This is my entry for the March Garden Journal Challenge. thank you so much 
I´d like to invite 
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weather sets the pace when it comes to what we can or can not do as March arrives. nights are still fairly cold with frosty mornings, while during the day, we often work in a T-shirt as long as the winds do not blow too much.
locally, on our farm, we do not plant out anything before May 1st.(!) we know better by now. yet, there are endless jobs happening regardless in preparation for spring. it has been fairly dry recently and we even had to punctually water some trees and the nursery. praying for this rain over the weekend to materialize..!
Olive pruning is in full swing and is very time consuming.
Just over 90 of them to go ; )
with every olive tree pruned, our firewood pile gets bigger. we average about a wheelbarrow per tree.
you can read more about our pruning operations and olive oil making in this post:
@bigorna1/producing-my-own-oil-video
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Last trees for the season are being planted even though conditions are far from ideal. the roots are being soaked in mycorrhiza solution before planting. the simbiosis with about 20 different types of fungi (non fruiting) helps trees with the uptake of minerals and water and greatly improves chances of survival. we use it because it is fairly late in the season for a tree to actually be able to establish a significant root system before our hot dry summer sets in, and also, because we happen to have it on hand.
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the only way to protect a newly planted seedlings from the wild boars is placing a tyre around it as its smell repels them.
a section of a terrace that collapsed due to wild bore activity and awaits fixing.
another section that was fixed yesterday. my back begs for a good massage.
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Potatoes
Potatoes are being prepared for planting. 11 Kgs. are laid in a crate indoors (heat from the stove promote sprouting), covered with paper.
March is potato month in Portugal and they are on every conversation. they will be planted out within a week or two.
potatoes are planted in large buckets to keep them out of the reach of rodents. two buckets are inserted one inside the other. the inner having harvesting openings as shown in the next photo.
for harvesting, the inner bucket is pulled out and potatoes are picked from the sides.
this is where Electroculture comes in. I have been working on a pyramid that should increase potato yield and size. will also keep a control bucket for comparison.
I call it the "Open Source" pyramid. you can probably see why. it is made of wood as its frame base and is all wired with copper.
this kind of pyramid will be later used to energize seeds before germination.
antennas pop up everywhere. I take advantage of many existing vertical posts to be used for them.
a copper wire runs down the side all the way into the soil.
magnet antennas are set in a North-South sense and can magnetize a wire placed inside them. the wire then has an effect of up to 1m. to each side of it.
the magnet antenna is always placed at the South end of the wire, allowing magnetic current to run North wise (in the North hemisphere).
the South-North line is marked using a compass.
the South end of the wire. in this case buried. it can also be laid on top of the surface.
the magnets are covered with natural honey bees wax in order to improve the quality of the magnetic field emitted.
and the magnet should be correctly positioned with the North polarity facing magnetic North. if not properly positioned, the whole antenna will not function properly.
currently. Electroculture on the farm is work in progress. resourcing of materials is time consuming but it seems worth it in the long run, as I see it.
another feature that will be incorporated in the future is a power tower that if properly built and positioned should have very significant effect not only on plant health and growth but also on general well being in the area affected. it is also suppose to help in easing the effects of frosts which is a major concern in our case and if results prove to do that, it will be a total game changer for the farm in the years to come.
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I am daily making the change I want to see in the world.
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