I’m one of those people who just can’t move forwards without knowing where he’s going first, so a step by step plan, with categories of task is essential to my peace of mind while I’m doing things.
A nice arial of how the land breaks down by @Orlev
And in my mind there are TWO basic categories of task related to my land:
The first is land tasks – basically planting, plant and soil maintenance, composting and soil building, oh, and harvesting! I think also observing falls into this category too.
The second is construction tasks - mainly the house, but also shade structures, waterworks and a whole load of other things too!
Now the seasons are going to shape when I can do some of these tasks – summer is a good time to redo a roof for example, and November is the time when one wants to harvest one’s olives, so I’ll have to keep those in mind, but fortunately I think the seasons tie in well with my priorities anyway!
Which are as follows…
Construction tasks
I’ve broken these down as much as I can.
House
- Buy some chappas, roofing material, get it delivered
- Clear out the house to give it a chance to dry.
- Give the house and surrounds a good clean.
- Watch a lot of YouTube videos on basic construction
- Buy concrete for ‘floor pour’
- Check Lime, buy more if necessary
- Sort the floor out
- Render the damn walls
A slightly weird looking 360 degree photo!
NB – I think I’ve booked someone to help with the roof and the rather alarming gaps at the top of them!
Shower 1.0
- Finish the base off (easy!)
- Make sure I’ve got a second bucket
Tent/ Shade around the place
- Put up a shade for ideally three cars near the gate which I don’t have (and which really isn’t a priority!)
- Sort that stump out near the hammock, put a shade over it
- Put some shade netting over tent and to the front of it!
Water storage
- Sort out two tanks near the olive terraces (under and wrap together)
- Sort out tank two up near the house.
- Play around with the fixtures I’ve bought too!
THIS SHOULD BE RELATIVELY SIMPLE!
Wood store
- Decide where to put the damn thing
- Build it – and just use a tarp for now!
Furniture
I've got a stack of wood
- Build a desk!
- Build something to store pine cones in
- Build some shelves
Outdoor fire/ BBQ area
- i just added this at the last minute to the list - as in clear an area for one.
- I've got a few larger logs that'd make great little stools and last for many years even out in the rain, so I SHOULD really do this!
Kitchen area/ stone building
I’m planning to have the house as my main dwelling area, so I will eventually build a platform and a basic outdoor (but sheltered) kitchen out the front of the house, but in the mean time I may as well maintain what I’ve got down by the well….
Also the stone building is a perfectly good storage area
- Put up some shade material for summer
- Buy and measure out plastic coverings for winter.
- Next phase of tidying inside the Stone building!
- Clear the stones from around the stone building and redo the roof
Yup, another 360 warped!
Shower 2.0 and Compost toilet
- Decide where to put them and build them
- these aren’t priorities ATM!
Land tasks
These break down a bit more seasonally:
Summer 2021
- mulch oak trees
- general tidying/ path clearing
Autumn 2021
- October - annuals plantings
- October - general tidy strim before Olive harvest
- November - harvest olives
- November - more annuals plantings
- Burn some brash!
Winter 2021-22
- Tree planting
- Brash clearance
Spring 2022
- Early strim round one
- Late strim round two!
- Annuals plantings
There's a lot to strim!
Summer 2022
- Watering and harvesting!
Time limits?
The sooner I get all of these tasks done, the better, but the only things I really WANT to get done in a timely fashion are…
- The roof before the rains come! That could be September.
- The floor and the wood stove on the house done by the end of October ideally, could stretch this to the end of November!
- The Olives in November, no real choice there.
- Plant at least some trees in winter
- Get at least 4K litres of water storage in place before April, the last month we’re practically guaranteed a lot of rain.
If I limit myself to focussing on that lot and don’t stress about the rest.
Young oak trees to mulch, one of my current tasks!