It’s a given that as owners of a small farming enterprise who mostly work off farm during the week, we’ll get to spend our weekends labouring on the farm undertaking a whole range of tasks. And this is particularly the case at the moment as we are still starting out, (or maybe it will be that way for some time to come!) The plan is to have one of us ‘employed’ on the farm in the not too distant future, but that’s another story.
Part of our farm plan includes an orchard that will provide fruit for us and shareholders in our as yet to be launched CSA. Already the property has a fine collection of citrus in a grove, and the adjoining small paddock has been deemed the location of the extended orchard. The aspect is close to perfect (north facing, slight slope) and installing irrigation will also be easy as the supply line is fairly close by.
The only real down side is the two large trees in the way; the first, a large Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis) [botanic info here ] is in the middle of the paddock and casts too much shade over the proposed orchard; and the second, a large Native Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) [botanic info here ] borders both the existing grove and the southern side of the orchard paddock. Knowing what figs do in searching out water and nutrients, there was no way we could have one of these next to our production area.
So that was the justification for undertaking the removal of two fine native endemic specimens, and I need to tell you that as a keen, almost one-eyed greenie / conservationalist / environmentalist, that was some justification!
Earlier in the year we’d identified the Easter long weekend as a perfect time to perform these tasks; the local hire shop Kennards only charges for the hours that they open, so we could effectively have a large chipper on site for 3 days and only be charged for one; and we could invite friends and family for a ‘stay in the country’ and utilise them as additional helpers. And yes we were upfront about this last bit!
So the Easter weekend arrived, a mighty 9” chipper and
additional chain saws were hired, one pair of willing helpers came to stay, and
the work commenced. And aside from the work going on for the best part of two and a half
days, we did all that we wanted to do:
created a huge pile of woodchips that we’ll
be able to use in our bio-dynamic compost heaps and our gardens; removed,
trimmed or pruned a huge array of trees and shrubs throughout the property; and
created some firewood for next winter.
This all occurred without mishap or injury, aside from a few tense moments when one of the trees, the Flooded Gum, chose to fall the wrong way, and the odd scratch or rash, and lots of sore muscles. I think some of us actually looked forward to going back to work for a rest! Oh, now that I think about it, Therese my gorgeous wife managed to receive a severe looking rash, thanks to some mystery tree that attacks only Irish blood.
What did you get up to at Easter? Did you do something special, or is it such a way back that you can’t remember? Are you up for joining us at our next 1466 Farm Event over the June Long Weekend? Let us know. We'll make sure there's some wood to split!
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