Church FarmYour Monthly Newsletter

Friday 29th April 2011

A Note from the Grower

With all this beautiful weather our plants are getting very confused indeed! Our chard, which we expected to be picking for another few weeks, has bolted (gone to seed), but we can’t complain about that - the rainbow chard looks absolutely stunning with it’s vivid pinks, reds, yellows and oranges.

The strawberry plants are doing very well indeed. We lifted runners from the maincrop plants

in summer last year and put them out in the polytunnel this spring for an early crop. Although

we expected them to crop sooner than our outdoor plants, none of us expected to find ripe

strawberries in April! Now all we need is the sunshine to come back and ripen the rest!

Kate

Check this out...The bees have been busy!Much has been made about the uncertain future for bees but Church Farm beekeeper Euan Brierley was pleased to find all three colonies had survived the winter and were making the most of the warm spring sunshine, bringing in new pollen, with which to feed the larvae as they develop into bees. Euan believes that having bees survive successfully over the winter is down to three factors: the preparations of the beekeeper (he would say that); the Church Farm environment that has provided a good mix of pollen and nectar through the year ; and finally, a whole lot of luck! We can’t wait to harvest Church Farm honey again! :) Our Introduction to Beekeep-ing workshop on 7th May is fully booked - please keep an eye out for more workshops in our Summer programme which will be out soon!

Spring is the new Summer...Its a glorious time to walk through the wood - half a mile of blue-bells either side of the lane. There are even a couple of whitebells to be spotted. We have seen the first wild ducks hatch on the pond near the soft fruit, each towing about 4 chicks each. A goose is nesting on the island and the herons continue to visit so we think we must have fish in there. We have reseeded Lowany field with a chicory, grass and clover mix. The more we experience the wonders of “puma chicory” the more we plant - it is drought proof and highly digestable with up to 30% protein in the leaf during the Spring.

Farm Butchery, Store and Cafe20% off fresh and

frozen pork Opening Times

We’re open everyday including Friday 29th April (Royal

Wedding Day) and Bank Holiday Monday. 9am-6pm.

Clean down the barbie, find those tongs and get ready it’s BBQ season. In the store butchery now we have the best bangers, delicious hand made burgers and a great range of BBQ cuts, everything you need to create the perfect alfresco meal.

For those wishing to avoid BBQ bother try our dry cured ham, hand made pork pies, home made liver pates and selection of salamis, ideal for tasty meals, snacks and food on the go.

Farm Store Product of the Week Fair Trade and Equal Exchange In 1979 three volunteers returned to Britain from aid work in Africa. They identi-fied the need for small farmers to be able to sell their produce at reasonable pric-es enabling out of poverty. Together, with a sister project in London, they bought coffee direct from farmers in Tanzania bringing about the formation of Campaign Coffee. Through the 80s and 90s the group ran many initiatives to bring fair trade to the forefront of society. In 1991, together with Oxfam, TraidCraft and Twin Trad-ing, they launched CafeDirect, UK’s first mainstream Coffee brand. These days the group provide the UK with a wide range of fairly traded and Organic products under the name of Equal Exchange. The company which not only pays a fair price to the producers of their products, promotes fairly traded ethics through what they sell and to other companies. They are a Worker’s Co-Operative which means it is owned and controlled by those that work there. All have an equal share and operate within a common value system. Church Farm believes wholly in fair trade and stocks many Equal Exchange products including cashew and peanut butter, coffee and hot chocolate. Find out more about Fair Trade at www.fairtrade.net.

What’s in my box next week?

MEATFarm VarietyBeef roasting joint, diced pork, beef mince, sausages and/or bacon.

Old English CutsOffal, beef roasting joint (brisket), diced pork, lamb mince, and/or bag of bones.

Premium SelectionPork loin steak, lamb joint (saddle), sausages and/or back bacon.

VEGETABLESExtra Small (6 varieties)Potatoes - Romano reds, onions, carrots, fennel, aubergine, and green pepper.

Small (8 varieties)Spring greens and sprouted seeds.

Medium (10 varieties)Radish and bean tops/parsley.

Large (12 varieties)Rocket and mangetout.

Extra Large (13 varieties)Extra portions of staples

FRUITApples (royal gala), pear beuure bosc, grapefruit and bananas.

Please note that these are standard items and are subject to change. If you have asked not to be supplied with a particular item, a substitute will be provided in your box.

The co-farmers have been planting up and taking vegetables to the store for sale, in addition to bags of compost. Any sales from the compost will go towards the running costs of Rural Care so please do come along and buy some. The team have also planted their own seed potatoes which the co-farmers can enjoy digging up later this summer! They’ve been taking up spring duties too: bottle feeding the lambs and looking after all the ducklings ready to hatch in the incubator. Our volunteers even came along on Good Friday to help out on the farm. We watered plants, boxed up eggs and potted up sunflowers to take home before resting and enjoying refreshing organic ice cream from the store!

Rural Care

You’re invited to the first of our series of popular no impact camping weekends held on green and pleasant land at Church Farm, Ardeley. There’ll be camping, jamming around the campfire and camaraderie. Feel free to bring your own BBQ, games and entertainment. Compost toilets, shelter marquees, straw bales, water and big bonfire provided. Showers and conventional toilets available at the farm. Please bring everything you need for your comfort and survival.

All customers and people of good nature are welcome - suitable for all ages. Limited spaces available so please book in advance. Contribution: Adults £10, Under 16s £8, Under 2s £2. Free for musicians and farm members.

BOOK NOW! Pop into the Farm Store, call 01438 861 447, buy online or email events@churchfarmardeley.co.uk

Campfire, Music and Sleep under the Stars WeekendSaturday 28th May 2011

Easter at Church FarmThis Easter we organised lots of fun activities and visits for children, families, groups and societies.

Bottle-feeding the lambs and egg collecting were particularly popular and are still avail-able everyday if you’d like to book in advance. Other fun activities included “In the Pits Clay Day” sessions where children had the opportunity to see where clay comes from (we have 3 ancient clay pits on the farm!) and make their very own miniature sculptures. We also organised Easter basket making and an Easter egg hunt in the woods in cooperation with the Easter bunny! Lots of people also came along and camped in the wild in our woods or hired one of our log cabins equipped with log burner!

Group visits included Kids Company from London who came for a fun packed day of farming activities and absolutely loved spend-ing time in the country. Not forgetting, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Herts who came along for a tour of the farm and lunch in the cafe. They particularly enjoyed learning about crop growing and rotation with Richard Grimshaw - one of our growers.

Thank you for visiting. We couldn’t farm this way if it wasn’t for you!

This weekend, Church Farm will be hosting it’s very own Victorian Weekend. Considered by some as a long period of prosperity for the British people, the Victorian era ran from 20th June 1937 until 22nd January 1901. This era was ruled by Queen Victoria (real name Alexandrina) who was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until her death. On Sunday 1st May it will be 135 years since Queen Victoria used the additional title of Empress of India. Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 216 days, the longest in British history up to this point. However, the present monarch, Elizabeth II, will surpass this if she remains on the throne pass the 9th September 2015.

The recipes this week come from “Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management” this Victorian literate was written by Mrs Beeton, one of the most famous cookery writers of all time, and was a guide to running a Victorian household, with advice on fashion, childcare, animals husbandry, poisons, the management of servants, science, religion, and industrialism. Over 900 recipes can be found with in the volume which is why it is sometimes known as “Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook” most of these were illustrated with coloured engravings, and it was the first of it kind to show recipes in this format which is still widely used today.

The Victorian weekend will run on both Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May and in-cludes a timber framing and thatching demonstration, Victorian workshops, walks and talks and activities for families (some of which require pre-booking) and of course traditional afternoon tea in the café.

Please see the website for further information or to book: www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk

VICTORIAN WEEKEND Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May

Church Farm, Ardeley, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 7AH, T: 01438 861 447E: info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk

1147. INGREDIENTS - Mashed potatoes, salt and pepper to taste; when liked, a very little minced parsley, egg, and bread crumbs.Mode.—Boil and mash the potatoes; add a sea-soning of pepper and salt, and, when liked, a little minced parsley. Roll the potatoes into small balls, cover them with egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard for about 10 minutes; let them drain before the fire, dish them on a napkin, and serve.Time,—10 minutes to fry the rissoles.Seasonable at any time.Note.—The flavour of these rissoles may be very much increased by adding finely-minced tongue or ham, or even chopped onions, when these are liked.QUALITIES OF POTATOES.—In making a choice from the many varieties of potatoes which are everywhere found, the best way is to get a sample and taste them, and then fix upon the kind which best pleases your palate. The Shaw is one of the most esteemed of the early potatoes for field culture; and the Kidney and Bread-fruit are also good sorts. The Lancashire Pink is also a good po-tato, and is much cultivated in the neighbourhood of Liverpool. As late or long-keeping potatoes, the Tartan or Red-apple stands very high in favour.

Potato Rissoles

http://www.mrsbeeton.com

1108. INGREDIENTS - 6 heads of celery; to each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1/3 pint of cream.Mode.—Wash the celery thoroughly; trim, and boil it in salt and water until tender. Put the cream and pounded mace into a stewpan; shake it over the fire until the cream thickens, dish the celery, pour over the sauce, and serve.Time.—Large heads of celery, 25 minutes; small ones, 15 to 20 minutes.Average cost. 2d. per head.Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.Seasonable from October to April.ALEXANDERS.—This plant is the Smyrnium olustratum of science, and is used in this country in the same way in which celery is. It is a native of Great Britain, and is found in its wild state near the seacoast. It received its name from the Italian “herba Alexandrina,” and is supposed to have been originally brought from Alexandria; but, be this as it may, its cultivation is now almost entirely abandoned.

Stewed Celery a la creme

A big thank you to Stevenage Museum for lending us some costumes for the event! If you’d like to find out more about Stevenage through the ages, do visit them!