Nice to have a clean floor for 5 minutes !! LOL
More winter gales : rain : hail makes a good time to get some housework done !
Category Archives: news
Sowing preparations for the coming season
Storm Brendan might still be howling around having kept us all awake all night but looking forward to the coming growing season makes everything worth while. This “half tunnel” was made up using old tunnel hoops against a building to create an easy working space. The tables are sand covered in thick coffee that worms love but slugs don’t! It could be tidier !! and all our equipment is very ancient .. root trainers are wonderful for the broad beans and early peas and these are at least 20 years old !!
Winter Trees and shrub ID chart
sourced from the Woodland Trust’s Nature Detectives resource this is a wonderful chart to ID trees in the winter.
Really chuffed to say we have at least one of each and every one of these here at Kintaline
Jan 13 2020 : the gorse returns
First Gorse flowers of the year .. spring is coming, the whin flowers return.
#gorse #springflowers #turningoftheyear #permaculture
January pollinators
What do we have around for any bees out in the increasingly mild month of January?
So far it’s been really wet here on the west, but very little snow around us.
In between the showers there are likely to be winter insects, even bees, out and about.
What do we have flowering for them?
Mahonia, Gorse, Ivy, Periwinkle, Hellebores, Snowdrops
There is strong growth on the other early bulbs, and plans to take lots of cuttings so that the Mahonia can be spread into hedge rows across the farm. The flowers and berries are edible too.
Beeswax wraps Jan 2020
Love giving old fabrics a new purpose : .
Each of these are 100% cotton and can be used many many times before they can be put on the compost heap.
The common sizes are 30 x 30 for £7 : 25 x 25 for £5 :
Mostly they are a variety of sizes, some designs in a mix of sizes, and some only one size that make the best use of the design or the cloth.
Some of these are available into the Made In Argyll shop in Oban on the pier. They are also available direct from the farm, including mail order. There is a paypal button beside each pattern. I will refund excess postage for multiple purchases.
Make 2020 the year we ditch the single use plastic, care for our planet, and these are such a lovely way to take a simple step.
 | Fruits on dark blue background 30 x 30 cm beeswax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Apricot Dragonflies 30 x 30 cm bees wax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Cream burgundy green flowers beeswax wraps (small/medium) £6 + P&P |
 | Green floral design on cream background small/medium beeswax wrap £6 + P&P |
 | Bold apricot green peach flower pattern beeswax wrap 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Geometric blue pink white beeswax medium wrap 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Fawn grey white flowers beeswax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Blue white flowers medium beeswax small/medium wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Brown birds foliage beeswax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Birds foliage green background beeswax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Geometric grey cream burgundy pattern beeswax wrap £7 + P&P |
 | Greens Browns paisley stripe beeswax wrap 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Green pink white flowers cup beeswax wrap 27 x 25 cm £5 + P&P |
 | Peach Green flowers and stripes 35 x 34 cm beeswax wrap £8 + P&P |
 | Green small flowers beeswax wrap 31 x 28 cm £6 + P&P |
 | Pink Roses on pink background beeswax small wrap 25 x 25 cm £5 + P&P |
 | Blue flowers and ribbons beeswax wraps 2 pack of small 32 x 25 cm £9.50 + P&P |
 | Horses riders green black white beeswax wraps large wrap 34 x 30 cm £8 + P&P |
 | Beeswax wrap girl dog umbrella pink medium size £7 + P&P |
 | Burgundy green presents beeswax wraps 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Purple Blue flowers Beeswax wraps 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Browns Greens landscape dots Beeswax wraps 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
 | Flowers on white background Beeswax wraps 30 x 30 cm £7 + P&P |
Wreaths for sale 2019
Wreaths for sale for the festive season 2019 from the farm
hand made using home grown conifers, eucalyptus, holly, and other foliage from the farm on a 12 inch frame decorated ready to adorn your festive door, or remember your loved one
Make Soil – Crowdsourcing the creation of new living soil
Soils are one of the most powerful carbon capture mechanisms .. and there are so many ways we want to learn to do more.
We have joined the 
Make Soil Compost Waste collection point network.. click on the logo to see our map entry
MakeSoil is an online platform powering a global movement to make soil together on a planet-saving scale. Redefining composting as making soil, Soil Makers can easily and safely post their Soil Sites to our online map, and invite their neighbours and friends to contribute their food and yard scraps. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can use MakeSoil to find Soil Makers near them or start a Soil Site themselves. Together, we can reduce food waste, restore nutrients to our food, capture carbon in the ground, and beautify our neighborhoods.
Fleeces 2019
Fleeces for sale 2019
| Jacob fleeces for sale .. in the raw, can be lightly scoured as extra. |  |
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all these fleeces can be posted out, cost depends on weight, and we only get to post office once a week | .. |
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Manx wether fleece
1.2 kg – £12 |
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Jacob 3/4 x Blue face leicester 1/4
2.6 kg – £26 |
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Pure Jacob fleece
1.6kg – £16 |
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It’s not just woodland
We have several land management routes to support ourselves and our ecosystems into the future.
Creating Living Larders that can happen on a micro community level as well as on commercial agriculture / estate level will change our food ecosystems as well as creating massive carbon sequestration.
Creating Living Larders that can happen on a micro community level as well as on commercial agriculture / estate level will change our food ecosystems as well as creating massive carbon sequestration.
Repairing our soil biosphere : by many means including no dig gardening, forest gardens, regenerative agriculture and trees mixed is best.
Improving grasslands by regenerative livestock and no till agriculture that also gives us a lot of high quality low input protein, greens, etc as well as moving away from fossil fuel dependence for arable crops : chemicals, plastic, machinery, energy for drying, shipping, processing. As well as high dependence on water for irrigation.
Mixed woodland also gives us fruit, nuts, herbs, greens, vital mychorrizal activity that releases the as well as creating new micro habitats that allow more food species to be grown
The grasslands are the biggest carbon sink, the woodland the most long term stable.
We need all these, alongside the renewable energy, the reduction of plastic use and waste, and investment in innovation to find new solutions.. and each of us can do something to help right here, right now.