The OAPs are running the Show

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for your support and we do have to apologise to those who were unable to have a delivery last week - we reached capacity.

The boxes are very popular and we do close the shop once we reach full capacity. Top Tip - order early.

This coming week the Lovely Lucy will be leaving us after over six years here on the farm. Lucy and her hubby are going to work the ski season. We will miss her but we wish her good times as she takes this opportunity to work in another country with a snowy climate. Thank you Lucy for all your hard work and guidance.

So, the OAP’s (Bob & Ann) are manning the fort and have we been busy… Our Electric Van has been in the garage for a little body work and as you may have noticed if you had a delivery last week, it is still in the garage! We had asked for it to be returned asap, they said ok but it still will not be back to us until next week. This meant a lot of organising of time as we only had the car available for transport. We did it.

The Asparagus in Polytunnel 1 has been turning an Autumnal golden over the weeks since the deep green of the Summer months. Now that this colour has landed it is time to cut the plant back to the top of the ground. We have been letting the Asparagus spears grow all this time as we want the energy and goodness to remain in the crown (root area). As the spears are cut the plant thinks it is in danger and uses energy to grow more. If we care for the crown then the plant will be productive for at least twenty years. We have been caring for the plants for over three years now and we are hoping for a bumper crop next Asparagus season.

All the Apples have been picked, the bottles arrived last week, and we have started juicing. This is always a satisfying task. There are many parts in the process to juicing…selecting, pulping, juicing, bottling and pasteurising. The first taste of the juice is always delightful. As there are many sections to the process, this means there is lots of prep and also a huge tidy up afterwards. Always a busy day with a few more days still to come.

The good news is that this Organic Apple Juice is now on the website…just go to ‘Farm Produce’ and scroll to order.

We are concentrating on our overwintering crops. They are only small at the moment and very tender. Looking at the weather ahead, very cold conditions are expected, particularly during the night. The sides of the polytunnels are now wound down and the doors are being closed at night to try and keep any warmth in. If it is freezing we may even cover the beds with fleece.

You may think the I have forgotten the outside growing beds. The outside beds have crops which have been in the beds for months…Parsnips, Swede, Celeriac, Brussel Sprouts (Christmas Dinner) for instance. They are now taking great care of themselves. We did the work months ago which clearly worked as they are looking good.

The Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Cauliflowers, Leeks, Turnips, Cabbages and Kales are also taking care of themselves. So, it is not that we have forgotten outside, they are all just looking after themselves.

Hopefully, you are all taking good care of yourselves, the OAP’s here on the farm are looking after each other while still juicing.

Don’t forget to order (early) if you would like a delivery.

Take care,

 Ann