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Upside-down the good newsletter

2023 – week 30

Upside down = instead of announcing what we plan to do
(& most often find out we do not need to do), we relate what we really did

The updated list of vegetables & fruit that can be harvested this week is available on our website under the heading “Current Harvest” :

https://plukrijp.be/op-dit-moment-te-oogsten

This week @ Plukrijp

We did:

We threshed the rye we harvested to separate the seeds from the straw. We harvested 15 kg of rye for 100m² (5x20m).

We cut off the strawberry runners from around the farm & transplanted some into pots (filled with compost from pots that had been emptied into a trailer with a mix of horse manure & compost from the Hei) & some strawberries already directly into the short raised beds at the Hei & put straw around them.

We also weeded the rest of the short raised beds.

In the left side of tunnel 4 where the rye was cut back we had tried to plant cabbages but they were all eaten by slugs. We instead seed phacelia & buckwheat for a fall/winter cover & spread pigeon manure & compost over it to help decompose the remaining straw & roots of the rye.

We continue to brush off the colorado beetles from the potatoes in open tunnel 5.

We continue to harvest for the shop in front.

We scratched in some more phacelia seeds in between the germinated phacelia in right side of open tunnel 2

We harvest fruit from the forest. This week: prunes.

We scratched between the lines of carrot & leek, & the newly planted leek, & the short beds at Hei.

We continue to work on the kitchen, & the bathroom is looking beautiful! Volunteers & friends can now have a nice washroom to call their own when visiting & staying at the farm. Thanks Bram & Tom!

A few words of Bram

Liberation through expression

This week I had an outburst of anger and it was actually quite easy looking at it afterwards. In general I have struggles to express my dislikes towards the ones who I’m projecting it on. Meaning in situations were I observe some actions or no actions that I would love to see different. My fear is the possibility of conflict and the outcome of an discussion about who is right. The fear of not being able to justify my needs or to be taken serious in my perception. Where it come’s from? I guess from the mother and father who always had something to correct in my speech?

The anger came out unexpectedly through the accumulation of frustration. My frustration was /is building up by all the small irresponsibly actions on the farm. Being aware of all those things and not finding the relaxed state of mind to share them with the others is building up tension to the point were it came out by itself. I raised my voice and used the f-word, then trying to stay present, calming the emotion and looking for words to express my desire, stepped away and continued my work.

Looking at it afterwards it went actually quite easy, maybe i could have used other words or another attitude, but there was no tension left behind in the body and the mind was also happy that the frustration was out. Liberation? Or at least reducing tension. It is clear again that procrastination leads to confusion and thereby leads to separation and that is not what makes us happy. So for me the exercise to speak more direct and to see that there is no danger in sharing my desires or pointing others on there behavior.

Bram

Inspiring Video

What Is a Transcendental Experience?

“A ‘transcendental experience’ – from the Latin transcendere, meaning ‘to go beyond’ – denotes a brief, uncommon, ecstatic and revelatory period in which we are able to loosen our hold on our characteristically narrow ego-specific concerns and can identify with a totality that is larger, older, greater and deeper than we are – and feel intensely unburdened and liberated thereby…”

A few words of Niels

Late July

In late July we want to be getting ready for another shoulder season. There are a few quick crops that we can plant soon. The temperatures become a bit cooler from September on but there is still enough light until October for the plants to do some photosynthesis and produce sugars.

So if you want to have crops in the ground by September you want to have planted them in august, so you want to have seeds germinated by then which means that in late July you want to have your seeds on hand. If you plan to have plants ready to set out you will also consider having the logistics mapped out a bit. If you work with what comes to you, you just remember the opportunities coming up so that you know what to keep your eyes open for.

Beds that open up in August can be prepped for crops that will go through winter and mature in the spring such as leek, onion, garlic, rye, cauliflower, winter carrots and strawberries to name a few.

Social Dynamics in late July

Holidays are still happening. Momentum is constantly broken up. Even if people return they are not reliably present enough to really practice permaculture. During holidays people generally increase their ecological footprint and let go of their habits and ethics a bit. The longer the holiday the longer it will take to regain the flow.

The gardener feels the tyranny of harvest and is stressed out about getting the food to the people. Abundances might have to be processed for storage or left to go overripe on the field.

It’s a good time for the farmer to evaluate what went well, what went badly and how much of each crop to put next year. Its good to write it down because by the time planning comes around in late fall and winter the farmer will have forgotten the details. There is still enough light to be optimistic about the rest of the season and to enjoy summer. Enjoying summer means socializing and meeting the right crew for the coming year.

It’s a good time to weed out toxic people or behaviours as those people will find that as long as its summer there are options and alternatives and places to go before it gets cold. If you don’t weed out toxic behaviour in summer then you will likely be struggling with them in fall and winter which will be quite depressing since life is a lot more close quarters then. When things get really lean in spring conflicts will bubble to the surface anyhow and lead to a shaky or impulsive start to the next year.

Ideally you have a solid core that provides the inertia to keep up the good work through the social fragmentation of summer and capture the abundance of solar energy that is hitting the earth in this period.

Best of luck!

Inspiring Book

Be Here Now – Ram Dass

Describes one man’s transformation upon his acceptance of the principles of Yoga & gives a modern restatement of the importance of the spiritual side of human nature.

The book is divided into four sections:

Journey: The Transformation: Dr Richard Alpert, PhD into Baba Ram Dass

From Bindu to Ojas: The Core Book

Cookbook for a Sacred Life: A Manual for Conscious Being

Painted Cakes (Do Not Satisfy Hunger): Books