Rafa, Anna and Shelley

We currently have a very good group of 5 wwoof volunteers on the farm, but sadly 4 of them will be moving on this week. Rafa (from Tenerife) left this morning, and Anna (from Moscow) and Shelley (from Dorset) will be leaving tomorrow. Many thanks to everyone for your hard work on the farm!

Farmhouse kitchen table team, from the left - Lindy, Anna, Andy, Martin, Shelley and Rafa. 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting potatoes

As usual we have been hindered by cold wet weather in February and March, but over the past week we have managed to plant two thirds of this year's potato crop, being ten sacks of Maris Peer, ten of Charlotte, ten of Cara, and ten of Valor. Next (tomorrow?) we have fifteen sacks of Ambo to plant, followed by the six crates of Sarpo Mira seed potatoes that we have saved from this year's harvest.

Andy checking that the first day's ridges are properly formed.

Rafa and Anna refilling the planter's crates with seed potatoes.

Lindy and Shelley on the planter ready to plant.

Shelley and Lindy checking the ridges in a typical Penwith fog.

Veg boxes 17th March

Friday's small veg box (£6) - purple sprouting broccoli (from Cargease Organics), rainbow chard, spring greens, swede, mixed salad leaves, and Sarpo Mira potatoes (all from the community farm).

Friday's standard veg box (£10) - purple sprouting broccoli, carrots (both from Cargease Organics), rainbow chard, kale, parsley, swede, Sarpo Mira potatoes, leeks, and oriental greens (all from the community farm).

Stilla

Stilla, from Germany, left the farm yesterday morning, and we'd like to thank her for her help and hard work during her time volunteering with us, and wish her good luck in her onward travels.

Re-homing hens

Every spring we re-home the occupants of one of our sheds of laying hens in order to make room for the next point-of-lay flock that we buy. That time has now come, so we have 60 hens looking for new homes in the local area. They are now three years old, and have spent their lives so far in a big field with plenty of grass and fresh air. They are Colombian Black-tails, so are calm birds bred for egg-laying, and ours are still laying a few eggs despite their age.

We are asking for a suggested donation of £2 per hen. They will be happy in a back garden or small-holding, and are used to human contact. Please phone us on 788454 with any questions, or to reserve your hens and arrange collection.

Veg boxes 10th March

Small £6 veg box - leeks, mixed herbs (coriander, parsley, chives, oregano, chervil, and Vietnamese coriander), potatoes, beetroot, spring greens, and parsnips. This box is shown with an optional half-dozen eggs at an extra £1.60.

The standard £10 veg box did not have the mixed herbs, but did have (in addition to the above) oriental greens, a cauliflower (from Cargease Organics, an organic farm near Penzance), mixed salad leaves, and a swede.

Please contact the farm on 01736 788454, or at vegbox.bcf@bcents.org to order yours.

Maria

Maria, from Galicia in Spain, volunteered with us on the community farm for six weeks, and left last Friday to further her WWOOFing experience on other farms. We'd like to thank Maria for her hard work and dedication during her stay with us, and we wish her well on her smallholding adventure when she returns home.

St Just farmer's market moves to the WI Hall

St Just farmer's market will be moving from the Royal British Legion to the W.I. Hall from this Saturday, March 11th. The time will still be 09:30 to 12:30, every Saturday. The W.I. Hall is alongside the church just off Market Square.

We'd like to thank Ray for organising the market for the past two years, and we wish him a very happy retirement.

Veg boxes March 3rd

This is last Friday's "small" veg box, costing £6 (or £7 delivered to your door).
From the community farm - Sarpo Mira potatoes, oriental greens, leeks, and chard.
From Cargease Organics near Penzance - carrots and purple sprouting broccoli.

The "standard" veg boxes, costing £10 (or £11 delivered to your door) contained all of the above plus a bag of salad leaves, a swede, parsley, and some extra potatoes.

Release the chickens!

On 1st March, after three months confined to their sheds and small enclosed runs, DEFRA regulations allowed us to release our 300 laying hens into their one-hectare field to free-range again. Within one minute they were all outside and roaming around, getting some fresh air and green grass into their diet despite the rain.

This area of Cornwall is deemed a Low Risk Zone for avian influenza. The closest High Risk Zone is around the Helford River on the Lizard Peninsula - although their has been no reported case of Avian Influenza in Cornwall to date.