Cob Cottage Earthplastering

Wwoofers Caroline from Berlin and Jamie from Bristol have been with us for a week or two now, and have been a wonderful help with the vegetable gardens and planting native shrubs and trees in the gardens we are building around the property. They weeded the native grasses on the Earthouse roof on a very hot day, and installed a dripping watering system for us. Check out more photo's here.




Work continues on the Cob Cottage. Jarred and Richard have put up the gyb board ready for earthplastering, ably supported by Dave.






The builders also finished above the cob walls with tongue and groove timber. We are thrilled with the result.






Al's brother Leighton is a skilled plasterer, and has been helping us out with the earthplastering of the ceiling.












It has been a huge learning curve for us all, just getting the mix right so it would stick on the wall has been a real challenge, but after much trial and error, and a lot of mud falling on the floor and on Leighton, we have finally got it right.







We are applying two coats of plaster. The first coat is 2 and a half parts fine river sand to one of our adobe/cob clay with a small amount of flour paste and milk and a dash of olive oil. The first mix we made was far to wet, and we laid it out on plastic to dry out a bit over night.









We soak the clay and sand mix in water overnight, then next day mix it with a electric drill. It is then sieved through a 3mm screen and the flour paste, milk powder and oil are added just before application to the wall or ceiling.

Bottles in the wall, New Earthstead video and the Refractometer.

Work continues on the northern cob wall.
We've decided to place some clear bottles in this wall to let light in and add interest. There will be shelves in front of the bottles and we plan to store coloured glassware on the shelves, and hope to have some interesting light coming through the layers of glass. Here Misake is taping two bottles together, making them airtight, then heavy grade aluminimum foil is wrapped around the bottle to ensure that the most light possible is reflected through the bottle from the outside.










Next the bottles are added to the wall at the correct height, and every effort is made to ensure they are level and straight. The engineer kept a very close eye on Dave - nothing was left to chance.













Nearly there.............

















......and the last piece goes in.
















Our son Win and Sarah his fiancée visited us with Grandbaby Lachlan, and Win was able to use his skills on the digger to help out with some trenching.















It seems our georgous grandbaby, Lachlan has a real way with the ladies. All the way from Thornhill in Scotland to London England and Cambridge NZ, he has a fan club of lovely ladies who hang on his every "goo". Here Aunty Linda, our neighbour sneeks a cuddle.












Wwoofer Jake from San Francisco has been a God send. We were wanting to put together a photo story chronicling our journey from mud to beautiful earth building. We wanted to use some music, preferably original, and have the whole thing reflect the collective project this has been, with people from all over the world joining in. Anyway, Jake has the musical and creative skills to pull this off, and during his 3 week stay he recorded 4 pieces of music, and put together 3 videos. Here he is in his mobile studio.









Winston and Sarah left their beautiful dog Indy with us while they visited family, and as is always the case, she has charmed her way into the hearts of the wwoofers and tradesmen alike. Misaki and Indy developed a real bond and spent hours playing and sitting together. They share a love of the fire, and spent much time cuddling in front of it.










Another very exciting development has been the purchase of a refractometer to test the sugar content and nutritional value of plants. We have been talking about buying one of these machines for sometime, and finally took the plunge. Our desire is to grow nutrient dense foods in our vegetable garden for us to eat, and produce high nutrient pasture for our animals to eat. High nutrient plants are disease resistant and encourage optimum health in those who consume them.
Here is the link that will give a bit more information if you are interested. http://www.environmental-fertilisers.co.nz/index.htm
In this photo Ali crushes some of the leaves from the celery in our vegetable garden. A couple of drops of the green juice are then placed on the viewing plate of the refractometer, and the reading can be taken.













And the great news is that our celery is rated at better than excellent in nutritional value, and at that level is considered to be disease free. We knew it would be high as I have never grown such an amazingly healthy crop of celery, without a bug or bacteria in sight.............

















..................and it tastes delicious.

Check out our latest Earthstead Villas video

Cobbing and landscaping continue.

We are continuing to build the cob wall, little by little.
Here woofers Mia and Johanna from Finland empty the wheel barrow of mud onto the tarpaulin. Next the barley straw will be stomped into it. We add as much straw as the clay mixture will absorb, as this increases the insulating properties of the cob wall, and adds strength.









Next Mia and Johanna help Ali put up the reinforcing mesh. This mesh is placed in the wall at 400mm intervals, and is part of the engineering design for strengthening.










We've had almost double the usual rainfall for each of the last two months, and September is shaping to be just as wet. Some of the long range forecasters are predicting rain everyday for the next two weeks. Between showers we are continuing our program of clean up and landscaping. Misaki has become a master at stacking wood.











We have been felling the Cryptomeria trees along the driveway, and planting native Griselinias in their place. This is a very brave move, as the work areas of Earthstead are totally exposed, including our old plastic clad greenhouse. We are planning erecting wooden gates and screening to cover these until the Griselinias are big enough to do their work.









Our Finnish wwoofers Mia and Johanna helped with clearing up the cut branches of the trees Ali felled ,.............












and digging out the miniature Kowhai tree from beside our house. We have re-planted this Kowhai beside the Earthouse, and are really hoping it will grow and establish. NZ native trees are very difficult to transplant.









In the last post we showed you the chicken laying boxes Quentin made. We are very happy to report that the young chickens love the boxes, and are laying happily. We are now collecting about 14 eggs per day. Ali is very surprised that the mop topped bantams (aka the Turners) have not produced any eggs as yet, but he is very pleased with the number and quality of eggs coming from the other young chickens. The arakanas are laying their signature green shelled eggs, and are obviously getting their fair share of greens, judging by the bright orange colour of the yokes.











Quentin also made the most amazing bird feeder. Native Tui's and many other birds are nectar feeders, and we hope to attract more to the area. Already with the Maungatautari Ecological Reserve boosting numbers hugely, we thrilled to hear and see more native birds in the last month than we have in the previous 30 years.










We were privileged to have some young helpers from Goodwood School come and visit us and help with the cobbing recently.
Harry and Richard and Richard's father Grant came for a morning and worked so enthusiastically. It was a pleasure to have them on board, and we were thrilled to see their genuine interest in earth building.











The boys assisted Misaki to stomp the straw into the clay/sand mixture with such gusto, they made fun of hard work.










We've been having some problems with Joy's young bull calf Bill not wanting to drink from all of her teats, and have had to milk out the rejected teat each day to avoid mastitis.













We have tested the milk and found no signs of infection, so after straining, we used it in some wonderful creamy yoghurt which we enjoy on our porridge each morning.










In Japan Misaki worked on a dairy farm for 6 months. She is very confident with the animals, and enjoys spending time Lucy's young heifer Beryle.











Both Beryle and Bill are thriving on their mothers milk, and are also beginning to eat grass and the silage we are feed their mothers.










We have been lucky enough to nurse an early crop of potatoes through the July frosts, and here Misaki plants our second crop. If we are vigilant and cover the young plants against any late frosts, we will be eating our own new season potatoes in just a few weeks.











As is becoming our habit, we will finish with a few pictures of the wonderful international food the wwoofers have been producing for us.
Mia and Johanna made the most wonderful Finnish tea cake. Ali made shot work of it, with just a little help from the rest of us.











They also made yummy Finnish buns filled with cinnamon and butter - delicious!

Earthstead Villas . Cob wall and window cut away design

Earthstead Villas: Bottles in the cob wall.

Earthstead Villas: Bottles in the cob wall.

The final Cob wall, planting trees, and Eileen and Lottie visit.

We have began cobbing the final wall in the cottage. Marie, along with new Wwoofers Quentin and Marine from France, show how the mud and straw should be mixed..........








................and applied to the wall foundations. Suzie's mother, Eileen and her friend Lottie have been visiting from Australia. Eileen took a keen interest in all that was happening.











During their visit Eileen and Lottie stayed in the Earthouse, and found it cosy and warm and very much to their liking! This barn style door was designed and made by a local craftsman, using our Macrocarpa timber.









They earned their keep, loading up the wheelbarrow with silage for the cows each morning. They have lost none of their farm girl skills from their youth, and helped with moving the cows as well as feeding them.












They became quite fond of the younger animals in particular, spoiling them with extra feed and attention, as they do with their own grandchildren.









During their visit Joy calved, producing a beautiful big bull calf we've decided to name Bill. He is strong and handsome like his name sake, and has taken a real shine to life at Earthstead.











He is much larger than little Beryle, but they are both full of beans and play and romp together. We all spend a lot of time watching their antics each day - great time wasters. The only problem is that Joy is so very bossy to Lucy, pushing her away from the feed and often pushing her through the electric fence. Our farming friends have told us that we should leave them to sort out their differences, and that time will right it. In the meantime, we have given up on break feeding with an electric fence, and have put the four of them in a full paddock to share. At this time of year with feed short it is not ideal, but it is all we can think to do.










Over the past weeks we have been pruning our fruit trees and clearing and upgrading our entryway. It is such a feeling of achievement to see our plans taking shape.









Marie has worked very hard planting a hedge of Griselinas along our boundary. These native trees will form a wonderful glossy leafed evergreen hedge, maintaining our privacy while looking beautiful










Quentin and Marine, under the watchful eye of Ali are cutting recycled carpet to place around the new trees to keep the weeds down, and help keep the soil moist.









Next our senior wwoofers spread a leaf and lawn clipping mulch to cover the carpet. The wool carpet will eventually break down along with the mulch and form a natural compost layer, feeding the plants in a way similar as they would if they were grown in a forest.








We also used the recycled wool carpet and underlay in long strips between the living roof on the Earthhouse, keeping the weeds down, and conserving moisture. The native grass we have used is Carix Testacia , and it is not completely drought proof, so we anticipate having to use some watering system over the hot dry weeks of January and February each year. The thick felted wool underlay will help keep the grasses moist.









Spring has arrived, and we are enjoying the daffodils, and the sound of baby lambs and calves. Although Suzie's mum has visited New Zealand 14 times over the years, this is her first winter/spring visit.










Quentin and Marine are Engineering students back in France, and they both specialise in all things wooden. Here Quentin has used his skills to make a nesting box for the young exotic hens who have just begun laying. We have placed an egg in each of the bays and are hoping they will find the nests themselves and begin to lay in them rather than on the muddy ground as is the case now.










We have continued our Friday night dinners with the now world famous in New Zealand trivia quiz. Here Quentin and Marine prepare their curly questions to add to quiz master Ali's repertoire.










Our regular patrons, Ali's parents Beryle and Ron were able to spend time with old friends Eileen and Lottie and toast one another's good health.









And once again the famous decadent Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding has claimed a new devoted fan. Sadly it was Marie's last night with us as a wwoofer. We are looking forward to welcoming her back as a guest in the not too distant future.











Last two photo's are from our lightning visit down the Winston and Sarah at Waitawere Beach to show Eileen the gorgeous Lachlan. He seems to know she is someone very special as he looks up at her.










On the way home we stopped in for a delicious meal at the Chateau Tongariro. It was a magical time, with the afternoon sun sparkling on the snow covered mountains which surround this iconic New Zealand building.