We've had a busy time on the Farm this summer
resulting in another bounty of delicious food – vegetables, herbs, salad
leaves, fruit and free-range eggs. In late July, we were delighted to be asked by acclaimed
chef Tom Hunt to supply fresh produce for his cooking demonstrations at the
weekend Rock Oyster Festival. Congratulations to Hugh and Otta and their
invaluable teams of local volunteers and woofers for growing such fantastic and
justly admired produce.
Veg box deliveries continue apace and demand from wholesale customers is
slowly resuming. We produce +/-90
boxes a week and are currently regularly delivering around West Penwith to St.
Just, Pendeen, St. Ives, Carbis Bay, Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole, St. Buryan,
Sennen, and all places in between. The Farm Shop is going from strength to strength.
Making hay when the sun shines. Hugh
says: “Last year we were so busy in response to the coronavirus pandemic that
we had no time to make hay, but this year we found a bit of time to return to
some ‘normality’, if the hecticness of making hay can be called that. The hot
dry spell that we endured [in July] was perfect hay-making weather, so we and
all the other farmers in the area got busy doing just that. Oliver mended the
power steering on our tractor for us, Clive and Kieron cut and turned and baled
four fields for us, and teams of volunteers brought it in off the fields and
stacked it in the barn for storage and sales. This year we cut Carn, Top,
Standing Stone, and Hotel Fields. It was cut on Monday, turned on Tuesday,
baled on Wednesday, and all 489 bales in the barn by early evening on Thursday,
surely the fastest hay making in Bosavern Community Farm history, and lovely
dry light-green hay it is too.”
We held a ‘Meet the Board’ event
in early August and were very pleased to talk to who those of you who came
to see us. It was wonderful to hear how people appreciate the what we are
doing and we had fantastic offers of support. Thank you! It’s definitely
something we'll do again.
It's been over a decade since the Farm was bought from Cornwall Council and
there had been plans to hold our 10-year anniversary celebration last year but
obviously Lockdown put an end to that. So, next month we're intending to celebrate both
this year’s harvest bounty and over a decade of Community ownership. We hope to
see you at the Farm. It won’t rain.
Turning our gaze to the future, we held a 'visioning
day' last month with the Board directors, advisors and staff (many of whom
hadn't met in the flesh due to the pandemic) to check that the Farm's Objectives
(to produce and sell local food, to provide community access to land and
its produce and to provide opportunities for the local community to come
together and learn about growing food, agriculture and sustainable living) are still appropriate in light of the IPCC report, climate
crisis, and local needs. Our conclusions were these:
TO FEED:
providing better
food for more people
TO RESTORE: enabling
a more connected and resilient community at and beyond the Farm
TO NURTURE: supporting healthier people within and beyond the
Farm
TO RECONNECT: by
improving understanding for individuals and community to land, to Nature,
and
to the climate & biodiversity crisis
TO INSPIRE: by
developing more leadership with shared learning of more skills at and beyond
the Farm
Now that we're happily in
agreement that the Farm's Objectives remain relevant and true, we have to
decide what is the most appropriate way of meeting these objectives over the coming
decade. For the next stage of our development we will be in discussions
with the National Lottery with the aim of seeking funding support, and will be engaging
in business planning to help us to plan for the future. We'll hold consultations
in venues across West Cornwall in the coming months (hopefully, including at our
Celebration Day on 10th October) with big questions to consider and
a map of the Farm for you to offer ideas about how we can better use and manage
our land.
This is all exciting stuff. If
you'd like to help in a small/large way with the birthday celebration and/or
the community consultations then please get in touch. Tom, Chair
BCEnts
BCF ALLOTMENTS
2021 had been a challenging year so far all around, and
the allotment community has had its fair share of difficulties with inclement
weather and a multitude of critters intent on eating our produce! The community rallied round and volunteers have worked incredibly
hard to resolve all the issues.
Rabbits
In the Spring, Katie Kirk and her
Training & Work Experience Team enaged a fencing tutor, Chris Lutey, to
deliver two fencing workshops to teach their participants how to put up some
rabbit fencing (and also some quality wind-break fencing in the Market Garden).
A handful of allotmenteers
joined the course and, as a result, a special mention must go to Pete Cross and Andy Jewers, who took on the task of
safeguarding the allotments from the rabbits by completing most of the
remaining rabbit-proof fence. Thank you, guys, for this - you were awesome!
Too much water Another issue was the flooding
in the whole field after very wet weather in the spring. On Sunday 15th August, allotmenteers gave
generously of their time again to help dig four inspection pits so that Phil
Pengelly, drainage specialist at PLP, could help ascertain the best way to deal
with the problem. He is arranging for
two enclosed drainage ditches to be dug along the north and western borders
which will run into a scrape pond in the southwest corner. Don’t worry regular allotment
volunteers, Phil has a mechanical digger to do that!
The tree planting team has also been out in force a number of times this year to
plant ‘whips’ of willow and mixed hedging to help suck up the water
and provide a bit of a windbreak. What a great bunch of people we have at Bosavern
Allotments. The communal spirit is growing following a couple of meetings,
initially on Zoom and more recently, on-site. Tamsyn has kindly offered
to set up a WhatsApp group which is now exchanging ideas and friendly advice
regularly.
The next exciting news is that Tom (Jane), our allotments
lead on the Board, hot on the heels of his success in obtaining permission for
us to have a shed on each plot, is looking into funding for a community
polytunnel where we can propagate crops, exchange seeds and grow more tender
crops.
Short- and long-term solutions to improving the
allotments site and fields elsewhere on the Farm are under discussion. Hugh’s
and Board’s input and agreement will be required. The various interested
parties involved in planting trees on the Farm (Woodland Group, Allotment Group
etc) will be co-ordinating so that duplications don’t occur when it comes to
sourcing trees for different areas on the Farm. All the Farm’s allotments are
taken and there is now a waiting list.
Some plots are yet to be fully used, but everyone agreed that, due to
the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, more time should be given to those
who still want to keep their plot even if they have so far been unable to get
cracking with cultivation.
Subs fall due from January 2022 when a decision will be made on a cut-off date for those
who have still been unable to commence cultivation to ask them relinquish their
plots so that those on the waiting list can be given the opportunity to have a
go.
Caroline Streat, volunteer BCF Allotments Co-ordinator
BEES
On the whole it has been a difficult year for bees, given the very
poor weather conditions in Spring. However, by sticking to the policy of not
feeding the bees sugar water, our colonies were able to delay expansion until
the weather improved. Nectar collection was very strong in late June, but hopes
of it continuing into July and August were thwarted again by the weather. Late
August has seen some heather honey collection.
What a great bunch of people we have at Bosavern
Allotments. The communal spirit is growing following a couple of meetings,
initially on Zoom and more recently, on-site. Tamsyn has kindly offered
to set up a WhatsApp group which is now exchanging ideas and friendly advice
regularly.
There have been a number of reports of Foul Brood Disease in West
Cornwall again this year. All colonies at Bosavern are free of disease at
present. Varroa mites however, remain an issue, though certain colonies are
developing strategies to combat this pest.
Breeding of Cornish Black Bee queens and colony expansion have been successful,
after the difficult Spring. Queen mating flights improved from 25 per cent
success rate to over 90 per cent success rate. Twenty new queens were raised
and an additional 12 colonies developed on site. The “native-ness” of the new
colonies appears very good. Preparations are now under way to prepare the
colonies for winter. Matt Pitt, BCF
Beekeeper
BOSAVERN OPEN EVENTS
Two family-friendly, drop-in
events where people can find out more about all the
activities on offer at the Farm - from egg collecting to tree-planting, work
experience and employment support. This is part of the Tin Coast Events
Programme with a short film commissioned by the Tin Coast Partnership and
Cornwall 365 and additional event support from the EU and Cornwall
Council. Come and chat to our team. We’re offering hot and cold drinks,
food samples, and plants.
· Wed 8th Sept 2pm-3pm at the Centre of Pendeen
· Thurs 9th Sept 2pm-3pm at Sennen Community Centre
Contact: training@bosaverncommunityfarm.org.uk or phone Katie on 01736 272367 https://www.bosaverncommunityfarm.org.uk
BOSAVERN TRAINING & WORK EXPERIENCE
PROJECT Series 3
Katie and her team have joined BCF staff for the life of
the project which continues into next year. They started in February with the
aim of supporting unemployed local people gain the skills and confidence to
help them progress to employment, education or further training. Participants
have learned about sowing and harvesting vegetables, collecting eggs from our
free-range hens, how to prepare and cook the fresh vegetables which they have
grown and harvested themselves on-site, plus useful skills such as constructing
fencing and erecting a polytunnel. At the time of writing, of the first series,
two trainees are now in employment, one is starting college in this month and
two are on placements. Series Two has just ended and Katie is now accepting
registrations for the third course which starts on 16th September.
If you know people who might like
to apply to join the course, please contact Katie by email: training@bosaverncommunityfarm.org.uk
#bosavernfarm or call her now to find out more:
01736 272367 This project is funded by the EU and
Cornwall Council.
COB HOUSE
We aim to begin work on repairs sometime this
autumn with a view to completion before inclement weather really sets in. The plan
is to reinforce the walls, replace the roof and adapt the overall design to be
more resilient and multi-purpose – while keeping the original cob feel. A small working party is being formed. Leave
a message at the Farm if you wish to help.
SENNEN MARKET
It’s great news that this popular market is
opening again at Sennen’s Community Hall every Tuesday morning from 10 am to
1pm (note the new times). We are pleased to have been invited to sell our vegetables
this year as well as groceries and eggs.
VOLUNTEERS’ SURVEY
We were delighted by the fantastic interest and very grateful for
the level of participation in our survey in spring. We shared it on social
media, through our veg box contacts and members and friends, employees,
volunteers and woofers. We received over 80 responses (too numerous to list
here). Detail will be available at our celebration on
Sunday 10th October when we will also announce the winner of the
prize.
WOODLAND/TREE PLANTS GROUP
‘Giving Nature a helping hand’
The BCF Tree Care Group is a small friendly bunch
which meets on Sundays from 2pm to around 4.30pm at the Farm to help look after
the saplings in the Woodland Field, as well as planting new ‘whips’ as hedges
around some of the other fields.
Quite frankly... we could do with a bit of
help! The Woodland Field has a couple of thousand saplings that were
planted around six years ago but are now in need of ongoing TLC (Tree Love and
Care!) in the form of weeding and mulching around their bases, removal of tree
guards to allow them to breathe, pruning of dead twigs, bramble bashing and
bracken trampling (much loved by children). In addition, from November we will
be planting more trees...hurrah! To be honest, the trees don’t take all that
much work. They arrive from The Woodland Trust as ‘whips’ and only need a small
hole, a cane and a tree guard to get them started. The real work is in their
maintenance so they get the best possible start over the first couple years.
And as you might guess... it turns out that helping the environment and giving Nature
a helping hand is good for us as well! Terry Sutcliffe.
If you think you might like to join us for a
taster session, we’d be very happy to hear from you. Contact: Ailsa, mob
07881812227 johnsonyoung305@btinternet.com or Terry 07972901946
tezsut@hotmail.com
DATES FOR THE DIARY
September
1st - 14th Sept: Registrations for Bosavern Training &
Work Experience
WED 8th Sept BCF Open
Event 2pm-3pm at the Centre Of Pendeen
THURS
9th Sept BCF Open Event 2pm-3pm at
Sennen Community Centre
THURS 16th
Sept Start of Series Three
Bosavern Training & Work Experience
SUN 19th Sept Mayor’s Sunday, 2.30pm – 5.30pm,
St Just WI Hall,St Just
October
SUN 10th
October BCF Celebration. Noon – 4 pm
AGM
The date for the 2021 AGM is to be determined
