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Lotus Permaculture Homestead

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Grabouw
Lotus Permaculture Homestead

Sharing new OFFGRID beginnings working mostly with what we have available, would love to inspire too!

03/09/2026

Shades of Purple growing, pics taken just before the rain started earlier☮️Been waiting patiently for real rain, light showers don't water where it's necessary. We hand water when newly transplanted mainly & hardly ever water the beds along the swales they all can do with a good soak. It's 1yr since we installed 2 extra 5000l raintanks no luck with filling them to capacity yet, we use this for home & garden so must be managed.

I dropped off 10bunches of Spinach with an ECD close by in Rooidakke, they don't have a garden but more than enough space I offered to help. They have 57 little ones who all got very excited to see a tiny White citrus frog that came from the Spinach, the mothers mainly work on farms in the area.

Busy making handipped Beeswax candles for the market on Saturday, will have Elderberry & Vetiver cuttings available too.

01/09/2026

The Soil & Seeds workshop went ahead on Saturday, the all women gardeners came from Betty's Bay, Fisherhaven, Gordon's Bay & Grabouw. The light rain showers didn't bother us, it was lovely meeting everyone connecting & sharing. Gemma Morris has been assisting me she made delicious Pumpkin fritters(after 1 quick lesson) adding eggs from her own hens & I made Spinach Pakoras that's always a hit. The ladies enjoyed the Roselle tea & Chai, & the steam train that passes to the Elgin Railway Market

Some pics of new Spring flowers, the Jasmine is usually the first & already smelling divine. Some vegetables have started flowering, we save what we need I collected Calendula seeds that's ready it has to dry on the plant.

We replaced the last trees we removed with 3 Elderberries, we also moved the Seabuckthorn from the back fence to the front of the house where it's sunny. We learn as we grow along!

31/08/2026

Swales are ditches dug on contour stopping the flow of rainwater runoff & allowing it to soak, the berm(bed) below becomes self watering. At the end of the video the slope is obvious, we depend on rainwater only. We are preparing the beds by adding a topping of manure then planting, Beans first.

27/08/2026

We removed the Pine & 2x old Apple trees, will plant a few Elderberries. Loving our outside "classroom", we still have space for the workshop on Saturday.

Happy to share pics of my first ever tallow products, body butter that has exceeded my expectations. I also made a hair balm for 2 little girls who suffer from very dry scalp, the ingredients are in the pics.

We collected manure today, preparing the beds for Spring they will all get a topping. My Roselle seeds arrived, I'll take some to the market next week also some dried & a new tea blend.

17/08/2026

Offgrid living made easier with this 2nd hand twin tub powered by our small 3kv solar system & rain water. It also powers all the tools & appliances we need, this takes managing but doable.

Oneziwe Jackson delivered my first ever tallow that she renders herself, I recently attended an amazing workshop with her on how to do it. I'm going to start with making a body butter with Avocado oil & essential oils for my grandsons, I'll include the recipe in the pics.

Harvested lots of Comfrey roots to start new plants & sending some to a customer, the variety grown here does not start from seeds. We still have space for the Soil & Seeds workshop next week, so far only women booked.

14/08/2026

Busy making lots of Comfrey tea it needs to ferment for 3wks before using & a potting mix to transplant cuttings that are ready. It's time to start selecting seeds for Spring planting.

We have a Soil & Seed workshop in 2wks, there is an AI poster included. I bought bulk Roselle(Hibiscus) seeds it's on the way from Limpopo, will include some in the giveaway.

09/08/2026

It's Women's day in SA 🇿🇦, sending rainbow blessings to those who need it 🌈

I placed an ad on FB this week looking for help, 30+ responses it was overwhelming. Lots of local women are unemployed in Grabouw or are seasonal farm workers, they compete with others who come here for job opportunities. There are not many options available many depend on social grants, no skills training or programmes. Farmers can make a difference they are in control, I'll tag some pages I follow. I'm considering free workshops to offer them new skills.

I attended a TCOE - Trust for Community Outreach and Education function in Genadendal on Monday, they have an amazing network of rural women farmers who support each other & their communities. I enjoyed the tallow rendering workshop with Oneziwe Jackson last night, so inspiring & I don't eat 4legged animals.

07/08/2026

Banana circles love water it's good to install close to a Grey water exit, a raintank overflow feeds ours. It's not very protected since we pruned the Elderberry windbreak & grows without any extra care or fertilizers. It's 2m diameter with compost made in the centre, growing Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, Sugarcane, Comfrey & Mint. I'm still hoping that one is a Plantain, we have a few varieties all blessings received in swops🍌🍌🍌

06/08/2026

Our garden is 5yrs old, we started in June 2021 as soon as the old cobhouse was rebuilt. There are lots of Peach & Plum blossoms already some setting fruit, it needs the cold weather to complete this cycle. The trees are all planted in the berms(beds) along the Swales, it's a self watering tree growing system. There is a before pic, we are creating a food forest one Swale at a time.

It's been raining all day with lots more expected over the long weekend coming up, perfect to make products & lots of new natural soap. I'm busy upcycling Beeswax container candles a customer bought in December at the market. It needs to burn for minimum 4hrs including the first time or until there is a pool of wax on the top, if not it makes a tunnel. Always trim the wick before relighting.

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Lotus Homestead
Grabouw
7160

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