esotericmama - Tumblr blog

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

Ave Ceres, Earth Mother, You who child was stolen,

In Your despair, the Earth Herself wept as You wept,

The air grew cold, the land turned barren,

You in Your grief made the World feel Your anguish,

[esotericmama]

[esotericmama]

Sunflower

[esotericmama]

The Intha people of Inle Lake (Myanmar) are known for their unique rowing style, and floating gardens.

These gardens are intentionally created to float on the water, rising and falling with the water level rather than flooding.

The beginning of their construction unclear; some say reeds are woven into mats as a base, while others claim existing plants growing in the lake are piled on. Maybe both methods are utilized!

Nonetheless, farmers gather piles of water hyacinth and seagrass to heap onto the base, and anchor them with bamboo poles that reach the bottom of the lake. It's unclear if mud from the bottom of the lake is piled on now, or just before sowing crop seeds.

The newly created island is allowed to grow from the weeds, so the roots and vegetation knit together. Eventually, these floating gardens become 1 metre thick mats. Once the base is thick enough, the aerial plant growth is cut down, dried, and burned to create ash as a fertilizer before sowing crop seeds.

[esotericmama]

Floating Gardens of Bandladesh: Dhap/ Baira

Farmers stack several compact layers of aquatic weeds like water hyacinth, duckweed or paddy stubs – the stubble of what remains after the rice grain has been harvested. The weeds are allowed to rot, and then mixed usually with cow dung and silt. Crop seeds are placed in small balls called tema that are made out of peat soil, and wrapped in coconut fibre.

After a week, when seedlings are about 15cm high, they are transplanted to the floating garden beds. Traditionally, seeds of leafy vegetables, like red amaranth, are sown directly on the floating beds. They [the floating beds] are then anchored with bamboo poles, so that they don’t drift away.

Both men and women work to make these organic floating beds, which last for around five to six months. Besides vegetables, rice seedlings can sometimes be grown. During the monsoon, farmers use small boats to navigate between these small islands.

Fish are grown in the water, too, which fertilizes the water for the plants, and prevents mosquitoes from breeding.

[esotericmama]

how ironic is it that housekeeping and childcare cost so much money but when a mom does both she’s “just a stay at home mom”

[esotericmama]

Dunsborough Park

[esotericmama]

About me:

Selkie married to a Sailor living in New England with our children on our Farm.

I'm into homesteading, sustainability, self sufficiency, slow living, preindustrial life, crafting + DIY, nature + naturalism, spirituality, holistic lifestyle + wellness, folk culture + folk ways, and all things mystical and esoteric

[esotericmama]

Permaculture Methods

Mixed Grazing: grazing a flock of multiple species together in Pasture, such as cattle, sheep and goats. Each species has different dietary needs and are able to graze on different plants in the Pasture keeping weeds down and using acreage more efficiently. Cattle prefer grass, sheep prefer weeds, while goats like brush and forage. The animals also graze at different levels, cattle tall, sheep short, and goats climbing. A mixed flock is also healthier because each species has its own unique parasites that will not spread to members of a different species.

Silvopastoralism: grazing Livestock in Orchards and vineyards. The animals keep the grass and weeds down in the Orchards which helps keep the trees healthy. They fertilize the Orchards with their manure. Of course, as with most types of integrated farming it really helps save space for the smaller farmer or homesteaders.

Integrated rice farming is done is Asia, using a variety of animals to help benefit the production of rice. The most common being rice-duck-fish farming, where fish are farming in channels around the rice field and ducks are released into the paddies. The fish and ducks fertilize the rice and keep pests at bay, especially mosquito larvae which can easily run rampant in a swampy rice field. The ducks and fish naturally replace the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

As a bonus: a lot of rice farmers use the water buffalo to plough the field, this animal is naturally at home in the swampy environment of the rice paddy. Aside from ploughing, the water buffalo is also used as a source of milk, meat and hide.

Intercropping/Companion Planting: planting different species of crops together that will have beneficial effects to each other. The most ancient intercropping is growing cereals and pulses (legumes) together, as the legumes provide lots of nitrogen that helps the grains grow. The Three Sisters is variation of this, combining maize (grain) with beans (legume) but also incorporating squash into the mix which help keeps weeds and pests like raccoons at bay with their sprawling prickly leaves. This system will work interchangeably with any grain, pulse or Marrow (the Marrows are squash, gourds, melons and Cucumbers).

Some other combinations we like to use are Root veg + Leafy green. We intercrop carrots with spinach (and beets with lettuce), the crops don't compete with another for space as one crop mainly grows up and the other grows down, the leafy greens also shade the root rows and help keep weeds down.

I think everyone's heard of the Tomato + Basil intercropping, and how the basil keeps tomato pests at bay and help flavour the tomatoes. We use this system with other nightshades (Eggplant and Peppers) as well, basil is a herb in the Mint family so we substitute basil for other herbs too (summer savory, marjoram).

[esotericmama]

Today’s Barn Owl Love <3

[esotericmama]

sistersoftheblackmoon

[esotericmama]

Symbols of Demeter: cranes, wheat ears, winged serpent, cornucopia, torches, crocus, myrtle, bees, the bull, the pig, honey.

Demeter arrives to her sacred Eleusis with her winged chariot carried by flying dragons, she will later on give this chariot as a present to the hero Triptolemus. This flying serpentine power seems wondrous; can we talk about a forgotten advanced ancient technology involved, or is it a symbol for the serpentine power also known as Shakti or Kundalini... From her realm that is earth the goddess seems to rise.

Art from the tarot deck: Ancient Feminine Wisdom of Goddesses and Heroines by Brian Clark and Kay Steventon.