The pigs do a fairly rubbish job, to be honest! They are very patchy, dig big holes and compact the ground really badly - they are very heave with very small feet! But, I am going to put them up in the vineyard next year, and if we make a good enough house for them, keep them there for hopefully a whole year!
There will be a week in March, maybe April, when the ground will unfreeze. I will go and dig three big pits (to be improved with brick walls some time in the future). If it looks like there is then going to be a frost in the last weeks of May, or any time in June, I will go and build big fires in them, and keep them going all night. This in itself won't do much, but then, when the temperature starts to head below about 1 degree, I'll throw tonnes of damp straw on them, and the warm smoke should then envelop the whole of the orchard and keep it just protected enough to stop the frost getting into the blossoms.
I will be a fun night. I just hope it doesn't happen two or three nights in a row! :D
It was a productive year, I would say!
I hope your future self appreciates the gifts your 2024 self created!
See you after we all 'slide' into the new year we collectively call 2025!
I am excited to follow along and discover what creative seeds you generously germinate for your (our) future self (selves)...
Peace. 🌿🕊️
Thanks Jack, I am excited as well, and especially looking forward to continued collaborations with you and Sylvia!
Loved reading this! Have a lovely Christmas and a wonderful happy New Year honey! Lots of loveXxx
Lovely review of the year and an effective way to mark the progress.
I wonder why you might need to rotovate when you have the piggies who would do a much better job 😉
And yes, we need to know your blossom plan x
The pigs do a fairly rubbish job, to be honest! They are very patchy, dig big holes and compact the ground really badly - they are very heave with very small feet! But, I am going to put them up in the vineyard next year, and if we make a good enough house for them, keep them there for hopefully a whole year!
Such a nice recap :) ❤️
Hi Ben. I'm very interested in 'the plan' to stop the trees from losing their blossom/fruit ... So what's the plan?
There will be a week in March, maybe April, when the ground will unfreeze. I will go and dig three big pits (to be improved with brick walls some time in the future). If it looks like there is then going to be a frost in the last weeks of May, or any time in June, I will go and build big fires in them, and keep them going all night. This in itself won't do much, but then, when the temperature starts to head below about 1 degree, I'll throw tonnes of damp straw on them, and the warm smoke should then envelop the whole of the orchard and keep it just protected enough to stop the frost getting into the blossoms.
I will be a fun night. I just hope it doesn't happen two or three nights in a row! :D