THE GRAND PLAN!

January is the month for forward planning on the farm. It's the time when we review what we grew last year, and how successful it was (difficult when the farm spent most of the summer under water...), should we be trying new crops, were there big "hungry gaps" in our programme?
We'd really appreciate feedback from our customers on this, both from farmer's markets and the delivery rounds. Are there certain crops that you would like to see more-or less!- of,would you welcome new varieties, do you really wish there was something we grow that we don't?
As organic farmers, we have to make sure that plants in the same botanical family are rotated around the farm, to avoid disease build up. For example, cabbages and swedes are closely related, and are attacked by the same pests, so each year they must be grown on a different part of the farm, taking about 5 years before they come back to their original spot.
Coupled with that, we have to provide an interesting range of vegetables 12 months of the year. These are planted starting in February right through to October, and many crops, such as lettuce and broccoli, are planted every week to provide a continuous supply right through the season.
On top of all that, we have to use organic seeds and plants, so to ensure that they are available, we must order well in advance. So for a week or two, my desk resmbles a bomb site, with seed catalogues and scribbled notes, emails to plant raisers and seed companies, and a huge reminder chart hung on my wall. Needless to say, with over 60 different crops growing, nothing ever goes quite to plan!
So you can look at the seasonality chart for Eden Farms veg, I've tried various ways to persuade blogger to let me load this. No luck!! So I'm pasting the link to my carefully crafted google document below, see if you can look at it; and if anyone knows how to make this display as its supposed to, let me know!!
When you are looking at the chart, I have tried to show when some of our common veg are not available from the farm, and have to be imported- for example, although we supply tomatoes 12 months of the year, we only grow them on the farm for 5 months.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ppfBX0ksfpJ0-6VmixK94ZQ
In response to last season's atrocious weather, we have put up half an acre of polytunnels. This is an exciting new project, and we are looking forward to extending the range and season of some of the crops we currently grow, plus I have one or two new ideas that I'm experimenting with: more news on that later in the year.
Meanwhile, the seeds are arriving, the potatoes are set in trays to chit (grow) before planting, and theres a sort of simmering excitement as the days start to draw out. I realise it's all a bit premature, we no doubt have weeks of rain and frost ahead, but at least there's the hope of spring up ahead!
Remember, you can respond to this blog online and have your opinions published too!

BIGGEST BEAN FEAST EVER!!

We escaped from our sticky farm this weekend, aided by Ryanair’s bargain basement selection. Naughty but nice- and who’s going to quibble about 99p flights to Milan (except some bright green environmentalist who didn’t get trench foot in a Lincolnshire bog this summer!)
Regular readers will know that we love our busman’s holidays, so we chose an agriturismo in the agricultural heartland of northeastern Italy. Sandwiched between the rivers Po, Adda, and Serio, this flat landscape of dykes and poplars was reassuringly familiar, yet completely new.
Firstly, how is it that Italy is stuffed with architectural gems, palazzios and grandiose churches in even the most insignificant of villages? Our agriturismo, a stunning fortified farm grabbed from the adjoining convent sometime in the distant past, had orchards of rare apple varieties in the old walled garden, and was overlooked by the domes and towers of the original nunnery, now sliding into elegant decay. The sun shone benignly down as we munched our way through home cured wafer-thin ham and tiny fruit pies, washed down by freshly pressed apple and pear juice from the surrounding orchards. Our hostess, Anna, works even harder than we do and was wonderfully helpful. Excellent value- 72 Euros for a lovely double room and breakfast. www.agriturismosantamaria.com
So when I asked her if there were any foodie events in this area, birthplace of the Slow Food Movement(antithesis of fast food and junk culture), she directed us to a tiny ancient walled town called Pizzighetone

BIGGEST BEANFEAST EVER
Pizzighetone straddles the River Adda, surrounded by a fantastic wall that until 10 years ago was falling down. The enterprising locals formed themselves into a “Volunteers of The Wall” group, and organized an annual bean-soup-eating festival, when thousands of people flock to the village to eat local bean soup (brown beans, vegetables and pig fat- absolutely delicious) over a mad 4-day feast!
The most exciting thing about it is that the entire event actually takes place inside the wall! This consists of about 15 huge domed chambers, each of which could accommodate 150 people, joined by wide open archways- formerly a 2000-strong garrison of soldiers was housed here. Huge tree limbs blazed in the massive open fireplaces, fed by elderly apron-clad volunteers pushing wheelbarrows, and trestle tables were crowded with friends and relatives, some of whom had queued for half an hour to buy tickets for soup, polenta bars, and the local slightly fizzy red wine. Candles guttered, lots of talk and laughter, a fantastic atmosphere.
To make our joy complete, half of the wall was devoted to a huge local produce farmer’s market, and as before in Italy, my dairy-free diet collapsed in face of the generous samples pressed upon us; and then, of course, we had to buy some.. and then some more…
Interestingly, we only found one organic producer- and absolutely no organic vegetables at all on that market!
The next day, following a visit to an organic vegetable farm (same problems, better climate- but our caulis wiped the floor with his), we found ourselves in a provincial small town, where surrounding the massive cental “Duomo” cathedral, the cobbled streets were full of shiny new tractors, borehole rigs, solar panels and roast chestnuts. An agricultural show! Yay!
Again, my competitive streak was gratified to note that the organic veg stall there did not even warrant a photo!
The wall volunteer's website is: www.gvmpizzighettone.it
MORE ITALIAN FOOD OOOHHH!!!
Five years ago on a similar weekend jaunt, we stayed in the beautiful town of Cremona, home of the Stradivarius violin, fabulous buildings, markets- always written off as a slightly boring place, that can only be true if you are a boob-tubed raver favourite destination Ayia Napa. Its fabulous!
We searched out the street restaurant where we ate before, and following a huge plate of vegetable starters dripping with olive oil, I finally ate pumpkinn ravioli.
I have the recipe in a Carluccio cookbook at home, but mess around and stuff those little squares- moi? Its definitely worth a trip to Cremona just to eat them.
Our last eating experience was one of the most enjoyable. When you are catching a plane, there's a certain anxiety that makes you try and reach the airport early- just in case-, then, hungry, you eat some overpriced rubbish that could be found at any cheap junk food outlet worldwide.
We were just early enough to go looking, but found ourselves in a big industrial area of factories and offices- not a shop or cafe in site. With time running out, a sign to "self-service restaurant 2* piano) seemed the best bet. We followed a group of secretaries into teh lift, and entered a new gastronomic world- works-canteen, Italian style. For 8 Euros we sat down at big tables with the local labourers and business directors to eat- more and different ravioli, plus a wild rocket and bean salad, all served by a young chef. Took about 20 minutes, and we arrived at Bergamo airport well satisfied with our foodie weekend away.


VEG TALK
Back to reality at Stickney, the weather immediately confirmed that waiting for summer now is not an option: its WINTER!!
There have been some fabulous Romanesco, broccoli and spinach enjoying the sunny backend, but they are about to come to an abrupt end; then its time to test the metal of you, our customers, as the root-and-green season kicks in! We still have delicious mixed salad bags (I particularly love the fiery “Ruby Streaks” mustard leaves), coriander and flat leaved parsley-snipping leaves finely with scissors over your dish transforms the most mundane dinner.
Parsnips, celeriac and swedes have been held back but are now appearing, and hooray!! it’s the return of the Lincolnshire chestnut mushroom! I have enjoyed some home-grown oyster mushrooms that appeared in huge chandeliers on straw bales down the farm; but despite multiple identification books and mushroom meals for me- I’m still alive, look!!- I’m too English to produce them on the markets.
ORGANIC VEG ARE BETTER FOR YOU!
We knew that, but £12m spent proving that organic fruit&veg contain up to 40% more antioxidants than conventional put a spoke in the Food Standards Agency assertion that there’s no difference!
I recently spoke on Radio Lincolnshire, and was astonished by the vitriolic attack made by their farming reporter, who claimed organics is “rubbish” (I got him back, though). It also raises the question of “when is 5-A-DAY enough?” If consumers are eating fresh produce with 40% less nutrients than they should contain, maybe it should be-7 a day??
BREAST CANCER £250 to go to Lincoln Breast Cancer Support, thanks to all of you who contributed! One man paid £4 into the pot for “pink” kale on Nottingham Square!




XMAS DINNER
So you’re not ready to think about it- but whoever is?? Just remember that ordering early and getting it delivered saves lots of supermarket queuing misery- and we are simply- better!
Full details, order form and online order form link next week, but here’s the trailer:

CHRISTMAS EDITION FAMILY FRUIT AND VEG BOX £15.50
Contains 4lb Cara pots, 2lb carrots, 1lb onion, 1/2lb mushroom, 11/2lb sprouts,(as sprout sticks) 1 lb parsnips, savoy cabbage, salad bag, parsley,
2 lemons , 3lb mixed Cox and clementines


FULL ORGANIC CHRISTMAS HAMPER £35
Contains CHRISTMAS EDITION plus
 Cashew Nut Roast, (vegan)
 Organic Carrot Cake,
 Special Coleslaw
 Mushroom & Bean Festive Pate
 Home-made vegan sour “cream” dressing
 Farmhouse pickle
The above home prepared items are specially made by us using our
own ingredients!
(all items are vegan except carrot ca

PINK VEG RAISE FUNDS FOR BREAST CANCER!

Everything goes PINK during Breast Cancer Awareness Month- so why should veg boxes be excluded? Next week we will be packing a PINK VEG BOX- a bit of a challenge, and we've had to take a few liberties (red and purple) to come close! But with pink potatoes, onions, ruby chard, red kale, chioggia- Italian pink beetroot, red batavia lettuce(really pink), and even "pink" aubergines. We've introduced a new Pickled Pink jar of red onions in the deli section on our website- and we are donating 10%of proceeds from pink sales to local breast cancer support groups!

Many people start buying our organic veg boxes after a brush with cancer, and research points towards a link between cancer and some pesticides used in conventional agriculture.In particular, the so-called gender bending sprays used extensively in vegetable production appear to have oestrogen-like properties that could increase the risk of breast cancer. Local campaigners also report a higher than normal incidence of breast cancer in Lincolnshire, a county well known for its intensive farm vegetable production.

In addition to our regular deliveries,the fundraising pink vegetable boxes will be on sale at 14 different Farmer’s Markets in the East Midlands during October, or can be ordered direct from Eden Farms by phoning 01790 763582

Meanwhile, Stacey Emerson, packer of pink boxes, has dressed up especially for the event!

Who loves the sun.....

At last some genuine summer weather; I adore heat, and have felt profoundly cheated so far this summer. Therefore , accompanied by Harry Potter to submerge any feelings of guilt, I have managed to aquire a good tan by sitting out in the garden on every possible occasion over the last week.
Not so Luke, I'm afraid; he has been working round the clock, preparing land for planting, trying to do 2 month's work in 2 weeks. On top of it all, the land has set like concrete now that the rain has stopped, and he has had to irrigate some crops that are struggling to draw moisture from soil that has tightened like a noose around their roots.
But at least crops are starting to grow: pink and yellow leaves are greening up, and stationary transplants have realised there is a reason to go on living. The sweetcorn is in full flower, and we may have finally managed to start lifting our not-so-early potatoes, Maris Bard. Too long in wet ground has given the slugs a great opportunity to share in the bounty, and we are doing our best to spot the damage before it leaves the farm- let us know if we are not successful!

Slough of Despond

If I was a duck in the desert, I'd probably think things are great. As it is, watching all this year's hard work being swallowed up by relentless rain and flooding has reduced our farm to a self-pitying bunch of whingers, desperate to put a good face on things and be positive- but a quick walk round a farm with small yellow crops, big weeds and large puddles , rapidly dispels any fantasies. Note the yellow digger in the foreground of the picture- the only piece of farm machinery that has constantly been at work over the last few weeks.
Prior to last Friday, I calculated that 50,000 tons of water had fallen on our farm in the last 2 weeks- a crazy figure! I have now stopped calculating....
Anyhow, I'm just trying to soften you up and make you sorry for us, when I once again apologise for broccoli that goes yellow, repetitive boxes, and more old season potatoes. Please feel free to complain- you are entitled to expect good quality produce, regardless; however, it is definitely not up to our usual standard. Broad beans, spring onions, courgettes, more cabbages and beetroot- we are getting a bit overfamiliar with all these now!
I like to scout supermarkets and check out the competition; last week when Marks&Spencer only had Spanish broccoli I was unbearably smug. This week tales of air -freighted broccoli from USA- Europe hasn't got enough- at extraordinary prices , by packers under fixed-price contracts to the BIG retailers, created a frisson of satisfaction; however, I don't want to be a sour puss!
Three months of non-stop wet weather has washed away nutrients, soil structure, and crops:even the wild marsh samphire, a local delicacy that grows on the dunes up the coast, hasn't cropped.
ALL those jokes about webbed-feet in Lincolnshire may finally come true....

The Great Kohlrabi Competition

Kohlrabi, strange vegetable relation of turnips and cauliflowers, is much loved almost anywhere except the UK. Go on any farmers market and ecstatic customers with continental accents snatch up huge bags of them and scurry home to gorge on delicacies made with this under-rated veg.
So why do I feel I have to keep apologising for it?
At a time of year when vegetables are in short supply, we find it an invaluable ally- fast to grow, very versatile as either a salad item, or stir fried, saute, casserole, roast, steamed in a sauce etc.
I made a really tasty vegetable accompaniment to bangers & mash by just braising carrot, kohlrabi slices, onion, and at the last minute, a few broccoli florets, in margarine, salt and black pepper- totally simple but delicious.
Anyhow, to prove that this vegetable is as good as I say, please enter our big KOHLRABI COMPETITION! Send in your recipes and comments, anmd we will choose a winner( or several if they are all wonderful!) who will receive a hamper of organic and fair trade goodies, and 25kg net kohlrabi ( just joking...)
I'll start of with an email I received from a customer this week:

Dear M et al
Just a line of support for your good work - as one who
said yes to the whole 'home grown' package and spurned
flown in lychees or even green beans from Kenya, I
say 'yes' to the humble Kohlrabi and was slightly
disappointed (no, that is a lie) to see none in my box
this week. I didn't even dare ask why onions had long
since disappeared off the radar, thinking that this
was all part of God's plan and that it wasn't up to us
mere mortals to question their non-existence.
Seriously, it's a bit like the 21C obsession with 2
week package tours to remote places like outer
Mongolia with punters then moaning that they can't
find semi-skimmed milk or somewhere to plug in their
hair tongs. Just DON'T GO.
Me? I'm off to mark some more A level French tapes
(now that IS hair-shirt and scourge)
Regards
Linda

Yellow Greens

Summer should be a mellow dreamy time to enjoy the great outdoors and recover from too many nights spent in watching "B" movies and snacking sweeties. Instead, we seem to be living in a sub-tropical forest of large weeds and even larger puddles, bad-tempered staff gently poaching in full wet gear, and even worse tempered farmers who cannot get any work done!
So why should vegetables be immune from the general misery?! Just as our summer range of veg comes into full swing, the perverse weather causes problems! Spinach and lettuce leaves are bruised and ripped by the staggering force and size of the raindrops, and broccoli has received the message" go forth and multiply- quickly!!", with the result that no amount of chilling prevents it from trying to flower- hence you may have received a brownish piece. Our delicious new potatoes may have to grow gills and swim out of the field, and winter modular plants are spending their second month laid out in the farmyard waiting to be planted.
Please do contact us if you have received yellow green veg, and we will credit you! We are doing our best, but Eden Farms likes- hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters- this is the order I'm putting in for 2008!!