Singing Workshops.

After a successful first outing to sing Cluck Old Hen with Shindig Cloggers at Morvah Pasty day, Bosavern Singers will start up again on Sunday September 9th 4-5.30 p.m at the farm.

Rowena.

Rowena labelling salad bags.

Rowena, a placement student from Holland, recently spent four and a half weeks volunteering on the community farm (she found us through the WWOOF website), and left yesterday to return to Amsterdam. Together with Bryan and Lea she formed the backbone of our wwoof workforce over the busy summer months, so many thanks to Rowena for her hard work.

Farmer's Markets.

Jim collecting vegetables for Pendeen farmer's market.

On Saturday 11th August, the inaugural craft and farmer's market was held in St. Just Town Hall, and Bosavern Community Farm took one of the 18 tables on offer. The market went well, we took over £90, and it has been decided to hold the market twice monthly starting in September, up until Christmas, on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, 10am till 1pm. This alternates nicely with Pendeen Farmer's Market, which is on the first and third Saturdays of the month, 10am till 1pm, and where we have had a stall since January 2011 - held in the Centre of Pendeen.

At the moment we are selling tomatoes, potatoes (both Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple), salads, mixed herbs, parsley, lemon verbena, fresh basil, potted herbs, cucumbers, courgettes, spinach, beetroot, purple turnips, peas, chard, green peppers, red chillies, free-range eggs, red onions and shallots. These are also available at the farm-gate stall, and through our weekly veg-box scheme.

Bryan.

Bryan, from Georgia, USA, left us yesterday after ten weeks volunteering on the farm, the longest-staying wwoofer this year. This gave some of us the opportunity for a few days off ourselves over the summer, always much appreciated. Many thanks Bryan for all your hard work, and your humour, calmness, and pizza....

Piglets update.

Ebony and her piglets.

Ebony and her six piglets are thriving. Ebony's bristles have started growing back to cover the bald patches she developed earlier in the season. Her six piglets are getting bigger every day, and started eating bits of grass and pig-nuts one week ago, so have begun the weaning process. They are four weeks old today, and love having their tummies tickled.....

Laura.

Laura, from Barcelona, who volunteered for 8 days on the farm, left yesterday morning to continue her wwoofing adventures in Scotland. Thankyou for your efforts and enthusiasm.

Laura sorting spinach in the veg packing area.

Preparing winter brassica beds.

On July 26th we dug the couch-grass, dock and dandelion roots out of the winter brassica beds ready for planting. This was already one month later than last year, but then it's been another funny year this one. We covered the beds in thick black plastic (weighted down with plenty of tyres and rocks) for nine months beforehand, then rolled the plastic back and forked through the earth. Although not perfect, it was a vast improvement on preparing beds that hadn't been covered in that way, there being no surface weeds, and even some of the couch roots appeared to have died. We prepared 8 beds in one day, so about 6 times faster than if we'd not used black plastic. The seeds of corn spurrey do not get killed by this treatment however, and the beds still need regular hoeing.

Anne, Lea, Jim, Bryan and Rowena hard at work.

Anne, Jim, Rowena, Bryan, Will and Lea - getting there.

These 8 beds were then treated with crushed limestone to raise the pH, left for 2 weeks, then planted - 5 beds of Brussels sprouts transplanted from an outdoor seedbed, one bed of winter cauliflowers raised in modules, and 2 beds of Red Winter kale transplanted from another outdoor seedbed. Sadly not a single purple sprouting broccoli seedling survived the slug onslaught that this wet "summer" has inflicted on us. Meaning we now have 11 beds of Red Winter kale - wonderful stuff, hope you like it too!

Community Share Offer Closes.

Our Community Share Offer closed on Tuesday 14th August, so many thanks to everybody from around the world who has applied to buy shares in the community farm. Watch this blog for more details when they become available.

Famous piglets!

Our six surviving kune kune piglets appeared in the Cornishman last week, resulting in extra visitors to the farm to see them. They are now three weeks old, and starting to nibble grass and other foodstuffs, as well as running and jumping!

Lea.

After 6 weeks volunteering and living as a wwoofer on the community farm, Lea, from Switzerland, left to continue her travels on Sunday morning. We already miss her cooking! Many thanks for all your help, and safe travelling. Lea is on the right in the photograph posted two weeks ago.