The ground inside our new polytunnel is rock hard as a result of the prolonged dry spell in Cornwall. So it’s proved too difficult to dig deeply by hand to prepare for planting the tomatoes and peppers.

That’s why we’re experimenting with a no-dig method known in the United States as lasagne gardening.

This permaculture approach involves placing cardboard on the ground to suppress the weeds, watering it thoroughly and then covering it with newspaper and thick layers of compost or other organic material.

We’re planting the tomatoes and peppers directly into the compost and a hole is being pierced through the cardboard so the plants’ roots get access to the earth underneath.

All being well, there will be lovely friable soil once the cardboard has rotted down at the end of the season.

So watch this space!

• Special thanks to Joe and Laura Brown at St Mabyn PO & Stores for all their recycled cardboard

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!

All boxes will have:
* 600g new potatoes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* lettuce (Camel CSA)
* spring greens (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
calabrese (Growfair, Cornwall)
broad beans (Growfair)

Standard boxes will also have:
* an extra 400g new potatoes
* baby carrots (Camel CSA)
* sprouting seeds (mung beans) (Mark Norman)
* turnips (Camel CSA/Mark)

* = grown to organic principles

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.

From Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Every Day. He says: “‘Sweet, sticky, garlic-scented roast beetroot makes an ideal side dish for oily fish such as mackerel, or for barbecued chicken or pork. But let it go cold and you could add some soft goat’s cheese and salad leaves and eat it as a dish in its own right.”

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking: about 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
about 1kg beetroot
1 large rosemary stem, broken into little sprigs
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, skin left on, each lightly squashed
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Peel the beetroot, cut them into thick wedges and place in a roasting dish. Add the springs of rosemary and squashed garlic cloves, trickle on the oil and season generously. Toss everything together, cover the dish with foil and roast in an oven preheated to 190C/gas 5 for 40 minutes [maybe less for our small Camel CSA beets], or until the beetroot is almost tender.

Remove the foil, trickle over the vinegar, give everything a good stir and return to the oven. Cook uncovered, stirring again once, for another 30-40 minutes or until the beetroot is starting to caramelise. Serve straight away or leave to cool.

More beetroot recipes from Camel CSA

In National Vegetarian Week everyone will have: –
* lettuce (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* spring cabbage (Camel CSA)
600g new potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
* baby carrots (Jeremy Brown, St Kew Harvest)

Standard boxes will also have:
extra 300g new potatoes
calabrese (Growfair, St Merryn)
strawberries (Growfair, Saltash or Hayle)

* = grown to organic principles

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

« Previous Page — Next Page »