NEWSLETTER - January 2011

Happy New Year fellow Smallholders!

I hope you all had a great Christmas despite all the snow leading up to the festive period. Last weekend with the better weather, it reminded us that spring is just around the corner. Then it dawned on mum and I that we Lamb in 8 weeks!!

I would firstly like to say congratulations to Mr and Mrs Green they have now had their first litters of Mangaliza Pigs.

We also enjoyed a litter of Gloucester Old Spot Piglets born on Christmas Afternoon!

I think everyone enjoyed the finish to the 2010 meetings, with a very informative talk from NFU in November and the Christmas Buffet.

We hope everyone who raised Turkeys for 2010 enjoyed their Christmas Dinner and were pleased with the service Henry Carr offered. Hopefully he will be able to provide the same service next year. I have had some fantastic feedback comments and have bookings for Christmas 2011 birds already, I’m sure others have had the same.

Unfortunately Carol Knight is unable to attend the March Meeting, but I have rearranged SX Environmental Services to come and give a talk on the pest control products they offer.

I think everyone has noticed the vast jump in the price of animal feed. Sow Nuts have gone up £80 per tonne since the summer. The fruit and vegetable stall at Colchester market on a Saturday morning are selling nets of carrots, parsnips and turnips for £1.50 per net. I collected some before Christmas and they have been very popular with the animals.

If you have a spare moment, take a look at http://www.dissupplies.co.uk/. Di offers a great service of agricultural supplies in Essex, and we have just ordered some mineral buckets for the sheep.

Nigel has been doing research on the table birds, it seems Sasso’s are proving rather hard to get hold of. He has suggested we stay with the supplier we have used for the last few years Poulet Anglais.

He does JA757 and Colouryield, which finish in 10-12 weeks. He also does JA787 which have a higher proportion of broiler blood line so they finish in 8-10 weeks or become huge when older.

The Colouryield are the brown/gold and white birds. The other 2 are basically white but also can have bits of black on them.

In the past Nigel and I have had a mix of Colouryield and 757, and they have been very tasty Birds.

They work out £1.30 per poult, I will have to meet the driver at Brentwood to collect them, I can put them in my brooder, until they are collected, but I would need cash in advance to pay the driver.

Delivery will be 23rd of March, Please email me to confirm, variety and numbers.

Caroline mentioned at the last meeting, she has a friend who would be willing to help us set up a website for the group, if anyone is interested in helping to set up and maintain the website please email Caroline: Carolineaugust3@yahoo.com.

Susannah also mentioned she would be willing to demonstrate her wool skills if people were interested. Mr Doubleday has offered the use of his premises for the session and for those without any fleeces we have plenty that we are happy to donate. Please contact Susannah, so she has an idea of numbers and set a date: Susannah@susannahhall.org

I will forward dates for the butchery course in the next few weeks.

Due to work commitments, I am struggling to find enough time to arrange and coordinate the meetings, to a standard of which I think it deserves. I was wondering if anybody is interested in lending a hand with newsletters, planning meetings i.e. organising guest speakers and outings to enable the group to move forward. Please email me if you would be willing to help and have ideas for the future.

I have been contacted by the editor of aboutmyarea.co.uk, asking if the group would like to submit a different positive article. Is anybody interested in writing an article on smallholding? Please email me and I can forward you the details.

A quick reminder of the next few Months:

Tuesday 25th January 2011         7.15pm Blue Boar Maldon
We have a local vet who is going to give a talk on worming and common ailments in poultry.

Tuesday 22nd February 2011       7.15pm Blue Boar Maldon
DEFRA will be attending to talk about their role in keeping livestock and rules and regulations we should abide by!!
They have requested some of the questions we may ask, so they can make sure they have all the appropriate information and leaflets. Please email me by 18^th February.

Tuesday 22nd March 2011        7.15pm Blue Boar Maldon
SX Environmental Supplies will be giving a talk on the pest control products they supply.

Tuesday 19th April 2011            7.15pm Blue Boar Maldon
McVeigh Parker will be giving a talk on fencing and the products they offer

We look forward to seeing you all on the 25th January.

All the best

Danni

With the help of Mum and Caroline!

NEWSLETTER - March 2011

  

Hi everyone its us again

Its March already but spring doesn’t seem to have sprung as yet!

But we live in hope.

We had a good meeting at the Blue Boar on Tuesday evening it was also Vince’s 50th birthday so a home baked fruit cake was provided for the celebration.

We hope Peter is ok because we did notice he had been handling and sniffing the rat bait before eating his slice.

Phil from SX Environmental Supplies gave a good talk and showed us a good range of products.

He showed us a very good design of pest control box where a trap is placed inside to catch the rat/mouse, bait can also be put in to attract the rodent. You can see this item and others on their website

SX Pest Control

Phil mentioned that if as a group we were to purchase 50+ of these, they could offer further discount.

He also explained the rules and regulations regarding the supply of large quantities of poison. At present we can only purchase 3kg of bait at a time. In order to purchase larger amounts, we need to have training to be approved users of poisons. This Course costs £25 per person and SX would be happy to come to the Blue Boar to train a group of us.

The advantages of this is:

3kg of a bait block - £28

20kg of bait block - £35

So you would get a return on the cost of the course very quickly.

If anyone is interested in the boxes or the course, please email Danielle so she can get a price and arrange a date for the course.

Ansell & Sons butchery course

Sunday  6th February was the first butchery course for our small holding group and was a great success here is the report by Phil.

We all arrived for 9.30am at Ansell & Sons on Maldon High Street for a demonstration on how to butcher a pig. Our expert tutors were Paul and Derek. Some useful handouts were distributed for us to take home, on the types of cuts that come from a pig with corresponding recipes.

The hanging of the pig was first discussed, this is done for approximately 4 days to allow the meat to settle, making it easier to butcher.

We were then shown how all the different cuts and joints on the pig are broken down, with advice on how to cut using mostly the tip of the knife and following the bone or seam of the meat.  By this point most of us had started salivating; a half time interval with bacon or sausage sandwiches would have been most welcome.

On the subject of sausages it was reassuring to find out what isn’t added to sausages at Ansell’s but what is normally added to less reputable sausages in the form of an extruded paste made up of all the crap like the gristle and spinal cord.

Ansell’s have said they will butcher our pigs for at a price of around £35 but please pre-plan and give them plenty of notice, so that they can make a good job of it.

Some other interesting facts I learnt from the day:

-        80% of meat in catering is imported

-        Most British meat is being exported at the moment, because of its superior quality and the strength of the Euro

The morning’s demonstration was well worth the price. Even if you don’t have your own pigs it was good to see what you buy and how it fits into a pig. I’m looking forward even more to getting my first weaners and having a go at butchering myself, but probably in front of the TV watching what I have videoed.  Which I will endeavour to get onto DVD, for us at the next meeting.

Here’s their website:  http://www.ansellandsons.co.uk

Dig It - March 2011

First lets start with a big get well soon to Fiona’s dad who has been poorly.

So we have attempted this months tips ourselves sorry if its not up to his excellent standard.

Prepare soil and lawn with a thick layer of mulch organic matter, or well rotted manure which I’m sure we all have plenty of.

Sowing can also begin outside but may need protection from frosts, early potatoes should now be well chitted so ready to plant. Other crops that can also been sown now are radish, lettuce, peas, broad beans, onions, turnips and beetroot. These should been sown at intervals to give a succession of fresh vegetables through the summer.

Happy Gardening

Can anyone help please?

2 horses in Brentwood area would like to been ridden and looked after during the week, they need a competent rider as one is a bit sparky! Being able to drive would be an advantage. This is un-paid but comes with the possibility of travelling to shows

If interested please contact  Rebecca on 07934 644787

Smallholders Spring Outing

A trip has been arranged to visit the Richardson Smokehouse in Orford Suffolk on Sunday 27th march 2011. Please contact Danni to reserve your place, there is the possibility of car share or mini bus depending on numbers and costs.

The plan is to arrive at 11.00am we will be show around the smokehouse and the smoking process will be explained then we will have the chance to buy some of the produce. 

There is no charge for the tour and talk but its hoped people will buy some of his produce

See the link http://www.richardsonssmokehouse.co.uk/

Recipe of the month

Ginger cake (makes two)

8 oz dark soft sugar

6 oz margarine

8 tablespoons golden syrup

4 tablespoons black treacle

1 lb self raising flour

3 teaspoons ginger

1 egg pint milk

1/ 2 pint milk

Put Sugar, Margarine, Syrup and treacle into a saucepan and heat just enough to melt the margarine.

Stir in the flour, ginger, egg and milk. Mix until no lumps.

Pour into two 2lb loaf tins and bake in the oven gas mark 3 or 4

160-180C for approx 1 hour. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Great eaten straight away or if it’s left in an airtight box for a couple of days it goes sticky. Try it with butter on.

Just a Quick Reminder of Up and Coming Events

·    Sunday 13th March - Second butchery course @ Ansells in Maldon. (There is a spare place if anyone would like to attend.)

·    Tuesday 22nd March, We have Defra coming, so get your questions ready! any in advance would be good as they want to be well prepared! Please email them to Danni. Danielle.Perkins@Yahoo.co.uk.

·    Sunday 27th March - Tour of The Richardson Smokehouse in Orford Suffolk

·    Tuesday 19th of April Mcveigh Parker are coming and we thought it might be nice to try a bring something to share evening. Whether it be a home produced cake or biscuits.

·    Sunday 24th April - An evening of spinning wool. Please contact Susannah if you would like to book a place. Susannah@susannahhall.org

·    Tuesday 17th May - Sausage tasting night at The Blue Boar Maldon, bring a pack of your favourite sausages to share and we will get the Blue Boar to cook them.

·    Monday 30th May - A day of wool felting, please email Susannah to book your place. Susannah@susannahhall.org

·    Tuesday 21st June - Fingers crossed we are hoping to have a trip to the Venison Farm in North Fambridge.

·    Tuesday 19th July - Tour and Wine Tasting @ New Hall Vinyard Purleigh.

·    Saturday 20th August - Hog Roast Party

·    Tuesday 20th September - The local fire brigade will be attending to talk about fire prevention on Smallholdings.

We look forward to seeing you all at the next meeting.

Donna and Caroline