Starting the new chicken fence.

One month behind schedule (!!) today we began work on the new chicken fence, the objective being to move our laying hens to a new field, and grow vegetables in the field they vacate (by now rich in chicken manure). Last time we built a chicken fence we knocked the posts in by hand, using a post basher, a job that began in March and finished in May. This time we hired a mechanical post basher, and finished the job in half a day.

The post basher in action.

First side finished by mid morning.

 All 170 posts are now in, including large corner posts, and tomorrow we start stapling the wire mesh up. Thanks to David and Max for working on the fence today, and to Tom for agreeing to do the job.

Spring!

Spring sprang upon us just before the recent cold snap, and our polytunnel production of winter salads instantly increased from 25 to 50 bags a week. It wasn't just the salad that showed signs of new vigour though.

One of our 7 new blackcurrant bushes shooting.

Daffodils in bud by the front door.

Crocuses appearing in the front garden.

Willow whips already shooting after being planted 2 months  before.

Espalliered peach tree shooting in the polytunnel.

Tool Care Workshop.

Despite freezing temperatures (we had to break the ice on the pig's water bowls twice during the day) yesterday, 6 people came to Greg's tool care (a.k.a. Tool Love) workshop here on the farm. There is an art to caring for your tools, with the objectives being to be able to identify and find the right tool for the job, and for that tool to be in a good enough condition to make the job easier for you. A clean and tidy workshop is key.

Laying the tools out to clean them.

 Greg showed us how to clean the tools, arrange the workshop, sharpen the tools, then store them safely.

Sharpening tools.

Our new tool procedure on the farm will involve 5 minutes of sharpening each tool before use (a sharp spade will dig much easier than a blunt one, for example), and 5 minutes of cleaning each tool after use, before being put away in the correct place.
Thanks to Greg Humphries for running this workshop, and to all those who attended despite the numbing wind.

Rabbit fencing finished.

The main pedestrian/wheelbarrow and tractor gateways completed.

The gateway to the water trough and tap completed.

The tensioning wire is now in place, plus an extra wire above it to add visual height, and that's the rabbit fence done!

This weekend's workshops.

This weekend we are running two workshops:-

Saturday 10 am till noon - "Tool Care" with Greg Humphries, here on the farm. Learn how to care for your gardening tools, particularly useful for current farm volunteers and budding allotment-holders.

Sunday 10 am till noon - Cookery workshop in the Age Concern Kitchen, St Just, with Lynne Dyer and Sonia Fairfield. Learn how to prepare onion tarts and pickled onions.

Both workshops are open to all, with donations to the farm always welcome.

Rabbit fencing.

After losing lots of crops to rabbits last year (most of our swedes, most of our 10,000 leeks, over 1000 cabbages, all our carrots and all our parsnips) we have spent the past week constructing a new permanent rabbit-fence around the market garden field (and we'll be growing this years main crops inside last years chicken fence).

Jonathan and Lloyd enjoy a small break from fencing.

 We knocked 80 half-round posts in using a sledge hammer and spirit-level, 4 metres apart, added some support posts on the corners and gate-posts, then tacked 320 metres of chicken-mesh around the field's circumference. The mesh is laid 10 to 15cm across the ground, then tacked up the posts, the overlap across the ground being to prevent rabbits digging under the fence. This is weighed down with stones until the grass grows through to anchor it into place.

Sarah unrolling the next section to be stapled up.

 The gates are also now all in place, 2 for tractors and 2 for people/wheelbarrows. Now all we need is a tension wire around the top of the mesh to stop it sagging, and - touch wood - we defy any rabbit to get in!!

Building the new rabbit-proof entrance gateway.

As always, a big thanks to everyone who helped on the fence during the 5 days it took to build.

Sarah.

Sarah left on Sunday after wwoofing here for one month, so we'd like to thank here for her work and enthusiasm on the farm, and wish her the best in her onward travels.

Sarah modelling her favourite rainbow chard...