Juicing Time

Hello Everyone,

How are you all doing? Safe and dry, we hope, after Storm Babet?

The wind we are used to. The water, we are becoming used to. Everywhere was very wet with the rain water gushing along the lane. All the ditches just couldn’t cope with the amount of water which needed to be guided away from the road ways. This resulted in the water finding anywhere to flow along. The lane was like a river and the end of the lane…a lake. We all stayed safe thank goodness.

The fields all survived…just very sodden. The tunnels also survived. Bob and I have now stopped providing round the clock monitoring of the tunnels when it is very windy. I think we now feel secure in the knowledge that the tunnels will not blow away! Checking the tunnel coverings is a continuous task and as long as the cover is taut with no rips then (fingers crossed) all will be well.

The outside crops take whatever the weather throws at them. The wind may blow hard across a plant but generally speaking, they bounce right back up. The rain gave each plant a good soaking, sometimes drowning the plant. Again, the plant, if healthy and strong, will survive. 

Harvesting for the box scheme was uncomfortable this week. With all the muddy, soggy ground, everything did need lots of prepping to make them look presentable. 

The plants inside the polytunnels are all protected from the elements. We will be concerned for these tender and new plants when it becomes really cold. This is when we cover the plants with fleece which will keep the plants snug and warm. Freezing plants will not recover quickly if at all. 

We are caring for our crops but as the season changes so does the type of care. We are not watering constantly or looking for cabbage white butterflies or bringing in ladybirds to deal with aphids. We are now dealing with the climate and the severe changes the climate brings to the growing environment for our crops…climate change! 

During September the apples were all collected from our orchard. Over the weekends since then, Bob and I have been juicing and bottling. 

Our Fresh Local Organic Apple Juice is now on the website. 

This can be found on the ‘Pantry’ section of the website. The choice on this section will increase as and when we are able to add on a variety of goodies. I make small batches of jams and chutneys using all our own produce which we grew over the summer season. Lots of chutneys and pickles have been made using our vegetables and we are waiting for them to mature. Jams are being preserved using our summer organic berries, which were frozen as soon as they were harvested. I am preparing the jars, they are more ‘homemade’ than ‘commercially made’. Hope you enjoy them. 

Thank you for all the lovely comments you have been passing on via the ‘delivery boy’ or emailing to us here on the farm. We are always very happy when our lovely customers are happy. We are delighted that the more unusual vegetables are causing delight. For instance the Tomatillos…being made into sauces. Our intention is to provide a good variety of choice from week to week in the Seasonal Boxes. It seems a long time from now till the spring and summer seasons. Root vegetables and brassicas may become a little boring after a while. Never fear, we do have lots of leafy goodies to compliment the roots. I will do my best to ensure that our Seasonal Boxes offer you the opportunity to prepare your meals with all our winter warming veggies. 

Thank you for your support,

 Enjoy cooking,

 Ann👩‍🌾