Nadolig a Gwyliau/Yuletide
We are open extra days for the Xmas run-up before our Annual Shut Down and reopening on Thursday January 15th. We expect availability to be reasonably good with plenty of greenery and roots although Purple Sprouting and Caulis will be ltd (as per the wider UK). Spanish and Mediterranean imports are also more ltd or dearer as consistent climate damage continues to pan out. We will have Salad Leaves and some Watercress. A reminder that bringing your own plastic bag for the former is cheaper and efficient, with us not using time bagging and you not throwing a bag into a failing recycling system. Kalette Tops and January Kings continue as colourful seasonal treats.
Conditions onsite have been broadly favourable with mild temps and barely any frost so far. A warming Atlantic is producing dramatic windspeeds and more intense rain bursts but our sheltered site can help here. For the wider British Isles more damage to power and buildings,and a disturbed night's sleep is rapidly becoming "normal". While we factually understand the global processes fairly well many people continue to believe relatively outlandish versions of our common experience. Perhaps more unnerving is seeing many younger people keen to fly abroad particularly, despite knowing that they will suffer greatest consequent harm over their lifetime. Societies that choose to believe things too far apart from reality tend to fail, societies that actually tackle challenges endure. Wealth redistribution/taxation as an example, as per Thomas Piketty this week, is a relatively straightforward proposition.
Many young people are however trying hard to achieve societal and community building despite having fewer material and housing prospects than their predecessors. From the local level trying to ensure a cleaner Teifi to the national efforts to restrain an increasingly authoritarian UK state much goes on unheralded by platforms such as this. It is particularly sobering to see young people imprisoned and on hunger strike, merely to obtain a hearing for trying to stop Israeli arms manufacture here. One group of people taking another's land or water is a history well understood in farming and horticulture. No doubt the Normans felt a religious zeal as they burnt their way west across Cymru, but hardly civilisation or progress.
The team here remains much the same as we focus on Winter maintenance and harvesting. Always we try to deal with repairs and projects in the dark weeks, usually involving concrete, mud and and appropriate grunting. Post New Year a new entrance ramp is due to replace some crumbly Cardi planings. The non-ramp part of the team will be recharging! We hope our green manure "blankets" hold on through the stormy weeks to come to enhance next year's fertility and biology. Bare soil patches onsite are largely covered with the ever forgiving and great Spring weed suppressor Ryegrass.
In wider nutritional trends fermented foods seem here to stay but perhaps more notable is seeing attitudes to protein sources continue to be topical. "Boring" beans and pulses are on message, getting their recognition for nutrition while quietly remaining much the cheapest proteins. Understanding how to create flavour around them is a process going back forever. Recognising that protein satiates or satisfies appetite can be progress without going down any Atkins Diet cul-de-sacs. Our local bean, Ffa or broad beans still deserve some daylight and culinary innovation akin to their Mediterranean usage. Maybe even an appearance on Welsh school menus?
Despite the climate woes mentioned above the Citrus season of southern Europe means that Seville or marmalade oranges are just appearing with Blood Oranges not far behind. The New Year will bring more, albeit at a price. Old tales of Xmas stockings with fruit in don't look so far off any longer (as ever using citrus skins as well as the flesh makes them better value). The skill of Arabic horticulturalists in irrigation practice created the citrus industry across the Med. but traditional water sources are under pressure. Encouragingly multi-national efforts to replant the Saharan fringes to bring down air temperatures and stabilise rainfall continue. This is a far more cost effective use of cash than selling offensive arms to expansive regimes. No secret that the much scapegoated boat migrants often originate in places directly affected by UK supported military offensives. The irony seems lost for too many older voters.
A brief note here on non-Amazon source of presents; https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb , https://www.hive.co.uk/books and https://www.discogs.com/ , as well as the local retail we still have Eg Awen Teifi for toys.
13.12.25
Tachwedd/November
As ever a variable year with a useful dry Spring drought followed by a very mild,helpful Autumn. This led to better than average crops. Fingers crossed for the Winter and storms to come. We used our 2023 borehole to great effect, enabling decent clover leys to get away and adequate crop irrigation. Worsening climate effects in the Mediterranean showed in citrus prices particularly.
Ionawr/January
After a mild Winter so far storms have been the most notable event with some damage here after we underestimated the beginning of Storm Darragh. Our polytunnels performed very well with only minor repairs needed as the storm worsened. Alongside many UK growers our post Xmas offerings are a bit thin ironically meeting growing demand. Combined with supply problems from both Spain and France shortages and some rationing to come seems likely.
We are advertising for a Head Grower currently,Job Description and Application Forms via our email address.