It’s time to… hoe more onions and plant calabrese

Sunny days… It’s such wonderful sowing, growing and weeding weather in Cornwall this week!

Beautiful fresh beetroot in this week’s boxes

Camel CSA’s polytunnel-grown beetroot bunches are tender, juicy and modestly-sized.

Both standard and small boxes have: –
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* cavolo nero (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad greens (Camel CSA)** 
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
parsnips (Restharrow Farm)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)

Small boxes only also have: –
* kohlrabi (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* loose Brussels sprouts (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* calabrese (Camel CSA)
* chillies (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

Three different sorts of broccoli in our autumn veg boxes

It’s a bit of a lottery this week as Camel CSA box members randomly get one of three broccoli varieties grown on our site in Cornwall. Both small and standard boxes have:-

* calabrese or sprouting or tenderstem broccoli (Camel CSA)
* sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* cucumbers (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* red Russian or red curly kale (Camel CSA)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also get extra potatoes plus:
* aubergines (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **

* = grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

Cornish calabrese in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes

What a difference ten days of sustained warmth and sunshine can make! Just two weeks ago, our growing team were in despair. Torrential rain, leaden skies, mud, mildew, slugs, snails…

Now, in the space of a week, we have some spectacular heads of calabrese and some enormous cabbages on our plot.

In the polytunnel the French beans are cropping prolifically and the cucumbers are doing well. The indoor tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and chillies are coming along nicely.

The field-grown peas and beans are a bit of a mess and we have few outdoor carrots. But we have plenty of Tuscan and red Russian kale and purple-sprouting broccoli in modules ready to be planted out.

All the boxes this week will have: –
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* calabrese (Camel CSA)
* French beans (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* cabbage (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will also have: –
extra potatoes (Growfair
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA)
* turnip or beetroot (Camel CSA)
* cucumber (Camel CSA / Mark Norman)

 * = grown to organic principles

We’re growing our own food

A big thank you to the 17 volunteers who turned up last Sunday to work on the Camel Community Supported Agriculture project.

In three short hours our community food growing group achieved what one person working alone would have managed in a week!  That’s one of the big advantages of belonging to a co-operative.

Grateful thanks to the three volunteer expert growers – Jane, Jeremy B and Mark N – and to volunteer members Alex, Cath, Charlotte, Diana, Fiona, Ian, Jeremy S, Jerry, John, Kitty, Mike H, Mike S, Mark M  and Yvonne.

Together we spread compost, hoed weeds, tended the broad beans, shallots and onions, planted out cauliflowers and cabbages, sowed radishes and dug up yet more dock leaves.  More seeds were also sown in the polytunnel.

Unfortunately a whole row of peas had been eaten by predators, but our enthusiastic volunteers got some new seeds planted in just a few minutes.   It would have taken an allotment holder most of the morning.

Jeremy B, one of our expert growing team, thinks we should blame slugs rather than our resident cock pheasant.  Fortunately the rabbit netting has proved secure so far.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you again this Sunday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  We’ll be preparing additional beds, spreading compost, planting out more brassicas, and sowing calabrese and leeks.

Remember to bring strong shoes or wellies, waterproofs, gardening gloves, drinks and a snack.  Also tools, ideally wheelbarrows, shovels, spades, forks and rakes.  If the weather’s good you might need suncream and a hat!

Click here for directions to the site.  If you have any questions call Antonina at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop on 01208 841818.