November 2018
(featured photo: a serval spotted on our way to work!)
A friend once said, "If it were not for November, nobody would get anything done!" And it is so true! It is often the month of reflection - how far we've come during the year, compared to the vision we began the year with. It is also the last month before December, signalling a holiday in sight for most. Farm-wise, November is also the bridge between Spring and Summer. A lot happens in that time!
Market Garden
In theory the weather should start to stabilise around November. We have had some exceptionally hot and dry weather this month. Many of our poor little seeds have died because it is just too hot for them. Add to that water issues that have limited our irrigation and you have the recipe for a bad time! We had high hopes for this season - last year our crops were decimated by snow in November, and a tornado style hail storm shortly after. We actually only got to plant with any success in January. We were looking forward to a full season this year but sadly, we will need to replant much of what we had already seeded.
REKO Notties
This month we launched REKO Notties which has been a lot of work but very rewarding. REKO is a Finnish trading movement that is rapidly expanding throughout Europe, developed by Thomas Snellman. The REKO model aims to put customers in direct contact with local, small scale producers. This provides access to healthy, ethical, local produce at an affordable price, while also supporting small scale producers to create a viable enterprise and sustain their ecological efforts and values. It is a Facebook based trade agreement where approved producers post an advert each week of their products on a closed group, and customers comment to place an order from any producer. It is completely transparent - each producer can see the other's prices and how many orders each receives, thus encouraging healthy competition. The Facebook group is run by volunteers so there are no hidden costs, everything is transparent.
We enjoyed some time of learning in the last few weeks too. We attended a workshop called Permaculture Thinking, Regenerative Action by Eidin Griffin at Kings School in Nottingham Road. Then we took a trundle up the road to Harrismith and visited Oaklands Country Manor to see the gardens Eidin designed there. We enjoyed a delicious locally sourced dinner there. And then finally, we hopped over the hill and visited our neighbour Mick Haigh for a tour of his ceramics studio and his wife's beautiful veggie gardens, from which they supply their restaurant in town called Cafe Bloom. We are now feeling sufficiently inspired for December!
The outdoor classroom at Kings where we had our workshop by Eidin Griffin; Mick Haigh's open studio and gardens![]()
Check back soon to see what we've been up to, or come and visit us during December holidays.