The strawberries are coming...

The summer may have got off to a very slow, wet start but we are now enjoying the sunshine and the strawberries are loving the warm weather. Today I spotted the first red strawberry, a great sign that the first pick is just round the corner!



The strawberry plants have grown quickly since the flowers were first pollinated by the bumble bees. Now we watch in anticipation as the fruits go from green to white to red.


In february we start planting our strawberries. We choose different varieties which are suited to different months of the season. The varieties are planted in succession so we have a constant supply of freshly picked strawberries from late May to October.







This years first variety is called sonata which we have grown for nearly 10 years. It's one of my favourites and has a fantastic sweet flavour. We're looking forward to tasting this years crop, we hope you are too!

Homegrown Asparagus is here!

This years asparagus season started a little on the slow side (to say the least). Asparagus really is a sun worshipper and needs the warmth to get it growing. Finally we're seeing some sunny days and the asparagus is really loving it!

The farm team are picking everyday so we have a great supply in the farm shop. Forgive us a few days if the sun does not shine, but sure enough it will stay ready to grow at the first sign of sunshine.






Check out our larger-than-life asparagus! Painted by Milly (my wife) these will catch your eye as you go by.

Our strawberries are growing well; like asparagus they have been held back by the cold April weather. I'm planning on picking our first pick of strawberries by 27th May. Can't wait to taste this years harvest, it will be worth waiting for.

Nick's Chicks are here!

The new arrivals are three days old and are real characters already, jumping around climbing on everything in sight. We've got a mix of stripy, black and yellow chicks because we have three different breeds of hens. They are so cute cheeping away, 14 in total!

The chicks will be moving home soon into a new chicken house which will be in the plant centre so everyone can see them. We'll let you know the moving-in date soon.

On the farm at the moment we're on asparagus watch. I've been scouting the fields for the new shoots and have seen some fully grown ones already, the warm weather last week has done the trick. We're hoping our crop will be ready in a few weeks, can't wait!
To welcome back our asparagus this year we'll have different recipe ideas for you to try at home and yummy specials in the cafe.

Nic's Chicks!

This Easter we'll have a treat in store for everyone...chicks! Nic (my daughter) is incubating a batch of our chickens eggs in anticipation of the Easter holidays and can't wait to find out how many will hatch.


Today is Day 4 out of the 21 days it takes for a chick to grow in its egg. On Day 8 we'll find out how many of the eggs are fertilised and growing by holding them up to a bright light and looking for shadows and shapes. Cross fingers we've got lots of chicks for everyone to see.



The incubator does a great job of keeping the eggs warm and safe. It even turns them every hour so we don't have to. We're using an incubator because our hens aren't broody yet but hopefully by Easter we'll have a broody hen who will be mummy to the new arrivals.

We'll keep you up to date with how Nic's Chicks are doing in the next post. 

A quick kitchen tip from Milly the Farmers wife; what to do with kale?
Through a series of kitchen experiments I have perfected the kale chip.  All you do is roast your kale leaves instead of steaming them. Give them a good wash, dry them off and drizzle with oil and season. Keep an eye on them, they burn very easily but taste fantastic and crunchy.
Enjoy!

The strawberries are coming (soon!)

On the farm this week we've been planting our 2012 crop of scrumptious strawberries. With a new  strawberry tunnel, we can grow even more of our plump juicy delights this summer. Cross fingers for a bumper crop available in the Farm Shop from May to October.

We will be soon welcoming some bee hives to help along the growing strawberries. The bees do a very important job pollinating the strawberry flowers so they can grow fruit. Soon the fields will be positively buzzing!





We've already been thinking up some new recipes for our homegrown strawberries. If you've got a favourite jam recipe or cake recipe or dipping combination please let us know. We'll be collecting an array of interesting recipes to put our strawberries to the test this summer. Can't wait to see what you've all got up your sleeves!



As well as planting our strawberries on the farm we are now harvesting our spring crop of purple sprouting broccoli and kale. Look out for them in the farm shop, see you soon.