Pigs

As the pigs get bigger they're getting more adept at destroying the pasture. So it's time to rest the new field and get them in fields 1 (now fenced) and 2 permanently. Unfortunately their ark is in the new field and I can't move it until the trees are sawn up (probably 1-2 months time if I opt for a local guy with a mobile sawmill - easier than using an Alaskan mill but I'll wait to see his price!).

A complex array of electric fences is the solution. Meantime the new pasture is already 18" high and needs to be cut. If we get enough dry weather I'll scythe it for hay. Long term I need some grazers - probably a few sheep. The pigs don't eat enough grass to keep it under control. Fields 2, 3 and 4 are slowly turning to grass - 3 and 4 need raking to expose the soil to the grass seeds which are now beginning to blow around. This technique seems to be working in field 2. It's all 'intelligent' guess work really.

The ferns continue to infest everything and I keep cutting them down (with a bit of garlic wiped on the scythe blade which I'm assured helps eradicate them). With a forth coming 10 day trip to the UK, at the current rates of growth, I'll return to a forest!