Day 2 - Emmental workaway

 Day 2 Workaway assignment, Emmental Switzerland

I met for brekky at 7.30 after a wonderful night's sleep and 7.45am briefing from Nala as to my tasks for today.

Feed lambs

Water flower pots

Plant out lettuce, Beans and Fennel seedings

Then, my greatest task, to tidy up the big greenhouse. (Tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin and melon vines everywhere).

Water 3 X greenhouses

Make dinner using grown veges

Nala and i fed the lambs.  One is a better feeder than the other and today I caught and fed both of them 😊

Then to one of the vege gardens where Nala had prepared two plots a couple of days before.  So lovely to dig in rich soil with earthworms.  Snails and slugs are a pest here and so they often use flower pots with the bottoms cut off as protectors around the young seedings.  I used up the last of the pots and so hope the rest of the seedlings are still there tomorrow!

For the beans, I dug in several tall sticks to use as a trellis as they grow.

Then to the greenhouse which has healthy plants, full of fruit and tendrils everywhere.

I tied up all the tomatoes around the edge of the greenhouse, found there were some in the middle part too and so had to lash a long stick so the vines could be tied up.

Once the tomatoes were dealt with, I weeded it all (nettles 🙄) and then found melon, pumpkins and cucumber ready for picking. I picked a huge cucumber and some tomatoes and basil for a salad for dinner.

I did some more weeding in another greenhouse and then watered them all plus the newly planted seedlings.  Time just flew as such a rewarding morning 😊. I loved pottering in the vege garden and making a visible difference. 

So.. what to do with my afternoon?  I had a lie down for an hour and researched some cycle routes in the area.  I found there is a mountain bike park not too far away.  I decided to continue up the road to explore further in the hills.  After 200m I was already walking my bike as the road so steep 😂

The farm houses with their flower boxes, huge vege gardens and wood piles are so pretty amongst the green hills.  

There are signs to various cycle routes and so I followed one route around the hills, passing a group of riders on ebikes coming in the other direction.  The views across the valley are stunning and when I came around one corner I realised the far mountains have snow on them! 

I rode on to a little town that was very busy as it was now nearly 5pm.  I headed back to the road to the farm and lasted about 50m before having to push my bike the rest of the hill to the farm, past sheep and cows with bells jangling 😊

Time to get creative with dinner and so used all home grown veges to make a lasagne style, vege pasta bake with egg plant, zucchini slices, grated carrot and alternate tomato, basil, garlic, herb or white sauce layers (using left over raclette cheese). Into the oven it went and out to pick some lettuce for a simple salad.

I'm feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and have had a wonderful day 😊