WWOOFing dates  for 2013 are also now on the website.

Rachel has set up a Facebook page and you can now become her friend and be kept up to date with goings on at the farm. Click on the logo at the bottom of any page on the website to join.

The apple juicing season has finished for another year and as expected numbers were down. We still juiced around 5 tons of apples though. Let's hope 2013 is a better one for fruit and course attendance than 2012, it's been a challenging year to say the least!

Details of our annual open juicing days are now on the Courses and Events page. PLEASE NOTE - due to the lack of apples and late ripening, we have reduced the number of dates. It may be possible to come on dates other than those advertised when Rachel is using the equiment, this will be by prior arrangement only.

Rachel is also appealing to anyone who has spare apples to get in touch . Picking and collection may be possible, and a thank-you bottle of apple juice or cider for every 30kg picked, or 20kg collected, will be given. Thanks in anticipation!

And don't forget, anyone who comes juicing is invited to our annual cider festival in June. See you then.

2012 is proving a slow year for course bookings, we think due to people being careful with their spending. We still have places available on the Forest Garden Course on 8th September , which will be going ahead.

2012 is also proving a bad year for top fruit, we have about a dozen apples on all the trees we have in the forest garden and orchard, no pears and half a dozen plums. We hope that others will have apples and are still planning on doing our open days for juicing, but these dates may change nearer the time when we know just how many/few there actually are. IF YOU KNOW OF ANY SPARE APPLES, I WILL USE THEM! Even if it's just a tree full, and I may be able to arrange for my team of helpers from Ripon Community Link to come and pick them if they are close enough to the farm.

There will be a members evening for Old Sleningford Preserves members, and future members, on Wednesday 19th September, a chance to come and sample some new and interesting flavours which may make it in to the delivery bags in the future. Please get in touch if you would be interested in joining us for the evening to find out more about monthly and bi-monthly membership options.

Many of the other pages on the website have been updated too, with lots of photographs on every page so have a good look through. The Past Courses and Events page will also be updated shortly (when the next rainy/cold snap arrives!).

As usual, we have a full programme of courses coming up and May and June are particularly busy with Forest Gardening, Hedgerow Foods and Medicines, Sausage Making, and Curing and Smoking Food. Also in June is the annual Open Gardens, this year on the evening of Wednesday 6th June as well as the weekend of 9th & 10th of June. An extra attraction on that weekend is Anna Poulton and Stuart Whitehead opening their studio at the farm as part of the North Yorkshire Open Studios . More details on all of these on the Courses and Events page.

 And there are still places available on our WWOOFing weeks for anyone who would like a week working in our Forest Garden, raised beds, scything, feeding pigs, eating lots of food and meeting like minded people.

We've decided our 2011 WWOOFers did such a good job that we are going to offer placements again this year. Dates and some information of the WWOOFing  page.

We are still able to accommodate group visits under the LAND scheme, if you are a voluntary group of more than 10 people you could claim your travel expenses in order to have a guided tour around the farm. See www.permaculture.org.uk/land