I hope you are all well.
This last week has gone by so fast I can’t quite believe I’m writing to you again already.
On the farm,… the extension to the chicken run got finished early last week and we introduced the new residents. They all seem to be adjusting well to their new home. We will mix the two groups in a few days, after they’ve had a chance to get to know each other, and within a few weeks we should have a larger number of organic eggs to sell.
I am also looking into ways to allow the chickens to roam free on the land for longer periods of time each day, as evidence (and common sense) suggest that the most nutritious eggs come from chickens that roam free and live a natural life. At the moment they are only fed organic feed and green waste from the garden, and get out for a short period every day. But we have to stay with them while they are out because of the risk of local dogs getting them.
We are also continuing to prepare the asparagus beds. Thanks to the endless trips to Ikea made by ourselves and our neighbors we were able to get hold of enough cardboard to cover all the beds in a few trips to the recycling bins. We are now covering the cardboard with a mix of topsoil and compost. The cardboard is there to suppress and kill off the weeds, so we will need to do much less weeding and digging during the 15 to 20 years the asparagus plants are productive.
We are also working with our organic plant supplier to source some new salad varieties so we can add some new leaves to the salad mix.
The next big project is the website. I have to admit to being more than a little reluctant to sit in front of the computer for a week or two… but this really would be a good time to do it.
New on the list this week - celery, black cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes (coracao) & Peaches. And I have some of the delicious Goat and Sheep's cheese.
Finally - we are off to Aljezur today to meet a couple who apparently make the most delicious vegan cheese ever. I hope to bring some samples back and in future add it to the list of products we sell. Watch this space.
OK that’s it for this week.
Lots of love and thanks for your orders.
Peter
PS: Article of the week: https://www.ecowatch.
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