Farm
All systems are go with our arena at Winterwood Farm! We had to use a laser level bobcat which enabled the sand surface to be exactly level to with a 1% fall to the southern end of the arena. The arena also has an irrigation system to keep the sand surface damp.
We chose to not have a fabric based surface as these are made from plastic-based fabric and there is a big risk of microplastics getting in to the enviroment through waterways.
Lance is our offical fencer and is working really hard to install all the fencing on the property. The fence around the arena is on a 5 degree slope to the outside to stop a rider having their legs hit on the rails if the horse gets too close.
This month at Winterwood has been very busy! The recent cooler weather has allowed more time outside and we've started construction on our arena.
We do a large majority of the work ourselves, with the horses making sure our efforts are up to their high standard...
The arena design is a standard 60x20 size but that's where the 'standard part' ends!
The arena has been designed to minimise the impact on the surrounding environment whilst maximising the usability and outlook.
It is nestled into the side of a gorgeous, natural valley and will have a large amout of landscaping around it - trees, vegetation, herbs, fruit trees and gardens. We didn't remove a single tree for the arena construction, which required additonal excavation in to the hillside, but it means that we are surrounded by gorgeous old trees!
It is designed to be an all weather, outdoor, all purpose arena with ag drains, two layers of geotextile to seperate the layers of fill (granite then fine sand mixed with sawdust) and then encapsulated by recycled hardwork around the base edge (1 foot high).
The surface will never churn-up, wont become boggy and in dry conditions the sawdust retains moitsure and reduces dust.
Around the arena will be sediment control ponds - waste water running to a swale type collection ponds. All water is captured on the property where possible for use and for future-proofing. Slowing (or stopping) the flow through, and off, the property means that we will always be able to provide water for trees and gardens and for animals. This is a philosphy called 'Natural Sequence Farming'. Plants and water tables are 10 to 100 fold more productive than artificial irrigation!
If you're interested you can read more about Peter Andrew's theories here.
We reorintened stables so they now overlook the dam for with a northerly aspect for passive solar design.
And on top of all this, the property and the horse facilities will be off-grid! What an undertaking!
This week at Winterwood we have fitted out the container as a temporary tack and storage shed and set up a small tank with solar 12v pump so we have some water to mix up horse feed etc.
All the pipe has arrived for the transfer of water around the farm along with some other supplies.
Cath has discovered a seam of quartz that surfaces in the area near where we will be building the equestrian centre. She intends to place the agricultural harmoniser on this patch to resonate around the farm.
The harmoniser is designed and reported to:
• Positive affect you and people in your vicinity
• Create harmony in yourself and your environment
• Enhance positive intentions
• Increase intuitive abilities
• Bring environment into a state of harmony
• Improve overall health and well-being
• Clean air pollution
• Enhance plant growth without pesticide use
• Control pests
• Reduce storm severity
• Reduce harmful effects of chemtrails
• Divert storms including tornadoes and hurricanes
• Increase size and quality of crops
My view is it can’t hurt and it might help so let’s give it a go.
Our designer has come up with some draft plans for the stable and grooms quarters complex.
And just for fun we went for a ride.
This week at Winterwood we have taken delivery of a 20 foot shipping container to act as our storage shed, site shed, tack room and lunch room. Cath's son Jeremy, who very handily is a carpenter/cabinet maker, will be putting a roof over the container to make it a bit more useful.
We have also taken delivery of a twin impeller, Davey petrol transfer pump. This will be used to pump water from the 30,000 litre tank filled by the pipeline to the 2, 30,000 lire header tanks. The distance is 1.7 Kms with a 53m head. This pump should deliver 400 litres per minute at that height through the 50mm pipe we will be laying.
We were planning to use a solar pump for the transfer but the cost was uneconomical given that the performance was a lot less efficient, and we will also not be using the transfer pump very often as we have applied for a bore which will hook into the system and have a solar bore pump.
We currently have a designer coming up with some draft plans for the stable complex based on a concept we have sketched. We will eventually have an indoor arena and 2 outdoor arenas running alongside the stable and shed complex.
The bare root trees we have heeled in will be used for landscaping this area once we have some water available.
A local beekeeper is currently overwintering his hives on the farm and they will be here until around September when they will move west and follow the flowering eucalypts around NSW.
This week on Winterwood Farm we have taken delivery of our 50hp Kubota tractor which came with a 3 in 1 front end loader and a mulching mower.
The Mulching mower of flail mower can handle heavy grasses while also providing a beautiful finished cut. A mulcher does not create windrows rather they leave an evenly distributed mulched bi-product. Which decomposes quickly and puts many necessary inputs back into the soil. This assists in preventing erosion and improves soil structure and fertility. It also reduces the chance of disease infestation. Mulching is effective for weed and pest control and over time a mulched paddock will require less fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
Mulching mowers are also very popular in the bush for their ability to create firebreaks and remove fuel loads to help shut down potentially deadly grass fires.
The horses also just got some new coats in time for some very cold weather, -5C in the mornings!
This week 3 new 30,000 litre water tanks have arrived. 2 will act as header tanks on the highest part of the property and the 3rd will be located next to the pipeline. The pipeline is a historic piece of infrastructure put in to supply water from a reservoir east of Bathurst to the Edgells vegetable processing works in town.
As the pipeline goes through our property we have water rights to the untreated, raw water at a cost substantially cheaper to town water.
We will pump the water from the pipeline tank to the header tanks with a twin impeller petrol pump through a 40mm poly pipe. Ultimately we will have a bore feeding into the same system and also rainwater tanks harvesting from the roofs of new structures.
Also arriving this week has been around 200 bareroot trees, both ornamental and edible, which we will plant once the water is available. The trees have been heeled into some herbal compost, a by product from our manufacturing.
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