Church FarmYour Weekly Newsletter

Friday 2nd March 2012

A Note from the Grower

This week a large part of our soft fruit orders arrived, and we will be planting these over the next couple of days. These plants are mostly to replace losses from the established Vicarage soft fruit orchard, though we will be making some brand new plantings too.

Raspberries, blackberries and their hybrids, such as Tayberries and Loganberries are all so-called “cane” fruits, that is, plants that fruit mostly on two-year-old woody stems or “canes”. The exception is the autumn-fruiting raspberry, which fruits on the current season’s growth. All of them will begin fruiting two years after planting, but thereafter will repay the gardener’s patience and care with at least ten years of annual abundance of delicious, health-giving fruit; they are a particularly useful source of vitamin C. Blackberries can continue fruiting for twenty years or more!

All cane fruits produce long, arching canes, especially the blackberries and hybrids, and to manage them they are trained onto a system of posts and horizontal wires. This can be a hazardous task with very thorny blackberry varieties, so tough gloves are recommended! Summer fruiting raspberries, blackberries and hybrid berries all produce new canes each year. These will produce fruit the following season and then die, to be replaced by new growth. Therefore every autumn-winter the gardener must cut back the old, fruited canes, and tie in the new canes to the wires, ready for fruiting next summer. Autumn fruiting raspberries fruit on the annual growth and are simply cut down to ground level during the winter. Like all fruit plants, from strawberries to apples, pears and plums, cane fruits take a little patience and attention, but the rewards in terms of productivity and eating pleasure are unsurpassed.

Next week, currants and gooseberries!

Rik

Come to visit Home Field at the moment and you’ll see a whole host of very tiny piglets! They were born just last week, and they’re only now starting to get up onto their shaky legs and explore the world outside of their house.

These piglets were all born to first-time mums, and since there were three very small litters, we’ve put all the piglets together. They now live as one happy family, and curl up together to keep warm at night. Home Field is just up past our car park, so if you’re near the farm, why not pop in for a quick peek at these little cuties!

A Field Full of Piglets

Last Saturday was the first member volunteer day of 2012. With the sun shining we had chance to enjoy exploring much of the farm.

In the morning, we went to see our laying hens and spread straw out for them to keep them happy and comfortable. Next, the kids who came along had a go at feeding not only our orphaned lamb but also the two calves that live up in Home Field. After lunch, we put in some graft and planted out a long row of broad beans ready for a late spring crop.

The next visit day will be Saturday 24th March, we’d love to have more of you join us then.

Member Volunteer Day

10th March Countryside Code Course 2pm-4pm, £4.95 per child (suitable for 6-12 year olds), pre-booking only.

17th March Butchery Basics 10am-5pm, £150 including lunch, refreshments and the meat that you’ve prepared. Pre-booking only.St Patrick’s Celebrations, at The Jolly Waggoner. Live music from 7.30pm

18th March Mother’s DayBreakfast and lunch sittings in our farm cafe, and fireside evening meals at the pub over the road. Pre-booking only, see our website for details.

Every Sunday Pick Your Own at 3.30pmTour of the Farm by Foot at 11am. Free when you buy one bag of animal feed per person.

Upcoming Events in March

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

What’s in my box next week?

MEAT (small boxes)

Farm VarietySausages, pork loin stuffed with sausagemeat, beef strips, beef mince, back bacon

Lean Cuts (NEW FOR 2012)Skinny sausages, skinless chicken fillets, extra lean minced beef, lean pork stir fry

Old English CutsChicken liver, pork loin stuffed with sausagemeat, beef strips, stock pot bag

Premium SelectionSausages, pork loin stuffed with sausagemeat, back bacon

VEGETABLESExtra Small (6 varieties)Potato (red romano), carrot, onion, butternut squash, leek, parsnip

Small (8 varieties)Purple sprouting broccoli, beetroot

Medium (10 varieties)Cauliflower, green curly kale

Large (12 varieties)Red cabbage, white mushroom

Extra Large (15 varieties)Spinach, lettuce, tomato

FRUIT (extra large box)Plums, oranges, apples (fuji), grapes, mangoes, blood oranges

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.

Real Ales: Real Food : Warm Welcome at the

Jolly Waggoner

Now taking bookings for Mother’s Day. Book a table today

to avoid disappointment! Call 01438 861 350

www.thejollywaggoner.co.uk

Onions, like so many other vegetables, like to be stored somewhere cool, but not in your fridge. One of our box customers told us recently that she stores her vegetables inside the boot of her car over Winter, as it’s consistently cool in there! Ideally, onions like to be out in the air rather than kept in a bag, which is why they were traditionally sold in hanging plaits. Try hanging them in a net, or best of all, the legs of clean old tights - tie knots between each onion and cut them out as needed. Don’t store them near tomatoes or apples, as this will cause the onions to sprout.

Getting the Best from your Box

In addition to helping rear the new chicks, Rural Care have been collecting duck eggs and putting them in our incubator. They are turned every day, which helps the incubation process, and can be seen in the chick shed adjacent to the Rural Care area. It should take about four weeks before the ducklings hatch. Elsewhere on the farm, our co-farmers have been weeding and tidying the raised herb bed area, which is located next to the vegetable growing polytunnel. This is another of our regular tasks, and now that spring seems to be on it’s way, we need to ensure that all of the old growth has been removed so that our perennial herbs can thrive again this year.

Garden Spring Cleaning by Rural Care

MethodInstead of soaking the ham overnight to get rid of excess salt, follow my short-cut method. Weigh the joint and calculate the poaching time, allowing 25 minutes for every 450g/1lb, and put the joint in a very large pan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil, then drain off all the water. Pour 600ml/1 pint of the cider into the pan and then pour in enough cold water to cover the joint. Add the onions, carrots, bay leaves, parsley stalks, cloves and peppercorns. Bring slowly to the boil, turn down the heat, then cover and simmer very gently for the calculated time. Allow the joint to cool in the stock (overnight is ideal).Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/ fan 160C. Lift the joint out of the stock, then strain the stock and measure 500ml/18fl oz. Strip the rind off the joint and score the fat in a diamond pattern. Put the joint in a heavy roasting tin (if it’s wibblywobbly, prop it up with a wad of scrunched-up foil), pour over the remaining cider and braise in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently until beginning to brown. If the pan becomes dry, splash in some cider or water to cover the bottom of the tin.Meanwhile, start the sauce. Put the milk, parsley stalks and bay leaves into a saucepan, bring to the boil and leave to infuse for as long as you have.Remove the joint from the oven and raise the temperature to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Put the orange halves around the joint. Melt the marmalade, brush it generously all over the gammon and oranges, then return to the oven for 10 minutes to glaze. Lift the gammon and oranges on to a serving dish, cover and keep warm while you finish the sauce.Sprinkle the flour into the roasting tin and scrape and stir around to mix with the juices. Place on the hob and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, to cook out the flour. Gradually pour in the measured stock and whisk well. Now add the strained infused milk and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into a clean saucepan, stir in the chopped parsley leaves and cream, then heat through gently and check the seasoning. Pour into a warm jug and serve with the joint.

Glazed gammon with parsley & cider sauce

Serves 12-16

Ingredients4½ kg joint middle-cut gammon900ml/1½ pints dry cider2 onions , quartered2 large carrots , halved3 fresh bay leavesHandful of parsley stalks6 cloves8 peppercorns2 oranges , halved, to garnish8 tbsp fine-cut whisky marmaladeFor the parsley and cider sauce500ml milk100g fresh parsley , stalks reserved and leaves chopped2 bay leaves50g plain flour100ml/3½ fl oz double cream

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2176/glazed-gammon-with-parsley-and-cider-sauce