Volunteer info update -August 2017

Several of our past volunteers have been bugging me to post more details about volunteering here on the farm. So here are our loose plans for the next 2-3 months. Things change along the way but this is our basic plan.

Firstly, the weather is a huge factor for us and since we have not yet had as much rain as we would like, need or expect, we will probably have a wet early October like the 1st year we were here.
A lot of the work we do is outdoors and so we are rather weather dependent. Definitely a case of making hay while the sun shines!

The 5 main areas in order of importance are:
-finishing our straw house and barn
-planting summer crops
-re-fencing the farm
-building a new chicken tractor
-upgrading the volunteer area

The house is well on its way but there is still a lot to do. 1 main wall of straw bales to erect, plastering, electrical, plumbing etc
The barn only begins after the house is complete.

This year I will be planting maize agian- as long as we get enough rain! Of course I will sow every other vegetable I can get into the ground. Some for food and market sales and some for seed production. Compost making is critical here.

The fences on the farm are terrible  and since it's not the most intellectual job, we are replacing it section by section.
It is really important as we grow our farm though.

The chicken tractor is a thorn in Jans side!  He says he is not building another 1. I need a bigger 1 to expand my flock of egg laying hens so am looking for handy volunteers to help me complete this.

Lastly, we have reclaimed bricks, pavers and a huge steel bbq and want to set this up for our volunteers. The cabin needs a small deck, ceiling boards and the bathroom needs some maintenance. We want to overhaul our caravan so we can accommodate 4 volunteers at a time. This area must be really comfortable and just fun to live in.

So these are my priorities. Lots of fun and games and great opportunities to learn many new skills. Come play!

Small steps

I love purple baby potatoes! Planning to grow a lot more this summer.

Our front door fully enclosed. Glass still to come.  Getting somewhere.

Volunteers working hard

Margot et Anthony (French) and Jan playing soccer in the beautiful  light. Max and the 2 dogs are on the sidelines.

Champagne for my birthday braai and a game to cheer on. Another Tough day in Africa.

Compost heaps in place and potatoes

I have been trying to find ways to be more efficient in my work. The distance from my main compost heap in the food forest to my small seed garden is about 50m.  It seems silly to pull out weeds from the seed garden and wheel them all the way down only to bring it all the way back up the hill once it's ready as compost.
So here's my solution so far. I clear a bed and build a small square compost heap at one end with all the right layers- green - brown- manure- urine etc. I leave it about a week to get started, all the while collecting more composting materials.

Next I put my seed potatoes on top of the flattened pile.

I put a big scoop of readymade compost on each potato. Then I build the next few layers of the heap over the top ending with a thin layer of grass cuttings or hessian. Water next of course.
I keep watering every 2 days and as the leaves emerge, add more layers of dry grass cuttings- more as mulch than anything else. Probably wood shavings or leaf litter would be fine too. Do this every time the leaves grow out a bit more just leaving the top few exposed. Stop the process when the heap is thigh high or when you think the plant is at its peak. Just guess. It's not science, it's an experiment.

My experiment is not complete yet as the original bed is not quite ready to harvest. I will update when it's done in a few weeks.
Potatoes grow new roots which become tubers at each stem node which is underground.  In theory, if you keep building up vertically, the plant will have clusters of potatoes growing all the way up the stem where it's covered. It works well in a tyre stack so why not like this too.

Transplanting sweet red onions

Yesterday the moon was in the perfect position to plant. I quickly transplanted a patch of sweet Red Creole onion seedlings. These sell in the shops for R26-45/ kg. Ridiculous if you consider they grow just as well as any other onion. Best grow your own. I will probably sow wild rocket or coriander seeds in between the onions in a couple of weeks.  Double the harvest from this small bed.

Night time temperatures have still not been in the double digits consistently yet. This means no seeds in the ground yet. Best to stick to trays for another few weeks until it warms up properly.

Spring garlic

A small harvest but hopefully enough for a year. Not enough for seed though...

Food forest- phase 2

On the right is what it looked like before the chickens went in. See the left for how they cleared it. They ate and scratched all except the kikuyu roots. Time to move them to the next piece on the right. And plant the left side! Hooray for planting season!