Building fertility.

One of our primary source of commitments is to improve the fertility of our farm. We do this by creating reserves of biological material (humus) which we can constantly place in areas where there is obviously a fertility issue.

The farm is too big to do this on a grand scale but we are selective and even if it is the gardens around the complex we feel that the more we nurture the soil the better the result will be. The Eastern Free State has a harsh climate, particularly in winter, and trees can struggle to survive there. In fact, only a relatively small number of South African indigenous trees can grow in that climate but we have identified them and we plant never less than 1,000 trees per year in and around our complex so in years to come it will be a completely different place.

Even now there is a vast difference from when the original buildings were constructed in the late 1990's on what was effectively a ploughed field.

Of particular significance is the self-seeding of trees and other plants. The picture below shows red clover which has self-seeded itself and which is appearing ever more frequently throughout the complex. We always feel that the presence of clover indicates good fertility. This particular patch of clover was full of bees and again we are satisfied that by diversifying their food source the colonies will get stronger and help to pollinate our commercial crops.