Market Garden

Space at the Heart of the Mandala

The market garden is the heart of the project because it offers not one thing but a space where all life is happening, a real meeting point of nature and humans.

It is much more than the sum of its parts, because of the close inter-connectedness of the two as well as the holding of opposing forces of the different rhythms of nature and humankind.

We are fully certified Organic and Biodynamic since spring 2023!

First season (2020) : Laying the foundations

Stone Picking Parties

About one acre of the 4 acres of pasture land at Hardmuir of Boath has been ploughed by a contractor.

I was so glad - there were no boulder sized stones nor extensive glacial gravel beds under the matt of grass, only easy size stones and good, humus rich sandy soil!

The glacial influence is tangible in this area. Volcanic stones from afar, transported by the glacial ice, mix with local sandstone...loads of stones!

I spent the summer, with many helpers, clearing surface stones and piling them into neat ridges at the sides of the field.

Whenever it was more than one person, we called it a ‘Stone Picking Party’ and it is surprising what a beautiful, fun job it was!

Buckwheat seedlings

Green manures

After clearing the surface stones, bit by bit short-term cover crops were sown, such as Buckwheat, Mustard-Clover Mix and Rye. Winter Vetch was the last to be sown. These work like intermediaries between turning the undisturbed pasture into a cultivated field, providing a plant cover to protect and enhance the living soil.

There is a trial veg patch and a space allocated for the tunnel, which will be erected in early spring 2021.

First cultivating

Compost

Three large lorry loads of manure arrived in April 2020 and are composting away until next spring, with the added benefit of the biodynamic compost preparations facilitating a balanced process.
This compost will be the source of fertility for next season.

Spraying horn-manure preparation

Vortex in the whiskey barrel

Biodynamic gardening is a version of organic gardening encompassing a wholistic approach to nature and the energies within, viewing the farm/garden as an organism imbedded in the wider organism of the whole landscape, the whole planet and cosmos, developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924.

What else would we use here in the Highlands other than a proper whiskey barrel for stirring and potentising the biodynamic preparations?!

What a delightful communal activity to spray the Horn Silica and Horn Manure preparation oftentimes over the whole Mandala Garden. A joyful blessing.