July 30, 2009
Members of Camel Community Supported Agriculture can expect to find up to a dozen freshly-harvested vegetables in their boxes this week.
The beetroot, onions, radishes, turnips and Swiss chard have been cultivated on our own site at St Kew Highway.
Camel CSA’s expert growing team are providing the remainder of the box contents from their own plots.
Mark Norman has grown the courgettes, which feature in Camel CSA’s Recipe No 5 – Courgette frittata, at his site on the outskirts of Bodmin. He has also supplied the new potatoes, which are Marfona variety. The British Potato Council says these have an almost “buttery” flavour and a smooth waxy texture.
Jane and Gav Mellowship are supplying large and small mixed salad bags from their plot on the coast at New Polzeath.
Jeremy Brown has produced the parsley, spinach and cucumbers on his land behind St Kew Harvest Farm Shop.
July 22, 2009
This Friday’s veg boxes from Camel Community Supported Agriculture will include more of those wonderful baby carrots that went down so well last week.
The small box will contain: –
- potatoes
- onion
- peas
- carrots
- beetroot
- courgettes
- lettuce or 100g salad bag
- 1/2 cucumber
- spring onions
- radishes
The standard box will contain all these vegetables in larger quantities plus Swiss chard, turnips, a whole cucumber and a 140g salad bag rather than a lettuce.
July 17, 2009
Camel Community Supported Agriculture regrets to announce that the broad beans have gone over, so there are none in the latest veg share. You probably have mixed feelings about this. But remember to keep all those recipes for next year!
Some succulent baby carrots are included in the veg boxes this week. We did sort them out, but some of the tops are a little chewed. We think either rabbits or badgers are the culprits.
There are surplus older peas available at the box distribution point for any members who would like to help themselves. They are rather starchy, but can be used in soups and casseroles.
The small £5 box contains: – 700g potatoes, 700g peas, baby carrots, two onions, Swiss chard, spring onion bunch, 100g salad bag, a few chive stems
The standard £8 box contains: – 1kg potatoes, 1kg peas, baby carrots, three onions, Swiss chard, spring onion bunch, 140g salad bag, bunch of chives, cabbage, cucumber
If you’d like to give feedback on box content, please click on the comments link at the top of this post. We really want to know what you think. Also tell us what you’ve done with the vegetables.
More and more Camel CSA members are signing up for a share in the harvest. We filled a total of 22 veg boxes this week, up from just 15 a fortnight ago.
Please remember to return your empty box when you collect your fresh one next Friday.
And don’t forget the Big Lunch on the site at 1 p.m. on Sunday! We look forward to seeing you there.
July 16, 2009
We can expect some baby carrots in this week’s share of the harvest at Camel CSA. Try them for our Big Lunch!
Expert grower Jane Mellowship says:
“Here is the list of veg expected to go in the boxes on Friday.
Small box (£5): potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, spring onions, Swiss chard, broad beans, small salad bag
Standard box (£8): potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, spring onions, Swiss chard, broad beans, large salad bag plus cabbage, cucumber, chives
Of course this could be subject to change!”
Please remember to return your empty vegetable box when you collect your fresh one on Friday.
July 9, 2009
The harvest from Camel Community Supported Agriculture includes some beautiful plump peas in this week’s share. Otherwise we are providing a similar selection of vegetables to last week.
The broad bean glut continues so please think of different ways to use these versatile vegetables. Please pick up your box from St Kew Harvest, as detailed in the e-mail to members.
Subscribers can expect all or some of of the following: –
- potatoes (Arran Pilot)
- onions
- broad beans
- beetroot
- peas
- salad pack / lettuce
- cucumber
- courgettes
- turnips
A definitive list and recipe ideas for beetroot will be posted once the boxes have been packed on Friday.
July 2, 2009
We’ve done it – we’re starting to eat our own food!
More than 15 Camel Community Supported Agriculture members receive their first vegetable boxes on Friday 3 July.
A great deal of human effort has gone into providing these first fruits of our labour. It’s hard to believe that we only started preparing our site at the beginning of March and sowed the first seeds just a few weeks later.
Our first share of the harvest will contain: –
- broad beans
- potatoes
- onions
- beetroot
- Swiss chard
- a bunch of curly or flat-leaved parsley
- turnips and radishes – possibly
- green salad
We’ve grown the first eight items ourselves at St Kew Highway. The salad leaves are being provided by Jane Mellowship, one of our expert growers, who has her own vegetable plot at New Polzeath.
Hard work
We’ve made enormous strides since March – entirely as a result of the dedicated volunteer labour provided by members and expert growers. Some people said we would never manage it, but we have proved that we can.
Many hours of hard work have gone into preparing the 40-metre long growing beds, spreading compost, digging up dock leaves, sowing seeds, planting out seedlings, hoeing and an enormous amount of hand weeding. We’re grateful to our expert growing team and all the volunteers who have turned up on Sunday mornings – rain or shine.
Last Sunday we thinned out and hand weeded the parsnips, weeded the Swiss chard, spread compost and dug up yet more dock leaves that were threatening to go to seed.
A big thanks to expert grower Mark Norman, to members Charlotte, Diana, Mike H and Mike S, and to visitors Donna and Marianne.
Another team of volunteers will be picking and packing the boxes every Friday morning. If you’d like to be included on the rota, please contact Mark Norman or phone Antonina at St Kew Harvest.
Box collection
Members must pay for veg boxes in advance. You’ll be able to collect your box every Friday between noon and 5 p.m. from St Kew Harvest Farm Shop, which is next to the Camel CSA site. Treasurer Cathy Fairman has been co-ordinating box payment and organisation. She says:
“Your name will be on your box, please take your own box and anyone else’s that you are delivering. Remember to give us feedback as soon as possible.
A special thank you to to Penny and Robert Manders and to Mike Haywood for volunteering to help Mark with the first harvest and packing.
Happy eating!”
Feedback on box content and any queries about veg box administration should be sent to Cathy at thefarm@bodminmoor.co.uk
