Cold dry Spring brings problems

Isn't it wonderful weather people who aren't growing food often say to us. Well yes, it has been cold, dry and sunny for a very long time. But it's doing no good to our orchard blossoms, our newly-planted fruit bushes, our veg sowings and - most of all - our tomatoes. We had to plant out some nearly a week ago because they were so tall and beginning to flower. Then the night time temperatures really took a nosedive. Last night, the forecast was for -3 degrees!

Tomatoes can't stand less than about +5 degrees. Of course, the polytunnel offers some protection but we have had to devise a special tent (pictured above) made out of lengths of fleece suspended from the crop wires and pegged together with clothespegs to try and protect the poor plants. Look inside the tent (second photo; click it to make it bigger). Along the centre of the rows, you might notice a line of candles - we were getting desperate! - and a max-min thermometer. The idea was that  lighting candles overnight inside the tent would raise the temperature a degree or so. In fact, counterintuitively, it didn't; the temperature dropped to just under 5 degrees. Conclusion: convection currents set up by the candles sucked in cool air from outside the tent.

 Apart from the cold (which meant covering all the emerging potato crop with fleece), we have really been troubled by the virtual drought we've had since the start of April. There's been about 15mm rain in 6 weeks, mostly as scattered light (near useless) showers. The water tanks for the polytunnel irrigation, normally full at this time of year, are almost empty and we are having to hand water all the outside bushes, sowings and transplants. Goodness knows what our resulting crops will be like for our group members but we are doing our best. Rain is forecast for tonight...

The joy of weeding raspberries

Weeding raspberries is such fun. Everybody says so. And they say they want to do more. Anyway, lunch was definitely fun on the soft mole-undermined lawn of Mur Crusto garden. Here's a photo of our dedicated group members enjoying a sunny lunch last Saturday. That's the Daly family on the left and centre. Joan is hiding behind them. Then there's Christine, her daughter and friend from Germany (who seemed likely to be stuck here because of the Icelandic volcano). They had all spent a happy 2 hours scrabbling at creeping buttercup, invasive grasses, nettles and other horrors.

After lunch, the kids fed the badger sheep and their lambs, ending a successful and pleasant day of raspberry rescue. Let's hope that these fruit plants repay all the hard work later this summer.

All change at Llangybi Organics

We are downsizing and it's my purpose in this post to explain why. But first, if you're a customer, you'll have received this email:

We at Llangybi Organics regret that we are unable to maintain production for the next season at its present level. Mur Crusto (Val and Bry) hopes to continue with a bag every 2 weeks from mid-August to the following Spring (2011) but growing a reduced range for a much reduced number of people. We will give priority to those who can help us now and then. The bag would not include potatoes, onions or squash but Ty'n Lon (Jill and Mike) are happy to consider growing these items if there is interest. To enable us all to plan for the next season, please choose one or more of the following options:

A. Join Ty'n Lon's potato etc co-op but this will involve coming to help on harvesting day.

B. Fortnightly bag from Mur Crusto and offering help now and then.

C. Fortnightly bag from Mur Crusto but unable to offer help.

D. Leave the scheme altogether.

Please note that we are continuing as normal at the moment and expect to continue until at least the end of March although, as always, this is weather-dependent. Some crops have been lost due to the exceptionally cold weather and so we will increase the amount of potatoes and carrots to compensate for the lack of variety.

We would like to thank you all for your support over the years and look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Helpers Obviously those who can offer help now and then -- Option B -- will want to know how this will work out. What does that loaded phrase 'now and then' mean? Well Val and I don't know either at this stage so if you do choose Option B, we hope we can arrange for a get-together at Mur Crusto of all of you who are interested. We have ideas to suggest and will welcome yours too. The emphasis will be on flexibility and you will, of course, want to know what's in it for you.

Why we are downsizing None of us is getting any younger and we are finding the commitment and work of growing and harvesting for over 30 customers more than we want to continue doing. The polytunnels make things easier but the outside work is often quite unpleasant in freezing and wet weather. We have little in the way of mechanisation so most tasks have to be done - as they always have been since the dawn of agriculture - by hand. So Jill, Mike, Val and I have jointly taken the decision to downsize drastically. It remains to be seen how the new arrangements will work out. That's now down to you, dear customers. We await your responses. Once we know how many of you do want to continue in some fashion, we can begin to see how it might all work.

Potato Days: community-supported success story

So many potatoes... but we were lucky because we had many helpers on our two Potato Days. Here are three photos and big thanks to everyone who helped. It makes 'Llangybi Organics' feel like a real community. On the Roll of Honour are Rosemary and Matthew (and Zippy, the dog), Joan, Mayumi and Carwyn (who found Zippy a little overwhelming), Christine, Gwenlli and Gethin. Gethin, Gwenlli's son, worked enthusiastically with me having transformed, he said, into a crane. He certainly piled in the tatws.
The two kids, Gethin and Carwyn (below, centre) enjoyed themselves. We had a competition for the funniest potato. I think mine was the best. It was, I was told, like a bottom! Being incurably romantic and not rude, I thought it looked like a heart but then I'm very old fashioned.
And more thanks are due to those who took our call for help seriously. As a result of you putting the word around, we now have a good number of new customers as well as some 'old' ones who've come back again. Word of mouth is always best, we find. Thank you for mouthing the right words.

A reminder: We've almost run out of boxes. Please do return them as soon as you can. You've been very good about returning the strong plastic veg bags. Keep it up. And please don't forget to tick the list when collecting, either for yourself or for one of the groups. It all makes Val's life easier in keeping track of things.

News: Despite the dreadful weather in August, most crops have flourished reasonably well. Jill has made her customary heroic efforts and has managed to produce some fine outdoor crops like the beautiful Romaneso cauliflowers you'll have had in your bags. The peppers have done very well even though the sun didn't shine much. The potato crop was good, despite blight. We have had quite serious problems with diseases brought on by the relentless damp. Disease is always a problem in the autumn but not so much in summer. Almost incredibly, my son Mark, down in Oxford, tells me that the soil on his allotment is parched. He's having to water because there hasn't been rain for months. Hard to believe when living in Llangybi.

Another aspect of the 'summer' weather was the wind: we've had several near gales which have seriously damaged tall crops like beans and brussels sprouts. Many of my plants were blown down, first one way and then the other, so that some have simply snapped off and many others are stunted. Such a shame when they all looked so healthy before the mighty winds. Then came the cabbage white butterfly caterpillars... but you'll have heard enough!

Challenging times for Llangybi Organics

Where have all our customers gone? Maybe it's the recession; maybe other things. But several of our customers have vanished this year and we are wondering what to do about it. So far as we can tell, our veg quality is as good as ever and value for money -- in this era of 'cheap' food -- is also good. At this time of year, we'd normally expect to have 25-30 people collecting boxes and bags every week. Since we started at the end of July, we've been averaging about 20. This is worrying for us as well as wasteful. Jill, in particular, is having to feed good veg to the pigs. Trouble is, we have to plan months in advance what we grow and how much, making assumptions about customer numbers. We always lose a few and gain a few at startup but we had planned and grown veg to feed 30 or so, not 20. Our viability is in doubt unless we can increase the numbers.

Could you help us? If you're part of our wonderful, loyal and supportive customer base, could you do a couple of things to help us? One is to pass on the message that we are looking for more regular customers to anyone you know who might be interested in fresh, genuinely local, organically-grown food. Please do show them what you get or tell them why you choose to buy from us rather than supermarkets. Another thing you could do is let us know if you think there's something we're not doing quite right or could do better. All the feedback we get is very positive; nice for us, but with people deserting us, we do wonder why.

Veg news: The photo (click for large version) depicts veg as picked by Val a couple of weeks back for a typical box. It looks good, doesn't it? At last, tomatoes are coming on stream. Peppers are doing well too although that seems to be down to varieties rather than warm summer sunshine (!). Pests and diseases are taking their toll of certain crops: the aubergines which looked so good are suffering and so are the cucumbers. The potatoes have been smitten, as usual, by blight. Jill at Ty'n Lon polytunnel No. 2 has a worrying new disease problem affecting some summer veg. She hopes it is not the dreaded verticilium wilt. Rabbits are on the increase and we had a man with a gun round last night, shooting the blighters. They were digging small holes in the leeks (which are looking good, I'm happy to say) and other parts of the veg plots at Mur Crusto. I'm having to set mole traps because these creatures burrow away underneath veg and fruit like the raspberries and damage the roots as they search for the humble earthworms which are their food. We at Mur Crusto have hundreds of tiny seedlings and little plants approaching readiness for planting out for winter polytunnel crops: half a dozen varieties of oriental brassicas and lettuces of various types. Anyone like to come and help with weeding and planting?

It's nearly Potato Day, all you CSA Group helpers: Over the summer, several members of our trusty group came to help out with weeding and planting out, mostly at Ty'n Lon. Thank you! We're going to be asking for help again with potato and onion-harvesting at Ty'n Lon sometime in the next few weeks when it dries out enough to get them in. I expect Jill will provide a lunch with, I hope, unlimited quantities of cava and cider (or else I'm not coming!).

Busy times: help wanted soon

This is the busiest time of year for us. The exceptionally fine weather has made some tasks easier and others more unpleasant as we register temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in the polytunnel. Today, Val and I planted out about 50 sweet corn and 32 cucumbers in these temperatures. Not much fun, but it's a busy time of year - and without any income! - getting all the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines up and growing, ready for when we re-open in July. The pictures are of granddaughter Amy and Val, preparing some beds for brassicas and planting out little brussels sprouts seedlings.

Jill has been filling her second polytunnel with peppers and tomatoes. Remember, that was the one that some of our group members helped put up earlier in the year.

Help please, CSA Group: Val and I (Bry) are off to Scotland, camping, for the rest of June and so we will need help with weeding and other things at Mur Crusto whilst we're away. Arabella will be doing her best to co-ordinate things and if you're a group member, she'll be in touch with you when help is needed later on in June. As ever, group members can help themselves to whatever there is in the way of produce. This will be the first time we've tried asking for group help at Mur Crusto. It will be gratifying to come back and find that everything is in good order on the farm instead of the weedy unkempt mess of previous years. If you can come and help, do bring a picnic and enjoy your time here. You can explore our land and walk down to the lake, a real haven for wildlife. My son Richard will be staying here for the last 2 weeks of June and Val's brother Graham will be here before then so there should always be someone around.

Potato eve and a call for help

Tatws away: Yesterday, in the fog, we got all the potatoes planted at Ty'n Lon farm. Mike and Jill were well prepared and ready to go when Val and I arrived. The tractor and planter worked without hitch - the plough just hit one big underground boulder - and the only complaint I (Bry) had was that the seating (old plastic drums) wasn't very comfy. I prefer more luxury as you know...

Request for help for onion Sunday: Jill and Mike want to get the onions planted on Sunday if possible. It's a long job with 2, half as long with 4 and easy if we have some of you kind CSA group members come along for an hour or two. I've posted Jill's request on OneClimate's Llangybi Organics group page. See Group events calendar and post. If you haven't joined OneClimate yet, now's your chance. It's free and does lots of useful things. Have a look around.

Veg matters: We've had to cease the few bags we were doing because most of the veg has now bolted and has had to be pulled out. So, no more proper veg bags until July, I'm afraid. But there is still stuff available free for CSA group helpers, and there will be more to come. There's still lettuces and leeks plus a few other things and Jill has potatoes which she can bag up on request: free to group members and £4 for 5 kg (or larger quantities, if preferred: 12.5 kg and 25 kg) for customers. Contact Jill if you want them: 01766 810915.