Highlighting a low-cost way to generate energy while using on-farm resources, reducing greenhouse gases, and ending up with a rich fertiliser. Klaus Lotz has had a bee in the bonnet about biogas since he first learned about it at age 17. Klaus and Vanessa and their family operate PermaDynamics at Matapouri, Northland, New Zealand’s largest […]
Permadynamics has the largest banana plantation in New Zealand: over 200 productive clumps, each of which produces between 60 and 70 kilos of fruit per year. Klaus Lotz and his family primarily grow Ladyfinger bananas (aka Misi Luki), but they also grow a smaller tangier Cavendish-like variety known as Goldfinger. “Banana growth is governed by […]
Ladyfinger bananas in the middle of winter at the Whangarei Farmers Market? I’d found the owners of New Zealand’s largest banana plantation, a diverse sub-tropical wonderland. From just two acres at Matapouri, Klaus Lotz and his family sell vetiver plants, banana cuttings and a variety of fresh produce. A passionate permaculture expert who incorporates biodynamics […]
What is rock dust and can it help things grow? Keith Gray, chairman of the Rotorua branch of the Soil & Health Association during the 1980s (Organic NZ Jan/Feb 2016), favoured rock dust enormously. He touted it as a fertiliser, but rock dust lacks sufficient nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to qualify as fertiliser. Its […]
In ages past hemp was the material from which superior rope and canvas were produced, strong and durable. In recent years we learned hemp fibre makes excellent clothing and furnishing fabrics, and more recently still, that it’s a source of quality foods. All this makes hemp useful, but Dave and Anne Jordan who run […]
Theresa Sjoquist
Bioforce
Daily Organics
Theresa Sjoquist
