We have got a new shed!

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the warmer weather.
Bob had a great day at Jesmond Food Market. The weather was good, he sold nearly everything AND he saw lots of customers and friends. Thank you to all who did stop by to say ‘Hi’.

I stayed back at the farm to harvest and deliver to a restaurant, feed the pigs, chickens and ducks and water and feed the seedlings. It is amazing to think that not four weeks ago we were trudging through glorious mud and now it is bone dry everywhere!

Hexhamshire Organics had two very special deliveries this week and the crew and myself are very excited. The first being a large four wheeled trolley. Lucy and myself are delighted. The number of trays of seedlings which have to go between the greenhouse and planting area has greatly increased, likewise the number of steps needed to take them there! The trolley holds many more than the three at a time we can carry.

The second delivery was a shed, which you can see Graham assembling in the photo above. Oh yes! Could we be any happier! The shed will hold all the tools, garden equipment, watering system bits, seeders, cogs and gizmos for the seeders, trugs etc etc…..I think we are going to need another shed!
All this equipment was in polytunnel four, in an area we kept for such equipment, but not anymore. This area will be returned to a growing area, tunnel four will be greatly increased in growing space and we are going to sow radishes, straight away into this bed.

We do feel that the jobs we are trying to complete are going a long way to make us much more efficient. It will be wonderful when we do not have anymore ‘projects’ to carry out and we can concentrate on the horticulture alone. There is nothing better than spending time in the greenhouses or a polytunnel and getting to grips with the crop. We do feel that we know each plant individually. As a crew, we can actually talk about a specific plant and we all know which one we actually mean.

For instance – accidentally some of the spring cabbages at the top of polytunnel nine were not fleeced over winter and they actually are further on in their growth than the covered cabbages – we have had deep discussions about the pros and cons of fleecing, about how one particular cabbage is amazing. This excites us! We have carried out a test experiment, without thinking, discussed the results, will act upon the result and we all know which cabbage we are talking about!

For you gardeners (and none gardeners), the reason is quite scientific. Plants need carbon dioxide to grow. They also need an air flow. Fleecing the plants, whilst providing protection against the cold, reduces the air flow and they are unable to catch all the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while the fleece is over them.

Carbon dioxide is essential to plants it is absorbed and stored in the plant and the soil, this process is called ‘ carbon dioxide fertilisation effect’. It boosts photosynthesis, resulting in the plant growing. (This is the subject of major climate change issues) Next year we have decided that we will not fleece. The stuff we are learning!

It has been a very busy week for us here at the farm, even busier next week as we begin the big planting out. for example we have 12,000 red onions seedlings to plant out. So, I will depart from here and tell you how the planting out goes in next weeks journal.

Till then, take care and Still Stay Safe,
Ann👩‍🌾