Volunteer Corine clearing kale beds to plant beans.
We’ve been taking advantage of recent frosty weather to get out there on our tractor, Rosa and spread compost while the soil is hard enough to take her weight. As the frost thaws the soil gets softer and we can’t drive on our beds due to compaction and risk of Rosa sinking!
Composting is important at this time of year to improve our soil fertility and give our ground a boost of natural nutrients in advance of planting out all our veggies in the coming months. We’ve now composted 30% of our site, putting us in a good position for the growing season ahead.
With the intention of giving our customers more variety through the seasons, this year we have decided to venture in new territories and grow some novelties:
Early Potatoes:
Shetland Black – a purply black salad potato, floury flesh. Harvested early June.
Charlotte – classic, salad potato.
Casablanca – white flesh, good for boiling. Harvested May.
Aubergines:
Black beauty – classic black variety. Harvest Aug/Sept
Bonica – early ripening, black, long variety. Harvest from Aug.
Calliope – baby aubergine, purple streaked fruit.
Peas – sugar snap / mangetout varieties. Harvest June.
Globe artichokes – our first foray into perennial cropping. Should get a crop in the first year, so hopefully we’ll have some for the VegBags in July.
Shallots – harvest in July/Aug. Sweeter than onions!
To find out more about what we grow at the farm, take a look at our farm design page.
Winter activities – grower Charlotte and volunteer and Vegbox delivery driver Ollie clearing out kale beds.