Flores Permaculture

Last weeks rainy Sunday was spent organising all the seed varieties I have taking up half the space in our fridge, so I could see if anything might be missing. Some of the seeds are from the local agricultural co-op, but most I have bought from Vital Seeds, Chiltern Seeds, Sementes Vivas, and also some from Fothergill that my Mum gifted us. I have had amazing results already from the seeds I have sourced from Vital Seeds, a company that produce their own, but Brexit might get in the way of being able to source from them again😞. Many of the seeds saved over the years on this farm coincidentally 'disappeared' in 2017, so we only currently have seeds saved from Peppers, Kale, Mustard, and Tamarillo. I intend to save seed from our favourites grown this year, from Tomatoes, Melons, Squash, Peppers, Kale, Lettuce, and Peas and Beans, and Cucumber, so that the next year I won't need to make such an investment in seeds.  We haven't got around to putting the greenhouse...

It is only the middle of February, and we already have most of our volunteer spaces filled from the middle of March until the end of July. Whilst we have a lull in help on the farm, Magnus and I have developed a working system. He goes through with a chainsaw, cutting down all the big stuff, frequently falling down the mountain and hurting himself in the process. After a few hours have past, he will come down to the house with a great big smile on his face, exclaiming that 'I almost died so many times'. I'm glad I know he generally knows what he's doing, and is just expressing how much of a mess he made. That's where I come in: I go around doing all the little, detailed work, to make areas he has cleared serve a purpose. Below shows one of the areas we are particularly excited about in Zone 2. A greenhouse will be placed where the black plastic is showing, and the logs will be stacked around the greenhouse as a makeshift wind-block. The soil in this area g...

We have started to go to the local farmers market in Santa Cruz.  Although we have little to sell right now, mostly limes, oranges, mustard greens, chives, chu chu, and sweet potatoes, it is important that we attend now to see what customers are looking for this Spring and onwards. It is also good for Magnus to practice his Portuguese, plus he gets a laugh out of me when he wanders off and sees me looking all embarrassed when we get a customer who realises I don't speak Portuguese. When this happens, I have to get Magnus to explain that there is too much to do if we are to make money selling vegetables this year to cover our living expenses, so I am finding it difficult to find the time to learn Portuguese.  It has become clear to us that potatoes will not be our main crop to sell, because we don't have a tractor or flat land, so it really is difficult to make selling potatoes for us worthwhile. So, instead we will need to increase our own compost supplies ...

When I arrived over a year ago to the Johnson Quinta, I found it very easy to get lost. It took me a while to learn the lands, and find my feet, but eventually I stopped falling down the mountain everyday and even started to be able to walk up the hill without feeling out of breath.  There are so many exciting aspects to this farm I have discovered along the way, with many areas showing huge potential that get added to the long list of areas Magnus needs to go through with a chainsaw. However, there is one plant that really begins to make me think my mothers habit of spraying with Roundup in only a t-shirt and denim shorts isn't really as crazy as it may seem. That plant isn't cana roca or the false tobacco plant. It is this:  Mexican Pepperleaf  Now, I have a 'to do' list that goes on forever, so if someone recommended to me that I should grow an aromatic herb that gives you superpowers, but I hadn't even heard of it, alarm bells would be ringing...

Before Christmas, we decided to harvest our sheep. As she was a tethered animal, we had to move her every couple of days, which resulted in us becoming quite attached to her. For Magnus, tethering an animal is no problem and he intended to breed from her. However, I grew up in an environment that has very high welfare standards for livestock, and so tethering an animal isn't something I wish to be a part of. We even resorted to taking the sheep for walks 😳. As she got stronger, she became able to pull her stake out of the ground, and took a likening to the strawberries and camellias. So, we had to make a quick decision. The process of harvesting the sheep went very well, and she showed no signs of distress. The meat will feed our family of four for two months. Going forward, we won't be tethering any more animals long term. In order to have an ongoing meat supply, we are going to work on setting up an area for pigs which will be crucial for our subs...

It is vitamin C overload season here, which involves endlessly juicing our oranges. I am also storing the orange zest for the year ahead. We also have many naval oranges this year, which taste like luxury oranges to us - we are cherishing them.  We have enough chayote, potatoes, and root vegetables to sustain us for a few more months. Our freezer still has some farm meat, but we will soon need to halve our chicken flock to maintain our supplies. The Chinese broccoli is also now ready to harvest, which we will be adding to our stir-frys weekly until the weather really heats up in July. It has taken some time to learn which plants are suited to which gardens. There are some gardens which have an endless supply of slugs and snails, and some which seem to be untouched (the only reason I have broccoli this year). Putting a border of Ajuga around most of the home gardens seems to have worked wonders, although I cannot do this for the 'market gardens'...

We are getting nothing done on the farm, and are behind on many projects 😞 Many seedlings have been sat on, stakes have been bent, peas have been destroyed, and gardens have been dug up. These two are to blame: Many hours have also been spent coaxing them away from the open deathtrap that runs along our home 💧. We love these two little fuzzballs, at least they don't eat my plants unlike the sheep.