21st September

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 and Bambino) won't be ready until November.

Unfortunately we are now completely out of maincrop potatoes.

We have just talked about the nights closing in, and that means roast dinners. But you can't have a decent roast without potatoes.

We have therefore decided that we need to make an exception to our rule of only selling what we grow ourselves and get some potatoes in from elsewhere.

I have found a potato farm just north of Lewes that is certified as organic by the Soil Association. The farmer has agreed to supply me with sacks of potatoes as long as I go and collect them!

So these have been added to our website, and clearly marked as a bought in product.

I can only get reds this week but expect to be able to offer both reds and whites in future.

This week has involved a lot of transplanting to the field. Five beds in total including Wintergreen cabbage, Red cabbage, Early purple sprouting, Normal purple sprouting, and Green sprouting broccoli.

All covered up to keep any pests off.

Talking of pests, have a look at how much of a kuri squash has been eaten by mice.

They must either have been very hungry, or there must've been a lot of them!

Fortunately we have air support which will help to keep the numbers down

We regularly have three or four of these kites (I think) circling overhead. It is a privilege to be able to watch these awesome creatures.

Right, back to planting in the field, and in addition to the transplants, I have also sown some seeds directly to the fields. These include more spinach and chard, onions, salad onions and corn salad.

We need a photo

But as you can see, nothing to show as yet!!!!

Except for the spinach which is just starting to make an appearance

And with the lovely weather forecast, the sprinklers have been put back on duty to ensure that these seeds and seedlings don't die out.

I hope you all manage to make the most of the warm days this week, and remember that we have lots of salad vegetables available and also the ingredients for that roast dinner for when it does get cooler again!