Author: ARB76_HolmeG

Moving from a veg plot that is about the size of 1.5 allotments, feeding a family of five, with the extra produce given away or stored, to something that is capable of meeting the needs of the wider community, is actually quite difficult to judge. How much do we need to sow and plant? The honest answer this year, is trial and error. We intend to do the best we can, and see what works. Inside the house we have lots of tomatoes, aubergines and peppers – on just about every windowsill. They are growing well.

Other young plants are growing stronger by the day in the greenhouse – onions, leeks, cabbages, lots of different kales, sprouts, spinach, chard, broad beans and peas. We’ve planted out the broad beans and onion sets already, as well as some first early potatoes. I’ll keep the variety under wraps as it may not be so popular this year – go figure! I’m slightly concerned about planting in the main patch though, so have also planted in my own area as an extra precaution. Slugs were a problem in Holme Field last year when the pumpkins were young. Rich went on nightly patrols to remove the offenders. I’ll try wool pellets as a first line of defence in due course.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

We hope to be able to offer volunteer opportunities to a number of Duke of Edinburgh Award participants. Welcome to Ethan, our very first…. I think this is exactly the type of experience the late Duke would have supported!

Making light work of the log pile

Some nice images of our combined efforts – not a bad job at all. Well done, Rich, Mike, Steve and Tom especially!

The area we used to grow pumpkins last year has been turned into our new soft fruit growing space. We have planted two rows of strawberries – I’m not entirely sure of the variety, but their parent plants have done well in my garden. Ann brought along some that she grew from runners, and I’m told they are lovely! They are starting to put on new leaves and appear to have bedded in well. We’ve planted a mixture of rhubarb plants – Timperley Early, Red Raspberry and Valentine, some gooseberry bushes – Hinnonmaki Yellow, Invicta and Jonkheer van Tets and a blackcurrant – Ben Sarek. The following week, Ann added a few more gooseberry bushes and two redcurrant plants. The space will be a popular place to hang out in a year or two’s time, once things are fruiting.

One of our earliest ideas for Holme Field was to create a community orchard. We are lucky enough to have a gently sloping, south facing field at our disposal. This in many ways, is ideal for an orchard. However, we are at an elevation of about 180 metres above sea level, which is acceptable, but we do have to be mindful of the prevailing winds. The native hedges we have planted should eventually help to provide shelter.

Getting hold of trees has not been that easy this year. We have been researching interesting varieties, suitable for northern locations and slightly higher altitudes. Unfortunately, these were the trees that were often unavailable at nurseries. Undeterred, Val and Abby decided to crack on and plant some firm favourites – Laxton’s Superb, Discovery, Katy , James Grieve and Winston. Two of each variety have been planted in a grid formation on one side of the slope. On the other side of the path we have added to the five damson saplings planted last year, with two Nottingham medlar trees. In addition we have planted three small plum trees – Czar, and two Victoria varieties.

We have enjoyed meeting Craven College students who are learning some practical skills to support their ‘Countryside’ course. They have been busy hedge planting around the chicken coop. They managed to find enough time to get to know the chickens too!