‘Tis the season of anticipation
……….
Hammonds
End in its “summer clothes”
Having almost made our
way through the UK Hunger Gap we have kept the veg boxes going with purple sprouting
broccoli, giant winter spinach, chard and salad and are now looking forward to
our summer crops.
At Hammonds End the
winter and spring crops have been cleared as the battle to prevent them from forming
flowers and seeds instead of leaves to eat was inevitably lost and the remains are
now being chopped and added to the compost heap.
At the March sowing day,
we sowed over 1,000 seeds including: runner beans, french beans, borlotti
beans, squash, courgettes, cucumbers, sweetcorn, fennel, celeriac, swede,
parsnips, tomatoes, calabrese, purple sprouting broccoli, cabbage, leeks and
cauliflower.
The cleared vegetable
beds have been weeded and broadforked (instead of digging over the beds which
can damage the soil structure and soil life we loosen the soil with an enormous
fork). Compost has been added to the vegetable beds (thanks to the local
council grant for funding and Aylett for supplying bagged compost at a great
price. In addition, we have used our own “home-made” compost) and then as the
plants reach a decent size they are moved from the polytunnel and planted out.
Summer
Crops being planted and the “Foodsmiles” compost
We are generally on track
with only 4 more beds to go for the leeks and kale which should be planted out
by the end of June.
And then it is a summer
of watering and keeping on top of the weeding for as the old adage goes: one
year’s seeding or seven years weeding! (I had originally written “we could
still do with some rain” but after last week I’m now wishing for warmth –
growers are never happy, though thankfully it’s not been as hot and dry as last
year!)
New
PT2 (cucumbers/lettuce) & PT4 (tomatoes/aubergines/peppers/sweet potatoes)
The new polytunnel is
completed and has already produced its first crop of rocket and lettuce and is
now filling with cucumbers, chilli peppers and sweet potatoes. Polytunnel 4 is
now ready for summer full of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and sweet potatoes.
We are getting to grips with the new irrigation system and when it does rain
have been harvesting the rain water to water the tunnels.
It is also good to see
plenty of ladybirds around the site, inside and out, helping to hoover up the
aphids which seem to be very prevalent this year.
Ladybird
on a Pepper Plant in Polytunnel 4
The new raised salad bed
built last winter is fantastic providing some great “cut and come again” salad
for our weekly veg boxes.
The
new raised salad bed
The plan over the rest of
the summer is to install some bigger rainwater collection tanks next to the
polytunnels and to look at how we use what we have learnt to irrigate the other
tunnels.
At our Hixberry Lane Site
we have been harvesting some new crops for the FoodSmiles members. The rhubarb
that was planted 18 months ago has given two good harvests and the globe
artichokes we grew from seed last year are producing so many flowers that every
member should get at least one.
Rhubarb
and Artichokes at Hixberry Lane
Last autumn we took
blackcurrant and redcurrant cuttings and are delighted that most have taken and
are growing well. We also planted strawberry runners from the Hammonds End site
that were surplus to requirements and we hope to harvest our first fruits very
shortly.
Incredible Edible
Russell Avenue is really coming on well and we can hardly believe it only began
in January! Lots of residents and their families from the surrounding streets
have welcomed the garden and are using it regularly, which is great to see, and
we had an amazing 22 adults and 8 children at our last session (which was also
part of the Sustainability Festival).
Incredible
Edible Russell Avenue Site
The garden now boasts raised
beds full of veggies and strawberries, a herb bed, a big bed full of
gooseberries and currants, a raspberry patch, a flower border for pollinators
and a wildlife area with bug hotel.
Incredible
Edible Russell Avenue Bug Hotel
This month we will mostly be
working on the woodland ‘forest garden’ area beneath the trees, where you will
soon be able to pick wild garlic, wild onions, nettles, sorrel, purslanes,
rhubarb, wall rocket, and many other wild (or wildish) greens and herbs.
We were disappointed when
somebody dug up and stole many of the plants from our herb garden a few weeks
ago, but the community rallied round and together we soon managed to replace
them. If you’re out and about in town it’d be great to have your support in
keeping an eye on the gardens, perhaps helping us out by picking up litter or
reporting any problems, or simply just having a good look around and helping to
cultivate a positive community presence there. These gardens are for you!
Don’t forget the food grown in
the two Incredible Edible gardens is free for anyone to pick, and you are
invited to help yourself. You can find all kinds of herbs and salad leaves in
both gardens, and the strawberries will be ready soon…
Incredible Edible Russell Avenue Raised Beds
Other News: We are pleased to welcome new members to Foodsmiles
many of who signed up at the Sustainable Food Festival Market Stall which
generated lots of interest.
Friends of Foodsmiles are welcome to come to work informally at the farm
whenever they need some hearty exercise and company (and probably cake too)! It
would be great to see you so please come along and say hello - there is always
plenty to do! If you are interested please contact us and we can let you know
when we are working on site. You can also go on our 'active friends' list and
receive our site newsletter if you wish to do this regularly (membership@foodsmilesstalbans.org.uk).
Date for the diary: Harvest Festival at Hammonds End on the afternoon
of 7th September where there will be food and drink, a chance to
chat and celebrate the year. All Friends of Foodsmiles and members are welcome
so please save the date. Details will be circulated nearer the time.
Finally,
a seasonal recipe from Jayne, the easiest nut loaf
to use up summer tomatoes, you can also add spinach or courgettes and it freezes
well so make big batch and eat later.
1.5lb loaf tin 4
crusts (brown bread) 110g
Grated cheddar 100g 400g
handfuls nuts (any)
4 eggs 2
tsps Marmite
4 medium tomatoes chopped 340g
mushrooms
1 onion 1
leek
40g garlic butter Finely
chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
- Grease the tin then line with foil or cling film and grease generously again.
- Put all the ingredients into a food mixer and finely chop.
- Mix in a large bowl. Season to taste.
- Preheat oven to 180C (fan setting). Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 mins. Remove foil from the top and bake for another 30 mins.
- Check if it is reasonably firm and if not then bake a little longer (20 mins).
- Remove covering foil and turn tin over large plate, carefully removing all foil/cling film. Slice and serve.