Hello fellow Smallholders
The start of yet another month doesn’t time fly when you are having fun!
Spring is finally here at last, gone are the days of paddling round in mud, well for a few months anyway so let’s make the most of it.
The clocks have changed so longer lighter evening more time to spend outside enjoying the good old English weather
Spring has certainly arrived at Donnas House her 6 ewes have been busy lambing over the last few weeks which has caused great excitement not to mention sleepless nights ! all her daughter Danni can say is thank goodness she doesn’t have 300 ewes ,not that she makes a fuss or anything !!
7 healthy lambs so far and one more left to go
A Big well done to Peter Ratcliffe who’s wife Elaine informed us he laid 2 ridge tiles on his roof this month WELL DONE Peter keep up the good work only another 342 to go .
Another get well soon to Fiona’s Dad who is still feeling a little under the weather so as not to put him under any pressure Terry Adger has agreed to take over the Gardening Article.
The Meeting with Defra
A packed audience enjoyed an informative presentation from local DEFRA Officers, Alan and David at the Blue Boar, Silver Street, on Tuesday 22nd March. Alan opened the evening by outlining the role of DEFRA in relation to farming and smallholders and in particular their key areas of responsibility:
- Livestock health and welfare
- Livestock identification, registration and transportation
- Livestock disease and its prevention, notification and restriction.
There was some lively debate on various topics including notifiable diseases such as the foot and mouth outbreak, blue tongue and bird flu. Questions were both general and specific and both officers took questions from individuals afterwards.
There was a general consensus that those present would welcome DEFRA back to give more information on the keeping of pigs, aside from micro pigs which did cause a stir, as regulations were/appeared complicated and confusing, sometimes being contradictory. Alan agreed to schedule such a workshop meeting with Danni.
For general, and some specific, information on the areas talked about, visit the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals. A plethora of material and downloadable PDF’s are available.
For specific enquiries ring DEFRA direct on 0845 335577.
If you have welfare concerns or any other concerns relating to livestock, from the pet micro pig to the smallholders sheep transportation for example, you can either call DEFRA on the above number or email them at defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk . Contact can be anonymously made if needs be.
2nd Butchery course
Yet another success 8 of us attended this month’s class held at Ansells Butchery shop on Sunday 13th March, Paul’s meat cutting skills where as impressive as those shown on the first course. Paul seems to have the art of knife sharpening off to a T, I am hoping to book Vince for some personal knife sharpening lessons as i don’t seem to have a sharp knife in the house!
Did you all see the article in the Maldon and Burnham Standard 30th March. Ansells and the Oakhouse Bar and cafe co-hosted the Butcher’s Block to Table Top event they showed how various cuts of beef chicken and pork are made and then prepared ready for sale, then cooked by the Oakhouse chef Sarah and served as part of a 3 course meal. also local cheese and wine was provided.
Please see the Ansell and sons web site and sign up for your free news letterwww.ansellandson.co.uk
Smokehouse cancellation
The visit to Richardsons smoke house had to be cancelled due to lack of response, this left some people disappointed although there was a lot of interest shown we need definite numbers please.
Mr Richardson was opening the smoke house on the Sunday just for our group so we really feel we need at least a dozen people to make it worth his while. Although he was not making any charge he was opening and showing us the smoking process with the hope we would purchase some of his goods.
Danni is hoping to re arrange at a later date so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE register your interest with Danni at danielle.perkins@yahoo.co.uk ASAP
BUT.................................. before we see how it’s done on a commercial basis how about a visit to Vinnie’s Smoke Shack at Mundon it will be fired up and ready to go on the Morning of April 10th 10am prompt ! so if you would like to smoke some Bacon Cheese or even some Fish book your space by emailing Danni at the above email address
The smoker was a 50th birthday present and has already had two successful fire ups. First time we tried some cheddar, trout and a gammon joint all brought from Morrisons as we were disorganised and had nothing cured and although these tasted great, the second time we cured our own bacon and this was delicious .
So if you would like to book your space in the smoker or need some advice on curing let Danni know as soon as possible and remember the curing process can take a week so you need to get organised.
Recipe of the month
Barbecue Jerk Chicken or Pork chops
8 free range chicken thighs boned
or 4 pork chops
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Marinade
1 teaspoon each of ground allspice, ground cinnamon and dried thyme
¼ teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
1 tablespoon demerera sugar, lime juice and red wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Salt and ground black pepper
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mash together well to forma thick paste.
Lay the chicken pieces on a board and make several lengthways slits in the flesh. Rub the marinade all over the chicken and into the slits.
Place the chicken pieces in a dish cover with cling film and leave to marinade in the fridge overnight.
Brush of any excess marinade from the chicken, brush with oil and place on a baking sheet, cook under a medium grill or on the barbeque for 15 – 20 minutes or until cooked through.
For pork chops marinade overnight in the fridge and cook under a high grill for 8-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the chop.
Serve with jacket potato and salad.
Dig It - April 2011
Welcome to the new vegetable growing information page. Firstly apologies to those readers if this is “telling your Grandmother how to suck eggs” but there may be those who are new to the wonders of growing vegetables or those who may welcome some hints and tips as well as the “to do” section.
This will be aimed at the modest patch and not the fully self sufficient size, I will include tips for those without a patch but have a corner they can put some tubs or grow bags in. So to begin I shall look at where we should be in the patch, assuming a modest area to cultivate.
Empty ground that hopefully you dug over and manured in late autumn last year. This should now be forked over and cleared of any weeds. The ground is still too cold and damp for planting but you can help bring this forward by covering over your prepared beds with some form of fabric such as the black weed suppressing material or plastic or even an old carpet. This will warm the ground and stop it getting washed flat in heavy rain. A benefit of this is getting crops in up to 2-3 weeks earlier.
The keener growers will already have their broad beans in from last October, if not these can go in the ground now but do cover over if there is a frost forecast and keep protected with fleece until mid-April. If you have something like a potting shed or cold greenhouse, shallots can be started off in shallow trays to get them ahead until the end of April when it will be safe to transplant them into the prepared bed. Sets are best left until the end of April in case they get damp and rot.
Obviously you should have your seed potatoes in trays somewhere bright and dry to start them to chit. Again, this is only to get the potatoes into growth earlier and the buds need only to get to the emerging leaf stage when they can be planted out in your prepared drills if going in the ground. If growing in bags or pots, I put 3” of soil in the bottom and place 5 or so seed potatoes on it, then cover them with soil as the stems grow to keep them dark. Remember to keep them barely moist if growing in containers at this stage or they can rot. If you don’t have a dry and bright place to put containers or pots, then cover them over if heavy rain or frost is forecast.
Peas and beans can also be container grown and put in now, again cover if the weather looks to be very wet or frosty.
Don’t forget to force some early rhubarb, a good size bucket or similar size pot put over the top of a crown or two will give an early crop.
Start thinking about what you are going to grow and where. It is best to rotate each year to avoid soil born diseases. Simple enough -beans where you had cabbage and root crops where the beans were, then cabbage where the root crops were.
Early strawberries can be planted into prepared beds, keep some straw for lying around the plants once the flowers start.
Herbs can be started off in a good sized pot either indoors or under glass – you cannot beat parsley picked as and when you need it, sow a fine amount monthly in a 6” pot.
April onwards will be a busy time on the patch so get organized with your seeds ready to go in direct from the middle of the month. Tomatoes can be started off indoors right now; they soon get to potting up in about three weeks.
Prepare the place where your marrows, courgettes, pumpkins and squash will live. Take out a hole about 18” deep and put in 12” of good rotted manure, then backfill with soil. This will feed the plants from the roots up and really keep them happy. It will also hold moisture at root level when it gets hot.
Cover asparagus with some fresh compost about 3” deep over the crown to form a ridge - keeps them out of damp ground.
If you have open fires, store a few bags of ash to keep it dry - sprinkled around plants will guarantee to keep slugs and snails away, easy to replace if rained on and will provide some minerals to the soil at the same time – you only need a tiny amount.
Well that should keep you going through April and we can really set to at the end of the month and into May when things really take off. Have fun and I will catch up with you again next month. Remember gardening is all about sharing so if you have any success stories, hints or tips, please do pass them on.
Happy Gardening
Terry
Next Meeting
Tuesday 19th April 7.14pm
McVeigh Parker Fencing and Agricultural Supplies
We are sure everyone has plenty of spring fencing/repair jobs on their spring list so let’s hope they get us all motivated.
Don't forget we are having a bring and share evening! Mr Kippling or Homemade!
Please remember to visit our blog
If you have anything to put on the blog, be it a item for sale a funny story or a photo please email carliemayes@btinternet.com
This is a really good way to reach a wide audience and it is kept bang up to date by the wonderful Carlie.
So please take a moment to have a look and even add a comment.
Dates for Diary
May meeting - Seedling swap and sausage tasting
All those spare seedlings just hanging around why not do a seedling swap if you have a plethora of tomato seedlings swap for a different variety or even cucumber or maybe something more exotic. Bring them along to the meeting we will be setting up a table in the court yard.
I am sure there are plenty of people in the group who will be able to find a suitable bed for any homeless seedlings.
Remember to bring your favourite sausages for the tasting the chef at the Blue Boar is happy to cook them but it would be nice if his palm was crossed with a little fresh produce so please bring a little something along for him.
That all for this month folks
Hope to see you at the next meeting
Caroline & Donna