Greetings all. Last week we definitely felt that flurry of activity that comes with Spring! The sun was out, everybody was happy, and everything's started growing quickly in our tunnels. The tulips are bursting open by the minute, and it definitely feels like we've turned a huge corner this season.
We've been getting the fields prepared for planting, with Sam out incorporating the green manures so that we can start getting the soil ready for planting. With the soil warming up, things will be much happier growing inside and out. We've been busy direct seeding salads and lettuces in the tunnels, which are already off to a great start. We have planted all of our peas, and they've been covered with fleece to keep them warm at night so they germinate quickly. They are looking good so far.
Radishes, lettuces and different kinds of mustard greens are all bursting into life in the tunnels and being diligently weeded by Nancy, who is really keeping on top of things to make sure we have a lovely first few spring crops. Chickweed can be a real problem in terms of competition at this time of year, so we’re doing our best to stay abreast.
We are really busy in the prop house. All of our tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines have germinated. They look really good, and we’re excited to start potting them up next week and get them growing bigger and stronger before planting them out in the tunnels.
Speaking of tunnels, our tunnel rebuild project is coming on in leaps and bounds. We now just have two more tunnels to finish skinning in addition to a little polytunnel - poly one - so we are on the home stretch regarding repairs after the winter storms. The tunnels have been built and skinned to a higher standard this time, so they will hopefully be much more resilient in the future. They’re a lot more wind and rain-proof, which is great because we’ve suffered from quite a bit of flooding in previous years (which our peppers, in particular, have not liked), and this year we hope they’ll offer a much more of a protected environment for delicate crops.
Behind the scenes in the office we are busy working on an exciting re-launch of our Flourish Veg Boxes....these should be ready end of May/ June depending on the weather and how our crops grow over the next few months. More news on this to follow!
Finally a date for your diary...join us here on the farm for our FLOURISH PLANT SALE on Sat 26 April. We will have hundreds of plants available for you to take home and grow in your gardens. Expect herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers galore.
