Sunday 14 October 2007

Geodomes and farming

Just above Hay, across the river, there's a house in quite a large, tree-filled garden. The people who live there have a business hiring out geodomes, which are quite wonderful space-age constructions, and can be used as marquees and so on. They have their own geodome chicken run in the garden - I have to keep an eye on Islay when we go past on the Wyecliff path, in case one has gone walkabout and she gets a bit too interested.
At the moment, they're in Scotland - the Isle of Muck, to be precise. Apparently a lot of market gardening goes on there, and they're keen to extend the short growing season as much as they can. Polytunnels are difficult to use there, because they also get great storms, but geodomes are more stable, and so the people here have gone up there to build some, and see how they perform. They're hoping for a really good storm while they're there, so they can see the domes in action.

Meanwhile, a minibus full of pickers has arrived to harvest the parsnips in the field just below the geodome place. They've done one strip so far, the full length of the field and about three feet across - and at the present rate it'll take them a month to get across the field to the other side.
In the big field by the riverside, the potato crop has been harvested, and was immediately replaced by winter wheat.

No comments: