An idea that has been ripening for months…
The grieving process that has been going on since Frank’s death is a huge and intense transformation process for both me and Plukrijp. This place requires a new purpose. For months my only possible answer was “I don’t know”.
A few days ago the possible future was revealed to me: Plukrijp would become a center where people on their way to Growth can meet/encourage/support each other. Plukrijp would provide the infrastructure and space for organizing all kinds of workshops/coming together.
The garden would remain an important part of the project, both as a place for inner peace and as well as producing the fruit and vegetables needed for communal meals.
The members of the non-profit organization could still come and harvest themselves for a free donation.
This week I made an important decision concerning the fields: I will leave them for one year to rest in order to bring back fertility to a high quality level. This year almost no compost was added because the compost heap at Hei has “suffocated”. It will be turned over soon by a large digger to re-kindle the ripening process.
Through a soil analysis, we will understand better what is needed to add to the soil before we leave it to rest under a thick blanket of straw.
The tunnels will be removed temporarily so that direct sunlight and rain can fall on these areas once again. Perhaps in a later stage we will replace all the tunnels with just one wider one.
This will require a lot of contemplation and preparation. It is a beautiful challenge that we will meet with courage! Help is welcome!
In the meantime, we have started with a thorough clean up of the farm. The plan is to utilize the time that will become available to have a new wind blow through, allow more light to come in and to create space by bringing things that are damaged or broken to the recycling center. Also the buildings will need some love and repairs.
Because of this break, we will be able to give more attention to the food forest which has become overgrown.
All the perennials will still be treated with care: all the berry bushes and fruit trees need to be pruned, rhubarb plants need to be divided,…
Soon, we will harvest the remaining bigger crops, like the pumpkins, butternut, potatoes, jerusalem artichokes and parsnips.
We are looking for volunteers that will help create
the new Plukrijp in joy and in collaboration