Autumn tasks

Hello Everyone, This last week has been freezing, beautiful but freezing! We, like yourselves, were warned to expect snow and freezing conditions by the weather people. This gave us time to prepare our little farm for the Winter season. The Polytunnels all have side covers which can be lifted and lowered, depending on the amount of heat or lack of heat in the atmosphere. Closing these covers was the first step in caring for the crops growing inside the tunnels. They were all rolled down to help maintain some warmth and less frost. The front and back doors of the tunnels are now closed in the evening and opened again each morning. It may be sensible to keep the doors closed all the time when the temperature has minus numbers…well no. Warmth is essential to growing crops but so is a dry atmosphere and a moving airflow. If the doors were kept closed 24 hours of the day the air can become stagnant and also humid. This would be ideal conditions for pests such as aphids, and also would leave condensation on the leaves of the plants. The result being a loss of a plant, particularly from fungal disease due to the condensation on all the foliage. Ventilation is key to preventing damage by this method. We have spent a lot of time tending the vegetables, we do not want to loose them now as they are needed for our lovely customers throughout the coming Winter. There is also science behind opening and closing the tunnel doors…carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is required for photosynthesis, if the doors are closed then CO2 is reduced which means growth in the plant will slow down. This season sees the slowest expectation in growth hence the doors are opened to allow this gas into the tunnel encouraging the plants to grow, even if it is slow growth. ( I have said it before, Gardening is an all round education…maths, languages, photography, communication, health, well being and a science). No doubt you may have had the heating on full or watching the TV under a throw, with maybe that extra tog or blanket on the bed. Well we have also provided extra protection for the inside and outside growing areas. We know which vegetables are classed as a ‘tender’ plant. These plants were given some extra care and protection by placing a layer, sometimes a double layer, of fleece over the beds. In particular our Christmas potatoes and fennel were tucked up over this cold snap. We will remove the fleece once it warms up. It is surprising how Mother Nature works. All of our leafy goodies just flopped and flattened to the ground. This is because the leaves are mainly water and they freeze. They become quite frozen and need time to defrost. It is amazing that the majority will pop right back up. But we do realise that some will be lost, especially if the weather is constantly freezing. Very little activity can happen with tending the growing beds during cold snaps. But never fear, there are always jobs to be done but only if the Crew can get to the farm. They did miss some work days as it was faaaar toooo icy and dangerous to travel. While they were here a brand new covered standing area for the chickens has been built. We do have three lovely chicken houses for the girls to live in but they do enjoy being outside and are often found asleep perched on the roof of the houses. The warmth they create is from huddling together. Cute. A few paths had not been topped up with wood chip…they now are done. Inside the tunnels netting, ties and strings were still attached to the roof wires. These have all been removed. As I explained to Hugh…yes it makes me feel happier with a tidy tunnel but it also reduces the chance of little pests finding a home for the Winter and then ready to pounce in Spring. We also harvested lots of our produce earlier in the week for both the restaurants and customers. Generally our fresh brassicas and leafy goodies are all picked on the day or day before being sent out to you. We did prepare early and thankfully our stored root vegetables are available. The boxes we pack are all designed with the season in mind. We also pack them with what is available that week. We also provide some vegetables which may not be available in the supermarket or specialist stores. Our leaves, for instance, have been commented on regularly. Thankfully the comments are positive. The mustards and oriental leaves are a fresh and tasty addition to the menu. Use them as a salad, or stir through casseroles or dahl, or use like a winter green and steam for a side dish. Enjoy your goodies. We hope you all stayed safe and sound. There were many car bumps near us due to black ice. This coming week seems less cold. But still stay safe and be prepared, just like us gardeners were this last week. Till next week, take care, Ann

Hello Everyone, Bob and I hope you are all really well. We are now heavily into the Winter tasks ahead. It has been a really mucky week due to Mother Nature throwing a months water at us. This, after the driest Spring on record and the hottest Summer on record when we have been spoilt working in very pleasant conditions. Amazingly, Graham and Hugh are absolutely fine working in the mud and thank goodness coz it has been one mucky mess…Lucy has enjoyed being more inside the tunnels even though the noise of the rain bouncing off the poly covers creates one heck of a din! The FarmIt takes no time for the grounds around the farm to become a mess. The digger and dumper truck, last week, the tractor being used all the time and heavy wheelbarrows being walked around soon churns up the ground. The rain this week has added to the damage with wheel tracks firmly traced into the grassy verges. After months of firm ground we now have to operate dodging muddy puddles and squelching paths till next April! Unless we have freezing conditions and the ground becomes a bumpy frozen route when trying to get from A to B. This just might be how we will be working from Tuesday. Snow and minus figures are what we are expecting next week and surprisingly, it is identical to the weather we had exactly a year ago…snow! After the use of the digger and dumper truck a week ago, this last week required quite a tidy up around the strawberry patch. Lots of little piles and some outstanding strawberries all needed to be dug up and moved. We intend to redesign the patch as we found the area being more like a jungle of strawberries. The area has now been divided into meter wide beds and meter wide paths. Both the beds and paths are going to be covered with weed suppression fabric. We intend to mound up the beds under the fabric, then burn holes, thirty centimetres apart in a zig zag pattern, before planting each plant into each hole. The paths will also have a fabric laid upon it with a wood chip layer on the top. The idea is to reduce any unwanted weeds but primarily to make harvesting easier and any ‘runners’ from the strawberry plant easier to see and remove. Next strawberry season, we only want to harvest from the ‘mother plant’. We may pot on some runners but we want to create a more organised strawberry patch which looks less like a jungle.  As the rain was incessant, quite a bit of work happened inside the tunnels. We have spent most of our time outside recently, so with the bad wet weather it seemed sensible to consider the inside growing areas. This not only consisted of tending the crops, it was also a time to take off the overhead watering sprayers. They often explode and fall off when the temperature goes below freezing so it is a good thing to keep them safely away in the shed rather than loosing them on the ground. It is always a good thing just to tidy around the tunnels, emptying the trugs, putting tools away, removing excess ties and string from the above wires. This, alongside the removal of mushy leaves of plants or weeds which are persistent, means that we physically check on the plants to see what is happening. As the weather has been mild, little creatures may have been able to set up home, tending helps to indicate if there is a problem. However, the coming freezing snap will help to kill off unwanted predators. Slugs will be always be an issue and that is why we tidy mushy leaves as they enjoy hiding under these damp environments. We are really happy with both the outside and inside growing beds this year. We have followed our plan and been ahead of schedule. All crops were in on time, allowing for a good growth, establishing a healthy crop. The Crew have been spot on, as ever and the proof is in the pudding…or should I say vegetables.  The Walled Garden The vegetables are generally growing well in the greenhouse. We do seem to have an issue with those plants growing towards the front of the greenhouse. The front wall does seem to have blocked out the light. My thoughts are that we may have been a little late in establishing the crop. Maybe next year we will be a little more concerned with the timing. There is also another consideration…was the temperature a little toooo high when we actually planted out the crop. The crops in question are the onions and turnips. Some seeds do like a cold snap to help germination. The high Autumn temperature may also have had an affect. All these situations will be remembered and considered over the future seasons.  The beds outside have also had a little attention…any unwanted weeds have been gotten rid of. We are now contemplating the pruning of the cordons and the soft fruit bushes. But this will be for the New Year.    To see what we are doing each week, please feel free to take a look at our Instagram account. There are times when I remember to take a pic after the event but I do try to keep you up to speed. In the mean time I am just about to wash all the claggy gloves ready for next week. Take care,Ann

Hello Everyone, First of all I would like to say that Bob and I thank you for your continued support. It is good to know that sooo many of you are continuing to order boxes if not each week then definitely every other week. We do reach our capacity each week which is reassuring. The comments Bob receives on the door step, when delivering, has always been positive which provides much confidence for ourselves and the Crew. Our work schedule from now will consist of muddy boots and wet clothes, probably until March next year. Knowing that you, our lovely customers, enthuse and appreciate the fresh, local and organic goodies provides us with extra job satisfaction. Thank you.  The Farm The boys in the Crew have had big toys to play with this week. We ordered a digger and a very large capacity dumper truck. The dumper held three tons in it's scoop which helped Graham and Hugh crack on moving various areas of the ground around the farm. The first area to be dealt with was the strawberry bed. We have decided a big rethink of this area was required as the plants have taken over the space, so much so that it has become a strawberry jungle. It has also been decided that after these last years of the patch we have realised we need to slim down each bed. This should make it much easier to tend and harvest next year. So the toys were used to scrape away the strawberries (which have had their day). Graham scooped up the debris, placed the contents of the scoop into the dumper truck. Hugh then drove the truck to, what we call the Well Field (yes, it does have a well in this field) and dumped the contents. There will be much more on this field in the weeks ahead. The strawberry patch will be reconfigured over the next few weeks.  There have been mounds of earth along side the Orchard Field growing area. They are a result of a fresh ditch dug along the fence of the growing bed. These, too, have been scooped up and removed to the Well Field. Then Graham levelled this whole length with the front of the digger. Grass should grow back next year, but just levelling the ground has made the area look much better and bigger.  Graham does like to keep on top of the ditches ensuring that there is a clear pathway for surplus water to escape. The digger was used to re-dig one of our ditches which does grow a little wild. The growth tends to prevent the water flowing away successfully. I know it seems daft not wanting water to hang around when we are constantly watering during the Summer months. However, standing water can cause all sorts of problems…root rot is a big one! We have lost a few trees in the Orchard and this generally is a result of water damage to the roots. Keeping on top of water and drainage is an essential task. The big toys came in handy this last week.  The "inside" asparagus suddenly all turned to yellow this week. It was time for each plant to be cut back. Lucy completed this task on Wednesday and on Thursday the tayberry vines were also cut back. Both Polytunnel one and the Tayberry wires are very tidy now. Ironically both these areas received a good drink of water after their cut. The Winter jobs list now has the first ticks next to a few of the tasks. I do enjoy seeing ticks on a list, even better if a different coloured pen is used.  The Walled Garden It has been good to see a little more work completed within the garden. The builders have been able to level the path and begin making the steps in front of the Greenhouse. I am thankful of the steps as it was quite a steep bank from the Garden Gate to the Greenhouse. I found it okay going up but did not enjoy the coming down! Just outside one of the gates into the Walled garden are two Medlar trees. The medlar fruit have been harvested resulting in three large trays of the fruit going into the Chef’s kitchen. I know I am probably repeating myself, which I do often…just ask Bob, but the trees have been providing a splendid Autumn spectacle. I have really enjoyed seeing the views. I am hoping the colours last into the early days of December. Probably not, so I hope you join me enjoying the golden array for however long it lasts.  Till next week, take care, Ann