As expected, the Forest Garden is giving us a bumper crop of soft fruits this year. The strawberries haven't reached the quarter ton mark as they did last year but there's triple the amount of raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries. The apple trees are laden down with fruit and we'll have to thin them shortly to stop the branches from snapping off. Workday in July we picked 38kg of strawberries, August workday will include some blackcurrant picking, so come along if you can. Anytime from 10am, we provide lunch.
Pig with no name has been christened Dumpling, and she gave birth to 6 lovely piglets at the end of June. Three with mums spotty markings and three pink like their dad, and they will be the centre of attention on the pig keeping courses in August - due to popular demand, we are running a further pig course on Sunday 15th August as the Saturday course is fully booked. See the courses and events page for more information.
Apple juicing dates for 2010 are Saturday 18th September for everyone with early ripening apples, and our usual weekend on the 30th & 31st of October. If you haven't been before, it's a great social event, with people of all ages getting involved with the washing of apples, putting them through the shredder and in to the press, and tasting the juices of course. If you have apples then bring them along. If you don't, you're more than welcome to come along, see what's involved and help out. More details are on the courses and events page.
And there's a new venture starting on the farm from September. Rachel is launching Old Sleningford Preserves, a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme. Using the produce from on and around the farm, she will be making jams, chutneys, sauces, relishes and cordials to name a few and will be delivering a selection to local people each month. www.oldsleningfordpreserves.co.uk has all the details.
Don't forget, if you are a group that would like to come and visit us, we're part of the LAND project, which can pay towards your travel expenses. Get in touch or see www.permaculture.org.uk/land for more information.
