City day
Monday it was time to do some groceries in the city. We decided to go to our first farmers market to explore what we could buy there.
There were many stalls selling products like plants, chickens, sheets, clothes, cheeses, antiques and fish. We were most excited about the organic fresh produce stall where we bought figs and eggs. We also took home a big bag of olives with which, later in the week, Elin made a yummy olive focaccia!
We also brought home a cement mixer that will be crucial for some upcoming building projects!
Opening a PO box
We finally managed to open a PO box, which makes it possible for us to receive letters and other documents.
Very important for among other things becoming certified organic. It wasn’t easy but we can now finally receive mail and couldn’t be happier about that!
Chalkboards
There is so much to do and sometimes the length of the list makes our heads spin. We concluded that we needed to make a planner and after some brainstorming we decided on making our own chalkboards.
We’ve started our first biweekly planner, helping us planning meals and tasks.
Meanwhile in the greenhouse…
Elin planted many more seeds in the greenhouse in aim to create a continuous supply of rocket, dill, basil, coriander & lettuce.
Next to these five favorites of ours, Elin also planted chamomile, moringa, chives, cayenne pepper, loofah, chervil, zucchini and some more.
Fertility plan
Jesse has been reading the book ‘’JADAM – organic farming’’ by Youngsang Cho. JADAM is a group of organic farmers based in Korea and as written on their website their objective is to bring farming back to the farmers; to restore the farmers’ sovereignty in technology; spread an ultra-low cost method of farming; and ultimately open a new world where farmers, consumers and mother nature are in harmony.
It’s been very inspirational for creating our own fertility plan for the soil. We are planning to make our own fertilizer mixtures, microbial inputs and natural pesticides by using the process of fermentation.
This week we bought two big barrels to start experimenting with making our own natural concoctions. This experiment we will firstly test in our private garden but when succesfull we would like to use it on the herb farm as well.
A new home for the worms
Our worms that we had since we were living in Rotterdam are really enjoying the new environment. The worm colony has been growing and we needed to give them more space to expand. We were a bit challenged by what housing is best for them and tried out different methods before we found a solution.
Firstly we put them in one of our compost departments lined with really fine mesh, assuming this would keep them together (spoiler, they were slowly escaping). To bring them back to safety we transferred the worms into big bags so they were in a more enclosed space. Although, after a few weeks the weight and moisture caused a hole on the bottom of the bag, again the worms found their way out.
We finally found a 1000L barrel, normally used for wine making. Jesse drilled in a hole and tap (to drain the excess water) and we transferred the worms into this safe new home.
Q: How are we enjoying living in a tent?
We actually really like it! There are ofcourse downsides to the tent, which does make us look forward to create a studio in the ruin. The studio will provide a bit more comfort like a tiny kitchen and protection from the weather. With these 35 degrees summer days we avoid being in the tent too much because it’s simply too hot.
We do love that the tent is spacious enough and makes us feel very safe. So all in all it’s perfect for this transitioning phase.
(Do you also have a question you’d like to ask us, you can send us an email via the contact page or send us a direct message on Instagram)
Saying goodbye
We had such a good time with our friend and first visiter, Inna. She helped us a lot with the fieldwork, which currently consists of picking the stones. We shared many nice meals together, one of which was the Ukrainian dish called varenyky. We miss you Inna!