Quinta das Abelhas, Permaculture in Central Portugal
We were weeding the other day when we found this beauty hiding in the grass in the middle of the veggie bed.
He is I think, a Green Toad who likes to live on sandy soil and breeds in shallow pools. They are often encountered on farmland on the outskirts of villages which fits the bill.
Since [...]
Birds are used as indicator of the general quality of the farmed environment because they sit near the top of the food chain. I am interested to find out the range of bird species here, and whether there are any which we should be particularly helping and encouraging. With this in mind we have put [...]
Myself, Matt and 2 year old Poppy arrived on the quinta in October. In November we started our first olive harvesting.
Andy would climb up the tree and prune the branches then throw them on to the nets below. The gang would then take the olives off the branches until we had a net full.
The next [...]
Any graffiti artists out there want a “working holiday” on a beautiful farm in sunny Portugal? We fancy some artwork on our compost toilet and water well! And … any suggestions for a more eco-friendly paint?
Now available for volunteers and rentals.
Comfortable and cosy yurt with double bed and woodburner. 25 euros per night.
Use of kitchen caravan, compost toilet and solar shower included.
Enquiries / reservations: camp@portugalsmallholding.org
We’ve started clicker training the horses. These photos are from Day 2, when we began teaching them to play football!
Ayla died yesterday, of severe colic. She’d gone to a new home a few months ago, but I feel her loss hugely.
You can run free now my beautiful girl xxxx
The name’s inspired by Andy’s brother Oggy because, as he says “I’m having ifits for dinner tonight” (if it’s in the fridge I’ll eat it) and the actual pie inspired by a German friend’s mother who made something similar the other day which was delicious (though hers, no doubt, was not made out of leftovers, [...]
The mornings are still chilly, but we have blue skies and sunny warm days.
As manhãs estão ainda frio, mas temos o céu azul e ensolarado dia quente.
The chickens have started laying eggs again!
As galinhas começaram a pôr ovos novamente!
We planted broad beans in November. They are growing fast.
Nós plantamos as favas, em novembro. Eles [...]
