Watch this video: How Camel Community Supported Agriculture is helping make local food work

Camel CSA’s contribution in Cornwall to Making Local Food Work is featured in a new YouTube video commissioned by the Plunkett Foundation, made by eclips film.

We turned our grow-your-own dream into reality with the support and guidance of the Soil Association via Making Local Food Work. We have £60,000 funding from the Big Lottery’s Local  Food programme and the East Cornwall Local Action Group (part of the South West Regional Development Agency).

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All our own! Seasonal local veg in this week’s boxes

The contents of this week’s boxes come from Camel CSA’s own plot at St Kew Highway and from our own expert grower Mark Norman’s smallholding on the outskirts of Bodmin.

We’ve all sharing a bumper French bean harvest. This early crop is growing really well in our first polytunnel.

Everyone will have:
* French beans (Camel CSA)
* round cabbage (Camel CSA)
* salad bags (Camel CSA)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman)
* carrots (Mark)
* gooseberries (Mark)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes as well as:
* turnips (Camel CSA)
* kale (Camel CSA)
* calabrese (Mark)

* = grown to organic principles

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Seasonal local Cornish veg in this week’s boxes

Another good harvest from Camel CSA’s own plot this week – including the first of the french beans and sweet-scented basil from the polytunnel. Everyone will be getting:
* spring cabbage (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* radish (Camel CSA)
* french beans (Camel CSA)
* broad beans (Mark Norman)
* green onions (Mark)
new potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes will also have:
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* basil (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

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Busy time for Camel CSA’s veg growers and pickers

We’ve been working flat out on our site at St Kew Highway to deal with all the vegetable crops.  A solid core of volunteers have been picking, planting, sowing, planting, watering and weeding.

Inside the polytunnel the team have harvested salad leaves, spring onions and baby beetroot for the veg boxes and planted out basil and cucumbers.

We’ve sown tray after tray of cabbage, sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, calabrese, swede, kale and sweetcorn in modules.

Team members have sown more french beans, beetroot, peas, parsnips and carrots outside and planted out lettuce and cabbages. We’ve picked spring cabbages and oriental greens.

Hundreds of pumpkin and squash plants are bursting out of the cold frames. As soon as more outside beds are prepared we’ll be planting them out too.

We’re also been busy painting the potting shed, glazing the windows, hanging the door and putting the felt on the roof. As soon as we get a calm, windless day we’ll be getting the covers on the second polytunnel and the small seeding tunnel.

Many thanks to expert growers Bridget, Jane and Mark N plus the current regulars - Anne, Bob, Cath, Charlotte, Danny, Henrietta, Jenny, Mark M, Mike S, Penny, Robert, Trish F.

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Camel CSA members carry on sowing, growing, planting

Cornish growers have experienced weather conditions ranging from drought to monsoon in a matter of days. Our own team has been alternately watering thirsty crops and wading through sticky mud.

The extended dry spell in Cornwall means we’re a little behind with some tasks. However the recent rain has enabled us to sow more peas, beans, parsnips, radishes, beetroot and carrot directly into the ground and plant out broccoli, cabbage, bunched onions, Swiss chard, lettuces, turnips and parsley.

The kohlrabi hasn’t germinated well outdoors, so we’re about to sow some in modules, along with more cabbage, Brussels sprouts, calabrese, celeriac and purple sprouting broccoli. We’ve also sown hundreds of winter squash seeds.

Salad leaves, french beans, leek seedlings, spring onions and baby beetroot are thriving in the polytunnel, though the indoor carrots aren’t doing so well.

Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes rely heavily at this time of year on fresh supplies bought in directly from other local farmers and growers who’ve built up strong relationships with us. This mutually beneficial approach is all part of being a CSA.

They include Cornish asparagus produced by the Derrymans at Lower Croan, Sladesbridge; cauliflower and spring greens from Richard Hore of Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick; leeks and spinach from Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest; potatoes from Johnny Brown of Benbole Farm, St Kew Highway and James Mutton of Burlerrow, St Mabyn; rhubarb and mung beans (sprouted in his linen cupboard!) from Mark Norman in Bodmin.

In the aftermath of a long, hard winter it’s become more and more difficult to source fresh, seasonal veg grown within this 10-mile radius. When forced to cast our net county-wide we buy from Growfair Cornwall. But at least we’ve kept this side of the Tamar!

Fortunately our own early salad crops are sprouting fast.

Our volunteer picking and packing team spend some time every Friday morning cutting individual lettuce leaves from the polytunnel and outdoor-grown oriental greens – including spicy mustard, mizuna and mibuna - before bagging them up for the boxes.

The other immediate jobs involve covering the second polytunnel to house the tomatoes, completing the small seeding tunnel and getting the roof and windows finished on the potting shed.

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Seasonal local food recipe No 93: Cornish asparagus and free-range egg

The first asparagus of the season is such a treat that it would be a shame to over-complicate it. One of the best things to combine it with is egg. The whole thing will take not much more than ten minutes. Use freshly-picked Cornish asparagus of course.

Ingredients
asparagus
free-range eggs
Maldon or sea salt
pepper
butter
optional extras: balsamic vinegar, parmesan shavings, basil pesto, mayonnaise

Method
Take your asparagus and snap off any woody bits from the base. Put a wide pan of water with a pinch of salt on to boil (obviously it should be large enough to take the asparagus, ideally standing upright, but that’s not too important).

Meanwhile put your eggs in another pan of cold water and bring to the boil. For hard-boiled, allow about 10-12 minutes depending on size; for soft-boiled, allow about 7-9 minutes. Alternatively, if you’re a whiz at poaching your eggs, cook them that way.

Once the asparagus pan comes to the boil, add the spears and allow around 5-6 minutes – test with a sharp knife.

Run cold water on the boiled eggs and shell them. Drain the asparagus and add a generous knob of butter, sea salt and pepper. Serve the asparagus with the egg cut in half on top and add whichever of the optional extras you fancy. A green salad accompaniment would be good. New potatoes too, if you’re feeling a bit greedy.

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Seasonal local veg in this week’s boxes

Everyone will be having:
onions (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
cauliflower (Jeremy Brown, St Kew, and Growfair, Cornwall)
* purple sprouting broccoli (Jeremy)
* leeks (Jeremy)
* salad bags (Jeremy)
kale (Growfair)
potatoes (Growfair)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and onions plus:
swede (Growfair)
cabbage ‘Tundra’ (Growfair)
* jerusalem artichokes (Jeremy)

* = grown to organic principles

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It’s all grow, grow, grow…

Members of Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s volunteer grow-our-own team are busy sowing, planting and watering as the season gets into full swing. 

Expert grower Mark Norman is now employed on our St Kew Highway site two days a week to ensure everything goes to plan.

We’ve composted allium beds and planted onion sets – row after row of them. Broad bean and brassica beds have also been prepared and spring cabbages planted out. Additional lettuce varieties have been sown in modules, as well as turnips.

The potting shed is about to be erected and the cover put on the seeding tunnel. The mixed salad leaves planted in the polytunnel will be ready to pick for the veg boxes in a couple of weeks.

Many thanks to expert grower Mark N and current team members Bob, Bridget, Charlotte, Danny, Jenny, Kitty, Mark M, Mary, Mike S, Penny, Rebecca H and Robert plus five-year-olds Keira and Max.

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Seasonal local food recipe No 90: Penne with cauliflower and chilli

From Annie Bell’s Evergreen. She recommends ‘any squat and tubular pasta’ and says that both the cauliflower and the pasta should be ‘on the firm side. The sauce is richly flavoured and hot, and just coats the pasta and cauliflower. Parmesan would be out of place.’

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
400g cauliflower florets (1 large cauliflower)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 level tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp harissa
3 tbsp olive oil
450g tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or a tin of chopped tomatoes)
salt, pepper
225g penne

Method
Cut the cauliflower into 1cm florets. Finely chop the garlic cloves. Dilute the tomato puree with 3 tbsp of water and stir in the harissa. Take a deep frying pan and heat the olive oil. Cook the garlic until it gives off an aroma, then add the tomato solution, the chopped tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should remain on the firm side.

While the cauliflower is cooking, boil the pasta, leaving it firm to the bite. Drain it, though not too dry, and toss it with the cauliflower. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

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Extra volunteering sessions for Camel CSA members

The spring planting rush is on. So we’re setting up some additional volunteering sessions on weekdays. 

From now until September volunteer growers can help out on our site at St Kew Highway on Mondays from 2-4 pm and on Fridays from 10-12 noon.

The Friday morning growing slot is at the same time the picking and packing team prepares the weekly veg boxes. This in addition to our all-year-round Sunday morning team sessions.

Expert grower Mark Norman will be on hand to advise and guide us on the finer art of vegetable growing.

There’s lots to get done over the next few days both inside and out. Onion sets and broad beans need sowing  and there’s spring cabbage to plant out in the newly-prepared growing beds.

And of course there’s still plenty more dock weeds to dig up.

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