9th September

The grain harvest was finished some time ago, with the spring sown Barley and Oats suffering the worst from the wettest
summer on record. The winter crops were down slightly with some poorer quality samples from some of the fields. Since 
then the straw has has been baled and cleared and the fields cultivated to control weeds and help kill the plague of slugs 
that have built up over the wet period. If this is not successful the next crops we plant will take a sever hammering from them.
Thankfully we now have the ideal conditions for this 'cleaning' process. 

This week we will be making our third cut silage and also be harvesting the first grass and clover seeds crop. Also now underway
is our main crop potato harvest and despite the extra weeds this season has produced, we are managing to harvest at around 
2 tonnes/hour. After that it will be back to spreading the rest of this years home made composts on the fields and then planting up 
up the crops for next season.

The vegetables that have not succumbed to the rain, slugs or low light and heat levels have done well. Harvesting is in full flow, 
with some excellent samples coming off the fields. This next week we hope to be harvesting the first of the Sweetcorn, Pink fir 
apple potatoes, Winter Squash and Swede.

While the farm has been very busy over the last few weeks so has life in the family home. Grainne, Jamie, Edward and myself 
welcomed our new baby Elissa into the family last week. After some difficult times it was a very rewarding occasion for all. 
Congratulations also to Dominique and Lewis on the birth of their son just a few days before. They met while working on the farm 
and will be known to many at the different farmers market stalls they have run.

10th August

Conditions have improved and we are now about 2/3 the way through our combining. All the winter Oats and most of 
the Wheat is in with just the Spring sown Barley and Oats to do. Our old (1970) combine is being kept alive by our two
very skilled workshop chaps and while breaking down several times the combine has always been fixed and sent back 
out again. Crop yields are down a bit and quality poor due to the previous two months rainfall. Our second round 
baler has been repaired and we are now able to bale up fairly closely behind the combine to prevent the straw getting 
wet and all the problems associated with that. As a lot of the silage and hay making had been delayed to the end of July 
that work had to be carried out at the same time as the combines started to head for the cereal crops. With a few late 
nights tractor work we are now catching up again - apologies for any disturbance caused to the residents of Garlinge Green, 
we won't always be working the tractors up to midnight.

Over all this part of the country seems to have got off lightly compared to others. Even so we have lost all our runner 
bean crop, some Brassicas and all the heat loving plants such as tomatoes, Squash, Courgettes ans Sweetcorn have been held 
back and will produce a much later and smaller crop.

Please do come and visit one of our market stalls now, as the seasonal veg is now really in season and just about every type of 
vegetable we produce is available. The Broccoli is looking fantastic at present as are the bunched Carrots and Desiree Potatoes.
This week we also have several new lines including Barlotti Beans, Summer Squash, Golden Gage Plums and several other 
unusual and interesting vegetables.

23rd July 2007

As I sit and write this it is raining yet again! This has to be one of the wettest and most difficult years on the farm so far. 
The degree to which food supplies are dependent on the weather is once again extremely obvious. Supplies from some parts 
of the country are very slow if not non existent and if the crops have not started rotting in the fields then the harvesting of 
them is severely hampered by the wet ground conditions.

Last week we finally managed to harvest potatoes with our large harvester. Normally when we use this machine the soil and 
potatoes flow over it easily and separate out more less by themselves, the soil, clod and potato tops going one way and the 
potatoes the other. But not this time. Instead a blend of mud, potatoes, potato tops, weeds and stone headed straight over the 
machine and into the waiting trailer.

Out in the fields some of the other veg is being harvested. During the summer months shorts and tee shirts are normally the order 
of the day, but now this has been replaced by waterproofs, wellies and rubber gloves. 

4th July 2007

The continuing wet weather has helped bring on many of the out door field vegetables and this week we will have a 
much better range available. This includes broccoli, carrots, black kale (calvelo nero), two excellent types of salad 
potato, including the red skinned rosevall which has to be one of the best salad potatoes we have grown. Also just
starting is ruby chard, yellow and green courgettes and possibly the first of the main crop onions.

The indoor tunnel crops have slowed down slightly due to the lower temperatures and lack of sunlight but we should 
still see tomatoes, cheery tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes, as well as some peppers available at most outlets. 
The raspberries and other soft fruit are starting to produce and should also be more widely available.

Apart from giving us plenty of Vegetables and Fruit the wet weather has unfortunately also inflicted blight on our potato crops and a 
mass of weeds in the other vegetable fields that are proving difficult to deal with as the ground has become too wet for the weeding 
machinery. It is hard to watch as the blight spreads across the fields of potatoes. The ground has become too wet to take the 
Potato topper(mower) or the burner which we would normally use to control the blight. If we compact the soil by running on
it wet the harvester will not work properly later on, so now we are looking for some dry weather to help things get back on track.

The grass and cereal crops seem to be benefiting from the rain and the heavier showers are probably helping to wash things 
like aphids off the wheat and other cereal crops. We now have so much grass the cattle are walking about in fields of it up to their 
knees and are all looking extremely well fed. The forecast of 'the hottest summer ever' seems to have been way off the mark. If 
we had known the rain fall in June and into July would turn the fields to mud and that the growth of just about everything would 
be altered we could certainly have planned ahead far better.

25th June 2007

The long term weather forecast for the summer had said it would be the hottest one on record - but I have just heard on 
the tractor radio that this is the wettest day for 50 years!  Are the forecasters just rubbish or is this all part of the unpredictability of 
weather pattens associated with global warming? We have certainly had a lot of rain over the last few weeks and temperatures have 
also dipped slightly. All good if you are a vegetable or other plant, but not quite so welcome if you are a farmer trying to plant, weed 
and then harvest your crops. Saying that our team here have pulled out all the stops to make best use of any dry weather going. 
Last week saw the last of the 90,000 Leeks planted as well as more Lettuce and Swede. Our weeding team are also just about 
keeping up despite the rain and mud out in the fields.

Other farm work is still delayed because of the rain but we are making use of the time to put together our 'new' second hand grain 
silos, turn our compost heaps and cut thistles and surplus grass on the grazing fields (grass topping). There used to be an old 
farming expression about when to cut thistles that went something like; 'Cut 'em in June and it's a month too soon, cut 'em in July 
and they are sure to die'. In July they are at their weakest, having just put all their effort into producing a seed head and so have no 
energy reserves left to regrow. A useful way of working with nature to control problems. But now this old saying seems to be a bit 
out of date as the thistles have already produced a seed head in June. Flexibility is all part of the farming lot, so ably assisted 
by my four year old son we headed out to cut thistles with the tractor and mower. He has mastered the art of steering the machine 
but unfortunately cant grasp the fact that you don't just drive around trying to get all the biggest ones first, but have to drive up and 
down in long straight lines much like you do when cutting your lawn! For the benefit of any HSE people reading this, he was kept 
under extremely close supervision at all times and was never allowed to drive the tractor totally by himself!!

20th June 2007

The mixture of Sun, warmth and water continue to bring on all the crops at a very fast pace.
Over the last two weeks our produce range at the markets has improved hugely. This will also be the first week of the year where 
all our veg box contents were grown on the farm. This is about one month ahead of last year. This week the first of the Summer 
Cabbage, Cherry Tomatoes as well as Raspberries and red Currents will be picked. We are now selling again at just about all of 
the markets we were at last season and are also expanding into Crawley (3rd Wednesday of the Month) and 
Vauxhall, S London(3rd Thursday of the month). There are one or two more places in the pipeline as well.

On the Farm the rain has kept not only the crops but the weeds growing well! We now have an extremely large team of people
following behind the tractor mounted weeding equipment and removing the remainder of these by hand. 
In the Poly Tunnel the Tomatoes and Cucumbers also need a fair amount of  work to keep them growing well. Anyone who has 
grown these before will know that these types of plants have to be side shooted at least once a week and weeded every 2nd or 3rd.
In hot weather this is a job for early mornings or evenings only! The Cucumbers and the indoor climbing beans seem to be 
competing with each other to reach the top of the tunnel, each appearing to grow several inches in a day. This year we are growing 
Barlotti beans indoors and most of the others outside, but unfortunately the outdoor plants continue to be hit by slugs and rabbits! 
We have tried a number of different strategies to combat this but have found non that are 100% effective as yet.

The rain has also be frustrating our silaging activities, we only need about three days of dry weather to cut, turn, bale and wrap a 
field but unfortunately there have not been that many dry spells so far and we are now still needing to cut the remainder of the 
permanent grass for first cut silage!

4th June 2007

The recent spell of warm weather after the rain has done a lot of good to the crops and the season looks like being a week or two earlier 
for us this year. If you are a regular shopper at our market stalls you will have noticed a gradual increase in supplies. This will continue 
until we have the complete range of seasonal vegetables available in September. We try hard not to force the crops through the heating 
of tunnels or glass houses in the early or late part of the season as this can be even more polluting then transporting the goods up from 
southern Europe. So when you see things like Tomatoes for sale outside the normal July to October season, bear that in mind!

 
Occasionally we have comments about some of our produce looking slightly smaller then other peoples vegetables. I would just like to
reiterate the point that our farming system is a closed and holistic one. We do not obviously use conventional fertilisers but neither do we 
use bought in ‘approved’ organic composts such as municipal waste, Horse manure, Chicken manure or spent mushroom composts as 
some Organic horticultural units are still allowed to do. As with most Bio-Dynamic farms the fertility for our crops comes directly from our 
own very well composted livestock manures as well as green manure crops such as short term grass/clover leys, Crimson clover, vetch, 
mustard and grazing rye etc. This means all the inputs into our soils are 100% traceable and totally Organic. So as a result this may mean 
our crops are occasionally smaller then others but they then more then make for it with, taste, quality and possibly fewer nitrates!

29th May

The rain over the bank holiday, while fairly predictable now and disappointing for most has been very welcome for the farm crops 
and has also allowed everyone some well-earned time off. Unfortunately it did also effect trade at the farmers markets with some
of our stalls having turnover reduced by about a fifth.

The previous week has seen a huge amount of progress on the farm, the drier weather allowed us to catch up with planting and 
drilling while at the same time covering all the established crops with the brush hoe followed up by our team of hand weeders.

At the same time silaging started, both the contract work we do as well as our own. The conditions were perfect and we should 
have some very good quality cattle food to see us through the next winter. As we are now farming across five separate sites 
our ‘new’ high speed 160 hp tractor will soon start to earn its keep, both for silage carting and machinery transport.

The workshop has also been kept busy; among other things our second pickup truck is now operational again. These are vital for 
us, allowing the vegetable crops to be harvested fresh each morning before being driven back to the buildings and into vegetable 
chiller within minutes of harvest thereby preventing any deterioration after harvest as the crop waits in the field under the blazing 
sun to be collected!

For the first time, this year we are growing about two acres of butternut squash. This has always been the most popular but the 
hardest to grow as it prefers a much longer and hotter growing season then is typical of the UK. It is therefore the first to be 
planted out and has now just gone in and had a good amount of rain on it to get it started off. All going well, these should be 
harvested late August or early September.

After almost 10 years of growing vegetables on the farm I am now fairly confident we have ironed out most of the problems and 
have a reasonably productive and successful operation. Starting with just half an acre in 1997, we are this year now approaching 
60 acres of vegetables. Many things have been learned the hard way and some also at great expense but now thanks to a 
fantastic team and the right machinery the crops are finally starting to look how they should. I have a picture of the first onion 
crop we grew where there is just one solitary student among a vast sea of weeds trying in vain to salvage the crop before it was 
totally lost to mayweed and poppies. Now nine years later we have around 5 acres of onions looking almost spotlessly clean and 
finally promising a worthwhile harvest!

We do not hold farm open days as such, but anyone interested in visiting the farm and seeing how we produce our crops is more 
then welcome to visit, as long as you are not a competitor!

This weeks vegetable range should again increase as we are slowly passing out of the ‘hungry gap’ period. Look out for this 
season’s, Spring greens, Broad beans, Spinach,  Cavalo Nero, Courgettes, Lettuce, Baby leaf salads, Wild rocket, Corn salad, 
Radish, Spring Onions, Beetroot, wet Garlic, Fresh Herbs. Also limited amounts Globe Artichoke, Rhubarb and wild foods such 
as Elderflower and Nettles. Most other crops are still about 2-3 weeks away.

Thank you for your continuing support,

Patrick.

21st May

After the recent heavy rain the ground is now drying out again and tractors can once again come out of the barns and get on with
the work. The brush hoe and gas burner have been kept busy as has the bed former and transplanter. The celery went in on Friday
and  today the first batch of leeks have gone in as well as more lettuce. Broccoli will follow this week as will the first Butternut
Squash. In the tunnel the tomatoes are racing ahead and the first pea sized fruit have just appeared.

The Cattle have left their winter housing for the fields some time ago and the cattle barn is now being cleaned out. A fair amount of
material had accumulated over the winter months reaching some four foot high in places. As this is cleared out there is a certain
very fresh farm yard smell associated with it! Not something appreciated by everyone, but nevertheless all part of life in
the countryside!
 
On the rest of the farm we are now waiting for a break in the weather to be able to get on with the silaging. Some 120 acres need
to be cut & conditioned, turned, rowed, baled, wrapped and carted over the next 2-3 weeks We always use round bale silage as it
is easier and more flexible on a small scale and also needs less horse power and therefore less fuel to produce the end product.

We are currently also looking at the possibility of using bio-diesel in our vans as a way of cutting carbon emissions, apparently by
up to 78%! The next issue will be packaging and the possibility of using bio-degradable organic corn starch bags for the packing
of leaf and root crops.

There is still a very limited range of our own vegetables available at the markets, if you are a regular customer there then please bear
with us as this will all change over the next 2-3 weeks as the new season crops become ready.

Thank you for your support.- Patrick


15th May

Rain! Over the last few days we have now had several inches of rain and all the crops are once again 
growing well. Some of the Carrot and Parsnip seed that had previously been drilled should also finally
germinate. This week we should be harvesting the first of the outdoor Broad Beans, Spring Greens and possibly
Lettuce, followed by Black Cabbage and spring onions next week. The quantities that we should be able to 
produce on the new 'in conversion' land look promising. The land has also less of a weed burden then some of 
our own soils, so this should make the whole growing process somewhat easier then usual. The in conversion 
produce will therefore be available at a slightly discounted price. 

While the rain comes down the main veg team have been working in the tunnels. We now have most of the crops 
in with just a few Aubergines, Peppers and Beans to go. The Tomatoes are well ahead of this time last year
and have been flowering well over the last few weeks, they have also just had their first side shooting completed. 
Hopefully it will only be 6 weeks to picking. 

Despite the wetter weather the cattle seem very pleased to be out on grass again and are doing their
best to keep on top of grass growth as it tries to grow away from them after the rain. The decision to graze 
the new leys with sheep over the winter seems to have worked as the clover content now seems much higher 
then normal. The herd has been increased to 36 cows, next year this should rise to over 40.

Our market stalls are all looking a bit empty at this point of the year as we are just between seasons now,
but even so we are managing 7-8 markets most weekends. 

It seems markets are now becoming increasingly competitive as more farmers are forced down the direct 
selling route to maintain an income. The situation may well arise with Organic production as it has with 
conventional where the people who survive are once again the larger farmers with the better soils,
better equipment and more resources at their disposal. Market managers make their choices about who sells at 
their market and the level of competition they have to face. Almost like supermarket buyers they appear to 
sometimes go for the largest 'supplier' producing the best range for the cheapest prices. This will no doubt 
attract additional customers to their markets and put their market ahead of the competition, but what happens 
to the smaller specialist producers operating on a shoe string budget with less then perfect soils, premises or 
infrastructure? Is the pursuit of growth and profit starting to erode the originally high standards and ethics of 
the farmers market idea?

7th May

Planting has progressed well over the last few weeks and all the first batches of the various crops are in
the ground and growing. By the first of May the Tomatoes were planted out in the Polly tunnel, the
early Potatoes were all through and the onions carrots, parsnips and beetroot were reasonably well
established.  The Brassicas were also in and growing well despite the dry conditions, also in the ground are
Parsley, lettuce, Fennel, Spinach, climbing Beans and Courgettes. After six weeks of virtually no rain the
ground has almost turned to dust and watering of the crops by tractor and tanker has had to be done to keep
the crops alive and hopefully also to put enough water down to keep them growing too! The ground is so dry now
it soaks up the water like a sponge, sometimes leaving little for the plant roots, surface moisture is soon
lost to the wind and sun. We are trying to get round this by covering the ground after watering wherever
possible, with the crop covers in an attempt to reflect heat away, slow the wind down and therefore
minimise moisture loss. At present cropping looks like being around three weeks earlier then last year. This
week we will be harvesting the first bunched beetroot and courgettes from the tunnels. The Broad Beans are
on their second week and Salads and leaf crops are all still going strong. We are also planting out Cucumbers
and Aubergines into the tunnel this week.

Our new bull has just arrived. We opted to go for the Scottish Luing again, to hopefully retain some of the
quality to the beef that a native breed and the Luing in particular will bring. His breeder Prof. Penny CBE
of Harehead farm has rather nicely named him Harehead Fonzie, so I am sure the name Fonzie will now stick with
him also here at Perry Court.

16th April 2007
The normal weather for this time of year seems to have disappeared as April showers have turned to April heat wave.
We are used to cold showery conditions in April with only the odd gap when planting out in the fields is possible, but now we have
had about four weeks of dry weather and planting is well ahead. It is so dry now that we have to follow up any planting with 
irrigation almost straight away. Almost all the potatoes are in as are the onions and first batches of most crops. 
Courgettes have already been planted out into the tunnel and the Tomatoes, Peppers, Aubergines, Cucumbers and 
Beans will follow in the next week or two. This is all about 10 days to two weeks ahead of this point last year. Our overwintered 
crops have all come on faster then expected, with some lettuce threatening to bolt and the spring Onions, Parsley and other 
salads looking an extremely healthy size for this time of year. One does wonder what is happening to the weather as the conditions 
are now so dry that clouds of dust are rising up behind the plough and other machinery that are preparing the soil. The farm tracks 
are also leaving large trails of dust behind any pick-up truck or van that drives along them. Is this really April?

30th March 2007
Since writing the last news letter, planting has continued with Oats, Barley and Parsnips being drilled. 
Next week should see the start of transplanting; Early Brassicas, lettuce and spinach etc. We have also planted the 
first Horse radish roots which should give us a crop in a year or two. All very long term projects.


20th March 2007

Planting:
Thanks to the better weather conditions we have now planted the first batch of spring crops. As the ground dried and could once again be 
ploughed and worked the tractors were back out in the fields in force. Compost spreading, ploughing, de-stoning, bed forming,planting and 
rolling. In a very short space of time we had 25 acres ploughed, several hundred tonnes of compost applied, two acres of early potatoes, 
half a tonne of white onion sets and the first carrots in the ground. Over the next few days and weeks we will also be planting 25 acres of spring 
Barley and spring Oats, the parsnips and first transplants are due to go in too. Hedge planting has also started with about 500 saplings going 
in so far. We are keeping to native broad-leaved hedge and tree species for both the hedges and replacement trees that will be planted in
the parkland.

New land:
The extra land that we previously took on and are now converting to organic management has proved an interesting experience for the 
management team. We have put in new gateways and widened others to a minimum of 6 meters. We have tried to standardise field size to 
no more then 25 acres as that is the optimal size for a lot of our machinery as well as the best size for maximising the benefits of predator 
insects etc. If you go too large on field size apparently they never actually get to cover all the ground from the their homes in the hedge row 
or beetle bank!  We have attempted to build fertility through grass leys and compost while still trying to keep a balanced system and a low 
level of cash flow going. This has meant we will be producing a number of ‘in-conversion’lines. With the support of all the farmers markets 
managers we will be able to offer them for sale at the markets at a reduced rate and with the appropriate labeling.  The in-conversion cereals 
will be sold as animal feed to existing Organic or Bio-Dynamic farmers who are allowed to use a small proportion of this type of feed with the 
rest of their organic feed ration. Our own Beef herd will also be expanded, initially to 40 cows plus bull and followers (offspring up to two years 
old). This leaves us with a bit of a space problem on the farm. We are now addressing this with the addition of extra second hand grain silos, 
and at least one new barn for storing root crops and machinery. The cattle barn will have to wait until funds are available. 

Another consideration has been how to help speed up the conversion process in terms of soil quality and it’s ability to sustain crops without the
 ‘normal’ inputs. As the land has previously been farmed well, on a traditional mixed system, conversion should be easier. Organic management 
relies on soil life or the‘biological activity’ of the soil, along with regular additions of organic matter and fertility building through traditional grass
leys and composts. On top of this, Bio-Dynamic production helps this process by the addition of various sprays and compost teas. Our more 
recent addition to the team, Halimah will be kept busy over the next few weeks spraying the Bio-Dynamic sprays ‘500’ and the ‘compost 
preparation’ on the new fields to help them establish good soil life and healthy crops.

Machinery:
Our new Italian machine that buries stones and bed forms in one pass has done an excellent job preparing the ground for planting, even if it 
means driving at about 1.5 km/h to do it. The resulting seedbed looked just like the typical grade one fenland type soil apart from the colour, 
but in terms of tilth and lack of stones. This should also help the crops develop the best possible root structure that will be needed if the 
predicted hot weather arrives this summer. The only draw back has been that it was ordered with a wider bed width than we had previously 
used. As a result, Leo, the resident ‘work-shop wizard’ has manufactured axle extensions for one planter and is adjusting and altering 4 of the 
smaller tractors and a number of other machines to fit in with the new bed former!

Markets and Vegetables:
This year has seen a huge increase in veg production for the out of season ‘hungry gap’ period of the year and we have therefore been able 
to maintain our presence at most farmers markets in London. We have also added another local market to our list of outlets. Whitstable market 
runs on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month from 9.30am to 2pm just off Whitstable high street in the umbrella center. 

Box scheme drop off points are also on the increase with three new ones in the pipe line. A home delivery service is now also available in certain
areas please contact Tony on 07905 439 033 or the farm office on 01227 732001.

Wholesale customers may have noticed an improved range too, although this is mainly due to us now being able to source UK organic vegetables
direct from a number of larger farms, thereby improving the quality while at the same time reducing the cost to you. This is only until our own 
crops are back again in late May early June. Keith will keep you updated on that.

In the Poly tunnels Paul, Danas, Dom and team have filled up two tunnels and some of the outdoor cloches with tens of thousands of transplants
of different types. This year we have also ‘out-sourced’ some of our transplant production to another company. Red onions, Salad onions, 
early Beetroot, Leeks,Brassicas, Swede and Celery will be arriving shortly.

While we will not be expanding our range of vegetables greatly this year we will be increasing production on certain lines and using better 
vegetable varieties. Fresh herb production is also being increased to meet demand.


Wild food and Drink:
With the increase in interest in wild foods has anyone also tried a natural or ‘wild drink’? Some of our East European helpers have brought a 
fascinating practice with them. Apparently for just two weeks of the year Silver Birch trees can be tapped to produce a very healthy 
and slightly sweet tasting drink! A small hole is drilled into the tree trunk of a mature tree and a straw inserted which then drains the sap into 
a bottle! We now have a collection of trees with old lemonade and coke bottles at the base slowly filling up with this wild drink!

26th February.

Vegetables;
The weather seems to have improved and some field work has again gone on. We are waiting for the ground to dry out so we can start planting the early Potatoes, Onions, Carrots and Spinach. These will then be followed up soon afterwards with transplants that have been growing in the poly tunnel over the last month or so. Lettuce, Beetroot, Baby leaf spinach, Bunching onions, Spring greens etc
The logistics of the planting season are falling into place as seed, machinery and soon extra people will arrive. This year we are investing in a machine to bury the many stones that unfortunately inhabit most of our fields. We hope this will make weeding and harvesting much easier both for man and machine.

Beef;
The cattle have just started calving with two arriving this morning. They are now together with their mums in there own 'maternity suit' until they are feeding properly, are clear of any infections and have been tagged.

Farm;
Fencing and hedging is now just about finished as the 1st March deadline arrives. Recently we have been working in some of the woodland thinning out self sown hawthorn and elder among a stand of young Oak trees. Although the work is not grant funded in any way and will not see a return in the life time of anyone doing the work, we went ahead anyway. Woodland management is a very long term project and the Oak trees if looked after properly should produce some useful timber in 150-200 years time!


19th February.

Reduced range of vegetables;
Having just returned from one of our Farmers markets stalls in London I am going through a bit of a guilt trip!
Many customers looking at the now much emptier stalls are coming forward with remarks like 'where have all your lovely vegetables gone'?
While there are many reasons why it is not possible to supply the whole range of vegetables at this time of year, it still leaves you feeling
that your customers have been let down!

The problem is two fold. Firstly, we have increased our veg production this last year, but clearly not nearly enough. Secondly, some of the crops are just out of season and will not grow during the winter months of the UK.

Over a period of time, supermarkets seem to have conditioned people to expect everything all year round and customers are therefore now also questioning the lack of availability of home grown Organic produce. While it may be possible to produce frost sensitive and Mediterranean type crops during the winter months if you provide them with enough heat and light it is really not what Organic farming is trying to achieve.

Cutting down on carbon emissions released during the food production process will mean that in the longer term a more flexible approach may have to taken when shopping. It could well mean that during the winter months we need to partly go back to the type of diet that existed long before glass house heaters, air freight and long distance road haulage existed.

In the meantime we are all working hard to keep the stalls as well stocked as possible during this 'out of season' period that currently exists for many of our crops.

Please bear with us and remember;

- Vegetables are a very seasonal product
- While the stalls regrettably do look a bit empty we have still come up to the market to supply you with what we have.
- The situation continues to improve as we perfect our storage and growing methods.
- We stick to supplying only our own home grown produce at all LFM and growing communities markets. You will not find any out of season lines like Broccoli on our stalls in mid February!

3rd February

Thanks to the milder weather not only do the crops keep on growing but there is also an increase in earthworm activity. 
This may seem a bit strange to non farmers/gardeners but I remember from my college days the soils lecturer enthusing 
about the benefits of earth worms - worm casts being a very stable, nutrient rich product as good as, or better then 
composted farm yard manure.
Our fields are now covered in worm casts, far more then usual and I can't help wondering how that will affect the crops 
this year and in the future.

Wild foods. Ray Mears programs are a regular feature in our household. One can't help but share his interest in the very 
different types of foods our distant ancestors ate. We are now considering the cultivation of some of these crops on a 
trail basis to see how they may perform and whether people may actually want to buy them.

There also seems to be an interest in other types of more unusual foods such as hedgerow foods, wild foods and even 
making use of road kill - not my thing at all!  

While this may all seem well and good to some, the question has to be asked who owns the 'wild' food?
 
Wild foods are collected by 'foragers' these are people who go through the countryside in search of any of these wild 
or natural foods, wherever they maybe, harvest and then sell them. 

Here at the farm the word forager is a bit of a four letter one at present. Excuse me while I get on my soap box and explain! 

Just recently we had two 'forages' turn up, they jumped out of their van with knives and plastic bags and headed straight 
to a patch of 'wild' food growing next to our tunnels. They had not asked or received any permission to do this, but happily 
walked past several people on the farm to get to exactly the right spot, where, within seconds they were filling their plastic 
bags with our plants. 

In a very short space of time they were then heading back out the way they had come with at least three very angry 
people close behind.

I am sorry, but I have no respect for people who build up a business that relies on trespass (and theft) for it to function. 
Farmers have rents/loans/ mortgages and many overheads to cover and also have to conform to all sorts of regulations. 
A foraging enterprise pays nothing for it's products and in the case of some 'wild' foods relies on other peoples hard work 
to produce it. 

While I am sure there are many honest and well run businesses of this type out there, I would suggest that if you are 
thinking of buying this type of product, then perhaps you should ask; how wild is it, where did it come from and is it actually
theirs to sell?  Please think about it, as this type of behavior should really not be supported!

31st January

Wind, rain, mud but a surprising amount of vegetables just about sums up the last few weeks on the farm. I once read a book by an old farmer who claimed January was the worst month of the year, I think he was probably right.  All the jobs take twice as long, sometimes it seems dark for most of the day, rain comes in sideways whilst you are working and mud is everywhere.

The storms of a few weeks ago luckily didn't hit us too hard and all our tunnels are still standing. We lost some trees and also suffered damage to standing trees in the form of splits running up the length of them. Luckily this appear to have been only in the firewood/pulp type trees.

Vegetables, we feel, have generally been in much better supply this year compared to previous ones. This is partly due to us getting better organised, but also the mild weather up to mid January. We are hoping the veg and mild weather will both continue!

Indoors we are working hard on this years plans, ordering seeds and and calculating all sorts of things so the year runs to plan. Paul has already been planting the first crops of the year which should soon germinate in the heated propagators.  This year we have been able to protect more of the outdoor crops with fleece. This helps to break the wind speed and raise the temperature around the crops by a degree or two, although seeing 5 acres of fleece stretched out across the field is not everyones ideal view of the countryside. The tunnels also have an extra thick fleece that is placed on top of the crops which we hope will increase soil temperature by 3-4 degrees without resorting to burning gas or diesel to get the same effect.  

The beef heard have all been inside now for several months and seem to enjoy the comfort of fresh straw and silage every day as well as being able to get out of the rain. We have recently started supplying another farm shop in Sussex with our beef as they can't produce enough of their own. If you are veg customer in that area and would also like to try our beef then head for Tablehust farm at Forest Row.

Outside on the fields there about 400 sheep slowly eating their way through the remainder of the grass, forage rape and turnips. This ground will then be well fertilised and should make a good start in spring. Compost from our cattle yards is also being brought out and turned regularly so that it will be broken down enough for spreading in March/April. These heaps get up to 70 degrees C or more, so if one attempts turning them on a cold, windy day the machine becomes totally covered in clouds of steam and visibility drops to zero!

Almost all of our hedgerow and woodland management projects have been finished. The new hedges will be planted over the next month or so when there is slightly less risk of frost getting the roots of the new saplings. Hedge cutting will also be finished off by the end of February just ahead of the nesting season for hedgerow birds.

During these long winter evenings I have had some time to pursue an interest in family history and genetic genealogy. After some research in Canterbury Cathedral archives and the transcription of some very old Elizabethan manuscripts, it appears some of our ancestors where Yeoman farmers in Kent around the 1550 year period!
450 years later some of the family are still doing the same, so perhaps farming is in the blood?

 

 -  Patrick




3rd January 2007