Organic September

Hello Everyone,

It is September and the Soil Association uses this month to promote and raise awareness of the many benefits of organic food and farming. It is known as…

“Organic September”.

On our organic farm, just like every organic farm, we follow a strict set of standards set out by the Soil Association. They then provide a certificate of proof each year, which means that we grow and market organically. The certificate is a legal requirement, so, if you see the organic symbol, you can trust that the goods have been produced in a way that is better for people, animals, wildlife and the natural environment.

At Hexhamshire Organics we do not use chemicals, we follow natural ways to balance the environment. For instance, we encourage the birds, frogs, bees and insects onto our farm and they naturally control the pests. Earlier this season we had a small invasion of white fly on our aubergine plants. To combat these tiny destructive mites, we brought in ladybirds and ladybird larvae (it’s amazing what you can find on the “tinternet”!). Within a week the white fly was gone! We also had two…..two!…..wood pigeons who were quickly demolishing the new brassicas. We simply covered all the brassicas with cloches and they grew perfectly. We hope you have been enjoying all the lovely cabbages and greens in your boxes.

We take very good care of our soil. We feed it. We do not dig it so keeping the structure and soil life intact. An interesting fact to pass on…..one quarter of all species on earth live in soils! The other three quarters benefit from what they provide. We are constantly managing our soil. This we have learnt and are still learning. The more we learn the better our crops become.

All of our animals are cared for and allowed to have a more natural life. They have plenty of room to roam, they are truly free range. This ensures that their natural behaviour is allowed providing a stress free life.

Being Organic and being Certified Organic is not easy. We do have to jump through hoops. However, Bob and I did not think that we would grow our crops and tend our animals any other way than the Organic way.

We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labours.

Our box scheme is becoming extremely busy more and more each week. Please try and get your orders in by Tuesday morning. Thank you

Take Care and Still Stay Safe

Ann👩‍🌾