Starting to feel a bit like Autumn

Hi Everyone,

How unseasonal is the weather…..feels more like the autumn season. However, ideal for the outside crops. The Broccoli is amazing, the Red Onions are bulbing up nicely, the Leeks, Beetroot, Potatoes, Courgettes, Summer Squash all thriving in this damp weather.

The Winter Squash are also growing nicely. It is great to see the Squash area (the photo above) with orange, yellow, green and cream gems dotted all over the field. When you look closely and under the leaves it does look like a treasure chest of jewels. It really is near to autumn!

The final polytunnel is now in operation. Bob and myself, but mainly Bob, weeded the ground….the tunnels have been erected straight onto the field….then added the PAS100 compost, creating three very large beds. Then, using our wood chippings, made two one foot paths between the beds. Then, Bob’s your uncle (well, delivery boy, gardener, compost mover, horticulturalist, pig whisperer, chicken carer, technician and husband really). The polytunnel is ready for planting out! Lucy planted out beetroot in two of the beds. The third bed will have leeks planted in it, just as soon as the leeks are big enough. These are more organic vegetables for the coming winter season. That gives us 10 polytunnels providing 1/4 acre of covered cropping.

We are constantly thinking about the next rotation of crops. Constantly thinking about the crops we can grow, the crops we should grow and the crops which do grow on our farm. We are getting older but we are still learning. The biggest thing we are learning at the moment is the ‘what we can grow’. For instance, Calabrese Bbroccoli) was never as successful as we wanted it to be, we have read about the methods of growing. We think the research has paid off as this seasons Calabrese is the best we have ever grown. Growing and harvesting a great crop makes Bob and I very happy. I was going to say we are ‘easily pleased’ but it does take some hard graft here on our farm. So maybe ‘job satisfaction’ is a better term to use as we gain great satisfaction in seeing our produce grow.

With a huge smile we are back to the grind stone. All have a great week.

Thank you for your support and ordering quickly,

Keep Staying Safe,
Ann👩‍🌾