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Inspiration!

During the Soil4Life training, one participant Jonney gave this inspirational interview: 



 The thing that inspires me the most about Jonney, is they he has been consistently sending updates about his work with the soil and the plants. Even over lockdown and a UK winter season, he has remained active and connected. There is much we could learn about his continuity and commitment! Thank you, Jonney for acting on behalf of life.

 

13/12/2020 Jonney writes:

I have been kept busy planting broad beans (fava beans) and Horseradish. The broad beans are planted where I will grow potatoes next and the horseradish on what we are now calling the 11 acres. The 11 acres (4.5 ha) is a new piece of land that was previously arable farmland and we are in the process of reclaiming. Richard and I are working with others in the Community to ensure that we get the best from the land to suit the needs of the Community. Covid and some of our other projects has meant that there is no money for this, so I have redirected some plants that I already have. I have planted 17 red and black current bushes, I have allowed extra spacing (5 m apart) so we can grow them with the minimum of pruning and we are going to make a wide hedge as a buffer to the farmland and as wildlife habitat. I guess in the long term much of the land will be used for camping and wildlife habitat but I and doing my best to make sure we get some food from the land even if only in the forest garden style. (Our implementation of forest garden is just fruit trees and bushes with just a few tougher perennial veg like babington leeks and tall apple mint. We have even less intervention than 'proper' forest garden.)

5/02/2021  Jonney writes:
I am sitting here looking at potatoes chitting for the spring planting. I have over twice as many as last year and the ground is better prepared. The broad beans (fava) are doing well as I got them in in the autumn. The babington leeks are doing well and I will start harvesting soon, I will have more next year. We are also harvesting Jerusalem artichokes. It has also been a wetter winter but the ground seems better at absorbing the rain so I am very hopeful for 2021. Othona's position is a bit tricky at the moment because we have had work done on our energy system (we are off grid) but covid has made it difficult to recoup the costs. However, we have got 11 acres extra land, a very large pile of wood chip and loads of horse manure (all at no cost) the horse manure is delivered - two trailer loads a week which Richard and I have been unloading and stacking in windrows on the 11 acres. There is not yet a firm plan for the 11 acres but I have already planted 17 black and red currents, I suspect a good chunk of it will end up as camping space, so will do my best to get as many wild flowers in as I can (with a very limited budget) I guess I will end up collecting wild flower seeds from other areas (I have already planted some comfrey and fennel).


 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQrJ0zhkVOc&feature=youtu.be

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