A snap of the house in Winter mode by our first ever WWOOFer, Andrew of Canada.
 Due to the abundance of pine trees (introduced by the British, and now unbelievably ubiquitous) we have a surplus of needles with which we are mulching our beds. This means that very often I have to answer the question about pine needle acidity. One thing I got from this site below is that it could be effecting the germination of new seeds, so when we get back I'll pull a load off the beds and save it until the plants are emerging. This might explain why the response has been a little slow considering how many seeds we put in. So, for those who want to know, pine needles causing acidity in soil pH is indeed a MYTH. The biggest problem will be the terpenes which readily dissolve in water and air anyway, normally when the pine loses its scent. So maybe trace elements remain, but generally, it's fine. Here are some other facts to consider:  The apricot blossoms have come and gone, and now its the turn of the extensive apple orchards around our house to burst forth with flowers as spring kicks off in force. The birds are back, lured by the abundant insectlife flourishing in our lasagne sheet beds, and best of all, it's sprouting time!
The Champion of England peas have been lured up in mixed weather using jam jar cloches and have now been planted out into a sunny spot in the front yard to speed towards their ultimate height of 6 feet. There are even some rajma poking their noses out, and a little bit of local corn emerging. We have thrown alot of seed into the beds but the cold rains of spring have kept them a little subjugated - let's see what's happening in 10 days! The first flush of WWOOFers have responded with sterling reports - eight lovely lads and ladies have spent the last six weeks with us working on the building of good healthy soil, repainting the rooms for guests, restringing a massive dreamcatcher, chopping wood, digging drains and generally being ecstatic to be in the mountains and helping repair the damage done to the land. Applications are still steadily rolling in so if you want to join us, send a message today to book your sponsored place. Otherwise, feel frei to drop in and say hello to the brand new mural painted on our dormitory wall ... pix to follow once we get internet savvy. In other news, our new outdoor cafe-cum-cinema BRAHMAVISION has been completed in circus motley of red, yellow and green. Sadly not the most permacultury of buildings, but definitely a must as we prepare for the season to kick off in earnest with the arrival of the Wave from south India. Coming up in May we have our new weekly movie-nights, with surprise performances, home-baked cakes and a dash of spoken word play to keep it interactive - plus the ongoing work of planting out our veggie crops and preparing a lean-to greenhouse ... come join us! | AuthorBrahmaji ArchivesApril 2013 Categories |
RSS Feed