Life on the farm at hacienda Picalquí

The hacienda Picalqui has been farmed for many years now, over which time we have gradually refined our techniques to best suit the environment in which we work. Bearing in mind climate change is a real threat to farming communities around the globe this requires constant vigilance and also a bit of luck.

This is one reason why we don't put all our eggs in one basket, so to speak, diversity being key for any integrated farm system.

What we do

We have a wide variety of activities on the farm, all of which can be learnt on our organic agriculture program and in greater depth on our long term program. They include;

Animals:

· Cows - 5 milking, 3 soon to produce their first young, and 3 female calves. Our bull lives next door.
· Pigs - a fluctuating number but usually five or more, which are helping feed our biogas unit with their manure to give us free gas
· Chickens - a constant brood of 20 laying hens and occasional production for meat
· Sheep - a happy couple who help keep the grass short
· Guinea pigs - Ecuador 's favourite! Around 200 but this fluctuates across the year
· Dogs - 3, Gigsy, Thomas and Negro
· Geese - a gaggle of 3, no names!
· Ducks - a fluctuating number as the reality here is that all game is fair game!
· Llamas - another happy couple, good for cutting the grass
· Donkeys - 1, called Burro!
· Fish - 1, called Gerald. Life span unknown, but hopefully long

All of these characters need to be kept fed and watered, though some are fairly independent. For the not so independent, namely cows and guinea pigs, we have several hectares of land dedicated to either pasture (our cows graze freely all day) or alfalfa, vetch, ryegrass and oats which we cut and use to feed them in their pens/troughs.

Pigs have a luxurious diet of waste food from our kitchens, as we run many environmental events for school children, and also a dietary supplement of maize or livestock feed.

The chickens have a great time running around their large enclosure, looking for bugs and enjoying a variety of different maize. They also get the slugs and grubs from the vegetable garden, which they ADORE!

The rest pretty much look after themselves which is helpful for us!

Crops

The organic vegetable field at the foundation is around a third of a hectare, plus we have a blackberry plantation of around a hectare (most peoples favourite area!), and several hectares of cultivated fields in which we rotationally produce; maize, beans, chochos (local bean not dissimilar to soya), potatoes, oats and vetch for animal feed, alfalfa, again for animal feed, and pastures with a variety of grasses.

The vegetable garden currently has over 40 (haven't really counted) different crops in it, of which:

Most are vegetables including:

a whole gamut of cruciferous vegetables from broccoli to purple cabbage, some favourite roots including parsnips, beetroot (beets), and carrots, and lots of leaves with numerous varieties of lettuce, spinach, chard and arugula (rocket). Mustn't forget staples such as, onions, garlic and leeks and a greenhouse with our first attempts at tomatoes, peppers and some exotic squash!

Some are fruits, including :
tomate de árbol, lemons, taxo and granadilla (passion fruits currently in their early stages), apples, pears and peaches, though the latter aren't big producers as we lack 2 of the four seasons. The blackberry plantation on the other hand, when in season produces around 200lbs a week!

And the rest are herbs:
coriander, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (!), lemon balm, mint, peppermint, cedron (local plant that makes delicious tea) and camomile.

This is healthy living at its best, with food arriving on your plate scarcely an hour after being plucked from the patch!

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