Kitchen Garden 1 and greenhouse take shape

Post date: Jul 5, 2014

We moved the pigs on Monday to a new area in need of ploughing up. Evita struggled to keep the pigs in their cage while I moved the netting with our part time helper. They were not used to having the door closed on them! Anyhow, we quickly got the net set up and then a pan of food. Fortunately pigs always want to eat, so they followed me (well, the pan actually) the 20m to their new residence and soon were happily eating and then digging. Glad they didn't run amok until dinner time.

So now we have Plot 1 to slowly landscape into mini swales (also the paths) and raised beds:

The swales will zigzag from top to bottom, so the water that normally drains past the area will now follow our footpaths hydrating the soil as it flows from top to bottom (in a large rain event). The raised beds have a little biochar, horse manure with worms, and compost added, before being covered with wet newspaper and soybean mulch:

We have slowly been building the back little half wall for the greenhouse:

This will act as thermal mass and absorb heat from the sun during the day (especially if we paint it black). The front door will go in soon and then the hoops and plastic put on as well as a window on the back end. The old hot water cylinder will sit on top of some blocks and be cobbed over. This will be filled with water and have a fire underneath it in the evening to hopefully help subvert the frosty morning temperatures.

Back wall ready for polypipe hoops and plastic next week: