Got round to rebuilding the strawberry cage before the fruits start to ripen. Last year we spent too long crawling about getting caught up in netting. This version is a big improvement!

We rarely grow in pots as nutrients available to plants are limited compared to soil. They’re also a pain to keep hydrated in the summer. We are however doing some tomatoes and cucumbers for the kids. These’ll be in an area we pass by often and we’ll be enriching with manure etc

Young fledgling robin out in the garden being fed by its parents.

Consequence of late season frost last night. New potatoes and achocha have had it. Hopefully spuds will recover. Glasshouse hit 0.0C last night with another frost forecast tonight. Touch and go if the tomatoes etc will pull through. That’s the reality, always a gamble

First strawberry nearly ready to be picked! We have over 300 strawberry plants, with 200 of these under netting. We’re hoping for a decent haul this year.

It’s been a fantastic year for hawthorn blossom! Here’s our ‘home’ hawthorn looking glorious in the sun. The whole tree is alive with life; such a valuable species to have in our system.

And that’s a wrap! We’ve officially finished our asparagus harvest. This was our first full year harvesting after planting the bed. In all we harvested 11.5kg asparagus off 34 plants in 4.5 weeks. We’re tempted to double the number of plants for next year.

We planted spinach as an early crop in the polytunnel and it’s thrived. We’ll be harvesting soon and replanting the bed. The variety is Medania, and it’s always done really well for us

We’re in the last week of picking our asparagus so we’re making the most of it!

Three big loads of woodchip for us today dropped off by a local contractor. We’ll put this to good use mulching paths, trees and borders. It helps massively with water retention and when it breaks down over the season does wonders feeding the soil.

We got given some heritage climbing bean seeds to try out. - Hungarian Pale - Marvel of Venice - Italian Snap - Schone von Richtiger Anyone tried before? We’re going to set up a trial bed to see how they get on and grow out the seed for next year.

We had a bare spot in our garden after some work. We’ve planted an apple tree, sown some native wildflower seed and woven a willow fence. It’s completely transformed the place. Flowers are all just about to bloom.

We had a glut of sweetcorn last year, which we ended up drying. We’ve been at a bit of a loss what to do with it. With our new grain mill we’ve ground it down and made some cornbread. I think this might be a winning recipe!

We took the plunge and got ourselves a mill. It’s going to be a game changer with all of the grains we’re growing on the farm. Today we made Staffordshire oatcakes with YQ wheat and naked oats.

We had a bit of a slow down on the asparagus with the night frosts, but now they’re back up to full production. We’ll do one more week of picks before we let them grow on for the rest of the year.

Super early start here with a group listening to the dawn chorus. Such a beautiful time to be out Some moth identification over breakfast before finishing with a meander round the farm.

We’ve got a dawn chorus walk on the farm tomorrow morning. Thought we’d set up the moth trap so we can do some moth identification. Early morning for us, time to call it a day!

Very cool to see a seven spot ladybird hatch from its pupae in the glasshouse It emerged with a yellow carapace, which turned red with black spots over a couple of hours. It’ll now hopefully be happily munching away with its pals, protecting our plants from pests.

Morning! Lots of sowing and transplanting here today…

Our main glasshouse is split into two parts. The East section still needs a decent amount of work to get it fully commissioned. We are however, trying to grow in a small section where we’re planting broad beans, potatoes, drying beans and maybe some squash.

We’ve begun trellising our tomatoes using a biodegradable jute twine. At the end of the of the season it can be chopped down and composted with the rest of the plant. This twine provides a support to the tomato plant as it grows, maximising use of the vertical space.

Here’s an exciting tray growing away nicely! We have four melon varieties; our favourite from last year ‘Sweet Passion’, as well as three new, ‘Petit Gris De Rennes’, ‘Prescott Ford Blanc’ and ‘Blacktail Mountain Water Melon’.

Today we planted the first of our annuals into the newly renovated glasshouse. Those who’ve been following will know what a big job it’s been to get to this point! To give context, here are two images: one from when we first gained entry and the other of us planting up today.

We’ve begun planting glasshouse plants into their final positions. Today it was over 100 tomato, pepper, chilli and tomatillo plants. They’ll soon be followed by cucumber, melon, watermelon, physalis, okra and loofa.

Dawn chorus

Our new potting area is pretty busy right now. Annuals, perennials, native flowers, trees, soft fruits all vying for space. We’ve rigged up a shade using an old sail that was very kindly gifted to us.

The bee block in our garden is starting to get busy again. This particular one has over 1000 holes!

Here is our linear forest garden that runs through the centre of our annual beds. It’s there to slow wind, provide shade, act as a habitat for predators and pollinators, help nutrient cycling and to provide edible produce.

This area of the market garden was planted out in the autumn and has been ticking along all winter. We’re now seeing decent growth of the shallots, onions, garlic, leek strawberries and wheat.

It’s been worryingly dry with no sign of rain on the horizon. It’s shaping up to be a fourth year of challenging growing. In addition to heavily mulching and integrating tree layers we’ve been updating our irrigation systems to cover the whole market garden in anticipation.

Still getting ground frosts here. We’re not in the clear yet with more forecast at the end of the week. We’re spending our days mulching, bed prepping, sowing, repotting, fencing and setting up our new and improved irrigation system.

It’d be rude not to

We’ve taken a call and started planting out the heat-loving crops into their final positions in the glasshouse. Today it was aubergines. Tomorrow it’s chillies and peppers. These will be followed in a few weeks by tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and tomatillos.

Foraging for our local baker who will be making a special seasonal loaf. Hawthorn tips, nettles, sorrel, crow garlic, Good King Henry and ramsons in the mix.

Frosty start to the morning here. Our wild garlic has been establishing well under a plum tree in the forest garden. We’ll be doing a light pick today along with some asparagus for an event locally.

Purple sprouting broccoli and oyster mushrooms for dinner it is then!

We love our drying beans here. The plants are nitrogen fixers so work well in rotation, they store for long periods and they’re very versatile in the kitchen In addition to last years home saved black, borlotti, soy and Jacobs cattle beans, we’ll be adding gigantes and cannellini to the mix

Spent the day at our regional Land Workers Alliance gathering at Old Hall Community in Suffolk. These events are always a great source of inspiration to us and we feel privileged to be part of it. There’s some wonderful people out there doing some fascinating projects!

And the asparagus keeps coming! One week in and we’ve already harvested 3kg over two picks. We’ve got 42 plants in the ground and hope for a total harvest of 18-20kg over the six week picking period.

Maxing out the plant production line for our heat-loving crops. From heated propagator to indoor grow light stage to polytunnel heat bench with a soil warming cable. The first of the plants will be in their final position in about two weeks. We are keenly watching the forecast.

It’s asparagus time again! This year is the first time we’ll be able to do a full seasons pick now that the plants are fully established.

Making the most of the last of this years coppiced willow. We’ve used the whippy offcuts to make a wind and sun shelter for the garden. We’ve been really impressed with the regrowth from the willow stools so far; it just grows so fast!

We’re coming up to the last stocks of our spuds. Not quite a full year supply but 10 months ain’t shabby. There’s not a load of veg about this time of year but today we’re having baked potatoes with a pesto of wild garlic, chives, tarragon, parsley, spring onion and spinach.

We’re taking a break year from tomatoes and other heat loving plants in the polytunnel. We’ve just finished planting up spinach, onion, spring onion and lettuce, which will soon be followed by coriander, parsley, dill and fenugreek.

Another good haul of black morels foraged from the front drive. That’s 100g worth now. The mulch of woodchip and wood ash obviously provided them with perfect conditions.

Nice little harvest for a local event tonight. We’ve not got loads available at the moment but we do have some exciting seasonal produce. Today it was wild garlic and sprouted kale tops.

Well this is an exciting find! Right on our front driveway we’ve now got a patch of morels. We’ve been loading on the woodchip and wood ash over the years, partly in the hope that we’d be creating a habitat for them. Who’d have thought they’d actually turn up!

Time for a move. Our small propagator is premium space and we’re working it hard. Today the pepper and aubergine will be repotted and installed under box lights, being replaced by newly sown tomato and tomatillo. After that it’s melon and cucumbers. Phew!

The polytunnel has been prepped with a new layer of woodchip and mulch for the new season. In this space we will be taking a break from tomatoes, cucumbers etc this season, instead planting a break crop of onions, spinach and lettuce.

Our newest willow coppice is showing signs of growth. We have over 200 rods of 8 varieties planted at close 30cm spacing. This will encourage tall, whippy growth, ideal material for baskets and similar projects.