I live on a 2.5ac periurban/semirural block with my hubby, 3 horse, 10 chooks and 2 dogs. I am a reg. nurse as well as in the process of establishing an equine therapies business involving herbs, aromatherapy, and muscle therapy.

I have been interested in permaculture for a number of years, but don't really know where to start. Recently though, with the horses on just 1.75ac of our 2.5ac, I need to do something with all the lovely manure the horses and chooks provide me. The property has come a long way, and there is more 'pasture' here now then there was when we moved in 6 years ago, but it has been a slow process. I am thankfull for our dung beetles who have been doing a smashing job getting rid of horse poo and increasing thee fertility of our place, but... I need to establish a better system to allow for the establishment of fodder trees and shrubs, as well as a 'browsing herb garden'. As I said, all this on 1.75ac of 'paddock'.

So far I have concentrated on improving soil fertility and structure. I establised a track system along the lines of Jaime Jacksons Paddock Paradise principle which has done much to help establish good grass cover and keep my horses healthy alround. My chook shed has become the 'horse manure enrichment factory' and boy do they love picking through all that poo and enriching it with theirs. It's amazing how quickly 5 or 6 barrows full of manure is processed into the soil. The shed gets cleaned out every 3 months and the the 'compost' distributed onto the paddocks as fertiliser, although the next lot will make the base for our vegie garden. Not sure if this can be called permaculture, but I am learning.

It's been so long....

Worms glorious worms

What to do with oodles of horse poo... use it to feed worms. The worm farm project has begun :)