It’s been very busy this month, both on the farm and further afield. Sowing and planting out have been our main job, and since the start of April we have sown 2,500 seeds of 55 varieties which will make up the majority of our edible flowers for cakes you’ll be baking and selling from May to July. We have sown a further 3,000 cut flowers and 1,800 vegetables.
We are really pleased with the condition of the soil in our cut flower patch. Pulling back the tarps which we laid out to kill off the cover crop was exciting, as it revealed rich, crumbly soil thanks to five years of effort to improve it. It is really great to see the soil getting a better structure and become more nutrient dense every year. We have very heavy clay soil which is waterlogged all winter and bakes as hard as concrete in the summer. A combination of green manures to add organic matter and keep roots in the ground, low till cultivation to develop soil structure and crop rotations to add nutrient density has really made a difference.
Even more exciting is to be working in partnership with another local farm. We’re going to be supplying produce to Owston Grange Farm, and have started by providing some bunches of spring flowers in their farm shop. We are thrilled to be able to supply and work with someone so close to us.
Hannah spent two days away from the farm at the CSA Board away days. It was really interesting meeting up with other CSA farms and discussing how we are all working and what they are growing this year. It was also interesting to receive an update on the CSA’s recent meeting with DEFRA which focussed on how the government can improve its support for small farms, as well as hearing about CSA UK’s plans for the coming year.
If you are looking for seasonal edible flowers for cakes or any other dishes, you can contact us for our availability lists. We are always happy to discuss our seasonal British flowers, what is available when and what you might need to order from us, so please do drop us a line. And if you are near us in north Doncaster and are interested in our veg box scheme restarting on 19th May, let us know as we have a small number of subscriptions still available.