March has seen higher temperatures and less rain, albeit with a couple of big storms.  It really does look like the weather is going back to normal!

Vanilla.

Throughout March the vanilla has been busy flowering – we have pollinated on average 100 flowers per day, which is excellent news.  This will give us a crop by the end of the year and guarantees income early next year.  Unexpected and not forecast.  We have no idea whether or not the vanilla will continue to flower in two seasons, but we hope so because it flattens the peak of working.

The gardens are going strong. Gardens 21 – 24 are freshly planted, Gardens 18 & 19 coming to the top of the support trees for the first time.  I haven’t been able to inspect the others, because early in the month, while going down the track to Garden 19, the bike slipped and I hurt myself quite badly, probably a cracked pelvis, which is restricting my mobility for two months.  This is nothing to Paul, who managed to drive in to a pole in the rain and broke his collarbone and a full dozen ribs.  He is still in hospital as I write.

Managed to get some avocado for Garden 15, which is almost fully cleared.  I am still looking for aren palm for a small area.  Pakistani mulberry are being propagated – we have worked out how to take cuttings.

We have taken down the shade house in Garden 7 and it is in pieces at the ponds waiting for Paul to recover and work out how to use it.

Lobsters

We have redesigned the lobster ponds so they are a continuous river, the work half completed.  This includes some areas being heavily planted.  We are working out how to put the lobsters where – they will always migrate upstream!  So, the bigger ones cannot get higher when the hole between the ponds is too small for them.  Will make an excellent grading system – put them all in the bottom and only the little ones will make their way up!

We have decided to up the amount of food for the babies, and are making our first experiments with spirulina.  We can actually grow this pretty organically – it requires lots of cow urine!  Actually, any urine will do.  The major benefit of spirulina is that it is an algae which has cell walls of protein instead of cellulose.  So, their favourite food is much more nutritious.  Should also become a basic food for the adults.  It does require a higher temperature than the lobsters, and much higher pH and salinity, so we are covering the spirulina ponds in plexiglass.

We are able to supply very small weekly orders at present, not enough to start marketing.

Administration

Tax reporting time, which is being covered by the accounts team but most admin is on hold till Paul recovers.

Rex Sumner
Chairman at PT Royal Spice Gardens