Montessi camp goes home

November 2 2014

It is very quiet this weekend now everyone has gone home. The weather has gone back to cold and wet, but it was really good for the camp week, so a bit of wet now is good for growing things. We enjoyed the camp and they got a lot of work done that Edd and I could never have done on our own but we are pretty tired now. The Montessori school kids were really impressive this time. They all worked well at their farm chores and set tasks and presented the findings from their science projects after dark one night using a screen set up in the old chimney and sitting around the fire to keep warm. Even the youngest kids spoke confidently in front of everyone and managed interesting presentations. The amazing thing was that they managed the whole week without mobile phones and screens and managed to entertain themselves and have lots of home made fun. I would love to see some of our family members do the same.

On the farm the vegetables are growing flat out and we are in full cheese making season. I make cheese most days and feed the rest of the milk to the goat kids we are rearing. Nothing goes to waste. The tomatoes and zucchinis have flowers. We are eating the last of the broccoli and swedes but the snow peas are as usual producing enough for a meal every day.  The latter make me think of last year when our friends were visiting from the UK. I wish they were here this year too. The broad beans have formed pods but have not reached edible size yet.

I have planted out the capsicums and eggplants but we will need to find more space for the rest of the pumpkins, the squash and the cucumbers as well as the next planting of lettuce. I probably need to make extra beds to keep things growing at this pace. I ate our first strawberry today and the blue berries are nearly ready. As I suspected the late frost decimated the mulberry crop but our new raspberries are starting to fruit.

The real problem with this time of year is the number of hours we need to be here working. The goats that kidded this year need to be milked as close to 12 hourly intervals as possible and the kids still need three times a day feeding. This period will pass soon enough, but we have to go with it.

I have not got down to my new tree plantation for a couple of weeks but the new trees planted closer are doing well except for the walnut that is not showing any signs of life. We have not had to water the trees yet but the vegetables and seedlings need constant attention. The grass needs regular mowing too but at least the sheep are doing a good job in the fire reserve around the house and in the section around the donga.

The idea is to get animals to control as much of the cleared areas as possible. The chooks do the orchards that are fenced and Bo’s pony mows the old drives. With a little bit of fencing it could probably do more because it seems to leave the trees alone. The sheep and goats will eat citrus trees and most other fruit trees so they are no good for this work.