Spring is definitely in the air and there seems to be a change in the weather….I know, I know, I’m obsessed..

And not only by the weather. My obsession for all things roofing now also stretches to what we might have above the rain water tank. There’s so much still to prepare and yet I feel so ill prepared. Perhaps the delay in the roxa is something of a blessing in disguise. But I do wish we’d finally get this sorted. This roof, cost the owner 70,000 dhm…imagine that! And yes, he was Moroccan.

Even though we’ve planted the trees, there’s still a need for extensive

re nourishment of the land and as such I’ve been bringing more compost up from Wafi and have made a deal with a neighbour to let her cut my weeds in exchange for her compost. She’ll use my weeds to feed her cow and I’ll take that same cows compost….what a great cycle.

Mind you I’d like to use those same cut weeds to act as green compost or mulch, which I’m just learning about. I’ve added mulch to the trees and it works really well, the ground below remains soft and damp for ages, just as it says on the tin.

I’ve been looking for sources of many things and mulch from the carpenters and wood cutters is great, as is ash from the feran in Loubar Al Tat…… need to do some soil testing first.

And whilst I look back at low technological farming options, it’s easy to see how and why modern technology is so prized up here. All this planting and clearing has made me very much appreciate the enormous effort expended on low scale farming; digging, cutting, clearing, lugging. My respect for my neighbours generally and wafi in particular on goes up and up.

As we work around the newly planted trees, I’m trying to add raised

beds to the several terraces that have been developed. These are mostly above rock walls, but I simply can’t afford more rock and anyway, I want another material to build with. These bamboo beds look great and Mohammed is very artistic in their design. I explained that I wanted them made so that I could reach over them without stepping on them…No Dig Gardening…. We’ll see how they evolve.

We’ve also had something of a major discussion with the Fuddle and Said, the neighbours below me,  about the road leading to the land and access through their land. In short they want me to cut in a unique and personal access over the river. Tbh, I was annoyed at having to do this, but now we’ve begun, it’s quite lovely and when finished will be a lovely aspect when entering from down there. Mind you it’s a pretty steep trek up.

And finally I went back home to Camden and found inspiration from

Kings Cross. This urban farm is simply great and I love the use of old window frames to make a green house. Now green houses, they could be very useful. They also have a whole method of urban perma culture gleaned from Brazil…very interesting indeed.

Now where’s that Roxa?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/video/2016/dec/08/sleaford-mods-on-brexit-you-cant-ignore-things-any-more-video