All is well with the world when the spring sun shines. All is not well when the spring sun does not shine and it’s cold and windy and wet.

There is a real see-saw with the weather and its hard to get a sense of good momentum at the gardens. It is most certainly a very late start: this week last year our potatoes were almost showing through the soil. This year they are not yet in, due to cold wet soil conditions.

We had also picked our first crop of asparagus this week last year, yet as I write its not even showing yet.

This, one could say, is just a more normal spring. What I feel is that there is a very fundamental cause and affect going on. The fact that the ice caps are melting at a phenomenal rate would, I guess, affect water temperatures which would in turn affects the atmosphere etc etc. I know nothing about this subject, but it’s somehow simply the logic of the planet, the Gaia theory etc.

To me the weather is very unsettled, with frequent bursts of anger, often like short tantrums rather than general mood swings. But there is no room to be anxious about this, we are made of tougher things as some say.

Today as I write the sun shines greatly and the dandelions look very happy, as do the rabbits, the blossoms, the bees, the broad beans, the salad leaves, the garlic and the Rhubarb.

So we are today sowing and planting with that great energy and urgency that feeds us in spring. It’s a wonderful thing to do.

Any help with getting crops in over the next month would be great. Its a lovely way to spend a day and we give you a delicious walled garden lunch. For details call the cafe 01934 863713 and ask for Nathan, our new grower.

Take care

I am delighted to announce that we have a new head grower staritng with us in a couple of weeks. I have loved being back on the land and will not retire or anything silly like that, but I have other projects on the boil and whilst I have lots of passion for farming I have not been able to give the growing as much attention as it needs.

Nathan knows his onions and this will be one of his first jobs, getting them planted. Atanas has been cultivating the field ready to plant the early potatoes and the poly tunnel has just been sown with another crop of salad mix.

You may like to know that next week we will be selling salad trays. Many of the delicious leaves we put in our salad packs are doing nicely in trays of compost. These are designed to cut and come again from your window sill. Look out for them in the shop.

Take care

Our seed potatoes arrive shortly to be spread out for chitting. This helps them get away early after planting. Our seed order and our plant module orders are in and larger than any previous year, so if the weather is more on our side we will nearly double our output this year.

One exciting bit of news: our 108 year old grape vine has been cut right back ready to graft on to a new strain of grape. This is being done because the old vine was very susceptible to mildew and we lost all our grapes every year.

The kale, red cabbage and swede are all good, and the January king cabbages will be ready right on target for January. The cavelonero will be ready soon, although they have been knocked back by the pidgeons.

The winter salads coming on well and we will pick more for the boxes in two weeks.

A bunch of winter herbs will also be coming your way next week for you to use in stews and other winter warmers. You can also dry them and use as you need them.

We are speding time clearing the crop debry including been poles, preparing ground for broad beans which will go in soon and general site maintenance.I am delighted that due to having the field we are able to expoand the fruit growing in the walled garden area. Next week we have lots more soft fruits and straberry plants coming which should keep us busy. I really hope we will have enough starwbs next year to put in our fruit boxes.

At present we are down to picking little more than brassicas, which are doing really well this year. With the box numbers going up and up as well as the shop geting busier we strugle with the volumes needed, so its important we plan now for alot more of everything next year. Thankfully the field was only partly used last season so we have lots of room to expand the cropping. I now need to spend a few evenings in front of a fire doing next years seed orders, a task I am very much looking forawrd to. All we need next is a better summer in 2008. Heres hoping!