Newsletter - February 2012

East Essex Smallholders

Newsletter:    February 2012

Welcome to our February news letter how lucky we have been with the weather so far this year; frosts could be counted on one hand and still none of the old white stuff!

A lovely thought that spring is only just around the corner although many animals and plants seem to think it’s already here my cockerel are sparing with each other to see who can have the biggest harem of ladies, spring is certainly in the air.

I expect we all have a list as long as our arms of jobs to be done but make a cuppa and have a read of the newsletter, we have lots of news this month to come and a lovely recipe so please take a minute and read on.

**********  BREAKING NEWS  *********** 

East Essex Smallholders have secured their first corporate sponsorship deal.

Farm and Country Supplies Ltd (Epping) have agreed to be the group’s founder sponsor and will be supplying us with a much needed gazebo for our showing season.

Many thanks to Keith and his team and here’s to a long and happy future working relationship.

Read report on January meeting for more news on Farm and Country.

Plea from your committee

We are aware of how busy lives can be and how our livestock can fill up so........ much of our free time, however please try to take an hour or so to attend a few of the group meetings if you can.

As most of you know meetings are a very informal get together and catch up held at The Blue Boar Maldon held on the third Tuesday evening once a month.

In the last few months we have many new members although some of our old regulars are missing and we would love to see you and hear your news.

Also if you have any like minded friends who may enjoy the evening please bring them along.  It’s especially nice to have a good turn out when we have a guest speaker as they have often travelled a good few miles to attend and don’t charge us for their time.

If you would like any changes to our meetings or any requests for guest speakers or trips please let us know by email - we welcome your ideas.

That being said – our next meeting is on Tuesday 22 February 2012 7pm for 7.30pm when we will be Going Mad with Turkey’s! (read on for more details)

Free Pig keeping course comes to Essex

After much badgering and many phone calls our Chairman has done it!  We now have a free DEFRA funded ADAS Pig Keeping Course coming to Essex on Saturday 25th February 2012 at Stisted Village Hall.  Time to be confirmed.

Members of the Suffolk, Herts and Essex smallholders groups will be attending; so a chance to meet more people with the same interests .

Anybody wishing to attend MUST email  Georgie at Georgie.Fomes@adas.co.uk  to book a place. 

This course is open to anybody so if you have any friends that would like to attend, get them to contact Georgie ASAP

If anyone can share a lift, it will help with parking and also our carbon footprint.

Hobby Pig Keeping

ADAS invites you to the first Defra-funded meetings for hobby farmers with pigs.

The workshops will provide smallholders with easily accessible, relevant practical and technical training delivered by experienced pig specialists with a recognised track record in the small holder sector training; to increase the health, welfare and productivity of the small pig herd.

Topics covered:

·       Pig Welfare legislation – 5 Freedoms (Animal welfare Act 2006)

·      Biosecurity, disease control and  effective quarantine

·      Pig health, vaccinations and worming, fallen stock

·      Movements, ID and legislation

·      Feeding and legislation

·      On farm record requirements

Address for village hall is:
Stisted Village Hall
Rectory Road
Stisted
CM77 8AL

Report January News

Our guest speaker at the meeting was Keith Badman from Farm & Country Supplies in Epping www.farmandcountrysupplies.co.uk

The meeting started well, with Keith and his associate Mick O’Malley arriving to the sight of our very full and delicious bring and share table - The only way is East Essex when it comes to hosting.

The evening soon settled into a very informative meeting with Keith explaining what his company Farm & Country could offer us from all manner of items.  Fencing and troughs through to clothing and feeds, all there in one store - what more could us busy folks ask for!

Over the course of the year they will be producing FREE guides, videos and holding demonstrations and “hands on “ workshops and courses in all areas of livestock keeping and animal husbandry .

These will be FREE to all smallholders with a Farm & Country Discount Club Card free with our membership.

Mick O’Malley, a rare breds specialist for the past 21 years with significant experience and knowledge with pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, horses, and cattle, also attended.

Mick has previously been on the council of the Rare Breed Survival Trust and was recently honoured by them for his commitment to rare breeds over the past 20 years.

Mick’s aim is for all smallholders in the country to be able to pick up the phone, or email, any questions regarding the care of livestock, in addition to the guides, demos and courses.

Farm & Country will be publishing emails, blogs, forums, tweets and facebook updates regarding seasonal tasks and the best practices, so please keep an eye out for all of these.  We will also be putting items of interest on the blog – so make sure you are signed up to it!

We also understand that they have a few money saving programmes in the pipeline – such as med share and equipment sharing.  (for example, as some may know vaccines for sheep come in minimum doses of 25;  with only 2 or 3 sheep requiring vaccination by a smallholder, this can often work out very expensive with 23 does being wasted).  Watch this space.

Do sign up for their online newsletter; they have a very good article on Muddy Gateways!  I’m sure we all have a few of them at the moment.

I think all who attended the meeting will agreed Keith and Farm & Country have a vision for the future and smallholding is going to play a large part,

The East Essex Smallholders are a group with a vision also and we are so pleased Farm & County wish to be our founder sponsor.

Visit Farm and country on line www.farmandcountrysupplies.co.uk

Orders can be placed online or over the phone

Farm & Country Supplies Ltd

The Dutch Barn

Bury Lane,  Epping, CM16 5JA

Opening hours are: 

Monday to Friday 8.00am – 5.30pm, 

Saturday 8.00am – 12.00pm

By freephone   0800 056 0002

enquiries@farm-country.co.uk

Events

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Lets go Turkey mad!

Blue Boar, Silver Street,Maldon, CM9 4QE

With a slight change to our original scheduled meeting, which will now be held later in the year, come and hear about our famous local Kelly Bronze Turkey's. 

A member of the Kelly Team will be joining members to give them the low down on all things turkey - from raising and keeping turkeys, to how to carve in the best way possible. 

As our bring and share evenings are such a success LETS HAVE ANOTHER!

Join us promptly at 7pm, so that the fun can start soon after.

Starts 7 - 7.30 pm

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Pig Mania

Blue Boar, Silver Street, Maldon, CM9 4QE

A chance to meet Essex Girl, Tracy, form the Giggly Pig Sausage Company and hear about her exploits in the world of Giggly Pigs.

Starts 7 - 7.30 pm - don't be late

Recipe of the month

Rochers  noix de coco et miel  !

50 g to 75 g of honey 150 g of sugar 125 g of grated coconut 30 g of flour 2 beaten egg whites Set the oven to 175OC Pour the honey in a pan followed by the sugar stir for 2 minutes on a low heat until it melts. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the coconut and the flour.  Then gently stir in the beaten egg whites. Place spoonfuls of the mixture the size of a walnut onto a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a wire rack to cool.

DIG IT

Although looking out of the window you would not think it but this is the first month of Spring!

There are lots to get on with this month to get a head start and some early crops.  If you have not got your veg plots dug over already, they really should be done this month to get the weather into the soil and help break it down.  If you did dig it over, now is a good time to just fork it over lightly to get fresh air into the top and start off the seed bed.

Most of you will have seen seed potatoes in the stores by now.  Although it seems early, by the time they have chitted it will be the end of the month and you can get in the first early’s with the second early’s going in the middle of March.  This will be the same for outdoors or containers.  With a good covering of soil they will be insulated from the frost; first early’s can be ready in ten weeks.

Shallots can be planted out under cloches at the end of the month.

If you have a greenhouse or poly-tunnel you can start tomatoes and peppers at the end of the month, just protect from frost and damp. 

Dig out a shallow trench where you are going to plant climbing beans, put in a layer of manure or use it to take kitchen waste, by the time your beans are ready to plant out you will have a nice nutrient bed under their roots.

An easy tip to give you early peas is to fill up six foot lengths of gutter with soil and plant your peas into this and keep under cover.  Again by the middle of March you can start to harden off gradually and when the weather is over its worst you then scrape out a shallow trench and slide your peas out of the gutter straight into the soil.  There will be a nice root mass that will not be disturbed and they will get away in no time.

Parsley and basil can be sown in pots on the window ledge or bench and will be ready for your early peas and potatoes.

A good tip if you have mint in containers, pull out the whole root ball and cut it cleanly down the middle, you will see all the roots have grown around the outside circling the container, turn the halves inside out and re-plant one back in the pot with fresh soil and the other half can go in an area of garden that does not perform well.  Mint will grow where nothing else will.

Under cover you can sow salad leaves and winter lettuce. You can use up last year’s seeds for salad leaves, just mix together lettuce, spinach and cress in fact any edible leaves and sprinkle thickly on to damp compost and these should germinate in 7-10 days and be ready to cut in 3 weeks – simple!

So put your jacket on and get out for a few hours in the garden, you will be surprised what you can get on with.

Terry

Dates for your diary

Tuesday 21 February 2012   
Lets go Turkey mad ! with Kelly Turkeys

Bring and share extravaganza

Tuesday 20 March 2012
Pig Mania with Tracey from Giggly pig sausage company

April 2012

We are planning a spinning event where members will learn how to prepare and spin wool to make use of fleeces that might otherwise be disposed of.

Along side this, there is the hope to learn about felting and making of accessories and easy headwear.

For more information and to reserve a space at this event, email events@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

Other ideas

A contribution will be requested from those taking part as there is a charge for our Guest speaker.

Other ideas that are currently being tested out include:

Fruit pressing, Soap making, Sausage making, Honey beekeeping course
…. pleeeeeeeease email any ideas to the Editor ………..
donna@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

Contact details:

For information on joining:
Email:  membership@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk  

For information on Events and monthly meetings/visits:
Email:  events@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

For general information:          
Email:  info@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

For news and press enquiries:
Email:  events@eastesexsmallholders.org.uk

For advertising livestock or other produce:
Email:  advertising@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

To contact our Chair - Danielle Perkins
Email:  chair@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

To contact our Treasurer - Helen Quinnell
Email:  treasurer@easttessexsmallholders.org.uk

To contact our Dig It - Terry Adger
Email:  digit@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

Recipe of the Month - October 2011

Prep time:30 min

Cook time:

1 hr

Serves:

4

Ingredients

For the cabbage

• 1 red cabbage, finely sliced
• 125 g butter
• 170 g demerara sugar
• 60 ml malt vinegar, or red wine vinegar

For the quails

• 500 g ricotta cheese
• ready-made Italian herb seasoning, available from supermarkets
• 8 quail, partially deboned
• 8 rashers of streaky bacon
• drizzle extra virgin olive oil

To serve

• 2 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped
• few sprigs thyme, leaves only, to taste
• mashed sweet potatoes

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Method

Roast quail

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. 

2. For the cabbage: tip the cabbage into a large baking tray. Melt the butter in a pan, add the sugar and vinegar, and stir well. Pour the butter mixture over the cabbage and cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper tucked in at the edges (this will retain the moisture). Roast in the oven for 45 minutes. 

3. For the quails: mix the ricotta and Italian herb seasoning together in a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

4. Season the inside of the quails with more salt and pepper, and stuff them with the ricotta mixture. Wrap each quail in the bacon and secure with a cocktail stick. Place on a baking tray and then season the outside of the quails. Brush with olive oil. 

5. Roast the quails at the same temperature as the cabbage for 25 minutes; then leave to rest, in a warm place, for 5 minutes. 

6. To serve, fry the chopped bacon in a dry pan until crisp. Serve the quail and cabbage with the fried bacon and thyme leaves sprinkled over the top, and with mashed sweet potatoes on the side.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Thyme

Ingredients

Serves: 9 

1.5L chicken stock 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

400g fresh pumpkin, diced 

1 onion, chopped 

2 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed 

1 clove garlic, minced 

5 whole black peppercorns 

100ml double cream 

chopped fresh parsley to garnish 

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 1 hour 

1.Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic and peppercorns. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered. 

2. Purée the soup in small batches using a food processor or blender. 

3. Return to pot and bring to the boil again. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir in double cream. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley. 

Tip: 

Make this pumpkin soup 100% vegetarian by using vegetable stock or water instead of the chicken stock. 

Newsletter - August 2011

Hello and Welcome to Another Newsletter From East Essex Smallholders

July has been great, as a group we had a stand at the Southminster show (more about that later), got lots of new members and held its very first Annual General Meeting.

The elected committee members are as follows

Chairperson - Danielle Perkins

Treasurer  - Helen Quinnell

Secretary - Carlie Mayes

Committee Members - Donna Perkins, Caroline Smith, Darren Sewell and Chris Harris

The full AGM minutes will be put onto the web site in due course, however, they are on this Chitchat.


As a group we have also opened a bank account so we have somewhere to put all of the sponsorship money we are hoping to get from local companies. 

So if you have any ideas of companies we could approach please e-mail 

events@eastessexsmallholders.org.uk

It was really good to see so many new faces at the July meeting, some people were just starting out on their smallholding adventure, some thinking about it and others with lots of experience. It was great to chat to and it would be really good to see everyone again at the August meeting.

As we mentioned In a previous newletter we are thinking of organising another trip to the Venison Farm in Fambridge possibly at the end of October - if we go then there should be some venison for sale. If you would be interested please e-mail the above address.

Southminster Flower Show

Danielle, Carlie ,Phil, Wayne and Donna braved the dismal weather to attend the Southminster Flower show on 16th July 2011.

We all arrived about 10.30am it was raining but we were optimistic it would brighten up !

Two hours later the pens and gazebos were erected and the animals in place we were soaked to the skin and it was still raining, but ever hopeful the sun would appear we settled in our little tent for refreshments .


After a few mugs of tea and a slice of homemade cake finished off with some of Phil’s sloe vodka and Elderberry jelly the world was looking a better place.

Phil, Gareth and Carlie

Other stands were packing up and going home giving up on the weather but NO we stood fast and waited for that sun!

4pm the clouds dispersed and out came the sun at last.

The show ground started to fill and we then had a steady stream of people for the rest of the afternoon.

The animals behaved impeccably although Carlie's poor Poland chickens had very wet hairdos and Dude the sheep was a little grumpy and did threaten to head butt one small lad but overall they were marvellous.

Fred, Dude and Lottie

Many people showed much interest in the group and we look forward to seeing them at future meetings.

We have already been asked if we would attend the show again next year so I think the group and some of our animals were a great success again!

The Old Smoke House at Furzedown

The smoke house will be fired up again Sunday 14th August 2011 at 10.00am

Anyone is welcome to put something in (NO CHARGE)

So come on have a go ,

Why not try curing your own bacon or ham and then finish it of with a cold smoke .............very tasty. or you could try fish or cheese.

Have a look on the following websites for a few ideas.

The Potting Shed - Bacon Curing

Accidental Smallholder - Bacon Curing

Or for you first timers why not buy and unsmoked Gammon Ham from the supermarket and pop in you will be surprised how nice it tastes.

To give us an idea of numbers please email Danielle Perkins

DIG IT

This should be the month of little work and reaping the rewards for what we have done so far this year.

Almost all the vegetables should be being picked or dug now. Potatoes are into the “mids” with all the salad types nearly gone but the mid are bigger and have more all round use. Most of the beans should be producing steady pickings. After a slow start they picked up well but it is most important to keep beans watered, any stress caused by lack of water will cause the flowers and young “beanlets” to drop off, this is true for peas as well. Keep picking as they are big enough and this will encourage more flowers. Marrows and courgettes should be yielding a nice few, don’t let them get too big or they become tough skinned and full of seeds, still edible of course but not nearly as tasty. Carrots and beetroot should be big enough to pull a few now and again; the gaps will help the rest to get bigger.

Carrots

I am trying to make up my mind whether to lift the shallots as I desperately need the ground to get more spinach and rocket in. I think I am going to be a bit more patient, at least for another couple of weeks. Once the Shallot tops start showing signs of dying is best really. Main crop onions are at about the same stage but can be picked and used straight away, they are at their strongest flavour straight out of the ground.

My tomatoes are slow this year, although they have plenty of fruit they are a long way from picking yet both outside and under glass, patience again! Do keep them well watered to avoid tough skins and splitting. Cucumbers shot away, set some fruit, and then stopped growing. Once I picked these, the plants started off again- still will have fruit for longer in the season.

Sweetcorn

Almost all the spring planted cabbage have gone but I put in some winter red cabbage and round cabbage, just need to keep the butterflies off them, there seems to be a lot of large white about this year.

Funny time of year for salad, the early sown crops have all gone but worth putting in a little salad leaves, rocket and spinach to keep a supply of fresh leaves going.

Sweetcorn looks well away with flower heads and cobs forming, again keep them watered for nice juicy kernels. As soon as you get two or more flower heads fully opening given them a shake together to improve germination.

Strawberries

Early strawberries have finished but the mid and late summer varieties should be flowering and fruiting. Once the plants have finished fruiting, cut all the leaves and dead fruit stems off, leaving just the heart, clean away straw and debris to avoid mould. If the plants are putting out runners, I just put a 3” pot of compost under each new plantlet, letting the main runner keep going. As soon as the nearest plantlet has rooted, cut the runner off the parent plant and continue potting along as new plantlets form. This will give you new stock for next year to replace any winter

casualties and keep a strong stock to start again. Any over you can use as “swaps” or save for selling at next years Blackwater Show! Soft fruit has been really good this year and to keep the plants strong start pruning back as soon as the fruit has been picked. Gooseberries should be cut to open up the middles forming a cup shape.

With the huge amount of soft fruit around, it would take a small book to describe the pruning of each one but the basics are:-

• Summer fruiting raspberries fruit on canes 2 years old or last year’s growth, cut out any older canes right down to 6”.

• Autumn fruiting types fruit on this year’s growth so these need to be cleared of all growth down to 6” above ground

• Most varieties of currants fruit on last year’s canes so again, cut out any older wood to ground level.

• You can prune growth from any soft fruit to tidy them up but not too dramatically!

• Apples and pears look good for a heavy crop this year. If you can, thin out overcrowded spurs, it is best to leave just 2 fruit at each spur for larger crops.

“Things to do now”

Really is your last chance to plant up a couple of bags of seed potatoes for Christmas dinner. If you have room anywhere, salad of everything can go in. Keep tomatoes tidy, pinch out side shoots and start taking off the bottom leaves up to the first truss, then work up as fruit is picked, more goodness goes to the fruit instead of plant growth.

As ground becomes available, once potatoes come out, think about putting in some winter cabbage plants, also broccoli, sprouts, chard and spinach. They are all pretty frost proof.

Winter cabbage

Flat peas and dwarf French beans are worth sowing again in tubs, they will just about make a crop by the end of September.

Keep the garden tidy, clear away dead leaves on brassicas, marrows and courgettes. This will stop mildew forming and takes away a hiding place for slugs and snails.

Onions hung in net bag

As soon as the tops on onions and shallots start turning brown lift them and put out to dry for a few days, this will harden off the outside and help prevent mildew forming. Hang in net bags or lay out so air can circulate.

Marrows will keep for weeks after cutting if you store them somewhere dry and cool. Courgettes do not keep so well so pick and eat fresh as you want them.

Well I think that’s all for now, enjoy the fruits of your labour! 


Terry

Recipe of the month

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Like the carrot in a carrot cake, beetroot keeps the cake moist and helps it to last for days — as if any chocolate cake is going to last for days.

Ingredients

Feeds 6. Takes 1 hour plus cooling.

50g bitter cocoa powder 180g plain flour 11⁄2tsp baking powder Pinch of salt 250g caster sugar 300g cooked fresh beetroot 3 eggs 200ml corn oil 1tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Butter and flour an 18cm (7in) round or square cake tin.

Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix in the sugar and set aside.

Purée the beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the corn oil and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the beetroot mixture into the well. Lightly mix, using a rubber spatula, and pour into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. It won’t rise a great deal and the top may crack a bit. 

Allow to cool a little before removing from the tin, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

To serve, dust the cake with icing sugar or bitter cocoa powder, and cut into generous slices.

Enjoy

August meeting

James Marriage from the local and family run Marriages Animals feeds will be attending this month’s meeting.

He will be talking on what animal feed he can offer smallholder and the very popular poultry food with added wormer flubenvet.

A meeting not to missed for all smallholders with live stock what with feed prices on the up we all want to be sure we are getting the best deal for our money.

So add this date

23rd August 2011

7.15pm

The Blue Boar,Silver Street, Maldon

We thought it may be nice to make this evening “A Bring Something to Share Evening” at previous meetings we have had homemade cakes or biscuits which we have all throughly enjoyed sharing.

Moulsham Mill on Parkway, Chelmsford. It was powered by water and later by steam, but ceased milling in 1971. It is still owned by the Marriage family.

Well that is all for now, we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.

Donna and Caroline.

P.S If anyone would like to help or exhibit livestock at the Joyces Farm Show on 4th September 2011 please contact Danielle.Perkins@yahoo.co.uk.