We're very keen to keep things ticking over at the farm, in spite of all the current challenges - such an important project! It's time to build local food security and community and I would hate to see the site revert to a carpet of weeds after all the hard work everyone has put in over the last couple of years. A few of us are keeping on top of the weeds in the main growing area, plan to grow a few easy things, try a few experiments we can maybe build on in the future and keep on building up the quality of the soil.
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| Easy to keep a safe distance... Julia, Gary and I have got the worst of the weeds in the main growing area under control. |
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| There's still plenty to work on, strawberries to salvage for a start. |
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| While we were digging out dock roots it was really interesting to see just how much the soil has improved through nature working away with all the compost, woodchip and cardboard we've been adding. It was brilliant to see so many WORMS! where there used to be none at all. The soil is breaking down and changing from hard packed claggy clumps into something much more workable. Interesting to see how there seems to be more worm activity around the dock roots - is that a well known phenomenon that I've missed? |
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| We're planning to grow some easy stuff, tatties, pumpkins and squash, and we're getting this bit ready for beans and also carlin peas, which I'm keen to experiment with as a locally growable alternative to imported chick peas for hummus. |
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| CLOVER - another experiment I've been keen to try for ages, growing clover as a ground cover to suppress weeds and to grow other stuff through. Also a brilliant plant for fixing nitrogen to help break down all that woodchip and cardboard, and with bee friendly flowers. This is a temporary frame to keep the pigeons off it till it's established. The last time I tried this the seeds germinated fine but then birds had the lot. |
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