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since I last posted to the blog page. So here goes. We finally got enough rain to make a difference - not only to my crops but also to the weeds which seem to grow at twice the speed of everything else. I am now selling most of what I will have for the next couple of months. So at the moment I can offer for sale, four varieties of potato (all of which seem to be giving high yields) cucumbers, courgettes, peas, broad beans, broccoli, kale, rocket, lettuces, radishes, spinach, chard, french beans, assorted herbs, turnips, kale, shallots, carrots, onions, beetrrot, sweetheart cabbage, and ballhead cabbages. In the ground but not ready yet are runner beans (be on line soon though), spring onions, cauliflowers, red cabbage, winter cabbage, savoy cabbage, PSB, coriander, swede and jerusalem artichokes. Still to be planted are my leeks and spring greens .
I am still picking up box customers , though the summer has seen some customers stop for either the holidays or because they are growing some of their own veggies. Not all will return to the scheme but the majority should. In addition, I am now selling my veg through a local seafood / healthfood shop and also via a local produce stall at Anta pottery (ANTA INTERIORS&ARCHITECTURE). Both of these outlets seem to be selling well. I have also been approached to supply a soon to open greengrocers shop which will have a section devoted to local produce.
On the down side, I have red spider mite in my tunnel and jesus do those little buggers work fast. I should receive my biological control any day now so they should be under control fairly soon.
Still taking runners of my strawberry plants and have decided to plant approx 1000 plants outside for next season. They will be planted through groundcover after my taties are lifted. My leeks are ready to go in now but instead of going in where my tatties were, which was the original plan, I decided they were better going in alongside my PSB and spring greens as these will all be in the ground over the winter period.
My peas are cropping well as are my broad beans and these are both advertised as PYO crops and I am now getting on avareage 10 - 12 customers a day at the field for this. The Farmers Market that I attend has taken off for the summer and the last market was my best since I started selling. I took a full complement of veg and came back with a couple of cucumbers and a few courgettes ! Sold everything else. I am about to launch into my jam and chutney making season now - the jars are ordered and the recipes ready to go. I am going to do a "hedgerow preserve" range this year - with rowan jelly, haw jelly, rosehip syrup and bramble jelly too. I have already been busy pickling cukes too. I also make soups to sell at the market but I'm changing the containers as the cartons I got approved to sell them in seem to turn the soups sour if they are frozen. This may be because the freezing process alters the state of the coating on the inside of the cartons, so I am now gonna sell them in 1 pint milk style plastic cartons. The next market will see a cucumber and mint soup (eat hot or cold) and a courgette, pea and mint soup.
On the home front, Maggie is launching another new business with one of her pals so that's taking up a chunk of her time, Iona is lovin' the school holidays and Niamh is doing exactly what all six month old babies are supposed to do - but always with a smile on her face.
That's about it for now
Later...............................
