Week 27: What's happening
Well we had our first weekend away together from the business since pre-Covid. That's a long time! It was really great to just be able to switch off and combined with seeing family we have very much missed over the past year or so and it was a great mid (?) season re-set. We managed to get out sailing, had dophins swimming on our bow and spotted a seal! - felt very lucky. Having lived overseas for a good few years, we feel grateful that as things re-open we can reconnect with family and not have to wait what could potentially be quite a long time before borders re-open (although we do still miss friends who we won't be seeing for a while..)
Chris was very happy this week when he realised he could pull together a pretty good veg box consisting solely of veg grown by us - potatoes, carrots, broad beans, peas, kohlrabi (a new one for us!), cavolo nero. Not bad for our 3rd season of growing given we hadn't grown veg before then!
In the field, we've been weeding and watering, as always. The broad beans in our small polytunnel have finished, so we chopped those plants down - they get mowed and work as a really good green manure with compost on top. We're down to our last 15kg or so of broad beans now and then that's it till next year! A good reminder that you have to really make the most of the veg when it's in season.
Eat Your Greens veg boxes:
If you've got small carrots in your box, then they're ours. A lot of them are pretty tiny but the trying to pick out the bigger ones rather digging up bunch in one go is just too time-consuming so hopefully you can manage the variety of size! The little ones are great in salads. In the small boxes, cauliflower, green beans, peppers, beetroot. Courgettes in both small and regular. Regular have broad beans and kohlrabi (some grown in Prion! - very proud of these beauties). Also tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage.
The Vale Grocer shop:
Plenty of: Cucumbers, new potatoes (Maris Peer, these have had good feedback), carrots (from Prion and elsewhere so different sizes!), cabbages, onions, broad beans*, lettuces*
Limited: Onion bunches, red onions, kohlrabi, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, vine tomatoes, garlic, peas*, beetroot*
Fruit: Bananas (a lot!), oranges, melons, raspberries* / gooseberries* / rhubarb*
*hoping to harvest in the morning!
+ chicken eggs, quails eggs
+ Bryn Cochyn apple juice
+ sourdough loaves (small and large)
Recipe inspiration:
We've been loving our salads this week - beetroot, broad beans, lettuce, carrots, halloumi / goats cheese with a simple dressing. Amazingly good. And makes us feel like we're really using, and tasting, that summer veg. The young beets are so tasty.
And here's a simple easy recipe for courgettes and pasta if you've got a glut of courgettes building up in your kitchen!
Finally, we love to hear about examples of where so much impact can come from a tiny, super simple idea. Check out the power of grandmothers and a friendship bench here.
have a good week