Camel CSA has now got two polytunnels.  At long last we have a home for our tomatoes and peppers.

Our first polytunnel went up in March and is already nurturing our early crops of beetroot, basil, salad leaves, carrots, lettuce, French beans and leek seedlings.

We had to wait weeks for a calm, wind-free day (almost unheard of in Cornwall!) to get the cover on the second tunnel. With barely 24 hours notice we raised a team of six volunteers aided by three helpful WWOOFers – Willing Workers On Organic Farms.

Many thanks to expert grower Mark Norman, ably helped by Bob, Charlotte, Mark M, Mike S, Penny, Robert and an opportune visit by the Rev Dave Matthews (who’s very tall!) The WWOOFers are Matthias from Germany, and Kevin and Martina from Italy.

Our growing team are going to be busy this weekend on our community veg plot at St Kew Highway.

Expert growers Mark N and Bridget, along with Bob and five-year-old Max, planted out hundreds of pumpkins and squashes in hot Cornish sunshine on Friday.

The high temperatures in Cornwall mean we have to keep a close eye on the polytunnel and cold frames. We must keep watering the baby beetroot, carrots, leek seedlings, french beans, cucumbers and basil in the tunnel, along with the seedlings in the cold frames, and the brussel sprouts and kale outside.

Our Sunday volunteers also need to: –

• Plant out spring onions, purple sprouting broccoli (Rudolph) and dahlias
• Feed the calabrese and stonehead cabbage seedlings and move them into the cold frames
• Weed the broad beans, parsley and celeriac
• Compost the next root bed
• Cut the grass 

Phew!

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.

Garden writer Trish Gibson is opening her beautiful garden at Pendoggett in north Cornwall to the public this Sunday 5 June under the National Gardens Scheme.

Trish has taken time off from her weekly veg box preparation duties at Camel CSA to get the garden ready to go on show for the second year running.

She says: –

Once again, after months of sowing and mowing, weeding and clearing, hedging and edging, pruning and fine tuning, we’re almost ready. It would be great if we could beat last year’s visitor numbers and, more importantly, takings (last year around £1,200). 

Fingers crossed for sunshine – and warmth – on the day. And looking forward to seeing you if you can possibly make it…

The Mill House, Pendoggett, near St Kew is open from 2-5.30 pm on Sunday. Entry is £3 (children free), all in aid of Cornwall Hospice Care. There will be a well-stocked plant stall and irresistible cream teas.

Our growing operation at Camel CSA in Cornwall has a mention in June’s Country Living magazine. Its Tap into local flavours section highlights what we’re up to. Writer Jane Taylor says: –

Community supported agriculture schemes are the buzzword in local food… no two schemes are alike. Yet their benefits always exceed the sum of their parts.

The article explains what Camel CSA does and includes us in its list of useful contacts. It’s all part of the magazine’s Your Community Needs You campaign, which wants to harness the groundswell of support for local food and regional producers.

Find out how a bunch of enthusiasts in the small Cornish town of Wadebridge intend to put a photovoltaic solar panel on every suitable roof.

Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) want to create Britain’s first solar town in Cornwall. They aim to harness the sun and the wind to generate at least a third of its electricity by 2015.

Discover more at WREN’s inaugural general meeting this Monday 23 May at 7pm in the Town Hall.

Watch how they’re doing so far…

Producer / director: Charlotte Webster, Dorothea Gibbs
Camera: Santiago Posada
Picture editor: Belal Ladkini

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.

Our volunteers have harvested the first crop of salad leaves in the new polytunnel.

The mixed leaves went into the most recent weekly veg boxes along with a bag of baby spinach supplied by Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest.

Each standard box contained the first of the Cornish asparagus from Lower Croan, near Sladesbridge. We also had new season rhubarb cultivated by two CSA members – expert grower Jane Mellowship and garden author Trish Gibson.

Volunteering

We need all the help we can get at the moment so we’re relying heavily on our loyal workforce. They’ve exerted a great deal of effort over the last fortnight – and not just on the sowing, hoeing and growing.

The potting shed is up, the second large polytunnel is under construction and the cover is about to go on the seeding tunnel.

Thanks to Anna, Anne, Bob, Bridget, Charlotte, Danny, Gav, Henrietta, Jane, Jenny, Jeremy, Kitty, Mark M, Mark N, Mary, Mike S, Penny, Rebecca H, Robert, Simon, Steve, Trish F and Trish G. And to all the friends and relatives who’ve also come along to give us a helping hand.

What a great bunch of people.

UPDATE: This vacancy has now been filled

Camel CSA is seeking to employ a committed and enthusiastic person who can help us build strong links within our local community in north Cornwall.

We’re looking for someone who can initiate and develop partnership agreements with schools, charities and special interest groups to increase practical awareness of the main aims of our community vegetable-growing project.

The partnership development coordinator will arrange and host group training visits to our two-acre plot at St Kew Highway near Wadebridge, where we cultivate our own vegetables to organic principles and operate a weekly veg box scheme.

The position is initially for a six-month fixed term, 12 hours a week.

“This post will suit someone who’s an excellent communicator and committed to the objectives of the Making Local Food Work programme,” said Camel CSA secretary Mike Sadler.

“S/he will need to have an understanding of basic horticultural principles as well as environmental and sustainability issues. In addition they must have a flexible approach to working, be able to operate on their own initiative and to deal with people of all ages and backgrounds.”

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 26 April 2011. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 4 May.

This position has been part-funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food Programme.            

View the detailed job description (pdf)
Download an application form (pdf)

See the job advert at environmentjob.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter
View our Facebook page

Food co-op looks for a co-ordinator – Cornish Guardian

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.

« Previous Page — Next Page »