The coming of spring is always a busy time for us.
On the farm, Farmer Jim has taken advantage of the good weather by ploughing some of the land and then planting corn.
We had our Christmas goslings arrive.
We get them when they are just one day old. They are kept inside to protect them from predators. Once big enough – about 14 weeks - they are free to roam in and out of their housing on to a specially wood-chipped area for them that has puddles they love to splash about in, and beyond that, on to a field.
We had a new bull arrive. Our current bull – Hannibull – is now 10 years old and is approaching the end of his working life. The new bull is 1 year old and is a South Devon cross Angus. We want you to name him!
They are Khaki Campbells and are great layers – so we hope to have our duck eggs for sale in the shop soon!
After a couple of days of getting used to their new surroundings and neighbours – Nigella the pig on one side and cows on the other! – they have settled down well.
The broad beans we have planted are up and looking good.
A favourite of many - new potatoes - are now available! The first crop are grown indoors and picked by hand.
Is spring here or is winter to rear its ugly head?!
Any concerns we had about water for the crops during the brief dry period have quickly been put to rest.
We hope you had a relaxing Easter nonetheless.
On the farm, we are in the middle of calving.
We also had a DEFRA inspection. They checked eartags of all our cows and the relevant paperwork. We await the results but we trust everything to be OK.
The salad leaves in our polytunnel have been doing really well and we have a steady supply for sale in the shop.
Rhubarb Pie
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients and preparation
800g rhubarb – trimmed and cut into 4cm pieces
Shortcrust Pastry for top
250 sugar – less if you prefer a tarter taste, more if you prefer a sweeter pie
Finely grated orange zest from 1 orange
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornflour
Preheat your oven to 180˚C.
Mix the other ingredients until a glaze forms. Pour the mix into the tin.
Lay the pastry lid over the top. Pinch the edges closed.
Make 4 cuts into the lid so steam can escape.
Bake for 20 minutes and turn the pie so that it bakes evenly.
Bake for another 25 minutes.
Serve with ice cream, cream or custard. Enjoy!
This and many other recipes can be found on our recipe page (click here)
