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Plukrijp.be vzw – Zetel: Trommelstraat 24 – B 2223 Schriek
RPR Mechelen – O.N. 0553.553.660 – www.plukrijp.be

This week @ Plukrijp

We did:

Local collaboration: Willy, the farmer who owns the fields around Plukrijp, absolutely had to harvest his straw before the end of August but the weather did not allow it. If straw is harvested wet, it cannot be stored and used as fodder for animals. An agreement has been reached with Plukrijp that we accept all their straw production (+/- 60 bales) at a price that allows him not to lose in the transaction. The straw was harvested in the pouring rain and the bales are therefore of very poor quality, but I found it more important to remain in collaboration and local support. I trust that we will find a good use for this abundance!

At Hei we weeded all the borders and planted some more strawberries in the short beds on the left side.

In the midden bed of open tunnel 5 we seeded mustard & facelia.

We scratched everywhere we’ve sown lately.

We watered the closed tunnel 3 as well as new seedlings.

We weeded tunnel 6.

We repaired some more europallets.

Wilfried continued to overhaul and repair the wood stove in the common house.

With the help of Bart, Hilde and Steven, the destruction of the large mass stove in the workshop has progressed.

We harvested the little tomatoes and and Martine transformed them into a delicious ketchup.

We continued to harvest grapes and made juice for the winter.

Sunflowers continue to be harvested as they mature.

A few words from our friend Niels

Maike Mussche wrote a thought-provoking article on self-sufficiency on her blog

Link: https://maaikemussche.wordpress.com/2023/08/04/zelfvoorzienend-leven/

When I find this kind of article, I like to share them with Niels. Below is his thoughts on the subject:

Very good questions raised!

So here is my answer

Gardening is our way back to nature

The goal of gardening is to supply vegetables and fruits, domesticating animals

Then comes the hard lesson

Gardening goes against the flow of wild nature

Wether you hunt, steal eggs and honey or clear land and soil for vegetable production, eating means killing

Building too means cutting wood and habitat

This is emotionally a very hard reality check

When you’re in the city, it always someone else

But now here you are killing and failing 

So I think the journey begins really after you decide 

to integrate this lesson and decide to live in a world

Where morality is imperfect

You must decide what is worth living for

And what is worth killing for

And because we don’t know what is true

And because we don’t know what is justice

We have to settle often on what is beautiful

We know what is beautiful

We know what is funny

We know what music lifts our spirit

There is grace in being self reliant and gardening

Like Walden 

We will learn to be happy with the smallest possible footprint

But it’s an experiment that has to end also

Like into the wild

Happiness is only real when shared

I’d add to that

Beauty is only real when shared

Somewhere in the sharing of what is beautiful

Lies the quality of a permanent culture 

See you there

Inspiring Music

Sona Jobarteh ~ Saya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9_37TbI1Q4

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