Mulching like mad…

As we had a large group of our regular stalwarts on hand yesterday, as well as a number of visiting volunteers we decided to do a mammoth mulching activity, mainly in the Hill field. Many little strugling trees were cleared of weeds, and gently mulched with cardboard, collars, carefully prepared by our willing participants.

everybody worked very hard, the weather was glorious, and many trees were rescued from the thriving Down grass.!

Noone could accuse Brian of being unhappy in his work…

At least Sheila knows how we manage to get through so much cardboard now….

Agm and BBQ EVENING

Last saturday, twenty nine members attended the annual General meeting of GCNI.Members of the comittee read out personal Biographies, and outlined the activities of the group, undertaken during the last year.Following this short meeting there was a BBQ and Bonfire gathering for members.

marching in the mud…

Here are our enthusiastic cobbers, in action, mixing the mud and straw and water by wellie certainly helps to keep the cold at bay…almost finished the first wall of the roundhouse in cordwood and cobb, the others will be constructed using stonewalling techniques and traditional straw bales, which we will make ourselves with the old style baler.

cobblers!

Today the weather was beautiful this morning, we started off gently, spreading our newly delivered chippings around the paths in the forest garden, the heat from inside the chippings pile was incredible! People say that sometimes they catch fire all by themselves! if heard of this phenomenon in people but not in compost heaps!
Then we set to cobbling…and great fun was had by all who participated.

Todays doings on the farm…

We were joined by some new volunteers today, and the rain held off until four pm, long enough for us to get a little further along in our roundhouse and physic garden projects..

christopher and clinton made a start on the front door frame foundations..

franchesca,jackie,dessi,evie,penny,and rachael have all been working hard in the smallholding field, on the new area for the childrens swing, and the physic garden planting area..
great progress was made!
well done everybody, it was a good days work.

forging ahead

Steve, our greenwoodworker, who is leading the roundhouse project says that once he gets a set of instructions in his head, he finds it impossible to rest until he has carried them through. By my calculations, he should be due a sound sleep by christmas time!.


Clinton and Christopher have provided plenty of muscle and enthusiasm along the way..

and wesley has virtually camped up there on the scafold tower….

further progress…..

the posts were stripped and charred and then pounded into the ground to form the base of the frame..


then there was a lot of planning and thought that went into the reciprocal roof frame..

progress on the roundhouse

we have been very busy these last few weeks , here are steve,evie and brian, charring the legs of the roundhouse posts, before burying them, this helps prevent them rotting..
They all needed to be carried into situ and arranged..

breaking news…hobbit mania comes to the farm!

lately in the press we have seen glossy cutesy images of hobbit roundhouses, nestled into welsh hillsides, well enough of pictures.In the next three months Steve, and a team of eager volunteers are constructing a roundhouse here on the farm, for us all to enjoy.! Why we dug the post holes, as long as a wifes arm(cubits) six of them on monday, ten larch trees are felled, and the bark has been stripped from them already, anyone who knows us here at the farm, knows once we start something we dont hang about.
Heres Brian getting stuck in!

watch this space!

Activity weekend success…

Im pleased to report that apart from a few sharp short showers, the weather had been as wonderful as the participants in our weekend extraviganza!!
There have been four main areas that we have concentrated on, over the two days, The tree mulching, of our newly planted trees, yesterday, the creation of a new compost toilet for the forest area, the willow sculpture around the fire pit area, and the establishment of a new terrace/bed area within the forest garden for fruit bushes and shrubs..
All activites were most enjoyable, the crack was grand, the farm a hive of industry.Evie and James and Tessa came along for the first time to work alongside our regular stalwarts, Rachael, Steve, claire, Richard,Penny, clinton, wesley, chris, catherine,and her nephew Andrew , Julie our WWOOFer for the week, joined Ruth, our mushroom queen,peter and louisa, Joan was catering away and giving mini tours and I was snapping away behind the lens, as usual.