A gully full of surprises
“From here you can really see that the land is in a gully. We are literally hidden in a valley” were the words Elin said to Jesse when we had walked up the hill and looked with enchanted eyes over the piece of land from a distance.
We thought it would be fun to write an update on our next plans and goals for establishing the organic herb farm, Farmgully.
We have been living on our piece of land for a month now, 2.5 hectares is really big!
We are dealing with an untouched piece of earth. The piece of land is an old river bed of the current river that still flows elegantly along our stretch. A home base for frogs, fish, turtles, and many others, and a source of care and irrigation for us.
Planning herb planting – before September
The former river bed has provided a rich soil and we are very happy with the nutritious soil that has been built up over the centuries. The river left another surprise for us: river stones in many shapes and sizes! And especially a lot, haha.
To prepare the soil for cultivation, the stones will have to be removed from the field. A step that we had underestimated, but a step that we look at with a positive attitude.
After a few days of picking up stones by hand and collecting them in wheelbarrows, we decided to put our heads together and look for a smarter solution.
We are going to call in the help of a tractor, which can loosen the stones by plowing so that we can then clear them away more easily. We have tried to delay this purchase until after our first harvest, due to the high costs involved. Now we have concluded the purchase is needed in the near future, to be continued.
We would like to add that the machine will be used for the better, with good planning and a smart approach.
We will grow herbs in 4 areas. We will successively clear these areas of the stones, plow and plant. Our goal is an autumn – spring cultivation of the annual plants, Calendula and Chamomile. We will do our best to plant Sage and Thyme around that time as well, these are plants that remain productive in the ground for about 4 years.
We are currently in our small tunnel greenhouse carefully observing how the plants are doing in our soil to see what we can improve to let them grow into a success.
Planning drying shed – for the first harvest in the following spring
We have agreed on the location of the drying house and are currently planning and designing in detail how the drying house will take shape. We take into account building materials that are available in the region and that fit our budget. We also want to leave room for possible expansion of the drying house.
Planning house – for the colder months – November/December
In addition to our focus on the herb farm, we have decided to prepare part of the ruin for a more comfortable living space throughout the colder months. We have already largely excavated the relevant part. The beautiful walls, up to half a meter thick, are really starting to give shape to the space where we want to make into a small studio.
We were happy to find a good construction consultant for the roof. We are therefore confident to create a cozy place where we can relax after long working days and allow the next steps to unfold.
Rain in late May!
It’s been raining here for the past few days, which is great! This also gave us the opportunity to take a break and write a little update. Further details and photos will be available in subsequent updates.
Our thanks and next update
Our big thanks to everyone for all the help around this project! We do everything we can every day to make it a success! Thank you everyone for the kind regards, financial support and motivation it brings. The next update we aim for next Sunday!
Love, Jesse and Elin