News from the farm

The beginning April saw a bit of mad scramble to get everything done. With the ground dried out and prepared for planting suddenly there were potatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce etc etc . . . to plant at once. Now most of that is done and whilst we are always busy at this time of year the pressure has eased a little over the last couple of weeks. Of course it won't last long and once we are into May then we'll be sowing and planting pretty constantly though til mid july (and obviously keeping on top of the weeds too!)

This week we're getting ready for the contractors to do the next round of ploughing etc. There is straw to move off the winter carrot patch (to be used for mulching trees), piles of compost and wood chip to shift and the chickens now need to be moved to new ground too. In a couple of weeks the scene on the farm will be very different with all the over wintered crops gone bar the last few cauliflowers and the field slowly starting to fill up with the new seasons planting.

In the veg shares there's plenty of fresh produce coming in now with lovely tender spinach and salads from the polytunnels and plenty more pak choi, cauliflowers and spring greens to come. Just round the corner are sugar snap peas and cucumbers and a little further off are new season carrots and french beans. We're loving the greens of the spring but also very much looking forward to the fruits of the summer.

~ Danny

Waiting to Spring into action

So we are still waiting for the contractors to come and plough and prepare the land for planting. They came last week and mowed down the weeds and old crops but wanted to leave it a few more days to let the land dry out. Apparently land in the locality is still really wet and people have been getting stuck trying to prepare the soil, which is not surprising considering how much rain we had in the winter. It can be very hard to tell how wet underlying ground is so there is a chance that even though it seems pretty dry underfoot the big tractors may hit a wet patch and get stuck. So we'll be keeping our fingers cross that it all goes smoothly and I hope that when I next write we will have ground ready for planting.

The first few plants were delivered last week - lettuce, beetroot and pak choi for the polytunnels. These were planted straight away alongside the carrots and peas I have already sowed. I will also sow rocket, mizuna, radish and spinach - beans too when the soil is warm enough. At this time of year I'm always looking for anything that will grow quickly and give a crop in the 'hungry gap' which falls around late April to early June in between winter and summer crops. If all goes to plan then things shouldn't be too hungry really. Last year bags were lighter but full of leaves such rocket, spinach, lettuce and spring greens which are particularly lush in the spring. To help us through the hungry gap this year, Marina at the Apricot centre in Lawford is kindly letting us use her cold store to keep the last of the winter roots through the spring. We'll also have plenty of cauliflowers, spring onions, green onions and spring greens which have overwintered so there's plenty to look forward too as we await the fruits of summer.

Whoa! The blog is back!

...... Okay it is entirely my fault that this blog has been inactive for nearly a year but this is par for the course when you have a baby!

Here is the small beast that I have been on maternity leave with and also Danny who is looking very clean cut in this picture.

However I am now back if a little sleep deprived and very excited to take up the threads of this blog.
This blog isn't just about the CSA but the whole experience of starting the project from scratch.

While I've been away the scheme has grown hugely, thanks to many people but in particular to Danny, Claire and Rosie who have been covering my maternity leave.
We now have a planted up social area and about to be certified organic. This means that anything that goes into the ground after certification will be classed a organic, anything growing already will still be classed as in conversion to organic.

We have the Spring social coming up on the 12th of April with a work day from 10am - 1pm and social from 1pm - 4pm. If you're local and would like to become a member of the CSA please email me at info@bennisonfarm.co.uk for directions.

Polytunnel prettyness

Much has been happening on the farm but one area we are particually pleased with is the progress inside our Polytunnels.

 Squirt of film showing the cover going over the second polytunnel frame a few months ago.

 The new poly planted up, the black lines are the irrigation piping.

 Pretty Beetroot growing

 Newly planted Cucumbers

 The tunnel a few weeks later (last week)

 Rocket eye view

Cucumber flower

A whole year, a new season and a thankyou

Almost exactly a year ago they were ploughing in the barley - which was on the field when we acquired it - in preparation for the first plants to go in the ground. It's strange to think that a year ago we had just a bare field, a few plants and seeds and a list of people interested in our idea.

I feel a great relief to have made it through our first season with a full membership having supplied weekly veg bags throughout. A great many thanks to you all for supporting us through our first trial year - and it was a bit of a trial at times. Whilst it was not the easiest season to start growing in a some crops did suffer in the cool damp weather, on balance we think the trial has been a success and we look forward to taking on more members in July as we double our harvests. It would be great to hear feedback from you all about our first year, positive or negative. We will shortly send out a short questionnaire to give you the opportunity to give us your thoughts.

We are now in the hungry gap eating the last few leeks and enjoying the new offerings of spring. Whilst the next few weeks may lack the weight of a winter veg bag or the variety of a summer one we will have no shortage of lush leafy greens and salad leaves and just round the corner are cucumbers, beans, peas and courgettes. Never a dull moment as we race into the new season.

News from the farm

Lots of things are coming to an end now as it warms up and plants start the process of flowering. This week sees the last of the spinach and purple sprouting broccoli which we have enjoyed very much. There are still some more cauliflowers to come and the leeks are hanging on in there. Next week we will be giving spring cabbage and spring onions which have overwintered in the tunnel.

The land from last season's crops will soon be ploughed up and prepared for this season's planting - carrots, beetroot, squash sweet corn to name a few along with more, leeks, purple sprouting and cauliflower. We rotate our vegetables on a ten year cycle to avoid pest and disease build up and to make sure we draw evenly on the soil's nutrients around the farm. So everything will be in a different place from last year.

This weeks share
Onions, leeks, mixed salad, spinach, Purple Sprouting Broccoli and radish.

Round up of news!

Golly! Where did the last two months go?
It had begun to feel spring was never going to turn up when bang!, it was here and the season kangerooed into life.

We have been planting the first phase of the new orchard, putting in some hard standing for machinery that also doubles as somewhere for vehicles to park, putting up and covering the second polytunnel, designing with members an area of the farm dedicated to social/educational activities and getting ready to expand the scheme in July.

(Amongst all this have been the plans for me to take some maternity leave as of June before the fruition of a very special project, ie ~ our baby)

So, lets start with the orchard.

In November we contacted members asking if they would be interested in sponsoring a tree for the new orchard. The new orchard project is called 'Tree's for Tomorrow' and there is more detailed info on this blog from last year. The trees are a mix of  Plum, Apple and Pear with a variety of varieties!

It has been a new venture for both Danny and I as neither of us knew a huge amount about planting an orchard before we started this one.
Many thanks to all the members who have got involved and we all look forward to the first crop.

 First tree goes in

 Me, selflessly taking on the real hard work :)

 Checking the list

 Happy tree planter

 Marvelous digging

 Hand eye co-ordination exercises

 Child labor

 More child labor

 Hand eye co-ordination exercises and child labor

 More great digging, look how fun hard work in the cold can be!!

Then we move onto the second polytunnel frame. This tunnel has been a bit of pain to put up as the ground has been frozen and then the land was too wet to get help on to cover it but it all turned out in the end. And see, on the day when the frame went up the sun was shining, surely a beneficent sign.

 Members working hard, Danny must have been behind the camera an equally exhaustive task.

And then Whoop, whoop we get to cover the blasted thing! This was one of those jobs where you need many hands and thankfully or rather thank the members, we had a really good turn out. The morning started with sunshine but the wind was also keen to get involved, which as you can possibly imagine, wind is not always helpful when trying to cover a 22 x 90 ft structure with a giant plastic sheet.

 Big plastic sheet awaiting to be fitted

 Unrolling plastic cover

Action shot!

I forgot to get a group photo at the start of the day but here is some of our super work party :)