Can you believe it’s June already? The year has flown by so fast and we can’t even take a break! We have been in full swing since the year began and for most farms, operations tend to slow down during this time of season. Everything is delayed in winter, the plants take longer to grow, the crops are irrigated in the later parts of the mornings, harvesting slows down and most farm workers work half days during winter.
But in our case, it’s a completely different scenario. The farm is going through major changes in preparation for our August summer production cycle, and thus far, all we have on the ground is a mere half a hectare of spinach, 3 tunnels of Rocket, 5000 heads of lettuce and 5000 plants of broccoli planted and harvesting.
We have completed the first phase of our shade net construction in between our tunnels and the only area remaining is the open field and time is running out. We have tractor contractors preparing our entire open field, a TLB clearing certain sections of the farm, as we will be converting our open field into drip irrigation system. Water is fast becoming a scarce resource and we want to ensure that we farm sustainably and preserve natures natural resources. This is what you call, smart farming!
We have also started renovating our tunnels by replacing some of the damaged ones with new plastic covering and we will be cleaning our reservoir as soon as the land preparation inside the tunnels is complete.
Sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it? And we are just getting started. Our CEO has also been all over the show finalising and approving the specs of our new reefer container, which will form part of our packhouse. We have been working on this packhouse for months now, as we have to adhere to the food safety requirements but we have made significant progress and its all coming together.
We love change and as much as we are focussed on improving the farm, this is also the period where we allow our soil to get some much needed rest. We cultivate it throughout the year, so a month or two of rest and pampering with good old cow and chicken manure won’t do no harm.
Now you see just how much work it takes to ensure that we grow only the best food for you. All work and no play.
Remember to keep warm this winter, boots, beanies and coats.
