Veg boxes 28th December

A standard veg box with a dozen free-range eggs (£14.20 including delivery) - half a crown prince squash, a savoy cabbage, leeks, a bunch of carrots, a kilo of potatoes, oriental greens, beetroot, and rocket.

The small box (£7 including delivery) - leeks, beetroot, potatoes, chervil, oriental greens, and carrots.

Yerin and Seoyoung

Also for most of December we had the assistance of two lovely wwoofers from South Korea, Yerin and Seoyoung, who have now headed to Barcelona for a well-earned break. Many thanks to them too!

Yerin and Seoyoung picking kale in the old chicken field.

Brice and Gurvan

Brice and Gurvan, two French wwoof volunteers from Quimper in Brittany, helped on the farm for most of December, leaving just after Christmas for further UK adventures. Many thanks to this loveable pair for keeping us entertained - and all the good work too.

Wwoof volunteers outside the farm shop on Winter Feast day, from left - Yerin, Gurvan, Brice, and Lena.

Brice painting the shop floor on Boxing Day.

Merry Christmas!

Sprouts!!!

OK, this was our farmyard in February, but it's a more Christmassy shot than the current mild wet conditions allow.

We'd like to thank all our volunteers, supporters and customers for their invaluable input through 2018, and we wish you all a very enjoyable Christmas and a happy new year 2019.

Recent tasks on the farm

We've been so busy on the farm recently with festive preparations and winter jobs that we've not been able to update the blog regularly, so here's a sample of what we've been up to:-

Picking the first winter veg from our pollytunnels - these are "granat" Chinese cabbage...

...and pak choi. Also salad leaves, chervil, coriander, carrots, rocoto chillies, and komatsuna (Chinese spinach).

Creating new wildflower and herb areas in the bee-friendly garden.

Coppicing willow around the market garden, and planting new willow laths around the old chicken field.

Raising the height of the rabbit fence by another 40cm.

Tidying up our windbreaks (more coppicing).

Weeding the overwintering onions, again.

Picking swedes (and carrots, kale, chard, beetroot, leeks, cabbages, radishes, spring greens, turnips etc.).

Building a low protective wall around our well in Home Field.

Admiring sunsets and afternoon skies like this one, seen from our chicken sheds.

And lots of other stuff besides, much of it tidying up after another busy growing season (and cleaning the polytunnel plastic to increase light levels). Thanks as always to everybody who volunteers their time to help with our never-complete jobs list!

Christmas veg boxes

Our veg boxes on Friday 21st had a special Christmas theme....

Standard veg boxes lined up for packing.

Small (£6) veg boxes contained a stalk of Brussels sprouts, kale, parsnips, potatoes, a bunch of carrots, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Standard (£10) veg boxes contained beetroot, a stalk of Brussels sprouts, a bunch of carrots, sage, rosemary, thyme, kale, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, and a bag of salad leaves.

Christmas hampers

This year we had orders for five Christmas hampers, which were ready for delivery and collection on Friday 21st.

Medium (£50) hamper - crown prince squash, Brussels sprouts, savoy cabbage, sage, rosemary, thyme, potatoes, parsnips, leeks, carrots, dried chillies, swede, salad leaves, kale, a dozen eggs, mince pies, large multigrain loaf, honey, Christmas pudding chocolate, cranberry relish, apple juice, fudge, and jam.

Small (£25) hamper - Brussels sprouts, savoy cabbage, sage, rosemary, thyme, potatoes, carrots, leeks, swede, half a dozen eggs, honey, Christmas pudding chocolate, jam, and either cranberry or cider apple relish.

Packing the hampers.

Lena

Lena on the right, re-stacking hay in the open barn with Yerin.

Lena, from France, wwoofed with us for two weeks, and left this afternoon heading back home for Christmas. Thank you Lena for all your help, and bon voyage!

St. Just Christmas Market

On Festive Fun Friday (14th December) as well as the Walking Nativity around St. Just, the christmas lights turn-on with Pendeen Silver Band, and Santa in the Knut, there was the special Christmas Market in the W.I. Hall, from 5pm till 8:30pm, at which the farm had a stall.

The following morning was the weekly farmers' market, 9:30am till 12:30pm, at which we always have a stall selling veg, eggs, honey, bread, and a small selection of produce from the farm shop (raw chocolate etc...).

Christmas Tree festival

Once again Bosavern Community Farm decorated a tree as part of the Miners' Chapel Christmas Tree festival, alongside many other local community organisations and schools. The chapel is open from 2 till 6pm until December 29th to view the trees, and refreshments are available.

Many thanks to Sonja, Fran and Alice for organising and decorating the tree.

Veg boxes 7th December

Our standard veg box, costing £10 (or £11 delivered to your door) contained potatoes, beetroot, bunched carrots, jerusalem artichokes, kale, chard, leeks, a cabbage, and Chinese leaves.

Our small box, costing £6 (or £7 delivered to your door) contained potatoes, leeks, salad leaves, a cabbage, and beetroot.

Shop opening times over the festive period

Our farm shop will be open every day from 11am till 6pm, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. We will have fresh bread from Vicky's on the 22nd, 24th, 28th and 31st December, and from January 3rd onwards. We will have fresh milk from Treen Farm on the 29th (on Saturday rather than Friday).

We would like to wish all our supporters and customers a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year 2019.

P.S. We have sprout stalks at £2 each....

Winter Feast

We hosted a Winter Feast at the farm on Sunday 9th December, and we were thrilled with the number of people who came along to bring and share food, and listen to the band and choir.

Members of Pendeen Silver Band playing carols in the open barn to welcome people to the farm.

A winter wreath making workshop in The Hive, led by Ali Law.

One of the wreaths made during the workshop.

A long table down the packing shed, and people tucking in to their communal feast.

The Blazing Hearts Chorus singing in the packing shed after the feast.

It was another wonderful community day on the farm, and many thanks go to all the people who made it possible - musicians, cooks, cleaners, etc.. - and everybody who came to help us celebrate.

Emma

Emma with entwined carrots.

Emma, from France, wwoofed with us for a month, and left for home after our Winter Feast. Thank you for your help Emma, and have a great Christmas!

Christmas Hampers

It's that time of year again, when we start taking orders for our popular Christmas Hampers. We are again offering three sizes, priced at £25, £50, and £75 (small, standard, and bumper). They will be harvested fresh (the veg and eggs anyway....) and ready to go on Friday December 21st. Each will contain a selection of seasonal veg and herbs from the farm, plus our own eggs, Vicky's mince pies and Christmas bread, our own honey, plus a selection of local produce ideal for the Christmas period (contents depend on size of hamper). Brussels sprouts guaranteed! We can deliver anywhere in West Penwith for £1, or you can collect from the farm. To order yours please phone 788454, or email info@bosaverncommunityfarm.org.uk. A £10 deposit is payable.

Last year's small hamper (£25).

Last year's medium hamper (£50).

Yuletide Fair

Sunday 25th November saw the annual Yuletide Fair in the sports hall at St. Just Leisure Centre, with 60 stalls, hundreds of visitors, a cafe, Santa's grotto, and school choirs, with all the proceeds going to St. Just, Pendeen and Sennen schools, Pendeen Ark, and Brambles Nursery.

Our stall at the fair.

A view of other stalls in the hall.

Many thanks to everbody who came along to enjoy and support the fair - and to Andy, Emma, and Fran for setting up and running our stall.

Winter Feast

Our next community celebration and open day will be at the farm on Sunday 9th December, from midday till 3pm. For the first hour or so we will have members of Pendeen Silver Band playing carols around the campfire. At 1pm there will be a community feast in the packing shed, to which everyone is invited to bring food to share (and/or make a donation). And to round things up from 2 till 3pm we will welcome back the Blazing Hearts Chorus to entertain us in the farmyard (weather permitting - in the open barn if not). Everybody is welcome, so please come along and bring family and friends.

Moving the chicken sheds

We have two fields fenced for chickens and we plan for them to have two years in each, interspersed with field-scale crops. In May we moved them to the top of the top field, and since then we have ploughed and planted the lower field with squash (all now harvested), leeks, kales, cabbages, beetroot, chard, and carrots (which are small but good).

Leeks and other crops planted and sown into the old chicken field.

On Tuesday last week we went up with our tractor and dragged the sheds twenty metres down their current field onto fresher pasture. We'll move them twice again next year before changing fields again in 2020. Our little Ford tractor will only drag them downhill!

Early morning, and the first shed has moved downhill.

Mid afternoon, all three sheds have moved, and the chickens released.

Late afternoon, all the fences and water butts have been re-erected, and that's the job done for another six months.

Veg boxes 23rd November

Friday's standard veg box

Black Friday = black radishes in every veg box!

We sent out thirty lovely veg boxes on Friday - Crown Prince squash (or similar), black winter radishes, spring greens, salad potatoes, mixed salad leaves, komatsuna (Chinese spinach), leeks, purple-top turnips, rocket, and/or red Russian kale. Please contact us to join our not-for-profit veg box scheme on 788454.

New members sought

We have re-opened our community share offer and are inviting new members to join us - please follow this link for details http://www.bosaverncommunityfarm.org.uk/membership/. New members receive regular updates from the farm, a vote at our AGM (either in person or by proxy), and the opporunity to help our outstanding project acheive further successes. Many thanks for joining us!

Nerida

Nerida, from Australia, left the farm this morning after wwoofing with us for one month, to continue her travels around the UK. We'd like to thank her for her help during her time with us, and wish her well in the future - we hope to see you back at the farm someday too!

Nerida, on the left, with Andy and Lorenz planting winter crops in Nigel polytunnel last month.

Dates for your diary

Wednesday November 21st is the AGM of Bosavern Community Enterprises, at 19:15 in the W.I. Hall in St. Just. You don't have to be a member to come along, though only members can vote (see our website to find out how you can become a member).

Sunday November 25th is the Yuletide Fair in the sport hall of St. Just Leisure Centre, 11:00 till 15:00, where the farm will have a stall alongisde 60 other stalls (plus choirs and a visit from Santa).

Sunday December 9th is our next open day on the farm, from 12:00 till 15:00, with live music and a communal feast. Please see our posters for more details.

Veg boxes 16th November

This is one of today's "small" veg boxes (priced at £6), and contained 200g kale, 200g chard, 500g carrots, 500g beetroot, 1kg potatoes, and 400g leeks.
Today's "standard" veg boxes (£10) also included a cabbage, a swede, extra carrots, extra leeks, and mixed salad leaves.
We deliver anywhere in West Penwith (as far as St. Ives and Penzance) for only £1 extra, with optional extras of eggs, bread and milk.

Morgan

Many congratulations to Morgan, who has been awarded "St. Just Young Citizen of the Year 2018" at the recent Feast Civic Parade. Morgan volunteered once a week on the community for six months this year, just one of many community endeavours that helped her to win the award. Well done Morgan!

Lorenz, Caroline, Rob and Abigail

Another four WWOOF volunteers have reached the ends of their stays with us this week - Lorenz from Germany stayed for 6 weeks, Caroline from France for 8 days, Rob from Cumbria for 8 days, and Abigail from Bermuda also for 8 days. Many thanks for helping us during your stays, and good luck with your next steps.

Caroline and Rob weeding overwintering onions, before laying sheeps fleece as a mulch.

Preparing a raised bed for spring greens, with Lorenz on the right.

Lenka

Lenka, a WWOOF volunteer from Montana, USA, left the farm yesterday morning after helping out for 3 weeks.

Lenka weeding our purple sprouting broccoli in the permanent raised beds (with Lorenz on the left).

It was a joy to have Lenka volunteer with us and we already miss her - many thanks for your hard calm work!

Harvesting squash and pumpkins.

Squash laid out to cure in the polytunnel.

 We've not had a very good year for squash, certainly not compared to 2017. In 2016 we harvested 300kg, which we tried to double in 2017 and ended up with 1200kg! So this year we tried to halve that and have got only 200kg, mostly crown prince (which is the best, so that's something!).

Mostly Crown Prince squash.

 We got off to a bad start with a nutrient-poor batch of potting compost. Because the plants looked so bad we prioritised transplanting leeks instead, so the squash were planted out towards the end of July, a bit too late. It was then so dry that they struggled.

Pumpkins in the shop ready for Hallowe'en.

But we did get some! And they are now all harvested and curing in the polytunnel ready to go on sale. Except for some large (Jack-o-lantern and Sue's Giant) and tiny (Jack-be-little) pumpkins which were in the shop and at farmers' markets before Hallowe'en, and some big ones that have been portioned up and sent out in standard veg boxes for the past two weeks.

Today's veg boxes

Today's small veg box (£6) plus half a dozen eggs (£1.60) = £7.60.

Be a part of the local food revolution here in West Penwith! Join the not-for-profit veg box scheme here at Bosavern Community Farm. In today's veg boxes you could have enjoyed (or have enjoyed?) Charlotte salad potatoes, perpetual spinach, red Russian kale, carrots, purple-top turnips, beetroot, mixed salad leaves, Vietnamese coriander, a pumpkin portion, leeks, cucumbers, and/or oriental stir-fry greens. Plus we can add our own free-range eggs, Vicky's organic bread, and Treen organic milk.

Email vegbox.bcf@bcents.org to find out more, or to order your box for next week.