Farmer Joris was feeling too weatherbeaten to give us a farming update today, so it’s a good opportunity to hear about our lovely permaculture project – led by our sometime infrastructure guru Kev (and very helpful toddler, pictured above).
The permaculture garden is, he says, is finally starting to take shape beside the Veg Shed farm HQ. What you see above is a mandala-shaped, seven-winged raised bed system under construction, using reclaimed pallets. And looking pretty nice even in its unfinished state.
It’s going to be a great source of fresh herbs – so look out for some bouquet garni in future vegbags, as well as even more tasty volunteer Wednesday lunches.
The seven arms of the mandala will represent the farm’s seven-part yearly crop rotation – so in true permaculture fashion it will have more than one function. As well as supplying us with fresh herbs, it can be a beautiful visual demonstration of how our crop rotation works – a microcosm of the wider farm.