Donations, Ducklings, Gorpley Graft and Agroforestry, Walsden Update

Ben and Edward the smashing blokes behind “In Oak” kitchens have bought a building packed with builders materials lots of which they have kindly donated to IET. Last week it was two huge rolls of weed fabric, and now this truckload of plastic pipe which will be very usefull at Gorpley. Heres Ben being excited about walsden eggs!

Those eggs came from chickens that are training to live in a chick penthouse, a new style of fox proof living. Were building the Chick Penthouses to sell with a brace of highly trained rescued hens, watch this space!

More chickeny enterprise, Michael has built this “Chicken Tractor” small enough to move around the beds so the chickens eat all the slug eggs etc, Big enough to be home to 3.

Weve not been forgetting Gorpley, it will be getting a Chick penthouse soon, but first the water diversion works continue. Here are the Community Payback team working on the culvert, good job lads.

More graft, this time at walsden Grafting apple trees, this is the very beautifull Wisley crab with pink pigmentation right through the wood. We have 700 trees to graft, Michael is running a grafting course on the 7th March. Trained grafters or if you are are keen to have a go and cant make the course, text Nick on 07985 150296 and come on down anytime weekdays, we will be glad of your help, and that goes for all sorts of work, not just grafting, there is lots to do!

We had a digger day at walsden, extending the car parking area and building these Sepp Holtzer style Hugelculture beds, also pond deepening so we can stock them with carp. Thanks to Peter Rigg for loan of the digger and Michael B for driving it.

Its been frosty in the polytunnel. Paisley Polytunnel Patterns.

And this order of plants for the health centre and orchard has to cope with a drastic climate change! Its from the Agroforestry Research Centre in Devon,lots of unusual forest garden and permaculture plants, Nepalese rasberry, Russian Rhubarb, Wonton Gooseberry (I might have made that one up!).
Anyway there all inside ou warmest spot, on the hot bed, kept cosy by the magic of festering horse dung.

And to finish, a new arrival, Crispy duckling,mothered by our faithfull white silkie laid 1st Jan. This is the first successfull hatching of our breeding aylesburys, biggest of the first batch, and about a year old now, Laying eggs continuiously scince the autum, this is the first successfull hatching after 4 tries. The first of many more we hope.

cute video here

And Mom and dad