LOCATION!

We are located 4 miles north of Cirencester, between the villages of North Cerney, and Woodmancote. From A435 you take the turning towards Bagendon, go up past the Church to the T junction. Turn right towards Woodmancote and Scrubditch Farm is approximately 100 yards on the right. The Care Farm is situated down the drive, up the track on the left.
From A417, turn off at Perrotts Brook/Daglingworth, and proceed towards Perrotts Brook. Just before the A435, turn left towards Woodmancote. Go for approximately 1 1/2 miles and Scrubditch Farm is on the right, just past the Bagendon/North Cerney Cross Roads.

Thursday 26 May 2011

Week 2 and 3 Summer Session

Some of our many tyres planted up
either side of the path -
very colourful!
Sorry, i'm putting two weeks into one...the slippery slope - it'll be once a month if i'm not strict on myself at this rate!
Well the weather has been playing havoc with our planting outside - those winds - the dahlias we planted this week, look very sorry for themselves.  Most of the other veg are struggling to stay upright - the beans & beetroot that went out last week look ok-ish!
We have two lots of chicks / hens in the poly tunnel with our salads at the moment - the 9 that hatched during the Royal Wedding, are now HUGE, and we are desperately trying to sort some kind of a run/house to put them out in the field, and our two Bantam mums, Henny & Penny, with their four chicks in another coop.  They're not loose in the poly tunnel, as they rather like the salads!  Also, at this time of year we tend to get a plague of RATS! We are transporting them out on a rota to the field, in our guinea pig run instead!
Some our Tomatoes potted up

The tomatoes the students planted from seed, are coming on really well, and they have been potted on again today.  The basil plants, however, seem to be taking ages to grow at all!

Yesterday, we went over to visit a friend, Roz, who is running 'Aunt Addies Farm' Project, near Tetbury.  She has planted thousands and thousands of salads and vegetables, and it was really inspiring to see just how much can be planted from seed.  Roz has boundless energy and we all thought she is doing an amazing job over there!  We came back with Aubergine, Chillies and a Cucumber plant to go in the poly tunnel - thank you Roz for a lovely outing.

A bit of sad news - unfortunately Daisy Duck disappeared on Monday night - i went to call them all in from the field after the lovely rain storm (they were having such a great time!) and Daisy never appeared - we searched all the neighbouring fields, tracks etc., for any sign of feathers/struggle but nothing - so no more duck eggs for the moment...I think we may have to pay a visit to the market to see if we can find another Daisy Duck to keep Jake company - he really misses her!

We had a lovely visit today from a group of prospective students from around Stroud - unfortunately it rained most of the time they were here - but we managed to make them all feel welcome, and hid in the poly tunnel for the worst of the down pour!

Sunday 15 May 2011

SUMMER SESSION - Week 1

Welcome back to the students and volunteers - although my volunteers did come over last week to help.  They spent a very worthwhile morning putting up the fruit cage, and helping me with plans for this next session.
Lewey, Hewey & Dewey

Bill & Ben got straight to work building us another compost area - i think we will need to move the first lot off site - we seem to have acquired some rats - the combination of hot weather & rain & compost is perfect for the .....nasty rodents.  Smiles, Helen & I put another layer on all our potatoes, and filled them in again.  (Although i see they've already come through in less than a week!)
Our offspring that hatched in the
 incubator!
Wednesday, we were closed for First Aid Training, so Elvis and the guys came over on Thursday instead.  We've got all the netting up on the cage now, and just need some more fruit to plant out there!  We have a fantastic selection of salads in the poly tunnel - some of which i took to the farmer's market on Saturday - a lot of hard work, for not much return - i think i made about £20!  It was a good 'profile' raiser, though, & i gave out leaflets for the Car Boot Sale.
Lewey, Hewey & Dewey are now out with their parents, in the field, and in their own house at night - i'm afraid we have had to say farewell to our one remaining cockerel - he is SO aggressive to all the other hens & ducklings, they were being tortured.  No doubt we will have at least one cockerel amongst the chicks that are coming on...they are now in a coop in the poly tunnel full time.  Henny & Penny, my two bantams i was given last year, are both hatching chicks as we speak - so Bill & Ben will have to hurry up making more pens & coops tomorrow!

Saturday 7 May 2011

Easter week

Hewey, Lewey & Dewey!
Well, we're really forging ahead now - the watering is taking David nearly an hour - as everything is growing at such a rate! William and Ben made another raised bed, and put together a floor for the hen coop, where our 3 ducklings are going (well actually Daisy & Jake's ducklings!) We don't want any 'visitors' burrowing under the coop at night...Helen was on 'Ivy duty' - some of the Portland Ewes seem a bit down after lambing, so we've been picking lots more ivy for them.  The poly tunnel is full of wonderful salads - i've been down to the local pub, to ask if they would like to buy some salad bags!  The raised beds are brimming with seedlings coming up - peas, broad beans, radishes and leeks, and the fruit trees are in flower - we really could do with some rain now - though this sun is wonderful.
Today, Wednesday is our last day for two weeks - so after a mass tidy up, everyone came down to the garden for lunch.  Nearly all the students & volunteer helpers were here - i think there were 20 of us in all!  I had casseroled the cockerels (yes do you remember those two...?) and then made a 'paella' style dish with rice, vegetables & chicken meat - there was none left, so i think it was a success!  I then packed everyone off round my parent's garden, while Luke hid lots of Easter Eggs round our garden - they had to be quick as they were melting as they were put out...!
The best part of the day for me (apart from seeing such an array of happy faces in our garden) was the arrival of 'Hughey, Lewey and Dewey' - the three ducklings - they are now firmly esconsed in the coop in the poly tunnel with lots of straw and a lovely mini pond that they've been swimming in!