It’s easy to get overwhelmed by 155 acres of derelict land that’s full of wild olives, wild blackberries and thistle weed and we find ourselves quite frequently just looking around saying ‘where do we start’. It’s quite daunting.
We are learning very quickly to remind ourselves to stay focussed on the immediate task that we’ve set ourselves and just chip away at it; left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot.
We do have some fabulous discoveries that have provided a glimpse of hope and a reminder of our vision for the property. As spring has emerged and a number of trees have come to life, we’ve realised that we have a few lemon trees, fig trees, plum trees, peach trees, some walnut and almond trees and what we think might be a quince tree already established. Seeing these trees gets recipe ideas stirring in my mind……and makes me hungry!
We’ve discovered a fourth waterfall, which is big but still hidden by blackberries and we’ve found numerous springs just gurgling water out of the ground. The heirloom veggie patches are going to just love it up here!
In between clearing out loads of scrap metal and rubbish we’re currently plotting out our paddocks, doing soil tests and drawing up our planting plan. We’re also doing some research on some quirky and emerging crops that would be suited to the block.
Any suggestions that can aid our research are welcomed.