Hello Wwoofers,
my name is Nikki and I bought this property 5 years ago. I am slowly increasing our self sufficiency garden, we grow herbs and vegetables, and have runner ducks because they are cute and for the eggs and the fertiliser they produce. We also have three sweet dogs and four cats. The dogs and cats get to come in the house.
I am sharing this space with Uwe who runs a recording and mixing studio here. My grown kids are also frequent visitors. The main spoken language here is English, but you will also hear German and Spanish frequently.
Our energy comes from solar panels, we harvest rain water and try to recycle and reuse everything, using the resources we have here.
We work a lot with the soil, as this place has not been treated well over the last decades. We make our own compost and mulch, and try to add spaces for growing food gradually. I also have a lovely green house made from used windows, where the baby plants grow until mid May. Then the chilis and tomatoes go into the polytunnels. All this is a bunch of work! Seeding, potting up, watering, potting up again..sifting compost, working the soil, in the fall harvesting, pickling, fermenting, roasting chilis, making salsa and hot sauces.
We also always have building and maintenance projects. We do our own wood working, soldering, stuccoing etc..
I love growing chilis because the are endless varieties and endless possibilities for processing and adding them to our cooking: roasted New Mexico chili goes into salsas in the summer which then go into tacos, chili burgers or are just eaten with tortilla chips. in the fall we dry chilis and make spices and spicy salts. We ferment the hotter chilis together with fruit and other ingredients into spicy sauces which are a hit with our little community. Eating chili reminds us of our previous home in New Mexico, where the state question is : Green or Red?
We have a heated bunkhouse that sleeps 8, with a small kitchen. In the summer we cook and eat outside on the porch. Wwoofers share our bathrooms in the main house. We cook and share a hot meal every night, breakfast and lunch items are available for self service.
I work in the social change sector, and work mostly remotely, but I do have to go to an off farm office a few times a week.
We have the studio here and musicians who are recording frequently. There is a piano, and every other musical instrument you can imagine. There is a big workshop for all kinds of projects. I try to do yoga every morning, and enjoy doing it together.
We are surrounded by vast woods and fields just out the back door, inviting for nice hikes with the dogs. In the summer we have a small pool, table tennis, viking chess and badminton. We also have a farm fest in the summer with life music and many folks coming to camp, eat and hang out together for a long weekend.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Renewable energy production
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
No-till farming
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
0.6
Hectares
|
1.4
Acres
