Open Day 23 November 2013

It was a long time wish from me to organize an Open Day on the farm. And finally I came around to it last Saturday. For this first of I hope many such days, I invited the regular customers to come to the gardens of La Tierra Verde and have a look at what I am doing.

When going to the field in the morning, for the final preparations, it was still freezing a few degrees. The garden looked like a winter landscape from the Netherlands instead of an olive grove in Spain! It was beautiful, but very cold.

At 10:30am the first guests started to arrive. To warm up a bit there was coffee and tea.








When more people had arrived I gave a tour around the plots and the chickens, ending with some information on organic farming and the inputs that I am using.

After the information there was a drink and a snack. By now the temperature had risen and it was quite nice to be outside. Before the people left they could harvest the vegetables they wanted straight from the field. There was quite a selection to choose from: Broccoli, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, lettuce, spring onion, beans, spinach and fresh herbs.

Changes in La Tierra Verde

The last months there were some changes in La Tierra Verde.

First of all, the chickens finally moved to their chicken house in Malvecino. Since there were some problems with half wild dogs, the accommodation had to be improved and enforced. Luckily the chickens could stay for a while with Vivien and Edward in Martin Laguna. Thanks a million for this. Although the chickens were quite happy in Martin Laguna, now they are able to run around free during daytime in a large chicken coop, totally secured against dogs and foxes. At night they stay inside the chicken house.

In the first week of October I rented a small excavator which cleaned up the rubbish heaps that were still in the field from last year when we cleared the field from bramble bushes. With a bigger excavator I had the charco enlarged and made deeper. The water had just finished but when the digging was finished the water bubbled back up. 

When a second charco was dug, on the other side of the field, no water came up. The soil was moist, but that was all. Luckily, after the rains of 19-23 October, the second charco filled up partly with rain water. It is possible to harvest the rainwater in this way and keep it in containers for the summertime.

The third important change is that the garden in Martin Laguna will have to be abandoned. The owners have sold the terrain and before December I have to clear it. Although I had just cleared the tomatoes and paprika plants, there are still a lot of cabbage plants growing and even a small plot of potato. I hope I will have the chance to harvest those crops, before December! On the bright side, soon I have no obligations anymore in Martin Laguna, leaving me more time to concentrate on the garden in Malvecino.

What is growing in autumn

The rains started of in time this year. Already in September we received quite some water from heaven. The temperature remained high and all of a sudden nature came back to life. It looked like a second spring, with flowers everywhere and a green haze over the hills and mountains. Regretfully, after those first promising rains, there followed a dry spell. In fact I had to go back to irrigation once more. But luckily October brought us more rain. Since then the autumn has really started, although some plants are still a bit confused, like my pear tree, which is flowering as if it was spring!

The summer crops have been cleared away by now. In their place now grows garlic, beans, peas, broccoli, lettuce and other winter crops. In the months of November and December you can expect the following vegetables on offer:

Lettuce, different types like Hoja de Roble, Oreja de Mula and Batavia
French beans
Runner beans
Spinach
Swiss chard

Radish
Leek
Spring onion
Broccoli
Red cabbage
Savoy cabbage
White cabbage

The fresh herbs are at their end, except the parsley. The flat Italian type and the curly type parsley will be growing for a while longer, until the temperature is getting too low at the end of December. The Mediterranean herbs, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon thyme, Sage, Oregano and Marjoram, will loose their flavour until spring. Also the chives will die back shortly, however, at the moment it is still growing. The Mediterranean herbs I have dried during late spring and early summer when they are at their best. I have them on stock in small amounts.