Organically grown produce in the Western Bay of Plenty
Such an exciting time of year around the orchards. The bees have been super busy around the place and we’ve left parts of the tree orchard to grow wild with plenty of variety for them. The fruits of their labour are plain to see… so good.
Now the orchard trees are getting their leaves and blossom we can clearly see what each tree is. When we took on the farm we listened to what each one was then promptly forgot and didn’t make any notes…. thank you nature for the clues.
We had perfect weather and plenty of help to get all the mulch down on the blueberries and the weed matting throughout the orchard. Friends and family came to help, some brought tractors, some brought trailers, some brought wheel-barrows, all brought shovels.
The team cracked on giving us time to get the organic fertilizers down, clear up rubbish around the place, set-up, test and run the irrigation across the bays. A really productive day. A good lunch with a selection of gourmet sausages and caramelised onions went down a treat, Loki was on hand to keep the place tidy too.
The aim of this mulch is try and reduce the nitrogen content, keep the plants cool and to retain more of the water once we get into the Summer season. Evidence from the States shows this can improve production too but our plants are too young to know yet. I’m sure they’ll be very appreciative of all the work being put in. Loki seems impressed.
Next time your washing machine gives up…. think about reusing that stainless steel drum hidden within.
They make a great rustproof garden fire-pit.
Some beautiful mornings in the Bay these last few days with the crescent moon and Venus showing off in the blue and orange sunrise to the East have been inspiring.
With all the uncertainty going on overseas and at home the slow rhythm of the Moon and the seasons provides a element of continuity that our fast lives can lose sight of.
The days are getting longer and the sense of optimism is returning as it looks like an early Spring is on the cards. We’ve still got leaves many of plants as the frosts have been mild to non-existent on the farm this year…. so far.
We’ve been working to get the irrigation system ready to start up again. You start off thinking it will be a quick job and slowly becomes days of effort and fault finding to figure out where the problem is. Life’s a journey, more to learn every season!
We’re working hard to clear invasive species from our land. A weekend spent ripping out gorse, roots and all, will let us stay on top of it by hand in the future. We’re aiming to plant Manuka and Kanuka across the cleared bank.
All this gorse is going make a bonfire on Guy Fawkes night…. the kids are already thinking about who their Guy is going to be…. any suggestions?
We’ve been using the slower growing season to get on top of many jobs around the place. Pulling out old structures for long dead vines and digging out old weed matting has left us with a much easier mowing task in the orchards.
That extra time was immediately soaked up by giving our old tractor a service and some TLC to hopefully give us a trouble free busy harvest ahead.
It’s the time of year where we have to get on our hands an knees clearing the year’s growth around the plants and their weed mats. There are no shortcuts but it’s hugely satisfying work…. we’ll be able to crush golf balls with our bare hands by the time we get this all finished!
