Getting colder

Hello Everyone,

Bob and I hope you are all very well. 

We are coming to the end of the Autumn season and about to enter the dark and cold season of Winter. Personally, I think we are really lucky having the seasons to enjoy and I can’t decide which is my favourite…they each have an offering. This season has been bright and colourful here on the farm. The cold has only just set in with some beautiful blue skies and fantastic light shows in the morning and in the evening.

I actually do not mind the cold of the Winter. Once you are all wrapped up, being outside can be a tonic. Then, when you unwrap yourself and be inside, the tingles start while the body warms through…that is soooo good, especially with a hot chocolate.

The above photo is a throwback to the Summer season…when it was oh so hot and the days were long (well the days were long but not so sure about the hot!). The view is from bedroom number twelve location of the ‘Freyja’ project. Not only will there be a Freyja restaurant, there will also be twelve rooms available for diners of the restaurant. Look how close the Freyja Garden will be to the complex! Not ‘air miles’ but ‘air meters’ for the Fresh Local Organic Produce to travel.

Alex, Freyja co-owner and Chef, has the brilliant idea that the fruit, vegetables and herbs which are to be consumed that day, will have been harvested only hours before. The produce will hardly ever enter the fridge for storage, promising a more intense flavour. Anyone who has eaten at Hjem (Alex’s Michelin starred restaurant) can appreciate he does a mighty fine job when it comes to taste. Clearly he will also preserve and conserve. This will ensure that unseasonal produce is available throughout the year to compliment the seasonal goodies.

Here on the farm it is garlic time. As many of you know - we have been keeping our very own Hexhamshire Organics garlic year on year. Last year saw some of the biggest bulbs we have ever harvested. These we kept and the garlic cloves are being planted out by Graham the Great and the Lovely Lucy right now! 

As part of our current ‘reset’, the outside beds are being resized and repositioned. Instead of the beds being, say North to South, they are being reconfigure to East to West (this depends on whether we are talking about the Pond Field or the Orchard Field). Both fields are being changed to enable us to have the same sized beds to match up with the same sized covering of ground membrane or enviromesh. After years of experience, we think this is vital to our efficiency plan. The Pond Field is also being ‘squared off’ to make planning simpler. None of our fields are symmetrical, so we are using this opportunity to reset and rectify this issue.

The garlic will be the first crop planted into our new bed system. Planted in the near Winter season and harvested in the Summer season of 2025! We have soooooo much more to do till the garlic will be ready. Better crack on!

Have a great week y’all,