Summer has arrived, I’m sat here drinking elderflower tea
and eating cherries after the hottest week on the farm so far. What I’ve mostly
been doing this week is sweating.
Wednesday we had our first harvest and pick up for CSA.
We have two places for members to pick up their veggies, directly from the farm
and also in Pembroke, the nearest city about 20 miles away. I went with Kylah to the Pembroke pick up, in
the sweltering afternoon heat. Luckily there is plenty of shade where we set up. it was nice to meet the CSA members and I’m
looking forward to getting to know people more over the coming weeks.
Wednesday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the
year. In the evening we had a fire to
celebrate the start of summer, which ironically starts with the Sun’s decline
as the days from now on get shorter. The
sun set was gorgeous, the sun a bright red-orange as it caressed the horizon
and then the sky spilled into a gradient of colours from dusky orange to indigo
as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Solstice sunset
Jackson playing the ukulele by the solstice fire
Thursday the heat was crazy, reaching 40˚C! despite the heat we still got a lot done,
harvesting peas and courgettes for the first time and also garlic scapes (the
unopened flower spike) as well as some weeding and sorting through potatoes
stored in the root cellar to find suitable ones for seed. We finished early thank fully as come
mid-afternoon fighting the heat induced lethargy was becoming near
impossible. After work we all went to
town for much deserved ice cream and a paddle in the lake to cool down.
Friday as always is our big harvest day for market and
this week we had our first real harvest of beetroot. I was really surprised at
just how big some of them are already, I didn’t think they would be so
early. We grow three variety, chioggia,
golden and the usual red, they look really beautiful when mixed in a bunch. So
many people at market complemented us on them and a few even took photos they
look that good!
I went to both markets this weekend and they were pretty
busy. We had lots of produce and the beets were definitely the most popular
item. Thankfully it cooled down to (what
now feels like) the moderate mid 20’s, which was a relief. Our table is twice the size now compared to
our first market 5 weeks ago and it looks so inviting. Kylah is keen on
aesthetics which is great as our market stall draws people in with the
beautiful looking produce. Next time
I’ll take a photo to share with you.
Today it is distinctly cooler, and I’ve been out in Bob’s
pasture picking elderflowers. They smell
so amazing and really are an evocative scent of summer for me. they are only just coming into full bloom
here which is interesting just how much later it is than home; where the
flowers start coming out in May.
Elderflower tea is my favourite summer brew.
Elderflowers
Cheers!
Becky xx
No comments:
Post a Comment