The longstanding compost toilet saga (let’s hope the compost toilet itself, is just as longstanding!), has finally concluded. We are super pleased with our natural solution. Everyone can enjoy their cups of tea, without fearing the consequences.
We were thrilled when so many people from our villages offered to sponsor trees in our growing community orchard. Some were given as Christmas presents, others to remember people, and some just as a family gift. We have about 50 fruit trees on site now, and are really looking forward to the first harvests over the next few years.
As temperatures have plunged over the last week, we couldn’t help but marvel at the plot in winter.
We enjoyed welcoming a new cohort of Craven College students on site this Autumn. Their first task was to measure our ecology. We are looking forward to hearing the results. We feel that since we have opened, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in wildlife on the plot. The wildlife pond has been really active this year and the dead hedge is now more of a living environment. We will be working hard over the next year, to keep supporting nature.
October 22nd
After the dreadful weather associated with Storm Babet, we were concerned about the condition of the ground on the plot. The drainage channel in next door’s field had become silted up and was blocking the flow of the stream. The result can be seen in the images below.
However, whilst I was away on Saturday morning, the team set to work restoring the channel behind the wall in our neighbour’s field, so that the water could flow freely again. And, flow it did, rapidly – with what seemed to be a huge sense of relief…
So, all was well by Sunday morning and the scene was one of bright blue skies and glowing sunshine.
We were able to plant 800 daffodils into the ground – Pheasant’s Eye and Mount Hood varieties. These should be able to be seen from Low Lane and the farm track running down to it, some time in April. As the years pass, they should naturalise and multiply, providing a carpet of pale yellow for all to enjoy. It seems fitting that there will be a good number of people who will know that they were part of the initial planting.
The wildflower meadow has been a joy to observe. As we ended the summer, the final job was to scythe the meadow and collect the cuttings.
We had such high hopes for July and it started off wonderfully. Warm weather meant that all we needed to worry about was watering. How things changed later on in the month. A cold and wet end continued into August and really made things tricky for the team. What made things worse, was this was the exact point I departed for a family holiday to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. I did manage to find a communal vegetable growing space in Vietnam though…
Tra Que Vegetable Growing Village, Hoi An, Vietnam.
