AUGUST 2015

By Daily Diary

Monday August 3rd

WEATHER; have had fierce storms over the weekend so this morning the soil was very damp although it was also sunny.

VOLUNTEERS; Tiazao, Anthony, Aitana, Julie, Spiros, Nidhin, Mahendran with Pierre and Priya

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked basil and roccolla which both turned out to be rather fiddly jobs.
  2. We weeded two roccolla beds in the Pryog garden.
  3. We started weeding and then mulching a maize bed in the Souryan garden. Weeding is much easier when the soil is wet.

 

Tuesday August 4th

WEATHER; sunny and hot although still quite damp underfoot – good weeding weather in other words.

VOLUNTEERS; Tiazao, Anthony, Aitana, Julie, Spiros, Nidhin, Mahendran with Pierre and Priya

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked 500grms of basil which it took two people almost the whole of the work time to do because the basil is in such a bad state. Just after the hot season there is a lot of seed and the leaves are very small.
  2. We cleared, composted and then mulched a bed in the Souryan garden ready to plant maize seedlings tomorrow.

Wednesday August 5th

WEATHER; sunny and hot after a little rain last night.

VOLUNTEERS; Tiazio, Anthony, Aitiana, Spiros, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran with Priya

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We planted maize seedlings in the bed in the Souryan garden that we prepared yesterday.
  2. We worked on four beds in the seed garden which were badly infected by fungus, probably because of a drumstick tree over hanging them. We cleared all four beds, composted and mulched them and then planted with basil, the last of the maize and bassella spinach seedlings.

 

Thursday August 6th

WEATHER; sunny and hot and drying out underfoot.

VOLUNTEERS; Tiazio, Anthony, Aitiana, Spiros, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran with Priya

WORK COMPLETED

This morning we spent clearing up the land in Jalabhoumi. The internal fence has been removed so we filled in all but two of the holes left from the granite pillars. We planted trees in the other two holes. We took out all the firewood that had been cut as a result of the fence making and put it in a big pile ready to be taken away. It was all rather close to the fence and could easily have become a magnet for people wanting firewood who might have damaged the fence when coming to get it. We also spread out the last pile of keet (thatch) as mulch around some of the trees, many of which are now growing very well. There is now a little water in the ponds and everything looks very beautiful.

Friday August 7th

WEATHER; sunny and hot.

VOLUNTEERS; Tiazio, Anthony, Aitiana, Spiros, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran, Nidhin with Priya

WORK COMPLETED

  1. Most of the work time was spent harvesting nearly 20kg of bassella spinach. We haven’t harvested such a large amount for a very long time.
  2. We also harvested small amounts of brinjal, papaya and drumstick.
  3. We wound up string which often seems to be one of our Friday jobs. The string comes in hanks which have to be wound into balls which are easier to use when stringing up plants like beans.

Monday August 10th

WEATHER; sunny and hot.

VOLUNTEERS; Anthony, Aitiana, Spiros, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran, Nidhin, Mahendran with Priya and Pierre

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked more than 2kg of basil.
  2. We weeded and then mulched brinjal beds in the Priyog garden and Le Jardin.
  3. We sieved a soil/compost mixture to make nursery mixture.

Tuesday August 11th

WEATHER; after a little rain last night it was overcast this morning but quite bright.

VOLUNTEERS; Anthony, Aitiana, Spiros, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran, Tee, Melissa with Priya and Pierre

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We finished weeding the bed in Le Jardin that we started yesterday.
  2. We cleared, composted and mulched a long bed in the Wild Orchard which we then planted with amaranth. I was pleased we got this finished as it was heavy work and everyone had to work hard.
  3. We made some more nursery mixture.

Wednesday August 12th

WEATHER; rather overcast this morning but got brighter. Feels hot and humid.

VOLUNTEERS; Anthony, Aitana, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran, Melissa, Nidhin with Priya and Pierre

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We cut glyricidea for the leaves to use in the new compost pile.
  2. We started a new compost pile but didn’t get very far.

Thursday August 13th

WEATHER; bright and hot and humid.

VOLUNTEERS; Anthony, Aitana, Susheela, Paloma, Smaran, Melissa with Priya and Pierre

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We continued making the compost heap that we started yesterday. There is still quite a way to go before it is finished.
  2. We weeded two beds in Le Jardin.

Friday August 14th

WEATHER; bright and hot and humid.

VOLUNTEERS; Anthony, Aitana, Susheela, Smaran, Nidhin, Fabian with Priya and Pierre

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We weeded and mulched three bassella beds in Le Jardin.
  2. Pierre, with the help of a volunteer, cut poles and used them to shore up some ramphael trees that are rather top heavy and starting to fall down.
  3. The contractors came and started cutting the trees which are going to provide some much needed finance for all the fencing we have had done. All the trees are ‘work trees’ (acacia) that grow quickly and make good wood for furniture and firewood. It also includes three dead ones as once these trees get to a certain size they tend to die. They are very good pioneer trees as they will grow in poor soil with little water. Once they have been taken out we will replant with local trees.

Monday August 17th

WEATHER; after quite a lot of rain over the weekend it was bright and hot.

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Fabian, Susheela, Needhin with Pierre and Priya.

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked roccolla.
  2. We weeded a roccolla bed in the Pryog garden.
  3. We weeded a very weed infested bean bed in the Souryan garden.

 

Tuesday August 18th

WEATHER; hot and sunny to start and then clouded over, but still very bright.

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Needhin with Pierre and Priya.

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We cleared up some of the small tree branches that were lying around by the chicken house after the nearby tree had been taken down yesterday.
  2. We mulched the bean bed that we weeded yesterday.
  3. We started clearing a bean bed in the Souryan garden.

Wednesday August 19th

WEATHER; bright with some clouds.

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Joanna, Aloise with Pierre and Priya.

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked 4kg of bassella spinach, 2kg of basil (going to be made into pesto this afternoon) and a few maize.
  2. We finished weeding the bed in the Souryan garden which we started yesterday.
  3. We almost cleared a bed in the Pryog garden.

 

Thursday August 20th

WEATHER; hot and sunny.

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Nidhin with Pierre and Priya.

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We composted and mulched the bed in the Souryan garden which we cleared yesterday and then planted it with basil.
  2. We almost finished checking the drippers on the bed we had just planted.

Friday August 21st

WEATHER; hot and sunny.

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, Tee, Bala with Pierre and Priya.

WORK COMPLETED

  1. We picked 7kg of bassella spinach.
  2. We cleared, composted, mulched a bed in the Pryog garden that we planted with basil seedlings.
  3. We did the same thing in the seed garden but there are still a few more basil plants in the nursery to find a place for somewhere.

Monday August 24th

 

Tuesday August 25th

WEATHER; hot and sunny.

 

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, Needhin, Amal with Pierre and Rajan.

 

WORK COMPLETED

 

  1. We picked basil, long beans, snake guard and brinjal.
  2. In Le Jardin we planted Rucolla seedlings and weeded the basil.
  3. We cleared maize from a bed in the Souryan garden.

 

Wednesday August 26th

 

WEATHER; hot and sunny.

 

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, Needhin, Bala with Pierre and Rajan.

 

WORK COMPLETED

 

  1. We weeded long beans in a bed in the Souryan garden.
  2. We took some soil off one of the beds in the Souryan garden. We have to do this from time to time as the soil in the beds rises with all the compost that we keep putting on the top. We use this very good soil in the nursery to make nursery mixture.
  3. We checked drippers on one of the beds in the Souryan garden.

 

 

 

Thursday August 27th

 

WEATHER; Mostly Cloudy.

 

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, ,Amal, Rasika, Bala, Ramash, Gulia with Pierre and Rajan.

 

WORK COMPLETED

 

  1. We clear the bed sweet potato from Le Jardin so we had some seedlings for planting on other beds.
  2. We worked in the Nursery  sowing seeds of long beans
  3. We prepared three beds in cashew field – clearing, composting and mulching – for eventually planting with the sweet potato cuttings that we got from the bed in Le Jardin.
  4.    We fired all the thorny material in the new land.

 

Friday August 28th

 

WEATHER; there was a little rain last night and this morning it was partly cloudy.

 

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, ,Amal, Rasika, Bala, Nidhin  with Pierre and Rajan.

 

WORK COMPLETED

 

  1.   We picked Basella, Long beans, Snake guard, Guava and Banana.
  2. We cleared and weeded a bed  ofbasella in Le Jardin
  3. We transplanted sweet potato  cuttings onto three beds in the VaiyuBhoomi cashew field.

 

Monday August 31st

 

WEATHER; Clouds and sun

 

VOLUNTEERS; Paloma, Susheela, Spiros, Amal with Pierre and Rajan.

 

WORK COMPLETED

 

  1.    We picked basil, long beans, snake gourd and ruccolla
  2. We weeded the ruccolla and basil beds in the Pryog garden