Sleeping Under the Stars: A Permaculture Adventure.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Thank you for viewing with me. Where are you viewing from?

[@bjorn8854]

some call it the land of frogs 💚

[@BESHYSBEES]

Viewing from lounge room with my New iPad, I broke and brought a new one and now I’m broke lol, Danou I’ll pitch in half of the cost for a bag or treated lucerne seed it was $480 Namibian

[@silviakowollik1350]

Germany, today its raining like crazy.

[@BESHYSBEES]

30 to go 3:50am here

[@naomiras4116]

From RSA. Praying for rain for you. How does the dam look currently, few weeks after the river flood?

[@noah786]

Please show finished bottle. Or do a short video on how they work. Thanks!

[@watchourgardenfruitfarmdev-k1s]

Who needs drugs seeing this must put you on a real high,seeing it all coming together😊

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@watchourgardenfruitfarmdev-k1s Danou must be pinching himself, it must be a rush and exhausting at the same time

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Definitely! But then you have slow day and a tree dies. So it is a big Rollercoaster

[@patti280]

Your gardens are looking amazing. Oh to be a child again sleeping outside gazing at the stars. 🥰

[@FionaGordon-x7m]

I'm impressed by it all, especially because it is a while since the last rain.

[@insAneTunA]

Red wigglers do need moisture. They are not ground worms. They prefer to stay on top of the soil and under whatever there is to eat. They also need to stay away from the light. And when they are too dry and can't hide from the light they will have a hard time or they will even die. It is really beneficial for your compost pile to cover it with shredded non bleached non printed brown paper or cardboard. You can wet the cardboard so that it is easier to shred in smaller pieces. Not only will they eat the cardboard, but they will also use it to lay there cocoons, and then they can multiply very rapidly. When you notice that the cardboard is completely dry then you can wet it again. When you add new biomass you can cover the cardboard, but then it is recommended that you make a fresh layer of shredded cardboard on top of the new bio mass. The cardboard topping is also very good for worm bins. And a very good indicator for when you need to add moisture to the worm bin. It also stops any bad smell because cardboard is a carbon rich material that neutralizes bad smells. When a worm bin has a bad smell you need to add more carbon rich material such as brown cardboard or woodchips and add less nitrogen rich material such as leaves and grass or coffee grinds, and stop watering it until the bad smell goes away. The bad smell is produced by anaerobe bacteria that are undesired. You are looking for aerobic bacteria that are beneficial for the plants. For any type of composting method the right balance between air and moisture levels and darkness and nitrogen rich and carbon rich material is very important. Also make sure that there is little amount of sand in the worm bin, because worms have no teeth, and they need the sand to grind and digest their food. You will get a better quality compost when you turn the compost pile regularly and when you keep it slightly wet to the touch at all times. When you are in town you can visit a coffee shop and ask for the coffee grinds, it is excellent composting material, and very nitrogen rich. @TransformCompost is an excellent source of information. That man is a compost scientist, simply said. 👍

[@insAneTunA]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Thanks, I did quite a study about composting. I have two worm bins myself from which I also collect the worm tea. And I also created a compost pile that is packed with earthworms. I forgot to mention that the cardboard topping inside the worm bins also helps to keep the fruit flies away. 👍

[@Nphen]

Great advice. Thank you!

[@insAneTunA]

@@Nphen It's my pleasure👍

[@frank_realtor]

See you tomorrow Danou🙋🏻‍♂️🥳🎉🎊

[@JosiahK555]

a fun and unique experience the kids have compared to others living in the cities. i bet there is very little light pollution out there

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Even if I measure it against my childhood the light pollution is very low. I think they saw a airplane in the sky maybe 10 times in their lives

[@kasperjensen363]

I think You should cut some of the big pumpkin leaves on the swail. They shade too much. Let them spread out away from the swails. Everything looks amazing 👍 what a great progress 👍

[@marilynmcconnell-twiss3046]

Another really interesting story of your family life and the progress of your projects. I too used to love sleeping outside in Perth, Western Australia during the hot weather, but we also had a lot of mosquitoes which weren't so nice. One idea that occurred to me was with the large tarmac worm farm is to put some holes in the bottom layer to encourage the worms to leave and dig in. When you move the tarmac you will have a nice new worm-dug bed to start some new vegetables or trees. Another idea is to drill holes into the sides and bottom of largish containers like buckets, half bury them and keep filling with kitchen scraps, egg shells etc. Would be interesting to see if this would attract any indigenous worms and insects, or you could 'seed' them with your commercial worms.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@kasperjensen363 the only thing to remember is to take alternating leaves so you don’t expose the stem to too much sun, it will cook them and stunt their growth, leaves are like solar panels providing energy to the roots so don’t take too much

[@tesha199]

So many super healthy plants, with deeep greeen

[@3gunslingers]

I really love your videos and watch you every day. Can you put a counter in the screen (top corner) so that we can see how many days have passed since the last rain? This would really put things into perspective for us around the world Thanks for your hard work! Edit: I mean like _Days since last rain: 8_ You can count up every day and reset it with every rain video :)

[@lotjeboon]

What a good idea 😊

[@Rescueluv]

Had a laugh when you said kids took the chicken light wonderful to see the kids helping and the corn has shot up. Also great you will have lots of pumpkins. It’s great seeing life in such a harsh environment.

[@threeriversforge1997]

While there's undoubtedly some benefit to simply covering the bare dirt with a hint of mulch, the benefits climb as the mulch deepens. That little bit on the ground around the corn is better than none, but not by much. Get two or three inches deep, and you'll see the moisture in the soil really start to stack up. As the folks over on Edge of Nowhere Farms show us, 10" of mulch can hold water for months after a rain and cools the soil by as much as 20º. Both of those factors are critical when growing in an arid environment like yours. If we look at the beaver dam you made a while back, the huge pile of sticks is acting in much the same way as mulch by shading the ground and preventing the wind from stripping moisture off. You've got a pile 3' tall, or more, and that works like a shade cloth does, limiting how much sunlight and air movement can impact the plants and the soil underneath. Not that you have to pile sticks throughout your corn patch, but it shows that a deeper pile of mulch works wonders.

[@2eGen]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Just google Termites and soil The are Soil builders and the are nitrogen fixers and can bring moist up

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 he’s waiting to get it back from Bosko after some modifications apparently, I keep asking about it as it will not only help with wood chips but also shredding pig feed, worm food, biochar and trespassers 😜

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@threeriversforge1997 Steve’s comment I replied to disappeared, now my comment doesn’t make sense lol

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@BESHYSBEES The chipper, right? I remember him mentioning mods for it, so hopefully it'll be of more use once tweaked a bit.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@threeriversforge1997 yeah yeah 👍

[@theuntouchable7277]

Thank you for today's update, mate.

[@NirvanaFan5000]

that shot around 1:43 is beautiful. lush grass. worker tending to the plants. the bird chirping. the cat running. feels alive =]

[@louislombaard900]

Beatifull progress.Rain is on its way.

[@minxyminx7148]

🤞

[@wimpie031]

🤞

[@claireskrine4837]

Is it worth leaving some of the grass seeds to drop rather than cutting the grass before that? I'm not a grass expert.

[@mekon1971]

Hopefully we (you) get some rain soon.

[@allurbase]

5K closing by!!!

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

So close yet so. Far

[@jeffreysachs3423]

How is the chicken coup light doing? We saw the first night, but nothing since. Patience is not a word in my vocabulary.🤭 You have termite control animals! RELEASE the DUCKS!!!! 😂

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@jeffreysachs3423 release the Quacken!!!

[@SudarSanja]

Sorghum is doing great 👍🌿☘️🌳

[@sello-lawrence]

Greetings from Cape Town.

[@minxyminx7148]

Great to see all the green around the arena

[@elmarie9504]

I view from George, South Africa.

[@lotjeboon]

🌱💚🌱🥰

[@iwanabana]

Recently I saw another video saying trees need a bit of wind (stress) to grow strong, I think it is the terrarium in Singapore or some place. Don't simply keep the small plants encased and completely protected.

[@iwanabana]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 I love KZbin! Thanks for the information!

[@mavrickjohn1]

I think that the reason the birds are not scratching up the seeds in the deeper holes is that they don't want to be feeding in an area where they have a hindered view of their surroundings. They know that they are good food and always subject to being preyed upon.

[@OublietteTight]

It is not easy being delicious. 🐣

[@Limogi]

3:53 there is a definite difference between the mulched and non-mulched, with the mulched showing better healthier growth.

[@bjorn8854]

Beautiful! 💚

[@paulinestevens9351]

🌳🌴🎄🥀🌻🥰

[@garryhancock-the-OG]

You had lots of tiddlers helping with the bottles today. 😆

[@Limogi]

3:10 you can always plant lucaena in the berm now. Use a dibber to make a deep enough hole and stick them in.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Yes I think that is a good idea.

[@maryadachi9090]

Japan

[@Altheodi]

Hi Danou I am very glad to have been a featured comment!! I did a little reading and if I am correct and the termites are too dominant in your ecosystem, it will be difficult for predator species of ants to re-establish themselves without help from you. You need to bring down the numbers of termites on your land. Removing termite mounds, having as many guinea fowl on your property as you can obtain, roaming chickens, light traps etc... they will all help to create space for ants of all kinds to move in and establish themselves. The termites themselves want to create an environment hostile to the ants and their predators by removing the mulch and taking up as much space as possible. You have a bit of a fight on your hands to swing the ecosystem away from their dominance!

[@canadianspring5417]

It looks so green right now. Can you chop & drop some of the lower corn leaves? Great news that Emmanuel is spreading the knowledge and hosting a workshop!! Baby steps still mean you're going forward.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Think we should keep the corn leaves but I can top up with grass

[@lotjeboon]

Bedankt

[@fladder1]

Maybe plant some larger tree seedlings on the swales, that way they don't have to compete with all those grasses.

[@TheDog_Chef]

Viewing from Southern California loving watching the progress !

[@liviasantiago1686]

You ok ?

[@endurance8910]

i hope you and your loved ones are safe from the wildfires

[@jeffreysachs3423]

The bio-char in Southern California is not going to help the soil chemistry in Namibia. Intended as humor in a very heart wrenching situation.

[@TheDog_Chef]

@ not anywhere near the firers!🙏🏻

[@TheDog_Chef]

@ we are far away for now 🙏🏻

[@MegaHinga]

Australia mate

[@wimpie031]

Would it be an idea to have the ducks and chicken roam the areas where there are a lot of termites in the mulch? Maybe they can have a positive impact for you?

[@OublietteTight]

A couple videos ago, Danou talked about the loose poultry. I do not think then being free is the issue. Hehe. They are too friendly and visited his wife in their kitchen! Haha

[@Altheodi]

If the theory about the termites being too dominant in the ecosystem is correct then this would have a very positive impact. Ducks especially wouldn't come visiting in the kitchen. And if termite predator species of ants are going to re-establish themselves they need space to do it in, that means reducing the termite numbers in any way practically possible.

[@OublietteTight]

@Altheodi and making ducks happy, too! I think it was the chickens who were trying to get in the house, haha.

[@Altheodi]

@@OublietteTight apparently ducks don't eat termites as much as chickens though. Guinea fowl are best!

[@wimpie031]

@@Altheodi True, but he doesn’t have Guinea fowls, but does have the other ones. Problem with the Guinea fowls is that even the tame ones will join the wild ones when they meet, if I understood correctly from older videos here.

[@mrcpm1973]

Would the chickens eat the termites?

[@Altheodi]

Guinea fowl would be even better!

[@DorsalisWA]

Hello Danou I sent a small parcel of Tagasaste seed to you yesterday at the Food Forest Namibia - care of the Otjiwarongo Post Office. ETA is 20-40 days from Australia. I hope they find you. Share some with other green fingers. All the best.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Wow! That is so. Fantastic! Thank you so much!!

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@DorsalisWA can I ask the bucks to send something please?

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@thefoodforestnamibia if you get them you pour boiling water on them and let it them soak, when they’ve cooled you plant them out, I can send the pdf guide or include it on the tree list if you like

[@owenthomas5876]

😊

[@KatarzynaKwartnik]

🌱🌱🌱

[@allwaysbetter552]

Can you get lemongrass there? Or Citronella? It's very prolific and handles drought well. Can we mail seeds to you? If so let me know address and seeds wanted.

[@erwinsegers3696]

do chickens like to eat termites?

[@OublietteTight]

@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Haha, chickens say a lot of things. Can they be trusted? They are always crossing roads to find a better deal. J/K wink.

[@johannesels5288]

Balance will restore itself, just keep doing what you are doing above ground and the critters will do what they do best below ground. 👍

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Do you believe the termites wil find a natural enemy if we keep on mulching etc

[@johannesels5288]

@ you are in a tough climate and it is awesome to see the progress. Looks like the main two candidates that actually target termites there is Matabele l, and Harvester ant to a lesser degree. Both of these bite and sting so if you have lots of feet or hooves it might be a problem sooner rather that later? I’m sure you would have experienced them there before and know much better how they behave in real life. Since both occur naturally where you live I can’t imagine the ants won’t find them sooner rather than later. By boosting you might upset the current balance. Even if the ants don’t find the termites they still die by the millions and feed the soil.

[@harrywilson404]

The native Americans called corn squash and beans the three sisters. They were grown together in the same field.

[@OublietteTight]

@@harrywilson404 😁 We owe those ancestors a lot.

[@minxyminx7148]

Have you considered getting a water censor/meter to test the moisture content?

[@jeffreysachs3423]

He has a water sensor, his finger! 🤭

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@jeffreysachs3423she does make a good point, a simple probe made from rebar works well to test compaction and moisture

[@endurance8910]

uk

[@antontk2531]

how much is a baobab tree?

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

We paid N$300 for the one we have. But the prices go up and down depending on where you buy and if you can find them. I believe I wil be able to find more for N$300

[@rm6857]

One tip: If you have time, cut those micro blank spaces between changing cameras from front to back or wide lens.

[@Power_Prawnstar]

Green 💚 🟩 🎉

[@MotosAllotmentGarden]

👍

[@danielkatzman300]

9:53 are those aphids on the bean plant?

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Wil have to go make Sure

[@dukereg]

With the greatest respect, I don't think it's wise to introduce any living thing to your land unless you're sure you can get rid of it if it turns out to be a mistake. Commenters warned you about prickly pear, but prickly pear serves a number of clear purposes and is manageable (as long as you actually do manage it!). But how are you meant to manage introduced ants? And it's not clear they'll solve your termite problem. Actually it's not clear that you have a termite *problem*, just that you have termites. The plants right next to them look healthy. Historically we humans are very bad at judging in advance whether it's a good idea to introduce something. (Look at any of the disasters in my country, Australia, for example.) I know people assume that if something is "native" it must be good and fit your local ecosystem, but if it's "natural" for them to be on your land eating those termites, why aren't they already there eating those termites? What if the ants eat a different species of termite and the termites keep eating your mulch but the ants start eating something you want to keep? I'm probably overly cautious, but sometimes it's good for men of drive and action to hear some cautions.

[@Altheodi]

Hi! I posted the original comment and I agree, yes it is not a good idea to bring in an unknown, possibly invasive species on your land! But this is not really what I am talking about. Just based on my knowledge of ecology, the ecosystem on his property is out of balance and the termites have dominance with none of their natural predator species present. Danou would not be able to introduce Matabele ants to his property anyway, they are pretty much impossible to relocate, but they are native to his area and if he manually reduces the number of termites on his land, and reintroduces predators like guinea fowl, then he has a better chance of the native ant species being able to establish themselves on his property and keeping the termites in check, restoring balance. Thankfully what he is doing anyway is also creating environment more favourable to ants and other termite predators, but the termites will continue to "push back" removing mulch and reshaping the environment to suit them better as long as they are dominant in the ecosystem.

[@Altheodi]

Oh and sorry I didn't reply to the natural part. It's a bit strange seeming perhaps but once termites are dominant in an area it becomes very difficult for predator insects to return as there is no space for them, the termites have it all and they defend their space aggressively. Matabele ants have huge nests and they are large, defending their nests if they need to. It makes sense that people may have bulldozed their nests or removed the ants a while ago- this is just theorising. Other native ants also eat termites, though not as aggressively or specifically as the Matabele. Creating space for them to re-establish themselves in the ecosystem by reducing termite numbers should hopefully do the trick 🤷‍♀️

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@Altheodi sorry I have to disagree and say that he should be working with them not against them, keep continually mulching and topping up when they have taken it, they swap cellulose for nutrient and NPK rich clay when they encapsulate the wood, I don’t want to write a novel but they need to be looked at as contributing to the system and not as detrimental

[@Altheodi]

@BESHYSBEES hi 👋 yes indeed they are positive in the ecosystem, integral in fact! Unfortunately like many other species when their natural predators are removed from the ecosystem, they become too dominant and reshape the environment as a consequence. See rabbits in Australia, for example, and think about what their population would be like in their native Europe if all their predators and competition was removed. What Danou is doing with the mulch will help to restore balance to the ecosystem anyway, as currently some predator species such as ants cannot colonise the property due to the presence of too many termites and lack of appropriate habitat (e.g. mulch). So I'm not saying to get rid of the termites, indeed that would be impossible. But he will be fighting a difficult battle to restore fertility unless he reduces their numbers manually. He needs to "be the predator" until the predators return. I have been researching to try to see if my hypothesis is correct here, but it has been difficult to find papers about the problem of termite dominance. This table here references what I am talking about link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-017-0483-1/tables/1 And it is from this article link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-017-0483-1#Tab1 Which discusses how important termites are in ecosystems. I completely agree! It's just that I believe they are out of balance and the ecosystem needs a bit of help to go back in to balance, so that the termites can play their positive role to the fullest. I have not walked the farm so I could be wrong, maybe there are predator ant species there, maybe they are in balance. I'm a high school science teacher and I teach ecosystems every year, so this just seems logical to me. But again, I am not there, and I could very well be wrong!

[@Altheodi]

@BESHYSBEES oh man I've written about 3 responses but they keep disappearing 🤣 100% agree with you yes termites are incredibly important for habitat restoration. However they can also get out of balance like anything else I tried to post a link to an article about the effects they are having in Ethiopia on poorly managed land there but I think the links were making my comments disappear. It has been interesting to research a new idea, but I am reaching the end of my ability to draw conclusions here. I don't know what species of termite is on the land, whether they are native or invasive, what the history of the land is. Also I believe that the positive changes happening on the property is likely to restore balance anyway 🤷‍♀️ I do believe that lowering the numbers of termites to what they would be IF there were native predators on the property would help! But it would take someone who was there and could assess the ecosystem properly to really know this for sure. Thanks for the discussion!

[@ajl1973]

How fun? Lekker slaap. I'm in US.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Lekker man lekker!

[@jeffreysachs3423]

Any comments that link to references off this site, or in any way denigrates this site (mentioning website name) get removed I think. The company does not want to lose eyeballs and advertising dollars. Third attempt to post this comment.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@jeffreysachs3423 I saw the first one came back 10min later my reply to you was there but she gone!!

[@Pwecko]

Only thirty more subscribers needed to get to 5000. Come on, people. Hit that subscribe button. You know you want to.

[@elishaskelley4002]

Corn, beans, and squash are what Native Americans call the 3 sisters because they work together. Corn grows up then the beans climb the corn stalks and the squash covers the ground to keep the weeds away.

[@1millionpumpkins542]

🎉pumpkins taking over the world🎉

[@xsix16]

4.98k

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

So close

[@mekon1971]

Is boric acid available in Namibia? Works pretty get on termites, cockroaches, etc.

[@gracealonso275]

so close! 4.97. Comment 23

[@BESHYSBEES]

Danou I’ve updated the FFN and tree plan could you have a look and give me some feedback please and I’ve emailed you some stuff

[@BESHYSBEES]

Is it going to post my comment? Been having trouble with my comments not showing

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Manny have. I really don't know what is happening. My comments also got deleted from other channels. @stevejohnstonbaugh9171 almost can't get one comment on my channel to stick.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@thefoodforestnamibia yeah I’m having the same trouble, maybe the Ai or KZbin has bugs and need an update but it’s bloody annoying, especially when I only had an iPhone and spend 20 mins writing only for it to not show, I must have written you five times about the worms any way I’ve included links and info on the cards on FFN

[@jeffreysachs3423]

Any comments with links off KZbin, get deleted as if the advertising gods (greedy executives) at KZbin don’t want to lose viewers eyes for even a single second. So I stopped including links (reference material) and get fewer comments blocked.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@jeffreysachs3423yeah I know that yt would not allow any links at one point even yt links, but this is ridiculous I’d say it’s because his channel has grown so fast the AI thinks there is bots boosting or something

[@Power_Prawnstar]

Wondered where u dissapeard to