Spring is well under way....

Hello everyone, 

We are now more than half the way through the season of Spring. The colourful flowers and vivid green of the trees shows how this season is well under way. For us here on the farm the sign of spring can be seen everywhere. The greenhouses are both "chokabloc" full of seedlings busting from the trays. Trays and trays of seedlings are also dotted around in cold frames and polytunnels. All ready to be planted out. The trees are blossoming. The plum and cherry tree blossom is out and pretty. The pear and apple blossoms are on the verge of blooming. The soft fruit area is greening up and looking very healthy. The grass is also growing…must cut the grass. There are areas on the farm where we allow the grass to just grow. However, we do try and keep the grass cut around the crop growing area. The reason for this is to prevent grasses and weeds ‘going to seed’. We reduce any opportunity for weeds to establish in the crop beds.

The compost, for our huge new growing area in the Orchard Field, keeps arriving. We have had three deliveries each of fifteen tons. The compost is more or less levelled out. This is quite back breaking…Graham, Bob and myself are all taking turns to do the levelling. We will get there…eventually.

The new seedlings are not just staying in the greenhouses, tunnels or cold frames. They are actually being planted out! Then you, our lovely customers, will be able to sample the Fresh Local Organic Produce. Lucy, Graham, Bob and myself are all hands on planting out hundreds and hundreds, no - thousands of kales, cabbages, cauliflowers, romanesque, onions, leaves, kohlrabi, spinach, leeks, potatoes, carrots, salsify, beetroots to name but a few. The Pond Field is now more than half full of new crops. The garlic, shallots and peas are already established. The field now looks brilliant. Not long and the whole field will be full of the seedlings. Then, come the Summer Season and the field will be overflowing with crops. Well fingers crossed for good growing.

The tunnels are also blooming marvellous. Sooooo much is happening inside each tunnel. The warmth of the sun has meant that the tunnels are really hot. We are constantly watering the crops, in fact watering is a full time job. Thankfully, we do use an overhead and a ground watering system…the overhead or ground system is used depending on the crop. The Pond Field also has a sprinkling system (which does need to be placed in position). We may have lots of rain which does mean we water less. But we do still need to water. This ensures the plants establish and then grow well. Having the sprinkler system makes life a little easier if you have the watering task. However, you can guarantee a shower when carrying out this task! 

Thank you for your continued support.

Take care, have a good week and I’m off to cut the grass or plant out or water or sow some seeds…always jobs to do,

Ann👩‍🌾