Building a GRAIN FIELD: Clearing & preparing land on the homestead

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Have you created a grain field on your homestead? How has it worked out for you? I would love to hear from you 🌻 If you would like to support Tamakoa Homestead's journey then please consider buying us a coffee 👉buymeacoffee.com/tamakoahomestead Here are 2 follow on videos from this one: Building a GRAIN FIELD: Clearing & preparing land on the homestead kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHO1aJabl7iSY7c FIRST CROP PLANTING on our new homestead kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaWxhYmehJytfKs

[@mechanics4all405]

no mainly regenerating pasture,starting food forests,mob graZING,CHICKEN TRACTORS,SWALES PONDS,NO CROP GROWING AS SUCH,ONLY LIKE BEANS AS CROP COVER,IF POSS SOIL MUST MUST MUST,BE COVERED AT ALL TIMES,TO START SOIL WEB REGEN

[@user-saveggiegarden]

A nice idea for your removed brush and also going with the no till farming theme, you could try hugelkulter beds. This also minimizes your need to water as it holds moisture nicely. I'm going to be doing a hugelkulter bed this weekend. (Weather dependent)

[@tamakoa-homestead]

That is a brilliant idea and something I have been thinking about as I need to do raised beds to get the best possible soil quality. I have luckily been storing all the brush, so I can most certainly add it in when I get there. I'll also look at adding in big branches and trunks of black wattle as they are cutting down invasive forests in our area. Thanks again for the great suggestion 🌻

[@francelvaneeden6033]

easy square is the 3 x 4 x 5 method. measure 3m on 1 line. 4m on the other line. the 2 points should then be 5m apart. well done so far

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Hey Francel, thank you so much for sharing this with me. I have leart something completely new that I will be taking with me on this journey in multiple other projects. Thanks again 🙏

[@tracymann9472]

Nothing like physical work to make you feel alive, for anything you are going to plant spend the time preparing the ground,determine your soil type, level of compaction, drainage capacity etc, you can do these with simple home tests, these tests will also guide you in what type of cover crops to grow to amend the soil - It's exciting to plant seed but devastating when it does not perform - sometimes it is necessary to do tillage even as a once off depending on what you are faced with, one thing for sure is you are not afraid of hard work - enjoy your journey

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Ah, what a wonderful comment Tracy, thank you 💚 Yes, I am doing everything in my power to really live and experience this journey. I really don't like the though of someone else doing the work and I just get to sit back or take the glory. Each to their own, of course, but for me personally that doesn't sit well. It has also given me an entirely new perspective on physical labour professions...wow...doing this day in and day out must be exhausting! You are so right about the soil! Thanks to you I am actually going to get some DIY soil tests together and see what comes from it. I must say I was really surprised by the quality of the ground where I was clearing, however, other patches were rock hard clay so I have no doubt I will need to make some amendments. I am luckily not a purist or an extremist so I have no problem tilling and amending the soil now to incorporate the required organic matter and materials to make it a thriving underground ecosystem in the years to come. Thanks for taking the time to leave me such a wonderfully constructive comment 💚

[@neutonrenda2303]

Great video, you certainly have enough fynbos around you that what you're working to clear isn't going to make a difference. What use is a homestead if you can't clear enough to grow your own food. Can't imagine how it felt showering out in the field lol, I should consider trying it out.👍

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Ah, thank you, this comment really helps a lot as! I totally agree with you but I also know what plans I have to bring in more fynbos diversity along with food so it can become a highly diverse and productive environment. I must say, if you have never showered completely exposed out in the open then there is some seriously exhilarating about it and so natural, which is something we have completely lost touch with 🌻

[@Melicoy]

Chop and drop :)

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Yip you are spot on 😁 I'll definitely be doing that once it's all cleared so I can bring in a chipper and break it all down into smaller pieces, but yes, my plan was never to remove it, but somehow find a way to improve the land with it and as you say chop and drop might be the best options. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment 🌻

[@JonathanBydendyk]

I'll be trying spelt (next winter), Sorghum and Buckwheat (summer) this year, although I've only got a 350sq.m space for growing on my small holding, worth a try though.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Hey Jonathan, thanks for dropping in and leaving me a comment! That sounds amazing! I also have some spelt packed away for late summer sowing like you. I love the idea of a nuteient dense peasants bread 😁 I also have buckwheat and I'm torn on whether to grow it as a cover crop (it's excellent for that) or for grain. How are you planning to dehull yours? I'm quite stumped on this one as dehulling buckwheats looks like no easy feat. Please post updates as I post my videos. I would love to see how your grains turn out for you 🌻

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Nice video. Hey if you use #hash tags in front of everything that explains what you up to. Example is # Homestead # growing cereal grains # clearing out pastures and leveling, etc... mainly everything that you have written just place # Hash tags in front of the description. So when people do a search for what they are interested in then your site will show up and they then will find you.

[@tamakoa-homestead]

Hey Ronald, thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment and recommendation. I am actually adding in 3x hashtags into the video description at the bottom. From what I understand 3 is the limit from the KZbin guidelines and your video or channel can be penalised if you used too many hashtags? 🌻

[@mechanics4all405]

why not use bush hogg drop and chop

[@tamakoa-homestead]

That's a really good suggestion and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Unfortunately it seems like we don't have bush Hoggs here in South Africa. Maybe they are just called something else, so I will keep looking. To be honest I am also a little concerned with chopping and dropping Fynbos, BUT you did get my thinking cap on. Fynbos grows in very acidic soil, however, this in renosterbos which is invasive and often takes over previously cultivated land so I need to get some soil tests done. My concern is fynbos increasing acidity with chop and drop, but I am not 100% sure so I'll definitely also look into this. Thanks again for your valuable comment 🌻

[@tracymann9472]

@@tamakoa-homestead Bush Hog = Bossiekapper. I would not be too concerned with the Fynbos increasing acidity, you mentioned you have a fair bit of clay which is Alkaline 7.5 +, If you had access to a garden shredder I would put that Fynbos through it and add it to the compost pile. I was once told pine needles lower soil PH added trailer loads around our Protea bushes 4 yrs later ZERO difference in PH

[@mechanics4all405]

@@tamakoa-homestead initialy you are trying to get as much biomass as possible,chop and drop will be ideal,to help cool ground get more moisture retention,love youre ideas of using inherited wheat etc,proven to be tollerent conditions,need trees fruit trees and nitrogen givers,trees take a while to establish,so as and when u can,but as priority,swales pond maybe,great content🏁

[@tamakoa-homestead]

@@tracymann9472 ah, that's awesome, thanks so much for sharing. I just googled it and now know exactly what you are talking about 😁 I have to agree with you on pine needles, so I suspect the same with fynbos. I also used pine needles as a mulch in my veggie garden and I saw no difference except for incredibly happy plants. It's an incredible mulch and actually what I wanted to use as my main mulch on the farm because of the high winds we can get. Pine mulch won't blow away. I'll definitely take you up on that and hire a chipper to help break down all the renosterbos 🌻

[@tamakoa-homestead]

@@mechanics4all405 ah, thanks so much and yes, I'm scrambling at the moment to get all the things done 😂 I habe about 15 fruit trees that need planting and I have just germinated a bunch of local legume trees called Keurboom to increase nitrogen and biomass. Just need to get there now before the heat arrives... I have been pondering swales but my only concern is the runoff angle and slope. The land is angled diagonally, which means the swales will take A LOT of space. I've been researching those half moon trenches they are digging in Africa to reforest the desert which is working incredibly well. I can then fill the trench with cover crops and flowers through the seasons to not waste space. I'm then planning on growing berry bushes in-between the trees, but I frost need to see how this all plays out first 🌻 Thanks for all your positive input 🙏