Once their was three little piglets. Their names were....
The straw bale house workshop is held on the 27 to 29 of September 2010. The organizer is Zelma Kriek and she can be contacted on 082 576 5855. The cost is R1000 and includes lunch and 'verversings'. This workshop is being done at Zelma's farm on the Besemkop/Groenfontein road. About 1km from The Red Coffee Pot or centre of town on your left hand. The grey house with Blue Gum trees.
Do support this informative and practical workshop. The presenters are from Jo'burg and they are Green. Yes very Green. So give yourself freedom from Kannaland Municipality and go to Zelma's workshop. Unfortunately you still have to pay some taxes and present plans for you project to them but that is all.
Enjoy
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The birth of a vineyard
Last week the vines were delivered and because I was going to a Festival namely the Geyser 'saamtrek', we decided only to start planting this week. The vines were stored in a cold room at 5 degrees and the roots being watered every half a day. After their stay in the cold room we have to rehidrate it in water for 24hrs before planting. This all come down to that we can only start to plant today.
We started with the Chenin blanc which is situated near the Calitzdorp Country Lodge. This being a bit more elevated above the riverbed which also means more airflow. Chenin is a cultivar prone to have rot in its bunches especially if it is not well aerated. The Chenin blanc is also a cultivar which carries a good yield so the soils must be well drained. Both of these objectives is reached with the specific terrior of the Hoenderboer as we call it. (For the less informed a chicken farmer once owned the piece of land.) We decided to plant 3000 vines / day as we want to water them all and see that we get finished planting before the end of the day. I think we underestimated but that is always better.
The blooming period for the apricots is also finished and the frost a few weeks ago really hit us hard especially in the blocks nearest to the town. Some of the trees only carried one or two flowers which means no harvest. The blocks higher up away from the river aswell as further from town had better flowering. I also took out a hectare of apricots to make place for the new plantings hoping the Herminashof blocks will deliver but you can never trust or predict nature.
The peaches in contrast to the apricots had a brilliant flowering period and we will really have to thin to get the right size. The funny thing is SAD allready let me know they are looking for apricots and not so much peaches likewise Langeberg. That is the agricultural balances for you.
The vineyards are just busy budding and we will soon see how their flowering goes. I expect with no natural intervention that it might be a good year. But only time will tell.
We started with the Chenin blanc which is situated near the Calitzdorp Country Lodge. This being a bit more elevated above the riverbed which also means more airflow. Chenin is a cultivar prone to have rot in its bunches especially if it is not well aerated. The Chenin blanc is also a cultivar which carries a good yield so the soils must be well drained. Both of these objectives is reached with the specific terrior of the Hoenderboer as we call it. (For the less informed a chicken farmer once owned the piece of land.) We decided to plant 3000 vines / day as we want to water them all and see that we get finished planting before the end of the day. I think we underestimated but that is always better.
The blooming period for the apricots is also finished and the frost a few weeks ago really hit us hard especially in the blocks nearest to the town. Some of the trees only carried one or two flowers which means no harvest. The blocks higher up away from the river aswell as further from town had better flowering. I also took out a hectare of apricots to make place for the new plantings hoping the Herminashof blocks will deliver but you can never trust or predict nature.
The peaches in contrast to the apricots had a brilliant flowering period and we will really have to thin to get the right size. The funny thing is SAD allready let me know they are looking for apricots and not so much peaches likewise Langeberg. That is the agricultural balances for you.
The vineyards are just busy budding and we will soon see how their flowering goes. I expect with no natural intervention that it might be a good year. But only time will tell.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Planting season
Yesterday I went to fetch the trees at the nursery. We are planting a apricot cultivar called Super Gold. It is actually an older cultivar and sort of out of fashion for the fresh fruit markets. It's biggest positive is the early ripening as well as good fruit size. It do sort of cracks if it gets to much rain which is why it's not used anymore.
Just by clearing the ground for the new plantings I managed to free nearly 0,33ha of extra land for planting. Surprising how much land is unused because of flood irrigation's limitations of use, roads, and bad planning.
As with most things all does not go according to plan. After getting the trees early and getting nearly 1600 trees in the soil my irrigation system (new) failed me. A big dissappointment. Hopefully this morning we will get that corrected. As with most new things added to older systems the older systems can not usually carry the newer power / pressure. Allready got two pipes bursting and a new valve blowing water. All in the process of expansion.
I know today is going to be a much better day and we will irrigate the new planting efficiently as well start to irrigate the others too.
I am very positive about raining coming in September / October. I read yesterday that their is a Low pressure over Gough Island which apparently means that lots of saturated air will be pushed over Southern Africa and which means spring rain. We are due for some of that so get the umbrella's out. I was asked a few times why plant in such a dry spell. Well I guess the answer is Hope. Such a difficult period usually means cutting out the older wood - in my case literally - and provide for the younger. But as I said the rain is coming and we must be prepared.
Just by clearing the ground for the new plantings I managed to free nearly 0,33ha of extra land for planting. Surprising how much land is unused because of flood irrigation's limitations of use, roads, and bad planning.
As with most things all does not go according to plan. After getting the trees early and getting nearly 1600 trees in the soil my irrigation system (new) failed me. A big dissappointment. Hopefully this morning we will get that corrected. As with most new things added to older systems the older systems can not usually carry the newer power / pressure. Allready got two pipes bursting and a new valve blowing water. All in the process of expansion.
I know today is going to be a much better day and we will irrigate the new planting efficiently as well start to irrigate the others too.
I am very positive about raining coming in September / October. I read yesterday that their is a Low pressure over Gough Island which apparently means that lots of saturated air will be pushed over Southern Africa and which means spring rain. We are due for some of that so get the umbrella's out. I was asked a few times why plant in such a dry spell. Well I guess the answer is Hope. Such a difficult period usually means cutting out the older wood - in my case literally - and provide for the younger. But as I said the rain is coming and we must be prepared.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The final preparation
As with most things it sometimes feels like an impossible task putting together a big project but the funny thing is it starts just by doing something. Even the wrong direction might lead to the acceptable final product / system.
Our new pump arrived yesterday and last night I was wide awake mostly because of my youngest but also because of the planning of the new irrigation system. First we must pump through lines that was not used by anyone for maybe 8 to 10 years. And to make things more interesting the irrigation line was open most of that time.
The first step is to pump without any filtration into the old line to clean it and to suck the feeding pipe from the dam which might be filled with slush. This pump will run like that at a pressure of about 2.3 bar for 3 to 4 hours and the water will be splashed into the river. If the water is clean and thus the pipe on either side of the pump is suffiecently clean we will introduce the filter bank. From then we will try and catch up on the back log of irrigation for months of July / August. This is actually my biggest problem since the roots allready started their growth season and will be looking for water as well as fertilizer. Hopefully we will catch up and provide at the right time the correct dosage of fertilizer.
It is also tonight the Women Wine Wednesday. Twenty people will be attending and we hope all the ladies do enjoy the get together. I think it might be something to grow into something more formal and more diverse with other likewise businesses also provide an evening of leisure for the ladies of the town. I hope you all meet someone interesting that you never met before in town.
Our new pump arrived yesterday and last night I was wide awake mostly because of my youngest but also because of the planning of the new irrigation system. First we must pump through lines that was not used by anyone for maybe 8 to 10 years. And to make things more interesting the irrigation line was open most of that time.
The first step is to pump without any filtration into the old line to clean it and to suck the feeding pipe from the dam which might be filled with slush. This pump will run like that at a pressure of about 2.3 bar for 3 to 4 hours and the water will be splashed into the river. If the water is clean and thus the pipe on either side of the pump is suffiecently clean we will introduce the filter bank. From then we will try and catch up on the back log of irrigation for months of July / August. This is actually my biggest problem since the roots allready started their growth season and will be looking for water as well as fertilizer. Hopefully we will catch up and provide at the right time the correct dosage of fertilizer.
It is also tonight the Women Wine Wednesday. Twenty people will be attending and we hope all the ladies do enjoy the get together. I think it might be something to grow into something more formal and more diverse with other likewise businesses also provide an evening of leisure for the ladies of the town. I hope you all meet someone interesting that you never met before in town.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A Plan comes together!!
With all the pipes and irrigation stuff delivered we started putting it all together. As with most things in life the practical side doesn't always go with the theory. Somethings seems to be missing in action and we had to drive everyday this week to Oudtshoorn to get the necessary bends, T's, etc.
But even if it seem to go a bit 'deurmekaar' things do fit in nicely. The process of laying out the pipes and connecting it goes much quicker than expected. I finished my micro irrigation pipelines yesterday and today I am going to tackle the drip irrigation next to the Calitzdorp Country Lodge. The drippers we use there is in line drippers as well pressure compensating meaning that every dripper will deliver the exact same amount of water. This is a must for uneven land like we have there.
Oom Apie finished building the two filter banks and one is allready installed. The other one is ready we are just waiting for the new pumps to arrive. Irrigation pumps is a science on its own. I am no expert but learned a lot the last month. We were lucky to buy two similar pumps - one to do the job the other a back up. Yes being in Calitzdorp does have its draw backs and one is you must always have a back up pump.
I hope with the speed we are going now to start planting maybe next week late the apricots and the week after that the first of the vineyards.
My irrigation also started with the one system and I am running a twelve hour cycle just to wet up the soil. It is really surprising to see how dry the soils further from the riverbed is. You can also see the peaches blooming very promisingly. I hope for a big harvest there.
Hope all the plans stay on par as it did so far.
PS The labels for the Shiraz arrived and I will be labeling next week and Tuesday. The wines will be ready for Women Wine Wednesday.
But even if it seem to go a bit 'deurmekaar' things do fit in nicely. The process of laying out the pipes and connecting it goes much quicker than expected. I finished my micro irrigation pipelines yesterday and today I am going to tackle the drip irrigation next to the Calitzdorp Country Lodge. The drippers we use there is in line drippers as well pressure compensating meaning that every dripper will deliver the exact same amount of water. This is a must for uneven land like we have there.
Oom Apie finished building the two filter banks and one is allready installed. The other one is ready we are just waiting for the new pumps to arrive. Irrigation pumps is a science on its own. I am no expert but learned a lot the last month. We were lucky to buy two similar pumps - one to do the job the other a back up. Yes being in Calitzdorp does have its draw backs and one is you must always have a back up pump.
I hope with the speed we are going now to start planting maybe next week late the apricots and the week after that the first of the vineyards.
My irrigation also started with the one system and I am running a twelve hour cycle just to wet up the soil. It is really surprising to see how dry the soils further from the riverbed is. You can also see the peaches blooming very promisingly. I hope for a big harvest there.
Hope all the plans stay on par as it did so far.
PS The labels for the Shiraz arrived and I will be labeling next week and Tuesday. The wines will be ready for Women Wine Wednesday.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A new day
Well with most of the preparations done on Withoek, we are now busy digging the holes and it is coming on surprisingly well. The workers are doing about 10 holes an hour with about averaging 14 working we should be finishing somewhere next week. What surprised me most is that we drove the tractors and my bakkie on the soil after the bulldozer ripped it and the places where we sort of left a small road the soil immediately were a lot harder than the other places. Just emphasising the pressure vehicles put on the soil during the everyday work -spraying, discing, etc.
Well you will see that there is a new blog on my links. This blog called http://www.diecalitzdorper.blogspot.com/ is a open blog where you guys can inform your fellow citizens on the happenings according to you in Calitzdorp. Anything from maybe a positve remark to just straight info like Laurence make excellent bread. I do believe there is a place for people to put info out.
The username is the email adress calitzdorp@hotmail.com and the password is a bit like the guesswork we had to do a few Sundays back at the Amazing Race - Calitzdorp. The clue is: It stands proud over the town and can be seen from 10km from the east. You can also go to the blog itself where I do explain a bit more. Hope you all take part.
My first dates again is
13 August 2010 -Wine Auction at Kwagga (Outeniqua High School)
15 August 2010 - Gemeente ete at the NG Kerk - get tickets from Marinda at the Church office
18 August 2010 - Withoek Women Wine Wednesday - Let Leanne know at 0442133639 before the 10th of August
Well you will see that there is a new blog on my links. This blog called http://www.diecalitzdorper.blogspot.com/ is a open blog where you guys can inform your fellow citizens on the happenings according to you in Calitzdorp. Anything from maybe a positve remark to just straight info like Laurence make excellent bread. I do believe there is a place for people to put info out.
The username is the email adress calitzdorp@hotmail.com and the password is a bit like the guesswork we had to do a few Sundays back at the Amazing Race - Calitzdorp. The clue is: It stands proud over the town and can be seen from 10km from the east. You can also go to the blog itself where I do explain a bit more. Hope you all take part.
My first dates again is
13 August 2010 -Wine Auction at Kwagga (Outeniqua High School)
15 August 2010 - Gemeente ete at the NG Kerk - get tickets from Marinda at the Church office
18 August 2010 - Withoek Women Wine Wednesday - Let Leanne know at 0442133639 before the 10th of August
Monday, August 2, 2010
Wine, women and .... spades
Well this month seems to contain everything. The wine part is the launch of the Withoek Shiraz the 18th of the month for the better part of the homo sapiens. The rest of us is going to wait till the 19th. We are going to bottle the Ruby Port this week. Looks like a traditional style but still sweet and very accomdating port.
The women is a bit slow out of the marks but this is apparently their right during this month. Leanne is putting together a list and she will deliver to people that indicated to me / her that they might be interested. Please give us just enough chance to prepare. So let the RSVP be about the Monday the 16th. I think that might be fair.
Well we are spading here in Withoek . Started to digg the holes for the plants. Interesting enough that is a very important part to great enough loose soil for early developement of the roots. The sides also should be a bit rough to allow the roots to enter the bigger part of the soil it is going to grow in. By digging to a small a hole you might end up with a tree / vine which may not grew up strong and be sort of limited to the hole which you dugg. You then dwarf the plant and hence smaller yields and less growth expected.
The irrigation project is also on its way this week. Digging all the necessary channels for the new pipelines and getting the irrigation system going. Quite an undertaking.
Feel free to comment on anything I do read and try and answer most of it.
The women is a bit slow out of the marks but this is apparently their right during this month. Leanne is putting together a list and she will deliver to people that indicated to me / her that they might be interested. Please give us just enough chance to prepare. So let the RSVP be about the Monday the 16th. I think that might be fair.
Well we are spading here in Withoek . Started to digg the holes for the plants. Interesting enough that is a very important part to great enough loose soil for early developement of the roots. The sides also should be a bit rough to allow the roots to enter the bigger part of the soil it is going to grow in. By digging to a small a hole you might end up with a tree / vine which may not grew up strong and be sort of limited to the hole which you dugg. You then dwarf the plant and hence smaller yields and less growth expected.
The irrigation project is also on its way this week. Digging all the necessary channels for the new pipelines and getting the irrigation system going. Quite an undertaking.
Feel free to comment on anything I do read and try and answer most of it.
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