land
THE GARDEN ESTATE was acquired in 2011 as a bare and abandoned land. We hold a long term lease agreement for the property, that gives us the right to use the land for thirty years until we are eligible for the permanent ownership. It is beautifully located in the Puttalam District, next to the village of Puliyankulam right on the boundary of the Wilpattu Forest Reserve.
All in all THE GARDEN ESTATE contains 36 acres (about 14.5 hectares) of which 19 acres are used as an organic farm. 17 acres are kept as a natural corridor with a few old bigger trees and bushes next to the Wilpattu Forest Reserve, at the moment we give a local farmer the chance to keep his cows there in exchange for some good manure. But we intend to also develop that second piece of land into an edible forest as soon as the resources allow us to do so.
All in all THE GARDEN ESTATE contains 36 acres (about 14.5 hectares) of which 19 acres are used as an organic farm. 17 acres are kept as a natural corridor with a few old bigger trees and bushes next to the Wilpattu Forest Reserve, at the moment we give a local farmer the chance to keep his cows there in exchange for some good manure. But we intend to also develop that second piece of land into an edible forest as soon as the resources allow us to do so.
As the land has not been managed and kept well for a long time before we started to take care of it, the soil needs to be developed back to a good healthy humus over the next years. We find different types of soil all over the property from rather sandy and rocky areas to clay. Establishing a proper landscaping, shade and wind protection next to a good water management will help to prevent soil erosion. Since the land is situated in Sri Lanka's dry zone, we have built a dam to keep the water from the natural springs on the land and therefore increase the level of groundwater and keep the soil moist. During the rainy season this lake floods about 3 acres of THE GARDEN ESTATE.
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THE GARDEN ESTATE is adjacent to the largest national park in Sri Lanka – the Wilpattu Forest Reserve. Because elephants are living there, we have separated THE GARDEN ESTATE by a fence from the national park. At night this fence uses electricity, that we generate with a solar cell as well as a small wind turbine and store in car batteries.
So far there have been no problems with the elephants and at night they can even sometimes be observed. The smart animals can clearly sense electric fences. From the heart we can say that we do not take habitat or food sources from the elephants here. The national park is huge and offers plenty of food for the large animals. However in between they also long for some delicious fruit and therefore occasionally leave their forest and try to snatch something from the adjacent fields. Above all having a national park next door for us means tranquillity and the view towards a huge forest. Because of the natural slope of the landscape water flows from our property into the forest, so we have a great responsibility here. With the ecological management of THE GARDEN ESTATE, we contribute that less agricultural chemicals get into the national park. We hope that our neighbours will take over more responsibility for the national park if we can create a successful example with THE GARDEN ESTATE. The overview map on the right sides gives a better understanding of the outline of the first part of THE GARDEN ESTATE that is currently being developed as an organic farm. |
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plants
The main guideline for choosing plants for THE GARDEN ESTATE is diversity and inter cropping, but also that we can harvest something, be it fruits, nuts, leaves etc. as a reasonable harvest is the basis for THE GARDEN ESTATE to exist. We have also planted timber trees (such as teak varieties and ebony) and bamboo to have some bigger trees and therefore shade on the one hand, but also to grow our own building materials for future buildings. Besides also ornamental plants were planted, because not only we love beautiful blossoms, but also insects, that help to pollinate all the plants.
Our basic idea is to have at least three levels of plants once THE GARDEN ESTATE is a fully developed organic farm. The first and highest level are the coconut palms, big fruit trees, such as mango and bigger timber trees, that will create shade and therefore shelter the lower levels. The second level are medium high plants, such as bananas, papayas and other fruit trees. Finally the third level shall be short term plants, which do not grow very high, like pineapples, peanuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, lemon grass and many more.
As we are still in the beginning of our project and nature needs time, we are not harvesting big quantities at the moment. We are already harvesting smaller amounts of papaya, oranges, bananas, cashew nuts, guavas and pomegranates. Not yet ready to harvest are coconuts, king coconuts, avocados, mangoes, passion fruits, pineapple, lemon grass. But once we will have a mature GARDEN there will be plenty of healthy and tasty fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs ...
Our basic idea is to have at least three levels of plants once THE GARDEN ESTATE is a fully developed organic farm. The first and highest level are the coconut palms, big fruit trees, such as mango and bigger timber trees, that will create shade and therefore shelter the lower levels. The second level are medium high plants, such as bananas, papayas and other fruit trees. Finally the third level shall be short term plants, which do not grow very high, like pineapples, peanuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, lemon grass and many more.
As we are still in the beginning of our project and nature needs time, we are not harvesting big quantities at the moment. We are already harvesting smaller amounts of papaya, oranges, bananas, cashew nuts, guavas and pomegranates. Not yet ready to harvest are coconuts, king coconuts, avocados, mangoes, passion fruits, pineapple, lemon grass. But once we will have a mature GARDEN there will be plenty of healthy and tasty fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, herbs ...
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Papaya
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Orange
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Banana
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Cashew fruit
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Guava
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Pumpkin - Batana
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animals
A variety of wild and domestic animals also have found a home at THE GARDEN ESTATE.
Amongst them is our cow Rahtie and her beautiful calf Wasana, which was born in January 2015, as well as some dogs, hens and a cock. A wide range of insects, such as termites, interesting spiders, huge bugs and colourful dragonflies are a good indicator that we do not treat the land with any artificial pest control methods. Rich insect life, means rich bird life, so there are plenty of species to observe, while the most noticeable one is the peakcock, shouting loudly especially around dusk. Last but not least some reptiles such as frogs, turtles, monitors and snakes (unfortunately also the nasty ones like cobras and pythons) appear from time to time.
Amongst them is our cow Rahtie and her beautiful calf Wasana, which was born in January 2015, as well as some dogs, hens and a cock. A wide range of insects, such as termites, interesting spiders, huge bugs and colourful dragonflies are a good indicator that we do not treat the land with any artificial pest control methods. Rich insect life, means rich bird life, so there are plenty of species to observe, while the most noticeable one is the peakcock, shouting loudly especially around dusk. Last but not least some reptiles such as frogs, turtles, monitors and snakes (unfortunately also the nasty ones like cobras and pythons) appear from time to time.
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