Ro Dama
“A mother’s gift”
Inviting connection, rewilding and regeneration
Rooted in the Dowr Konor watershed and overlooking St Ives’ Bay in Kernow/Cornwall, Ro Dama invites you into our space for connection, regeneration and rewilding of ourselves, our communities, our culture & heritage and our land.
Broad beans are already pushing up in the small tunnel in November 2021. The layer of organic matter around the Broad Beans is decomposing Bracken from the meadow. We are continually adding more organic matter to help condition and improve the existing clay soil.
This Squash continues to grow alongside Spinach in the small polytunnel in November 2021
Filling bottles with water in this way means the Ollas are working for a much longer time before needing to be refilled. The Pak Choi and Broccoli are being munched by small creatures in this part of the tunnel.
We were recently introduced to the wonderful ancient Chinese technique of using Olla in our indoor growing spaces. The terracotta cones enable the water to pass into the soil gradually. There’s much less weeding and watering to do as well so there’s more time to do other things in the tunnel.
Our Courgette plant in the small tunnel has gone monster while Cucumber and other Squash trail around its base.
Courgettes and onions have thrived on the top terrace of the community garden. Despite of the ongoing rabbit interest in our vegetable garden, the onions have largely survived. Our Red Cabbage crop was eaten by our wild rabbits. Spinach, Garlic, Chard have also survived…..so far!
Strawberry Spinach is now ready for harvest. Its sweet nutty berries are a taste delight in any salad dish
July 2021 and Jago plants the first of of our planned raised beds that will sit inside the latest 30 foot long polytunnel. It’s still early days with building the tunnel and the front and back doors are soon to be fitted.
Father and son team Willo and Jago begin the hard work in establishing the first of our raised beds in the new polytunnel . The tunnel is still under construction in July 2021 and is already producing basil, tomatoes and a deliciously fragrant naturally self seeded mint.
Much of our small polytunnel is now planted with a wide variety of tomatoes as well as a healthy crop of pick and come again organic perpetual spinach.This year we have planted Stawberry spinach in this area. Already small red strawberry like berries are beginning to form on the green stems….an exciting new food crop for us.
Our newly created compost heap, steaming and decomposing within four days. The small polytunnel in the background.
Runner beans in early July 2020
Another growing area is prepared using a layer of cardboard beneath the new compost where lettuce, rocket and kale are planted
Kale growing in our first outdoor terrace garden in August 2020
Pak Choi in our first polytunnel growing in December 2020
Our large tunnel in late February 2022. The ollas are working really well, We’ve added more organic matter from our compost bins to the raised beds. Spinach, Chard and Tender Stem Broccoli have all over wintered in the tunnel.
Courgette, Maize, Beans and Squash going Bananas in July 2022 inside our big polytunnel
July 2022 saw the harvest of our fabulous heritage variety of sweet corn, courgette and radiant strawberry spinach
In December 2022 we are growing delicious Land Cress in the tunnel, although it is prolific in many spots across the field growing wild
Broad Beans, Kale, Spinach and Pak Choi are doing well in December 2022, even with temperatures as low as minus 6.2 degrees in the large tunnel
In January 2023 we already have a wonderful crop of pick and come again Winter Lettuce. There’s Kale and Spinach further up the raised bed.
We have a lush mustard crop in February 2023 in the small tunnel. We will use the mustard as a green manure crop, incorporating the nitrogen rich greens back into the soil.
The big polytunnel now contains a diverse selection of leafy winter greens. Now in mid February 2023 we have flowering Broad Beans, Spinach, Chard, Kale, Pak Choi, Mizuna, Fennel, Winter Lettuce and Landcress.
We’ve had such a wet and chilly March and now…in early April 2023 we are fully grateful for a warm sunny day and a small rise in temperature so we can get on with planting more tasty food. Gardening skills are encouraged for people of all ages and experience.
The wind turbine works alongside the solar panels to provide all the power we need to run electrical devices. We turned the wind turbine off during the strong winds created by Storm Eunice in February 2022
We have planted trees and flowers on the hillside that our native pollinators find attractive. We hope to record and catalogue the range of pollinator species that visit the Farm.
Wild fungi grows here at Ro Dama in so many unexpected places. This crop grew on a chopping block stump in Autumn 2020
Misty summer morning in the valley looking South.
Drying Teazles in a glorious summer sky
Solar panels provide free clean renewable energy that powers all of our electrical devices
It looks messy to start with but this is how we have approached our permaculture no dig way of transforming our site into a partially cultivated area. Large bits of scrap card are laid over the bare soil. This suppresses unwanted growth of bramble and other stuff. Naturally vitamin enhanced soil will be placed onto the decomposing cardboard and we will grow into this layer of soil. We are currently creating more naturally composted soil from our green waste using a range of natural composting techniques.
The wooden jetty on the bank of the River Connor is a perfect picnic location. There are trout, frogs and other river creatures in the water. Meditation and stillness are easily achieved in this naturally harmonious place.
With the pathways now strimmed back, access to the clear fresh flowing water of the River Connor is now a pleasurable easy stroll through the lush wilderness.
The River Connor rises high in January 2021
Ro Dama Farm sits on the side of a beautiful natural valley that was once a busy industrial place.
Our water meadow is bounded by a mining leat and the River Connor