Flores Permaculture

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 a