In line with nature

Natural Farming - Cutting green manure in the garden with terraces It's end of April, beginning of May and time to cut the green manure in our natural farming garden before it starts to form seeds. After a week, we put down an extra layer of straw, so in total 20 cm of mulch is covering the soil. Next up: planting and sowing! https://youtu.be/BK4IW8jKKWk

Hello everyone! Today I wrote a text in English and it became a short children's story. Who wants to make illustrations for it? It's about how people manipulated nature little by little and are now returning through NF to working more with nature to produce their own food. ❤️

Natural farming - Stratification of fruit trees Last winter, we covered up a lot of natural fruit trees seeds we received as a gift from Natural Farm Shizen in Italy in a bucket with sand. Over winter, these seeds can adapt to the local climate and in spring, they will form roots. The sand helps with the root formation, but keeps the stem from sprouting. March is the time to check on the seeds, to see if they are ready for (trans)planting. #naturalfarming #stratification #fukuoka #inlinewithnature https://youtu.be/0vSuEfPq544

Natural farming - Planting potatoes We have been planting potatoes in different ways. Some potatoes have been cut, this is how they do it here, to get more harvest. Others, we just planted in their natural form, which felt much better. So interesting to feel the difference between the manipulated and natural way in our bodies. In one spot we planted them 5 cm under the soil and covered them with straw to keep the soil moist. In another one, inspired by Ruth Stout, we simply laid them down and covered them with a thick layer of straw. In this area, instead of seed potatoes, we used the red potatoes we bought from the locals last year that had grown a lot of roots over winter. We had way more fun with this planting method, and forgot about filming it. 😉 Curious about how nature will take care of our spontaneous action. #naturalfarming #fukuoka #inlinewithnature #plantingpotatoes https://youtu.be/G0ji_w0uXJg

Community - Baking and sharing bread for the first time Remember when we restored the abandoned oven last spring? One of the neighbors, who lives on the other side of the mountain, promised to come over with his mother, an experienced baker, to show us how to use the gigantic wood-burning oven so we can bake our own bread. Last Saturday we did it! We made bread from the sourdough she brought and baked 15 round loaves of bread to share with the people in our hub and a very tasty pizza for ourselves. They gifted us the flour and a brand new pole to use. We shared the goodies with the people around us and got really excited to experiment more in the future! #food #bakingyourownbread #community #sharingeconomy #inlinewithnature https://youtu.be/rm_HK06qEDI

Living in line with nature - following nature’s curves This time we are going to try something new. Instead of using our minds, we let natures form decide. We found a branch from a tree, and will build the outdoor sink and worktop around it. So curious if it will work out. 😍 #naturalbuilding #creativity #outdoorliving #inlinewithnature

Natural farming - Nature proves to be strong. This year, calendulas are sprouting everywhere, spinach is coming up for the 3rd time, the tobacco rebirthed itself and even the smallest trees we planted (you can barely see the small stem peaking above the soil) are showing their first buds. Slowly we see the results of the many seeds we have been sowing. Compared to last year, the land looks greener again. Especially the first part of the garden. I’ll make an update video with more info very soon! #naturalfarming #fukuoka #inlinewithnature #seedballs #greenmanure #foodforest

Living in line with nature - creativity I've been feeling excited about adding more color and artistry to the gardens for a while now. Then the idea of using mosaics arose. When we passed the construction company, I shared my idea with the owner and he took me to a corner where he kept broken and old tiles. He told me I could choose whatever I wanted and looked very amused as I, in awe and wonder like a child in a playground, discovered all these treasures. He gifted us the tiles and we promised to send him a photo when the artistry took shape. For the time being I will use them on a few plant pots and for the worktop of the outdoor kitchen that we are going to build. So excited and happy! #creativity #art #sharingeconomy #gift #connectionsbeforemoney #livinginlinewithnature

Natural farming - the power of networks Our climate is excellent for growing berries. The soil needs a bit of pine needles to make it more acidic, but there have been raspberry fields for a long time. When I reached out for help to our friends in the Belgian and Dutch natural farming network, although it was very late, Wim sent us cuttings of tayberry, jostaberry and Japanese wineberry. In the package he added willow bark and cuttings, to make a willow tea for better root formation. We have so many resources to share with each other. Networks are so powerful to provide in our needs. Let’s keep connecting and sharing! #inlinewithnature #sharingeconomy #networks #community Thank you @Wim Vergoossen

Natural Farming - time to sow This year, I just follow my body to tell me what to sow and when to sow it. I’m going back within, learning to trust my own impulses again and becoming self-reliant, despite what others say and what is happening around me. There are three vegetable gardens. My mind doesn’t know how much I need to sow, I maybe even sow things that are not suitable for this climate, and I don’t care. My natural impulse just says: ‘Sow more’. Such a joy to put all these flower and herb seeds in the soil. Thank you Paco from @biosegura for the growing trays and thank you Paco, friend and neighbor for the land. #inlinewithnature #receivingwhatyouneed #givingbacktonature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2XCDYXSnUk “The place where fearlessness comes from is a trust in the truth you are fighting for. Put your confidence there, rather than fear of the dominant. Ignore the dominant forces. Think of the rest you are part of. A creative earth. A human community. And draw energy from that. “

Winter came a bit later this year...🙃

Slowly, the garden is coming to life.

Natural farming - Preparing the new NF garden. Real food is one of the most important things we focus on. This 600m2 plot of land is being prepared to be transformed into a natural vegetable garden that will hopefully provide food for us and the people around us. There is water on the land, which will make it much easier during the hot summer months. It will also benefit the earth and the animals, as it will create much more biodiversity and improve the soil. After the fence was built, the manure was delivered and we started with a design. Stay tuned to see the progress! #naturalfarming #fukuoka #inlinewithnature #community #realfood #ourownfoodsupply #self-sufficiency https://youtu.be/2sqR5FPYytU

Natural farming - A new community cement mixer thanks to you! On our support page, we mentioned that we wanted to invest in our own community cement mixer to make seed balls. We would share the cost with our neighbors. With your support, we were able to purchase a cement mixer last week and are already using it to make the first seed balls for this spring. We will use this machine to re-green and improve the soil of (currently) 3500 m2 of our own land, 200 m2 of Natural Farming vegetable garden down the road and 600 m2 of Natural Farming vegetable garden in the valley. Our neighbors will use it to make their seed balls to re-green their plots as well! Thank you so much! #Naturalfarming #seedballs #community https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wG5ADmj7Sk

Real organic food. It's not a luxury, it's a necesity. A movement of people! Let's grow together! ❤️🤗❤️ #Naturalfarming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zua5Bf2w0wU

A new economy - A helping ‘dig’ We found that after extended rains, there was a spot on our land, where the land got saturated with water and and it would stay there for many weeks. It would only dry up when the hot season started. We felt this would be an excellent spot to dig a small pond, to catch more water and create more biodiversity. For some time, we have been digging by hand, but the clay was so hard, it seemed an impossible task to complete with the two of us. And then suddenly, there was a digger in our hamlet to do another job. One of the people we know from the walnut association was here talking with the owner and he arranged they would dig our pond the next day. The young fellow in the machine was so gentle and patient driving over the land, following the pathways and avoiding to damage any trees or planted bushes. #community #localconnections #collaborating #help

Living in line with nature - Making cheese A while ago we asked the shepherd if he made cheese from the goat and sheep milk and if so, if he would let us know when, so we could learn how to do it and help him out. We know our adventurous shepherd a little bit by now. Today he called us. “Tonight I will start.” At 19.30pm in the cold and dark we were milking animals. And afterwards he came home with us to make the cheese. He likes to do a lot in exchange, just like us, without money. A man after our own hearts Life is quite tough, but also very exciting. #collaborating #localconnections #community #localsupport #aneweconomy #doingmorewithless https://youtu.be/EUpJvAoeGzE

Natural Farming - Help for the new vegetable garden There are so many wild boars in our area that if you don't put a fence around your vegetable garden, they will destroy everything. Last week a wonderful family with just the right skills showed up at the right time and we built the fence together. Today we parted as friends. 🥰 Practical work and sharing food is such a great way to bond. Now all we have to do is wait for the manure to be delivered before we can start laying down straw and making the seed balls to sow the green manure in spring. So happy to be transforming this new 600m2 garden! #inlinewithnature #naturalfarming #Fukuoka #friendship #together #community

Here we go! Our first podcast episode is online! Enjoy! 🥰 https://www.inlinewithnature.org/podcast/episode/1c7c88b9/showing-appreciation