Planting tomatoes

On Tuesday 18th April we planted our maincrop of tomatoes in Imogen polytunnel, being about 300 plants of about 15 varieties (including gardener's delight, sungold, chocolate cherry, costaluto di firentina, berner rose, yellow submarine, orange banana, quadro, ruby, galina, stupice and more). Some fruit has already set, showing that bumble bees have been active recently.

Pinar removing old salad plants ready for planting tomatoes. The row of early tomatoes planted in March are on the right.

Ben planting tomatoes.

The polytunnel fully planted, ready for stringing up.

This year we are using compostable jute twine for stringing the vines, to make the removal and composting of the plants quicker and easier in the autumn.

Veg boxes 21st April

Small £6 veg box - the last of this season's parsnips, plus a swede, a kilo of potatoes, rainbow chard, mixed herbs (Vietnamese coriander, fennel, flat-leaf parsley, and oregano), and a lettuce.

The standard £10 veg box contained all of the above plus some oriental greens, a bag of mixed salad leaves, and the first of this season's rhubarb.

Chicken identification guide

Bethany, who wwoofed with us here earlier in the month, produced this amazing piece of illustrative art during her time on the farm, and here it is for all to see - many thanks to Bethany for allowing us to publish her work on the farm blog.

Big thank you

We'd like to thank all the people who volunteered at the farm and kept things ticking over whilst our Head Grower was away on paternity leave for two weeks at the beginning of April. These include Andy, Jill, Yvonne, Viv, Ian, Tim, Mark, Chris, Sonja, Martin, Ben, Anne, Charlie, Shelley, Jenny, Fran, and I'm sure there are more too! A big thank you to you all for helping put the community into the farm.

May Day event, 30th April 3 till 5pm.

Derek Thomas MP visits the farm.

Our local MP, Derek Thomas, spent a morning at the farm last week, meeting volunteers and staff, and finding out about what we do. He returned with his family a few days later to adopt ten of our old chickens, taking them to live in their backyard.

Jill Neville, Chair of the farm's committee, with Derek Thomas MP in the cob round-house.

Pauline, Eidan and Bethony.

Pauline from Germany, Eidan from Romania, and Bethony from Leeds via Falmouth, have all left the farm over recent days after staying with us and volunteering as wwoofers. We'd like to thank them all for their hard work during their stays, and wish them well in their onward endeavours.

Bethony serving in the farm shop (sorry Pauline and Eidan but I failed to get photos of you!).

Re-homing hens

The community farm is looking for new homes for some of our oldest hens, pictured above. They are now three years old, but are still laying some eggs, and are very used to humans and being in the open air. They will make ideal small-holding or back-yard hens, or pets. We are asking for a small donation to the community farm for each hen. Please contact us on 01736 788454 for more information or to arrange collection.

100,000 views!

This Bosavern Community Farm blog has recently passed the milestone of 100,000 all-time views. Thank you to everyone who has looked at our blog, and please keep doing so! You'll find lots of recent news about the farm on here, and also information about when and how we do things in case you are interested in growing your own, plus details of forthcoming community events.

Lindy, Stephie and Rich

We'd like to say a big thank you to Lindy from Singapore, Stephie from Malta, and Rich from the UK, for coming to the end of Cornwall to volunteer as Wwoofers on the community farm in March. We really appreciate your help, and wish you all the best in your onward travels.

Lindy with a trug of chard in the farmyard on harvesting day.

Veg boxes 24th March 2017

Pictured above is our small veg box, price £6, from 24th March, which contained Sarpo Mira potatoes, watercress, oriental greens, red cabbage, carrots and beetroot.
Our standard veg box, price £10, contained Sarpo Mira potatoes, jerusalem artichokes, red cabbage, carrots, swede, fresh coriander, beetroot, leeks, and a bag of mixed salad leaves.
All of the produce was grown on the community farm except the red cabbage and carrots, which are from Cargease Organics farm near Crowlas.
To order your veg box please contact us on 01736 788454 or vegbox.bcf@bcents.org