whole live. I think your life is very different to mine: I am much older (51!), I don't grow anything without herbs for my kitchen, I'm living in Germany (autums beginns right now!!). But some things are quit similiar: I have many children, too. But they are grown up and two of the four have still left the house to go to university.
Wow, so many words just to say to you: You and your family- and farm-life are a great inspiration for me! Thanks for this!!
Jutta

Marnie said...

Hi Bren, I'm so excited to read your posts! We are hoping to get a couple acres of land soon and have our own fruit trees and veges so anything you post about will be very inspiring I'm sure! Good luck with the blogging and I love the new look!

Kate said...

Hi Bren,
I don't know how to send comments on your blog!

I keep seeing your beautiful chickens on Kate's instagram feed and I always have so many questions. We had six chickens (that's how many you are allowed in town) and four of them died, and two if them were um, terminated when they stopped laying eggs. I can't imagine having 100s of chickens. I always want to ask loads of questions when I see those chickens in the forest. They seem to live in the forest but what do they eat? and where to they sleep at night? and do you have things like stoats and weasels that attack them??
oh and where do they lay their eggs??? I'm sorry I sound so terribly nosy, but really Im just interested :)

Also I want to know how do you treat them for things like worms and ticks organically, because possibly ours died because I didn't really realise about those things :)

I hope you are going to keep writing. It becomes sort of addictive really, well at least I found it so.

Good luck and all that!
Deb
(Christchurch, New Zealand)

അവന്തിക ഭാസ്ക്കര്‍()(, Avanthika Bhaskar said...

Hi Farmer Bren ,
Good luck for your new adventure. waiting to hear from you.
:)

Amber said...

Hey Bren! This is exciting! Looking forward to hearing more about the farming side of life on the farm. (Any insights that might help me grow better veg would be awesome!) :)

Reannon said...

Hey Bren!

I'm one of Kate's readers who has asked chicken questions but thankfully Kate asked you & got back to me :)

I'm wondering if you guys grow cabbage in kitchen garden? I've had the worst luck with mine! Slugs & snails attack & out of 16 planted I think I'll be lucky to get 2....maybe. Any tips or tricks on growing great cabbages?

mybeardedpigeon@gmail.com said...

Hello Farmer Bren,

And the people said : speak to us of bees, of honey extractors, of methods used, the people want bees but they are unsure which way to go with the extracting.
Cath

Julie122324 said...

Hi Bren. We are hoping to have an Esse wood stove in the home we are building next year. Your thoughts and advice would be appreciated. Cheers Julie

fiona said...

Hello Bren
Great that you're blogging now too. I love foxslane. Kate's writing and photos are wonderful, and always inspiring! So I'm looking forward to reading farmy/technical stuff here! Like a couple of the other people above, I'd love to hear moire about how you raise your chooks. What sort of housing you have for them and what sort of protection against foxes etc. We're about to build a chook house, which will be just in one place, not a moveable one (though we have plans to have one of those later), and I'm thinking of using electric mesh to channel them into different garden beds as crops come to an end and I want the soil readied for the next thing. Anyway, any material on chooks would be great! Good luck with the new venture into blogging.
fiona

daylesford organics said...

Hi Jen, Thanks for being my first comment. That is quite a list of questions though. I will certainly refer to them as i post and try and answer them bit by bit.
cheers

daylesford organics said...

Hi. amazing that you find inspiration from us all the way over in Germany. I really appreciate you're comment and fresh herbs are one of life's greatest delights.

daylesford organics said...

Thanks Marnie, good luck to you too.

daylesford organics said...

Hi Deb, Thanks for the interest and i hope that i can answer some of you're questions in some of my blogs. I think that our chickens love it when they are in the forest, they must still have some of their jungle fowl heritage in them as they love the leaf litre.

daylesford organics said...

Hi Reannon, we just planted our first cabbages. i will let you know how we go. Kate is the slug laddy in our house a good head torch and a jam jar and some time can help a lot.

daylesford organics said...

Hi Cath, we are very beeginners (sorry) but we are commiting this year to spend alot more time with our bees so im sure both Kate and i will bee sharing.

daylesford organics said...

Hi Julie,
We love our Esse. Having said that, it is a commitment. it took us almost a year to understand her and get her to run smoothly. We had heaps of problems with the installation of the hydronics, more than you want when you pay so much. if you have specific questions email me.daylesfordorganics@gmail.com

daylesford organics said...

Hi Fiona, the next few post are certainly going to contain info on chooks.

Nicole said...

Hi Farmer Bren
Whilst we live very different lives (I currently live on a 40ft yacht, on a sailing adventure up the East Coast), the need to feed your family stays the same! I am interested in all things farming as my land home has a vege garden, and I would like to grow some veges and herbs on board....but my immediate interest is...your bread baking of course! I look forward to your future posts. Best wishes Nicole

rosabela said...

Hi Farmer Bren, im rosa from jakarta Indonesia, finally the farmer expert show up. Im so curious about you run your farm, what time you started the all things there and you still have time to bake something. Do you have cow and are you milking it ? I wish i stay next your farm so i can have farm tour and picking fresh mulberris or another fresh fruit. Cant wait your next post, hope its all about fruit you grown up there. Im sorry about my english

Anonymous said...

Hi Farmer Bren,
I'm a big fan of Kate's blog and while I just love her crafting posts, my heart skips a beat when I see your kitchen garden!! I've not had much experience growing veg from seed (other than the obvious beans, carrots, etc) and I would love to read anything you have to say about your planning and preparation process - such as raising seedlings for transplanting and succession planting. I guess this is something you guys have developed through trial and error (not to mention an intimate understanding of the seasons and your local climate). thanks Bren
Kelli

Bimla said...


Biimla Arya
9:44 AM (1 minute ago)
to b12b23

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