My time at Pandy Farm was fleeting, but also felt so long. We did so much and interacted with so many people
The Work
Every day we would start with a little warm up to get our bodies and brains working before taking on the days tasks. These were good fun and took us out of our comfort zone, breaking down barriers. We would generally stand in a circle and either throw a ball or have some interaction that would pass the ball/idea around the circle. Sometimes this involved saying something about yourself, or was just an action towards another person.
We covered a selection of tasks that were all relevant to the season and would help put the farm in a better position in order to get ahead on crop planting.
We had the task of turning the haylage on the brassicas beds. Hay had already been lain earlier in the year, to prep the ground for planting, preventing weed growth and adding nutrients to the soil. We needed to remove the weeds that had started to make an appearance (much reduced than if the haylage hadn’t been there), turn the haylage to benefit from the nutrients from the top, and lay more haylage on top. This was a long job, with lots of bending and squatting, but very rewarding to see the end result. we were able to finish this off and start to plant the cabbage seedlings amongst the new haylage. Taking a zig zag approach, making holes in the ground within the haylage, watering the hole, them planting the seedling firmly to avoid any leaning as it starts to take root and grow.
Raking/healing was where we tackled the mole hills in the pasture fields. This is where we take a rake and disperse the soil from the mole hills to the surrounding grass area. This is to prevent grass dying, spread the nutrient rich soil and prevent annoyance to tractors.
Another task was in the soft fruits, Blueberries, Raspberries, Gooseberries. We planned to add compost to the bedding, but on inspection there were lots of weeds we needed to deal with first. It’s amazing how long it takes to weed, and what a benefit it is to have so many hands to help. We had to be careful with the blueberries (affectionately called bloobs), as when pulling out the weeds at the bottom of the stems we would be prone to knocking off the new growth coming from the roots. This followed with collecting many wheelbarrows full of compost provided by the council from their landfill from natural waste (leaves, branches etc) and depositing it on the roots of the soft fruit. Again another satisfying job to see all the bushes bedded in with fresh compost.
I teamed up with Becca and Coryn who is the propagation expert working on the farm. We prepped seed trays with compost and planted courgettes, squash and sweetcorn, a fairly relaxing job compared to the more physical previous tasks of the week. It was great to have the input from someone who has so much experience.
Farm Life
We were introduced to Anna and Morfydd, two black Highland cows, less than a year old. They look like cuddly teddy bears and like being groomed. I learned that Highland cows were originally black, but were bred to be red after Queen Victoria expressed a keen-ness for the colour. We were also introduced to the old Ash tree. It is believed to be hundreds of years old, which is unusual for an Ash. It has lots of knobbly parts, with most looking like some form of nose, providing a sense of persona. Elen said she often comes to sit by the tree in the early mornings with her cat when on their morning walks, to sit and ponder the day, while feeling connected to nature.
As we have been doing the weeding tasks we have drawn the attention of the resident ducks. They are a great benefit to the farm for eating up the majority of the slugs, as I’m sure many gardeners out there will vouch for this being a persistent problem. It’s a funny sight to see them all waddling over towards you reaping up the harvest of worms and slugs you have disturbed when digging. We obviously prefer worms to be in the ground to help add nutrients to the earth, but there are so many that we can sacrifice a few to the ducks. We also have the resident chickens who help out a lot less and come pecking at the seedlings, so we have to fence off the new crop and try and shoo the chickens out of the farm gardens.
The People and Activities
Each day we are bountifully provided with tea, biscuits, cake, excellent lunches to keep us motivated and maintain the friendly environment which makes it such a great place to be in.
One of the evenings was a planned shared meal for the work party volunteers (myself, Aga, Lina and Paul) at Ali (Allan) and Beths house. They prepared fresh home cooked food sourced mostly from the farm, along with Allans homemade cider, and walnut liquor (rum I think). It was such a welcoming, homely farmhouse setting, which felt like Christmas because we were sharing with such a large group.). We also had the company of one of Elen’s close friends Nichola Peel, a very active environmental campaigner and Solutionist. The chat around the table was great, talking about life, the environment, stories, interests. A great chance to share our knowledge and experience in a shared interest.
Through all the activities it’s a productive, but relaxed vibe, enabling us all to enjoy each other’s company and get to know each other. The main workers and volunteers on the farm are Verity, Becca, Emily, Becca and Tyrone. I found out that Verity went to the same college as me in Plymouth – PCAD (Plymouth College of Art), albeit a few years after me. And Becca attended a farming course with someone whose family owned a farm in Wellington, my home town, it’s a small world.
On one of the nights Elen had booked us into Sawna Bach – The Scenic Sauna, in Llanberis and Llyn Padarn, next to the slate museum in Llanberis. It was such a treat, as we had the sauna as a private booking for the 6 of us. Elen works at the Sauna and advised us to go into the sauna until you break your first sweat. You are then meant to go out for a cold shower to wash off the sweat before re-entering. The first sweat is meant to be the dirty sweat, so you aren’t supposed to sit in it. There is the option to dip in the lake before showering, so I took that option. The lake was pretty cold, ok up to your waist, but needed a prep to take the last plunge up to your neck. I swam out a little distance before turning back to shore. You can understand how people get into difficulty in cold water, I could feel my muscles becoming weak and found it hard to move them, like wading through treacle, with the pins of the cold nipping into them. But very refreshing and it made going back into the sauna even more rewarding and cleansing. I took two dips in total before we made our way home.
Other volunteers come and go and we had a lady called Chloe join us with her two children, Indy and Nevada, they come regularly to volunteer as they don’t have much outdoor space at home to do any gardening in. But the farm is such a fantastic environment that not many people can replicate at home anyway. It’s a great way to get kids outside, understanding nature, what goes into producing food, to have an appreciation for it.
We have been blessed the whole week with such good weather, no rain, sunshine, a little chilly at times, but prefect conditions for getting tasks done on the farm. As it was our last night on the farm, and it was the turning of the full moon, we were to experience the monthly Pandy Party, hosted in Penturff (a small 5 sided wooden building), the start of which was marked by the lighting of the bonfire at 8pm. Soon after we finished our tasks at about 5.30pm on the day of the party, dark clouds came over and rain set in. I wondered what we might do if it stayed for the night, but about an hour before the party I could see the blue start to spread across the sky and the sunlight started streaming creating a really pleasant dusk.
Pandy Party was a great event, with quite a hippy vibe. Carpets adorned the walls and floor of the Pentruff, wooden benches were laid out to sit on and potatoes and Chi were served. The evening started off with some spoken word, firstly a poem from Beth written by John Clare, known for celebrating the English Countryside, followed by her own creation in response to him. Beth had provided a brief history on him at the shared meal on Monday, so it was lovely to hear it in the context of the party, with Ali accompanying on his recorder with a Tallis hymn, An Evening Hymn, I think I recall. We then had contributions from some of the volunteers, Aga read a poem in Polish and Lina a poem in French, accompanied by her partner Paul on electric Ukelele. I played the tune ‘Misty’ on my cornet, and there were several professional musical acts playing music that rejoiced in enjoying life and the earth.