Hello again ,

Spring is moving on apace and the garden here is thriving. I think we'll have cucumbers before tomatoes this coming week, but it'll be a close run thing. Our home-made compost certainly seems to be giving everything a good boost. It's also been sunny and dry for a few weeks now and our water tanks are gradually being emptied. I recently made a video '10 Tips for Garden Water Storage' to share what I've learnt in this regard.

As the price of energy and food rises, we need permaculture thinking more than ever... 

Our main spring project has been the design and build of a 'bog filter' for the fish pond. It's a natural way to deal with excess algae and uses aquatic marginal plants to remove the extra nutrients. I include a sketch and a few photos below. A video of our full process will appear on my YouTube channel soon.

I'm sending this midsummer newsletter a little earlier than usual as I'll soon be off to teach my first Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at the beautiful High Nature Centre near Salcombe on the South Devon coast. Soon after, at the beginning of July, we'll be hosting our third PDC here at Trelowia. There's places still available on both. 

In between, I'm still working on finishing my second book. I feel like I'm finally in the home straight! 

Wishing you a lovely and abundant summer - and hope to meet you along the way.

A few photos from our most recent design and build - natural filtration for our fish pond. Water is pumped up from the pond into the barrel, which provides access for cleaning and also a place to rescue tadpoles. The water then travels along the perforated pipe at the bottom and up through the stones and gravel, feeding the aquatic plants before overflowing back to the pond. So far it seems to be working well.

Yes... the garden sits atop a whole pile of builders rubble from the 1980s barn conversions. A lovely labyrinthine home for voles and other rodents...