Garlic Harvest 2021

Hello 

‘It’s Coming Home’ but I am not sure Bob will be home for a while.

Our Organic Garlic is ready to harvest…all 4000 bulbs! This is going to keep Bob and the crew quite busy. Along with the garlic we will have the onions and shallots to dig up from the outside growing area and those ready from inside the tunnels. After collecting all the bulbs they will then be cured (dried) and stored. There is one huge problem to be solved…we need space! Space for curing and also for storage of the said thousands of bulbs. The new season onions, shallots and garlic will be placed on the website for you to buy.

Once this onion crop is harvested the space created will be quickly planted with the next vegetables we will be growing. The Brussel Sprouts and other winter brassicas will be placed into these cleared areas. We are always planning ahead and thinking about the next season and the crops to plant out. Those of you who have followed the weekly updates from the farm know that we follow a crop plan. During the winter season the plan is put on the office white board (believe me when I say it is a big white board), and we try to follow the plan through the year. It did start well, very well. It is probably a little out of sync, but generally ok. However, the weather has been the culprit for a few changes to the plan. Unfortunately, if a particular crop doesn’t play the game and doesn’t perform well, or too well, then the timing becomes a bit off! This has resulted in some crops in the wrong tunnel. The outside planting has been spot on, delighted with this. Thankfully, we do make allowances for Mother Nature so we are not disappointed with our alternative plan.

The summer fruiting crops are certainly going to plan. They all have flowers growing profusely. The bumblebees we placed inside tunnel 6 are having a ‘field day’ and definitely know there way around the tunnels and the herb garden. They seem very content in their new home. The cucumbers, aubergines and tomatoes are appearing daily. Some do need to ripen, the tomatoes in particular, but crops are now being collected from these plants. It won’t be long before we have HexOrg tomatoes, cannot wait!

It takes lots of time and effort to care for all these delicious veggies. The bees are doing their bit, I am going to crack on with my bit and when I find Bob, I shall suggest that he comes home and takes a break from the garlic and then to crack on with the tomatoes. 

Thank you for having your orders in by Monday night. As I say…a huge help. 

Stay Safe and Take Care,

 Ann👩‍🌾