One Boot in Front of the Other

A turbulent week saw a key member of our party make a hasty return to their home country, leaving behind a great contribution and a grateful team. The crew have since pulled together to keep spirits high and progress moving in the onward and upward direction. With a change in contributors comes a change in perspective and it has been inspiring to watch as new ideas and directions have come to the fore.

Mud Baths and Skin cleansers

One hundred meters of edging has been created and is well on its way to being carefully secured into position. With waterlogged conditions the going is tough and muddy. Fortunately for us we have carpenters, muscle and an endless supply attitude to put these “once were palates” into their place

 Maintaining a straight edge has proved problematic, combining the sheer scale of the project, varied sizes in the edging material and the varied elevation of the site itself... its slow and precise work. Not to mention, the onset of the rainy season has seen us combat an ever expanding clay soil as our supporting material. Certainly challenging, not impossible and the resulting clean finish are proving to look very sharp indeed!

The Organic Agriculture department is under total reconstruction, with the near completion of the new building which will house the Organic Agriculture display area, meeting room and office space the potential for this site is very exciting. The interior of the building is set to echo that of the garden; sustainable, locally sourced and created from recycled material. In other words, the next project is already looming on the horizon and we have high hopes for what will result.





The soils at the work site are heavy clay and situated at a lower elevation to the immediate environment, this means the area is highly susceptible to water logging, cracking, compaction and erosion. All elements which will lead to decreased soil fertility and decreased production volume and quality.

To combat the less than perfect soil conditions we have agreed on creating a garden of raised beds. Using the “No dig” concept, we will utilize the process of decomposition, a wide range of locally sourced ingredients and a good carbon to nitrogen ratio. The idea is to create our own soil above the original. Considering we have nearly 700m2 of raised beds waiting to be formed, the scale of the project and the scale of material can be sobering. It’s important not to get overwhelmed, one boot in front of the other.