Sustainable Living - Permaculture Haven Life Design Education

Processing Coffee is Easy and So Worth It – Step by Step Guide with Photos

04/10/202304/10/2023EwaNo Comments

Processing Coffee is Easy and So Worth It – Step by Step Guide with Photos When I say easy, then I really mean it! After reading various articles outlining the complete procedure, I wasn’t even sure if I should harvest the berries at all when our young coffee bushes provided us with the gift. It seemed like a huge load of work that takes lots of time and effort but I decided to give it a go, and I am so glad I did! There are a few steps you have to go through until you can enjoy your first cup of homegrown coffee, but most of the tasks can be… Read More

The Black Elderberry, European Elderberry – Sambucus Nigra

13/08/202313/08/2023Ewa

The Black Elderberry, European Elderberry – Sambucus Nigra Story and images by Ewa Bekiesch – Permaculture Designer, self-sufficient living consultant and educator, gardener, healthy food lover Mythical… Magical… Medicinal… Beautiful… Delicious… And it loves to grow in our backyards all over Australia! The Black Elderberry, The European Elderberry – Sambucus nigra I don’t see many of them growing around and that is why I love to share with you some information about this beautiful and useful plant. It is very pretty, frost resistant, bees love it, chickens love it and you can use it in so many ways! According to Wolf-Dieter Storl (trained professional anthropologist) the Black Elderberry was the… Read More

July – Permaculture Food Gardening Australia – Subtropics and Warm Climate

28/06/202302/07/2023EwaNo Comments

July – Permaculture Food Gardening Australia – Subtropics and Warm Climate by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. We are pretty much in the middle of our subtropical winter. It feels to me like this is the perfect time for reflection. Reflection and appreciation about what is important to us and what we can do to maintain, or improve it. Strolling through the garden while enjoying the warming sunrays, meditating, sitting around the fire, enjoying the time with your loved ones, with the garden, and with yourself. I personally think that the garden is a perfect place to reflect, meditate, and create while feeling… Read More

Permaculture Gardening – Keyhole Garden

08/01/202308/01/2023EwaNo Comments

Permaculture Gardening – Keyhole Garden recommended by Ewa Bekiesch – certified Permaculture designer and educator, sustainable living consultant – Permaculture Haven An amazing all-in-one solution. Great for any size of the garden. Perfect for small-size backyards and gardening with kids as it can be built at a different height depending on your needs. The keyhole garden is a combination of a compost bin and a raised garden bed where both complement each other perfectly. The compost bin is functioning like any other compost bin and should be treated like that. However, no need to remove the compost Think about keeping the right balance of TWO parts of brown material: ONE… Read More

January – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia

02/01/202304/01/2023EwaNo Comments

January – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture sustainable living designer, consultant, and healthy food advocate. The summer is here. This is the time when we try to slow down mostly because of the high temperatures during the day. However, there are still some jobs you can do if you love your green space and if you want to harvest all year round! I have prepared a list for you below and I am aware that this might be just a fraction of what is possible in January in subtropics. I have purposely limited it to the edibles I have in my food forest and got… Read More

Fermented Cucumbers – Quick and Simple Recipe

14/12/202214/12/2022EwaNo Comments

Everyone knows that fermented foods are healthy and considered a superfood. Many years ago, when I helped my mum by fermenting all sorts of food, it was not about health only. Lots of veggies are in abundance when in season so preserving them was a good way to use them all, avoid spoilage and enjoy them for longer. Preserving food was also a must if we wanted to enjoy summer veggies in winter as the shops didn’t have the variety on offer like today. Only seasonal fruit and veggies were available. Apart from fermenting foods, we also dehydrated, pickled and frozen all sorts of fruits and veggies, and you will… Read More

December in the Garden- Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia

01/12/202201/12/2022EwaNo Comments

December in the Garden- Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. Summer is here! Hot and humid days are going to be our companions for the next three months or so with more or less rain however, this doesn’t stop us from producing healthy and delicious food! There is no “food-growing brake” in a self-sufficient homestead. Firstly because we love naturally grown food without any additives, and secondly because there are many different foods that are happily growing during this time of the year. This article might give you some ideas about what can be done, sown, planted,… Read More

Mulberry Orange Jam Recipe – Delicious!

29/09/202229/09/2022EwaNo Comments

I just experimented and the result is fantastic! If you also have lots of Mulbberries you might want to try this simple-to-follow recipe. Mulberries don’t contain lots of pectins so orange and lime are helping out here. They also add a nice flavour. Any questions or comments? Simply use the comment section below. Mulberry Orange Jam Recipe – Delicious! Tips:

Elderberry Cordial Recipe – Elderberry Syrup

03/01/202208/05/2022Ewa

Elderberry Cordial Recipe – Elderberry Syrup This is a very easy to follow recipe. Elderberry – Sambucus nigra, grows very well in most parts of the world. If you are interested in this plant, check my article here for more info about this amazing plant. This is a basic recipe and can be used in different ways: diluted in cold or hot water, as a topic for cake or ice-cream or you can use it to make a delicious liqueur. Per 1.5kg Elderberries, only black ones, cleaned and without green stalks, you need 750g sugar and 1L water Place water, sugar and elderberries in a large pot and bring to… Read More

Summer – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia

02/01/202208/05/2022Ewa

Summer – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture and sustainable living designer and consultant. January, February and March are the hottest months in Australia. Well, this is the summer time so what else should we expect? This is also the time where we slow down with seeding and planting, and enjoy our hardy self-seeding and perennial edibles in our food forest. The garden beds need to be watered every day unless we get some rain, which may come or not, while we still harvest our annual spring vegetables. The gardening hours are limited in this time of the year. The most work is done in… Read More