Carmen Slee

My place, here in North Otago, New Zealand, wou.d be overrun with rabbits and mice if it wasn't for my cats (three). It would be fine to be catless if our British ancestors had not brought in rabbits, stoats, ferrets etc. the animal wild life has been unbalanced since then. My cats do a good job. I do regret the birds they take but with the establishment of lots of trees and shrubs, the birds are well catered for too. I seem to have a kinda balance with animals on my farm. I am in the process of establishing Holistic Farming (mob grazing) with my farm animals. It will be interesting to observe the changes. Long grass does not suit rabbits so well as it remains wetter so they may move away from my place! Well, that's the theory anyway. Now that I have a Mareema dog I do not have the same problem with ferrets taking my hens.

So, I like cats, this place would not be the same without them.

Ah well, it works for me so I am going to continue with the practice! I'm more likely to trust my experience at my age.

Here's my remedy for the flu. Don't get it!! I have a cut up onion sitting above my sink. It collects all the bugs and bacteria to it, then I throw it away. I actually slice a bit off each day to expose a new cut bit and throw that away. Works a treat, I've had no colds or flu this past (southern hemisphere) winter. One thing, don't eat a cut onion sitting out or even sitting in your fridge. They are loaded with bacteria!

This is my first post on this forum and I have a way to go before I understand the system. I wanted to comment on pigs and other animals in riparian areas. I think the problem is set stocking on these areas. Any animal will damage riparian areas or waterways if left there too long. This is a new understanding for me. I am just learning about, and starting to apply, holistic management on my farm. This involves mob grazing all species together and moving them daily. Electric fencing is used extensively. The animals go on to mature pasture as a mob, graze, pee, poo, trample. They are then moved to a fresh area and the previous area is left to fully recover. This system fertilises, pushes seed into the ground, flattens pasture old and new to act as mulch for the soil. It replicates how the savannah of Africa and all other natural grasslands work or used to work naturally. The predators moved the herds on in the natural systems. Two of the sites I am researching this method is www.ManagingWholes and The Savory Institute. This method brings back land from desertification. The before and after evidence of this method is amazing and inspirational.