To this date, this is (left) what we have been developing outside. The gardens are taking shape. We have created several "beds" from which we will be able to rotate our cultures. The picture shows well the new roof compared with the right part of the building that has not been changed yet. The panels on the roof are a solar water heating system. They will provide the hot water for the heated system of the main floor of the house. More on that topic when we will install the whole system.
Here right, a picture of the ground we started with. It was covered with bramble.
This picture is from December 2016.
We are working slowly but we will get there
Last year, Mike planted sorghum, a grain that we wanted to experiment with. Prior to planting, Mike had worked up the ground well, removed loads of bramble roots and incorporated compost to loosen the compacted clay. The sorghum roots continued to work up the ground, feeding the microscopic life under the soil. After harvesting the sorghum heads, I have flatten the canes to let then dry on site during the whole winter. In March, it was time to cover this bed with hay to reduce the growth of "weeds". Because the ground should warm up before planting, I covered the hay with a black tarp to allow warmth production and reduce light which should also stimulate the activity of the worms and all the other insects which will prepare a healthy and rich ground for free !!!
Mid-April, I planted in total 250 potatoes. I made holes in the composting hay, placed the potatoes in each hole and covered them with well composted manure and some black dirt.
What is the garden doing at the moment?
We harvested the last leaves of our palm kale, those plants are now full of yellow flowers. The bees love them! I will let only one plant mature and harvest the seeds for next year. The other ones will be cut a ground hight, leaving the root system in the ground for all our little workers. The plants will be given to the chicken and later put on the compost pile.
The broad beans are doing really well, flowers will open soon and he pods will be formed after. Hoping in May to enjoy our first meal! One thing I should do soon is to spray the plants with a dilution of water and black soap, the only remedy against aphids.
The green house is turning into a seeding area for various plants like cabbages, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, leeks, etc but also other beneficial plants such as marigold, camomile, coriander, basil; the list is long.
When you start growing all kinds of "Swiss" Chards in your garden, you come to realize that all those great leafy greens grow in great amounts quite easily. You need a few plants to feed 2 people. If you have different varieties, then have to find ways to incorporate them into your weekly menu using a bit of ingenuity. In salads and in soups, lightly panfried with garlic, added raw to mashed potatoes; these were pretty much my ideas until I found this recipe.
Never have I thought to incorporate them in a savory cake! And it is delicious.
Here is my "special" recipe, I made it often enough to adapt it to my taste.
Preheat the oven at 170 C.
In a pan, fry lightly 200 gram of any chopped leafy greens (could be chard, kale, spinach, some beets greens,... whatever you like). Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and let cool down.
In a mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs. Add 50 ml oil, 125 ml oat milk, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp salt. In a second bowl mix together 100 gram chickpea flour, 60 gram of potato starch (or corn starch), 2 tsp of leaving agent. Add the flour mix to the wet mix, stir thoroughly. Incorporate the greens. Pour the batter in a square form, previously greased and floured. Bake about 45 minutes.
Spring is here and I could not resist making a batch of dandelion jelly. I have used the recipe I wrote in my blog of April 2017 but I adapted the recipe a little bit. This time I used more flowers with 2 liters water. It gave me 1600 ml after sieving. I then added the juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange. My total liquid was 1800 ml. I used 720 gram sugar and 7 gram agar agar powder instead of Marmelo.
It resulted in a fresh flowery jelly, loving it!
Another great step for this spring: Preparing for the new septic system !!!!
The financing is accepted, we are now waiting for a date. This septic system means a lot to us and to this project. Having a septic system means we will be able to work on the main house, allowing us to move from our actual apartment and renovate it in order to be able to rent it. A real domino effect!
Rocks for our "gabion retaining wall". A gabion is a metal cage filled with rocks, broken concrete and sometimes added with sand or soil to fill gaps. You have certainly seen this type of wall before, pretty trendy I would say! Well, we happened to have met with James and Stacey. This is an English couple with 4 kids who have moved to Aurignac a half year before us and, just like us, have their house under construction.
They demolished a section of an old barn and they were looking to get rid of the stone and sand mixture. In Aurignac, we can bring those "garbage" material to the quarry for a small price. They recycle. But hey, if it can be free, this is better AND Mike was keeping his eyes open for such material. We killed two birds with one stone (haha, talking about "stones")!
2019: creating opportunities to meet great people
This month, I have met people that will probably change my life here in France. Change my life by creating new contacts, opening opportunities, creating moments to exchange knowledge, helping in any way to grow into what we want to achieve.
It all started at the seed and plants "swap day" in Saint-André, a village about 20 minutes from Aulon. The turn out of people was fabulous for such a small village. This year, I focussed my plant exchanges on flowering species. I would like to build the gardens around flower beds to attract more pollinators but also because I love flowers, they make me smile :) So, that day, I met 2 interesting people that incorporate and teach the permaculture concepts. The permaculture approach guides us to challenge our choices focussing on "care of the earth", "care of the people" and "fair share" of the resources and results. Cultivating a network of good people around us is as important as cultivating a productive and beautiful garden.
Since we live in France, I have been watching You Tube videos on permaculture, sustainable living soils and biodynamics. In most of the videos, there were talks from Laurent Welsch. I had no idea that this most knowledgeable character lived only 2 km away from our place. So it took me 2 years to actually stop at his farm and introduce myself. That day, I also helped him harvesting the veggies of the day for his coming markets. I am really happy I conquered my fears and went to meet with him. This will open new horizons I am certain of it.
I also met with a school director. She works for 3 primary schools, one in Aulon and the other ones in Latoue and Lieoux, villages nearby. She would love to develop a gardening program at her schools, a time to learn about gardening and plants but also a time to build relationships between the families, children and the community. We will meet again to see how I could help with this new venture of hers.
Coming up are 2 other important events: the organic fair in ARBAS and the Medicinal Plant day in the Abbey in Bonnefont. Plenty of opportunities to create contacts :)
Our second pig: Julie. She left for the slaughter house on Tuesday March 26th. Bringing Julie was a bit harder on my emotions but I knew it had to be done. She turned out having generalized cancer and the meat was not proper for consumption. Maybe a good sign because I am not sure how I would have react fetching her body that Friday.
Farewell Julie, you have filled a special place in my life.
And now, time to close this chapter and sign off as pig farmers.
Our energy will be put on the chickens. At the moment, we have 2 broody chicken. The next chicken who will sit on eggs will get her eggs replaced by duck eggs. Ducks take 28 days to hatch and chickens only 21, so if you want a chicken to sit on duck eggs, you have to replace them all.
It will be funny to see a chicken mama running after her ducklings.
We are entering an hectic period but I will take time to keep you posted on all the new developments, I promise.
à bientôt !!