Open Afternoon!

We had a very successful Open Afternoon last week, organised by Becca (I definately didn't have the energy!) and we are now featured on 'Cotswold TV' (see link below)

Our Girls!

Danny, Helen, Me & Matt!

Waitrose presented us with a HUGE cheque for £400, that we used to buy 'March, June, Mary-Jane and Lamby!' our 4 Wiltshire Horn Ewes...



















We welcomed lots of people with home baked cakes and cups of tea, made using eggs from our hens. Our students took visitors on tours of the farm, very proudly showing off all their hard work! The glorious fruit, vegetables and flowers were sold to our visitors; hopefully next year we may have some lamb and pork to add to the list! A brilliant day all round with the sun shining for us too!! Thank you to donations from Joe, Maine and Tracey for produce, all students that helped, volunteers and visitors!

Cabbages, Salad, Onions, Plums, Sweet Peas, Eggs.....

Danny showing off our fabulous tomato plants in the poly tunnel to some of our visitors with Sue!

Take a look at Cotswold TV to hear from Emma and some of our students..........

http://www.furryfeet.tv/cotswolds/venue_video.php?id=410

End of the Summer Session!

No excuses - the time has literally flown by..!  First we had the Car Boot Sale - a HUGE thank you to Gerry and her entire family for organising it and helping out, and to Rebecca, Sue, Linda, Helena & Tina for helping, selling, and making loads of cakes to sell!  We raised an amazing £650 - due to all their hard work, and gorgeous weather.

Back on site, we have finally taken possession of our 4 Wiltshire Ewe Lambs - and we had a sweep stake to choose their names - 'March, June, Mary-Jane (after Spiderman's girlfriend??!) and Lamby - not that they are aware that they've been named yet - we'll have to work pretty hard to tame them somewhat first - with a little food treats each day!  They are in their own electrically fenced area of the field behind the porta cabins, and seem really happy, surrounded by the main farm's flock of Texel sheep.

The hen house is finished, and has been put out in the field with the other pheasant pen, and we now have 4 different chick & hen pens for our assorted 'fowl'!

Back on site, we 'dug' our first crop of potatoes for the Car Boot - 50 Desiree potatoes from one tyre!  We dug David's carrots, and cabbages, and sold bunches of Sweet Peas too - it was a great 'Profile' raiser for the project -with offers of Volunteering, and a great atmosphere.  We have loads of tomatoes planted in the poly tunnel along with our next lot of salads, and lots of Nasturtiums, that we are now selling to the pub as edible flowers!

Last week, Hilary brought her Moth Trap up for the night and set it up in the garden - the next morning VERY early, we went out to have a look - there were lots of moths!  We took photos, and noted them down in the Wild life diary, and showed the Monday students - really exciting - i had no idea there were So many different moths!
On the Wednesday, we took the students to the 'Fresh Air 2011' exhibition at Quenington - there's just time to go look at it (finishes on 10July) it was AMAZING - everyone loved the exhibits, and the space.

This week is officially our last week for the Summer, but we are having 2 Open Days - one for prospective students on 21st July, the other to say thank you to all the friends, and helpers who have donated/given us time/stuff for the project so far.(on 28th July)
We had a very special day yesterday - we had lunch for all the students and helpers up on site, eating produce that they had grown, broad beans, peas, courgettes, tomatoes & beetroot, and then had a presentation.  Rebecca's who's here on a 12 week placement from college, had designed brilliant individual Certificates of Achievements for all the students, and we gave them out with a T shirt, with our SCFP logo on them - it was a very special day, everyone was so happy, and excited.
We start the next Session on 5 September, but will see the students again at our two Open Days.

(Photos to follow after the weekend....)

Week 4 and 5 Summer Session

Debriefing re: Hen House!

Ella & Helen hard at work!

Oh dear, i've done it again - nearly three weeks this time...!
We've had a busy time recently - Will and Ben, have been 'deconstructing' a hen house and run that my dad never quite finished - and then reconstructing it - by separating the run from the house, and putting the house on wheels - let's hope it's a bit lighter to move around now!
The others have been busy potting up, planting out and picking lots of veggies, flowers and salads.

Danny 'sifting' compost at
 Coln House School

Some of the Scare Crows!

We went on a visit to Coln House one afternoon - Helena had lots of flowers, and veg plants she was selling off - we came back loaded up with stuff!  We then went back again last week to a wonderful Arts & Crafts Festival that she had organised for local schools.  Our students were in charge of a 'scarecrow making' area - they had a brilliant time teaching children from other local special schools how to make scarecrows!  Danny had brought in lots of old shoes, and Gerry provided lots of her children's cast off's to use!  Our students had a lovely time in Coln House School's Art Room in the afternoon - brilliantly organised Helena - Thank You!
The students have been Dry Stone Walling on Thursday afternoons, and our wall in the Car Park, is looking great - a bit more to do yet though!

Lambs making friends with
Henny & Penny!

Chicks are all growing huge, and we have one particular favourite - 'Fiver' named by Ella, my daughter - she tried to call her 'Survivor' but can't say S'sss, so she's now called FIVER!  (Survivor, as she nearly came to grief, when one of the Bantam mothers got rather too protective of their chicks)  She now lives in the Poly Tunnel - oops better go and check on her actually - she's been up there all morning on her own....

June 2011

Shearing time!

We've also been busy clearing out half the covered yard, ready to disinfect it.  We will be using it for working with animals, and making a much better wood working area for the winter.

We're running some Open Days in July, so there's much to get ready - weeding mainly, and scrubbing up the place, and generally tidying, before the students finish their next session.

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!

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!

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!

week 7 spring

Monday - Helen, David & William here - Will & Ben built a great set of shelving out of recycled wood - perfect for putting our tomatoes out on..David's in charge of all the watering - quite something now with all our flowers, fruit trees, raspberries, sweet peas - and now 18 tyres filled with salad potatoes!  Helen & I did the hens and ducks, then spent the rest of the morning potting up roses & clematis to go outside the porta cabin.

Wednesday, Sue and i were on a Care Farm Training course, so Gerry was left in charge (with the help of Ella who's home from college!)  Bob was on hand helping all day too..  They cleaned out the stinky duck pond and found two duck eggs in their house.  They all checked the incubator - which we hope is going to hatch out, Rhode Island Reds, Bantams & Cotswold Leg Bars, at Easter!  Then they all had a go at dry stone walling - breaking bits off the stones, making them flat, preparing the ground underneath.  Of course there's still a pen load of lambs to feed - 14 last count...so plenty of hands on lambing going on!

Cerney House Tulips

Thursday, Mike was here helping and all 3 students arrived.  We thought we'd make a start on the flat packed fruit cage - however, it took Mike & Mike (carer) most of the morning to work out the instructions....suffice to say there are a few rather wobbly metal rods up so far..!  We had to spend at least half an hour mending fences in the sheep field as about 20 or so naughty lambs have been 'burrowing' out and then can't get back to their mums for a feed!

Pm we went down to Cerney House again, for a treat.  The tulips look amazing - well the whole garden looks lovely - and it's a real joy to see everyone so happy, wandering about admiring all the flowers!

Our Tulips!!

Only two more days to go, then we break for Easter till 8 May - and hopefully will have some chicks hatched by then...!