Ever since we began our weekly veg box scheme at Camel Community Supported Agriculture, we’ve taken a very relaxed attitude to the actual containers.

What we’ve done is to recycle assorted cardboard boxes and plastic crates that come our way – usually from farmers, wholesalers, market gardens, dairies… but often from the backs of shops, pubs and restaurants.

They’re nearly always the wrong size or shape and have a habit of getting squashed, broken or going walkabout. We’re constantly having to scrounge around for more.

So now we’ve decided to do something positive – but it will mean a bit more co-operation from our members.

We’re trialling some CarbonZero biodegradable jute containers from Cornish company GoJute, based at St Austell. We’re particularly interested in their jute hampers, which have bamboo handles.

If they turn out to be suitable for use as sustainable veg boxes the next step will be to work out how to allocate these to members, how to keep track of them, whether to charge a deposit and what to do if we don’t get them back.

We’re aware this approach could be fraught with difficulties. So suggestions welcome!

I should say that this knotty green problem is not unique.

Veg box giant Riverford Organic uses recyclable cardboard boxes which are always going AWOL. Earlier this year it offered a box amnesty to its customers. At the same time it failed to persuade them to overcome their resistance to reusable plastic crates, even though this would have led to a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions.

The battle of the supermarkets in the nearby town of Wadebridge, north Cornwall has developed an unexpected twist in the tale.

The possible presence of dormice, a European Protected Species, could put a stop to one of the three proposed out-of-town superstores.

Morrison’s wants to build its supermarket on the site of Wadebridge Town Football Club. It’s offering to provide a replacement ground, practice pitches, changing rooms, floodlights and car park in open countryside at Bodieve.

Sainsbury’s has applied to develop a superstore next to the council offices, while Tesco wants to expand its store on the west side of the town.

Unfortunately for Morrison’s, Cornwall Council planning officer Gavin Smith is recommending that permission for the football club plan be refused.

Interestingly, the fact that no dormice have been seen on the proposed new football club site is not the issue. Cornwall Wildlife Trust has recorded them nearby and it’s illegal to disturb this shy and delightful animal.

As a BBC blog post on the supermarket issue points out: “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

Significantly, Cornwall Council and the wildlife trust are partners in the Camel Valley Dormouse Project which has been calling for people to become “dormouse detectives” in the Wadebridge area. It’s encouraging local residents to hunt for nibbled hazelnut shells that have tell-tale toothmarks and a neat round hole on one side.

Dormouse picture: courtesy of David Chapman Wildlife Photography

Update: A decision on the planning application has been deferred to await the results of the dormice survey and to investigate “serious” concerns about noise from the football ground.

Some of you with veg box shares may be wondering how to prepare patty pan squash, which looks a bit like a UFO or flying saucer. It’s also known as custard or scallop squash. Its texture and taste are similar to a courgette.

Try these recipe suggestions for patty pan squash:
Stuffed patty pan squash
Patty pan squash and red onion salsa
Roasted patty pan squash and herbed chickpeas

Have you a patty pan squash recipe of your own to share with us?

We’ve had a great response in the last few days from volunteers keen to help out both on our growing team and our picking and packing squad.

Camel CSA’s volunteer growers worked hard today to weed the veg beds, mulch around the celery, celeriac and sweetcorn with green manure and to harvest the garlic.

Many thanks to expert grower Jane Mellowship and her team – Anne, Cath, Charlotte, Danny, Mark, Mike S and Rebecca plus junior members Finn and Keira. 

On Friday the volunteer picking and packing squad harvested quantities of our own Swiss chard, perpetual spinach, salad leaves, lettuces and garlic to match the rest of the veg box contents from expert growers Jane, Mark Norman, and Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest.

Thanks also to picking and packing supremo Trish and her squad – Anne, Charlotte, Henrietta, Jenny, Jeremy, Mark N, Penny, Robert and WWOOFer Gillaume, who’s visiting Cornwall from his home in the French Alps.

As Trish said: “It was good fun this morning. What a difference it makes when there’s a fair number of people there to help!”

The garlic’s now strung up inside our packing shed, where it’s drying out.

All the volunteers were rewarded this week with some freshly-picked boysenberries, which are ripening quickly at the perimeter of our plot in this warm, humid weather. 

If you’d like to take part in the growing operation or veg box preparation, just turn up on our site at St Kew Highway on a Friday or Sunday morning at 10am.

Camel Community Supported Agriculture member and food expert Gabriel Evans is signing copies of his new book Food Intuition at Relish Food & Drink in Wadebridge between 10am and 1pm this Saturday.

Gabe is a natural food expert, qualified chef, home economist, food coach, health educator and food activist. His book aims to change the way we think and feel about food and health:

Food Intuition reveals the pleasure and wisdom of the way we used to eat for thousands of years and challenges the current message on healthy eating.

It’s packed with all the practical information and strategies you need to make natural food and wholesome eating a workable and enjoyable part of everyday life.

It’ll motivate you to make permanent and manageable changes to your diet and lifestyle that are good for you, your family, your community and the planet.

Buy a copy of Food Intuition for £9.99 at the third official book signing session at Relish on Saturday and you’ll be handed a goodie bags of treats. It’s also available online on Gabe’s website. Five per cent of any profit on book sales will be donated to Compassion in World Farming‘s work to end factory farming.

• Gabe and his wife Silvana are going back to China next week for an extended stay. We look forward to seeing them again on their return to Cornwall. Meanwhile sign up for updates on his Food Intuition blog here.

Now our spring-sown crops are beginning to mature, there’s more harvesting to do for the veg boxes on a Friday morning. So we could use some more volunteers on our picking and packing squad.

The team meets every Friday at 10am in the new packing shed on our plot at St Kew Highway. 

Veg box preparation takes about two hours and involves harvesting and sorting vegetables, weighing them and distributing them among the 25 or so weekly boxes.

Afterwards, there’s always the opportunity to relax and have a friendly cup of fair-trade tea or Cornwall-crafted Origin coffee and home-made cake next door at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop. 

If you’re able to help out please contact Robert Manders on 01208 880022 or e-mail him at manders@waitrose.com  

Don’t forget we’re celebrating The Big Lunch this Sunday 18 July on our site at St Kew Highway, next to St Kew Harvest Farm Shop.

It’s a chance for assorted veg-lovers to meet, eat, discuss, laugh, entertain and be entertained. Check out the details here.

The growing team has been kept well occupied over the past two Sundays preparing beds, sowing beetroot and carrots, and hoeing the borage. We’ve also cleared the last of our own broad beans, which have gone over.

Expert grower Jane Mellowship says:

If we get a good downpour we now need to mulch the celeriac, celery and sweetcorn with the green manure which was cut recently.

We’ve had a good wet spell so it is an ideal time to do this. It will help the soil to hold moisture and improve the soil structure as the green manure decomposes, not to mention reduce weeding!

Camel CSA members are hosting our own Big Lunch again this year on Sunday 18 July.

It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to get together in a social setting. Join us on our site at St Kew Highway from 12.30pm onwards.

Please do come along to the Big Lunch and feel welcome to invite friends and family. All you need to do is bring some seasonal food and drink and something to sit on. Be prepared to share your lunch with the rest of us!

Last year in spite of the  terrible weather we had a fantastic time at South Penquite Farm, Blisland at the kind invitation of our treasurer Cathy Fairman. We even managed some musical entertainment.

This year, fingers crossed, we can have this Eden Project-inspired event outdoors beside our vegetable-growing plot, next to St Kew Harvest Farm Shop. We’ll provide a very simple activity for the children (maybe some more straw bales…) And if anyone would like to bring a musical instrument or two, that would be great.

After a welcome day of rain, we won’t need to do any hand watering in the near future. However, as usual there are plenty of things for our volunteer growing team to do on our site at St Kew Highway this Sunday.

Expert grower Jane Mellowship says:

Jobs for Sunday include sowing salad for our own mixed salad bags, coriander and bulb fennel. None of which particularly thrive in hot, dry conditions, which is exactly what it has been of late. So when germinated the crops are going to need some extra care to ensure they don’t get tempted to bolt!

And of course there is always a little weeding to be done. See you Sunday.

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