Pat guided us through the forest garden, where trees and vegetable production complement one another. Then on to the pit dug for a Hugel bed which she is going to experiment with. Ian, one of our members (Rosemary's) brother-in-law, traded tips, advice and information with Pat on this form of cultivation which uses buried woody material as a source of both nutrients and moisture retention, whilst at the same time creating a raised, easy access bed. (Here is someone else's illustration of the method).
Then on through the raised vegetable beds, with sides made from old scaffold boards, and where the gravel paths double as water courses. Near them is a solar powered water pump for controlled watering in the 18 metre polytunnel, which was our next stop. There, Pat produces much of her salad crop, a significant contributor to her income. Beside the polytunnel were dry-method comfry bins, quietly dripping comfry juice fertiliser for use all round Ourganics.
Beyond, we found the two caravans for visiting helpers and near them, the very free range hens.
Passing the hives, we could see that Pat also keeps bees, but she lingered longer at her straw loos - the finest (and double berth too) in the country she told us.
Back outside her cabin we gathered to ask yet more questions about her life and the permaculture method. Warming in the background at Pat's campfire were our baked potatoes, with Kate laying out the food which she, Pat, Rosemary (S) and Trish had prepared.
After washing up, with sun-heated water, and just as the last of the days light faded, we headed back to Drimpton, over two dozen of us, not necessarily inspired to exactly follow in Pat's footsteps, but certainly wiser about a significantly more sustainable lifestyle and methods of cultivation.
Now we just await the book Pat!
There is more information on Ourganics here and also on Permaculture.
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