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Last week I asked for some feedback about our microgreens and offerings generally. I was delighted by the number of replies and have added a separate blog to summarise the responses and indicate the actions that we intend to take. So a relatively short main blog this week, and let's start with a new offering. We have added radicchio leaves And as a by product we have added a radicchio and lettuce mixture Out on the field, our brussels sprouts have been netted ever since they

Last week we asked for feedback on two questions: 1) Despite the fact that our customer base has increased, our microgreen sales have decreased. Are they considered a "nice to have"? Are they too expensive? Are they too much of an unknown? 2) We have lots of lovely customers who are all ordering from us, or visiting the Lido on a periodic basis. How do we change that so that you lovely people are ordering and visiting on a regular rather than periodic basis? I firstly summar

The last sowing of the year!! This is Winter Density lettuce which I will prick out this week with a view to transplanting it to the field in late October. I have an earlier crop which I will be transplanting in a couple of weeks. Hopefully these will be ready to harvest early November to replace the current crop of lettuce. I also have some Winter Purslane which is still to be transplanted, and a load of garlic gloves that still need planting, then I'm done with getting stuf

Wednesday marks the Autumn equinox for this year, so after that we will be getting more hours of darkness than light, and the rate of growth of the veggies will start to slow. How's that for a gloomy way to start a blog, and I have to warn you that it doesn't really get much better!! I'd better get straight on with the main news this week whilst you are still with me. I mentioned last week that our potato harvest has been shockingly poor, and that our next potatoes (Charlotte

Let's get straight to the new entries this week Firstly our latest crop of lettuce is now ready to harvest, and we will be offering this as a loose leaf lettuce product which has proved to be very popular for previous crops The reintroduction of lettuce has enabled us to add a special offer for this week. We have created a "salad pack" which is a mix of microgreens, cherry tomatoes and lettuce, and will save you a couple of quid compared to buying them separately (every littl

I am writing this blog with my legs still itching and tingling from the numerous stinging nettles that I was clearing out from the side of one of the beds this morning. Logic would say to wear long trousers, but I don't do logic (or long trousers until well into the winter)! They have not previously been a priority to clear, but I am looking to get a lot planted over the next couple of weeks so need the space. Planned plantings include broccoli to overwinter, purple sprouting

Apologies for the delayed publication this week. It was Issy's birthday yesterday so last evening was not the time to be on the computer! Let's get straight to the picture that everyone is desperately waiting for! Yup, that's the progress of the cut back chard clump after just a week. As a reminder it was here last week The rest of the bed is also doing well, and I reckon these will be back on sale next week or the week after We will also be adding leeks at the same time as t

We have added a large veg box to our "a la carte" and standard veg box offering this week Green sprouting broccoli is making a return!! The latest crop of cos lettuces are doing nicely, and I reckon that they are 3 weeks from harvest I also think that we will be able to reintroduce leeks to our offering at around the same time. I sow them in clumps, and depending on germination rates, I transplant them in big clumps, small clumps, or singly! Those in big clumps are slower gro

AT LAST!! According to google, the last significant rainfall we had in this area was on 11th June. That's 67 days, or the best part of 10 weeks ago. Let's just hope that the forecast is correct this time! However, given that yr.no are also forecasting rain and Issy tells me that Norwegians are always right, then it is looking promising! The other bit of good news is that our late summer leeks are doing nicely and should be ready in a few weeks. As I spend a lot of time outsid

Let's start with some good news (but to manage expectations, this blog is going to be balanced more the other way!!!! 😢😢) We have been asked numerous times about our veg boxes, and have had to explain that we only offer "a la carte" boxes where people can choose their own veg, and thereby choose how much or how little they want. However, we have now decided to additionally offer the option of having a box of vegetables based on what is growing well. Last week's is shown bel

I had to go the the dentist today to get a big filling replaced. Despite my dentist being an absolute legend whom I have known and trusted for 40 years, I'm still very uncomfortable about opening my mouth as wide as possible to let someone fiddle around with needles and pneumatic drills whilst I sit there at their mercy. Not nearly as uncomfortable though as when I got back from the dentist at lunchtime and had to spend the same amount of time watering tomato and cucumber pla

Let's start with some good news The cherry tomatoes have started to ripen and are now back on the website! Another bit of good news is that I am planning more pictures, and less commentary this week! Standard tomatoes are also doing well, and I have spent the best part of both today and yesterday pruning all the tomatoes and the cucumber plants. Hot work, but essential to ensure that all their energy is focused into producing beautiful fruits! I mentioned in a blog a couple o

Issy has been away on holiday with our youngest daughter (Bethany) this week as a treat for Bethany's 21st. Fortunately, our middle daughter (Alex) kindly took a day off work to help with deliveries on Friday, and then helped again with the Lido stall on Saturday. I'm very grateful to her. I have to confess that whilst they have been away, I have definitely had Chinese food and curry for dinner more times than I really should! Last night however, I decided to finish work rela

An emu can't fly but can jump up to 7 foot in the air. It is the only bird that has calf muscles. The reason I mention that is because the field opposite mine is owned by a lovely lady called Jo who has three horses. She arrived at the field on Saturday morning to find that she had three horses and an emu!! I was busy doing the stall at the Lido, so missed all the excitement, but apparently they spent most of the day trying in vain to find the owner. Most of the responses tha

I'm tired! Not because I stayed up to watch the football, although I did appreciate the results of both the England game (for my sake) and the Norwegian game (for Issy's sake). It troubles me that I will never hear the last of it from Issy's family if it goes against us next Saturday! 🤦‍♂️ The reason that I am tired is because I've been trying to start work on the field super early in this hot weather so it has now been a long day 😎 When I was at school, the answer to that

My objective this week is to provide an update on the vegetables that are in the pipeline. Firstly however, I would like to apologise to everyone who missed out on microgreens last week. They cooked before they had the chance to germinate! You will be relieved to know that this weeks offering is looking very promising. Unfortunately, I also lost my sowings of swede and sprouts for the second time 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ Secondly, before we start, I should also let you know that the Saltde

A relatively short blog today you'll be pleased to hear I wanted to report back on my three experiments that I was working on. 1) Hanging baskets What a beauty eh?!! Unfortunately that is one of the baskets that I made a couple of years ago These are some of the baskets that I made this year that are only fit for going on the compost heap The reason that these haven't worked is simple; I was trying to do too much, and more specifically to try and cram too much into the polytu

Can you believe it?!!! Awarded to a company that sells food which is covered in dirt! But it really is us, look... We are required to be registered as a food provider with the council, even though we are a primary producer, and we received our rating this week following our inspection the previous week. I had to complete a questionnaire when we first registered which covered things such as cleaning, heating, storage, and disinfectants. The answers were all "none" or "N/A", s

Let's start with my highlight of the week. We figured that the early potatoes should be ready by now, and pulled one to take a look That was such a brilliant feeling to see the healthy potatoes underneath!! We like to ensure that our customers are getting good quality, and about 3 hours later we had the taste control session. A bit of mint and shed loads of butter.... The next picture of the leftovers speaks for itself. They were absolutely blooming marvellous! So we have a v

Before I give updates on the vegetables, I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who visited us at the Lido on Saturday. It's early days, but we believe that it is going to work well to deliver website orders on a Friday, and then have our physical stall on a Saturday. For our friends in Seaford, please be advised that due to popular demand, you are now back in our delivery area. Golly it was hot earlier this week! It has been great to see everyone enjoying the weather, espe