We have lost a lot to the rain this year but we’re thankful for what we can harvest when the sun shines for us.
There’s more fruit for sale again and more to come throughout February and March.
Sun means more berries
Next berries need a week of sunshine, ready early February hopefully
Our next varieties have been waiting patiently for this terrible weather to pass. Once they get a week of sunshine they will be ready and we will start loading up the roadside stall again. Remember, we’ll post a message and put the flag out too when we’re back in action. Hoping to be ready the second week of February looking at the long range forecast from MetService.
Rain rain go away….
The blues are trying their best but we’ve just not had enough sunshine. It’s looking like we’re still at least 10 days off the first crop. Watch this space.
Busy bees
The cold weather in October didn’t seem to slow the bees down too much. On the calm sunny days the extra daylight has meant the hives have grown and grown. They have found all the flowering Rewarewa out back as well as our blueberry out front. Happy days!
Plenty of water this autumn
it’s definitely been good weather for ducks and Labradors this autumn. Plenty of water in the rivers, saw some really high levels in July that stripped all the moss and plants off the big bolders in the main channel. Big rain.
Pulling in favours to shift mulch on a Sunday
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.
Four frosty starts in a row
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.
Another beautiful day in the Bay
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!
