19th October

Let's start with some marvellous news.

We have had confirmation that Sussex Sourdough will be joining us at the Saltdean Lido on a Saturday morning, starting this week!!

Their produce looks fantastic!

I am now trying to find a butcher to join us. I am exploring a couple of avenues, but no joy as yet. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Back to the vegetables, and we are at that stage of the year where a lot of the vegetables are coming to the end of their harvest and handing the baton over to the winter vegetables to keep people well fed.

Back in the summer when it was really hot, and really dry, I was often asked whether we had been affected much. My answer was that we were ok with what was then in season, but that we were having issues with the seedlings that needed to be planted to give a harvest later in the year.

Well we are now later in the year, and the impact of the dry summer is taking effect. At the same time, our customer base has increased, and we don't therefore have as many veg as we need.

If I was one of the Sourdough ladies, I would get some extra dough, and get up even earlier to make more loaves. However, I can't do that with vegetables. We need to start our process a few months in advance and if it doesn't work there is no second chance. 😢

That said, our microgreens have a short harvest cycle, and we have had lots of feedback that these are wanted in the winter months. We are therefore in the process of setting up a new system to ensure a more plentiful and reliable supply. More about that in the next couple of weeks.

Here's the detail on the veg:

The tomatoes are definitely starting to slow significantly. We do still have some coming along

But the temperature differential between day and night means that they are prone to splitting

Not so pretty eh!

Because of the uncertainty, we have a low number available on the website, but any excess will be taken to the Lido on Saturday.

Cucumbers need no commentary!

Quite a few of the courgette plants have now given up completely, but some are still going, albeit at a much slower pace. This is the best one we have at the minute.

It is a shame that it is coming to the end of their season, but I'm keen to get as much from them before they stop completely. It is annoying therefore to see that pheasants have been in to help themselves.

I've cut these two off the plant as there is no point wasting energy on them any more. My question is why couldn't the bloomin pheasants take one rather than taking a bite of both? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

What is even more annoying though is what they have done to our garlic seedlings that are just starting out.

It isn't very clear from the photos, but they have pulled them up and left them on the ground. Given that they haven't eaten them, I can only conclude that they did this just to annoy me!

Leeks are going strong

Chicory (radicchio) is coming along nicely. The outer leaves are ready to eat as a salad mix, and the inner heads are forming nicely

The current crop of lettuce is coming to an end, and I will be transplanting a winter lettuce in the next few days.

The first lot of winter purslane went in today

Chard is coming back nicely after its short back and sides. Ready in a couple of weeks

Same with the spinach

The new crop of spinach is also coming along nicely

Brussels sprouts aren't where I'd like them to be but we are seeing some progress

I will say the same for the next crop of carrots

The salad potatoes have suffered a little with the dryness, so may need a bit of scraping, but taste lovely

A few of the squash plants are still battling on

Beetroot are still going strong

So in conclusion, our volume of available products is reducing, but please bear with us as the winter alternatives will soon be on their way 😉