Posts Tagged ‘Andes’

November has been a very busy and, at times, exciting month for us. As we pass further into spring time, more birds and insects appear on the farm as well as a surprise visit from a wild cat kitten (Geoffreys Ocelot or Gato Montés).

One of the many insects that appear in spring time

Earlier in the year we had decided to plant a cash crop to provide us with an income for the forthcoming season. So we
ploughed and prepared some ground and hand planted around 2000 melon seeds (honey dew) and butternut squash seeds, plus a couple of rows of sweetcorn and a part row of small, sweet, red peppers. An irrigation system was dug and after a week the first seedlings appeared -  and then some disappeared, thanks to the local hare population! Which means we will soon have to re-sow the ‘missing’ plants.

Watering the melon field before sowing

Late one afternoon we saw smoke above an adjacent farm. As most of the locals burn their fields to remove stubble and dried grass, we were not at all worried. However, as time passed, we could actually see flames quite close by, and spread over a very wide area. On investigating we found that a wild fire had started and was covering most of the 60 acre farm opposite us. Graciela asked if the fire brigade had been called and offered our help. The local policeman told Graciela that the brigade were on standby and would come out if it got serious! Five of us neighbours put out the fire with our shovels and pitchforks. That took us just over two hours of very hot work. Once the fire was out, everyone thanked each other, and went back to their farms, job done. No excitement, no shouting, no orders, just everyone pitching in and quietly getting the problem sorted as a team. A very down to earth approach.

Fighting the fire on the next door farm

The fire was spreading across the farm

Spring not only brings new plants, birds and animals to the farm, it also brings weeds in vast quantities. If we take even a week off weeding, the irrigation ditches soon become choked. Not surprisingly we have spent some time cleaning our 5 kilometers of internal ditches.

Ditch cleaning

Not all the ‘weeds’ are unwelcome though. The irrigation water brings with it a whole host of seeds that self set in its edges. So far we have harvested many handfuls of asparagus (more of that later) and we have mint and fennel growing on the ditch borders as well as some grapes!

Wild asparagus picked on the farm

Our old apricot trees and quince trees have blossomed and it looks as though we might get a good harvest from them this year. The large fig tree is not doing very much at the moment, but the four smaller trees are heavy with green figs which will be picked soon.

Quince tree blossom

Our area once grew asparagus and all the irrigation ditches in the area are covered in asparagus plants, ours included. These plants are wild, but the asparagus spears are of excellent quality which we have tried and thoroughly enjoyed. However many of the public know that wild asparagus grows here too. They come and pick it from the public supply canal, and since our farm was not farmed for many years, they have been picking it from our ditches too. So we have been plagued with people coming onto our farm to collect asparagus (sometimes to sell later in the street). All have left the farm when asked and we have had no problem, but we have decided to put up proper perimeter fences to replace the single strand of barbed wire that currently defines our borders.

Putting in fence posts and cleaning ditches

Our farm entrance has had a face lift too and now sports a set of wooden gates with our farm logo carved onto the top bar of each gate.

The new wooden gates at the farm entrance

And, of course, we take time off to enjoy ourselves too!

Graciela, Nenina and Titan

At last, after a number of delays and problems, we have finally completed the planting of the first hectare (2.5 acres) of our vineyard. The whole process took us a couple of weeks and it has taught us a whole host of new skills. We used contractors for the heavy work and now most of the vines have been planted, we will continue the ground work and irrigation works ourselves.

The people who dug the 2800 holes and planted the vine plants rejected 150 of them as being substandard. With no quibble at all, the suppliers of the vines agreed to give us replacement plants. So, in a few weeks time we will complete planting the last couple of rows.

Why did we plant Malbec vines? Well our finca is located exactly in the area where French colonists first planted the Malbec grapes in Argentina. In Europe, at that time, itwas not a sought after variety, but as it prospered so well over here it became one of the leading grapes in Argentina. Most of the fincas around us are now devoted to fruit or alfalfa, so you could say that our vineyard has brought Malbec back to its origins in our part of San Rafael.

For the technically minded the support structure for our 2800 Malbec vines was built from 600 wooden posts, each 2.5 meters long, which were strung with 9 km (5.5 miles) of wire. Also 80 small tree trunks were buried around the edges of the field to act as ground anchors for the end posts. 160 adjustable wire tensioners were installed to keep the support wires rigid.

The photos below give an idea of the work – as well as the tea and meal breaks involved!

Initially the whole hectare was marked out with temporary stakes and wire.

Marking out the field for the posts

Then 40 furrows were ploughed across the width of the field. These furrows were where the posts, plants and initial irrigation channels would run.

Ploughing the (straight) furrows across the field

The short tree trunks were then buried to act as ground anchors for the system of posts and wires.

The holes for all the ground anchors are dug

Each morning started with a cup of tea/coffee/mate. No briefings, no “team talk”, no “morning management meeting”, no identifying targets – just everyone having a natter, a cuppa, then off to work.

Each day started with a cuppa

The end posts for each rows were then installed.

The head posts were the first to be put in place

Work stopped at this stage until we had built a set of channels to connect all the furrows to the farm’s main irrigation system. Even Mary and Fred were put to work helping to clean the return channel for the irrigation water.

Team effort - no one was allowed a day off!

With the temporary irrigation system in place we then waited for our turn for irrigation water.

Watering by moonlight.

On Sunday night, at about 1am, and by moonlight, we irrigated the wholefield. This wetted the ground ready for planting. Remember we only get water once a week here and there is no other source for watering in new plants. Hence wandering around the farm in the dark!

The holes for the vines were dug in the damp ground

The next morning the ground in the furrows was still nice and damp. As the 2800 holes were dug, we went off to collect the vine plants.

Collecting the vine plants

The vines were planted and then the remaining wooden posts were distributed around the field and then placed in each hole. They were so well placed that no matter which way you looked, they all stood in straight lines. Nice.

Intermediate posts in place

Now came the stringing of the support wires for the vines. And I think it is time for an artistic photo.

Barbeque time again

Vines and posts in place, wires being strung and tensioned. The field now has the feel of being a vineyard at last.

The vineyard is taking shape in the evening sun

As the vineyard construcion neared completion the workload for us increased. Graciela hand weeded the furrows to remove the local chipica grass – very invasive and very difficult to eradicate. We did not want to spray with herbicide, so hand cleaning was needed.

Hand weeding instead of using herbicide sprays

After the third irrigation the wires were re-tensioned, protective plastic collars were put on the vine plants and plastic tapes put in place to train the vines up to the wires.

Construction complete, but now the work starts. Weekly watering, keeping an eye open for diseases, routine training and pruning. Changing over from the temporary to a permanent irrigation system, Weeding and years of tender care.

 Now, if you can wait for another 3 to 4 years you can taste a bottle of our Malbec wine.

Work complete. Now for years of tender care.

July and August have been quite hectic months for us. It seemed that every time we go to work there was either something else that became more important to do, or a problem arose that had to be solved first.

We left with everything organised for the planting of vines.  At short notice we came to the UK and collected my parents, Mary and Freddy and brought them back with us to the farm.

The family

On our all too brief visit we saw the family for a few days, bought some essentials and flew back with Mary and Fred on Iberia. That was not one of our best experiences and, despite requesting assistance from the airline in advance for Mary and Freddy (who are in their late 80s) we were very disappointed in Heathrow T3 with the level of service. At Madrid airport nothing had been arranged for them and we all ended up waiting on our own on the tarmac by the airplane for a bus to take them to the departure terminal. Lets hope British Airways does not suffer from their merger with Iberia!

When we all arrived in Buenos Aires we took 2 days ‘off’ collecting the animals, visiting family and showing them a little of the area of Palermo. We all stayed in a guest house specifically catering for people who love tango, and we can recommend the excellent accommodation and level of service at the Caseron Porteno.

Graciela and Mary travelled overnight to San Rafael by bus, Freddie and I drove across Argentina during the day, and what an adventure we had! It was a public holiday and half of Buenos Aires had left for either the coast or the mountains. Coupled with that, for political reasons, there was a shortage of diesel, petrol and gas. So we limped into the driveway of the house with the pickup breathing vapour! But along the way we saw pink flamingos, ñandúes (ostriches), a wild cat, a fox, eagles, storks, herons, green parrots and many other species of birds.

Once back home it was time for work. But there was some time for Mary and Fred to sample the local meat and wine despite the daytime temperature of -8ºC.

Steak and wine for lunch

As we started ploughing the field for the vines, the weather broke, and the first snow of the year arrived. It was soft, powdery snow that turned our town into a typical winter scene in a few hours.

No barbecue this evening!

So, all work on the farm stopped for a few days until the snow cleared.

As soon as the thaw arrived we were back to ploughing the field for the vines and getting it level again before the final plough for planting.

On the other side of the farm is a 400 yard long irrigation ditch that has not had water down its full length for many, many years. As we had already pruned our stunted apricot trees we wanted to irrigate them this season and, if time permitted, plant another row in front of them. But to ensure their survival we needed to clear this ditch of weeds and trees and then link it to a new ditch, still yet to be built. And all before next month.

The bottom of the farm by these apricot trees had been covered by thorny acacias, scrub and spiky Algarrobo trees. These had been mostly cleared by us, but before we dare drive the pick up or tractor into the area we had to hand rake up all the long thorns in the grass!  So we pressed Mary and Fred into service to assist.

The workers clear the ground of thorns

We collected all the thorns and sweepings to make a compost pile. (Our neighbours all burn ‘rubbish’ like this, but we have decided to be greener and to try to enhance or reuse rather than destroy wherever possible).

In the end we collected three piles like this from the area we cleared

Now the area in front of the apricot trees was cleared we could start to plough and dig an irrigation ditch in front of them. Once finished this would be the first time in over 17 years that this end of the farm was irrigated.

But first, the last 100+ yards of the 400 yard ditch needed totally rebuilding as it had ceased to exist as a ditch and was just a bump in the ground overgrown by a decade of non use.

All the thorny acacias, the scrub and tumbleweeds were hand cleared out of the way and stumps removed. This work was done by hand and the ground roughly leveled.

Hand clearing the last 100 yards where the old ditch used to run

Once cleared, the ground was ploughed level.

Leveling the area before digging the new ditch

And then an initial, narrow ditch was dug by pulling a surcador along behind the tractor. Finally this was hand dug, where needed, to get the slope and depth right so water would run along it by gravity.

A brand new irrigation ditch, 125 yards long, was dug in front of the apricot trees and so we completed one of our major tasks. To clear the bottom of one field, irrigate it and get it ready for planting new apricot trees.

The new ditch in front of the apricots being prepared

Following our clearing of the area we have a pile of wood, trees, branches and stumps large enough to fill a large lorry. Neighbours assumed we would sell it for firewood or just burn it to get rid of it. But no, it will get sorted. Trunks / branches large enough will be reused for internal fence posts, smaller straight branches will be reused as plant stakes and the remainder will be chopped for firewood for our own use.

Graciela, not only helping to clear the area at the end of the farm, also took on the job of pruning the membrillos (quince) trees. Like most of the farm, these had been neglected for years and had not been properly pruned. So, armed with a step ladder and a pruning saw, Graciela started opening up the centre of the trees removing all the old, dead wood. Then it was possible to start to shape the tree and get the correct branches selected for growth.

Pruning the quince trees

Whilst awaiting for the installation of the wood we went off to buy the wires and the ground anchors for the end posts. Ah, it appears that someone is planting hundreds of acres of vines and that our anchors are in a long queue waiting to be made. Apart from pestering the supplier every day, there is not much we can do. Without these ground anchors we cannot erect the posts and, therefore cannot plant the vines.

So we turned our attention to the rest of the farm. As it had not been seriously farmed for years all the ground would need deep ploughing and clearing of the deeply rooted grass and weeds. After some simple maths we decided to buy a second hand cincel plough (chisel plough) to rip up the compacted ground. In the long run it would be cheaper than paying a contractor or neighbour to do it for us.

The plough was bought, taken apart, thrown into the back of the pick up and then rebuilt on the farm – all 400 kg of it! And once built the farm cat kindly came and inspected it for us. You cannot see in the photograph, but the front two ‘prongs’ have huge arrow shaped plough on them to chop the roots. It is a mean looking item – and its label in yellow, translated from Spanish, means “spiky”!

The inspector clears the new plough for use

Then, last week, whilst still waiting for the ground anchors, the supplier of our vines called. The vines are ready for collection as they need the ground now to plant out new plants. Therefore it was a panic to give the field the final plough and contact the people who were going to help us plant 3000 grape vines.

But as the tractor was started the water pump failed and water poured out of the gland, and today is a public holiday and everyone is shut. Without the tractor or the wood in place we will have to dig a HUGE hole, bury the plants, dig a ditch round them to keep them dry, and await the tractor repair, anchors and workers all to be ready on the same day – and that day has to be a day that we have irrigation water on the farm. Hopefully it will be next Sunday, but watch this space.

Although we are in panic mode, the animals do not seem too concerned!

What panic?