Friday 29 June 2012

July on the Farm



Welcome to this months edition of our newsletter. As always we have lots to tell you about! Much of this months activity has been on the farm. Despite the unpredictable weather we managed to get all our silage cut towards the end of June. The recent wet and warm weather has provided us with a bumper crop - almost twice as much as last year's that will keep our cattle fed when the weather turns and the grass stops growing later in the year. We will hope to be cutting again later in the summer when the grass has had time to grow again, as always we are dependant on mother nature for that though!

This week we have welcomed to the farm nine healthy Gloucesteshire Old Spot piglets that were born on Monday night. Over the next few weeks, you will see them playing about in the mud with their proud mum next to our allotments. All our Gloucesteshire Old Spot mum's are expecting so there will be plenty of little oinks larking about soon enough!





Kate has been trying to look on the bright side this month and ignore the rain, cold, wind and slugs. So in positive news: the yummy tender early broad beans are now available in the shop, along with her favourite lettuce variety: Marvel of 4 Seasons, a beautiful red crinkly butterhead. Plus the spring onions are now ready, and tomato plants are looking good in the tunnel - just need some more sun. The leeks been transplanted from the poly-tunnel and are now happily settling into their rows in the.field. Fingers crossed that July will be warm and sunny...

We have also had an update from Robert, our beekeeper extraordinaire. Last year our bees didn't enjoy the climate and so were unable to produce any honey but our hopes are higher this year. All the bees came through the winter very well and all six hives are looking healthy. The weather turned for the worse in April which didn't help matters and delayed any hopeful harvests as quite a bit of the honey reserves were gobbled up by the bees to keep them going through the horrible days (comfort eating!). As is the case with the rest of the farm we are in need of a calm, sunny period to get us going again. Lets keep our fingers crossed for honey later on in the summer!





The Bath Good Food Awards voting end this Saturday on 30th June. We have voting cards in the shop and you can also vote
on-line through this link. We are going for the "Best Farm Shop" category so if you think we've got what it take please vote for us before Saturday! Click where it says VOTE HERE on the right!

In June I sent Mum & Dad down to Exeter with some of our finest offerings from the farm shop to enter the 2012 Taste of The West Awards. They were armed with our home reared Aberdeen Angus Beef sirloin, homemade chicken liver pate, spinach & feta lasagne and our chocolate brownies. We should be hearing in the next few weeks about how we did so keep your fingers firmly crossed!




The long awaited, slightly sparkling version of Bob Honey's Midford Cider is now bottled and in the farm shop. We now have the sparkling version alongside the more traditional farmhouse cider and Bob Honey will be here on 7th of July to offer samples of both and talk about his cider making days in Midford, near Bath.

As Wimbledon kicks into action and British hopes are raised again we have the very best Somerset strawberries as well as a few of our own grown fruits to enjoy alongside uncle Geoff's Ivy House Farm cream. Summer is the time for fruits, we are currently enjoying some wonderful Wiltshire-grown gooseberries and soon to be, blueberries too. Nectarines & peaches have also just come into season and are beautifully ripe and juicy and best enjoyed now!




Throughout June we have had some fantastic, high welfare British veal in the counter. All our veal has come from the Jurassic Coast in Dorest and has proved really popular. Much media attention has been drawn towards veal recently and we have made the decision to back British produced veal as its a really tasty and healthy meat that is produced to extremely high standards of animal welfare and just as importantly supports British farming. More information on the farm we source our veal from and the veal industry is available through the following link,

Click here to read more on our Rose Veal...

Over the last couple of weeks we have been developing more great sausage recipes such as smoky barbecue pork, venison and our new version pork & fresh leek. In addition to this we have a few special offers from the butchery to take advantage of whether your dining indoors or out!

Pork Chops 6 for £4
Homemade Beef Burgers 6 for £4.50

Marinated Chicken Skewers 10 for £8

All our meat is cut straight from whole carcasses, in-house and so we are able to offer all the cuts from our own beef, pork and lamb. If you are tempted by a certain recipe, want to try out an old fashioned cut or just wanting something a bit unusual please let us know and we can prepare it especially for you.




From the kitchen this month we have launched our new range of homemade treats available from the deli counter. Along with our own scotch eggs we have tartlets, an assortment of pies and salads to compliment our other fine produce from the kitchen. Our homemade meat pies use only our own high welfare, high quality meat from our farm and local farmers. You can try our pies in the cafe too as we will have a select range on our daily specials board. Choose from Steak & Willy Good Ale, Lamb with Mint and New Potato, Chicken & Leek and Pea and Ham pies.




On July 14th we will be celebrating Bastille Day to give a bit continental flair to our events calendar! We will be hosting our first ever boules competition at the farm and teams can be entered now. If you wish to enter a team in this year's competition you will need to sign up in the shop. Team entry fee is £20 per team and proceeds will be going to Cancer Research UK.

We will also be joined by Great Western Wine from 12pm to taste some of our range of wines along with some cheese in true French fashion at our deli counter. A few french specials will be served up in the cafe too so not for the first time in the newsletter, lets hope the sun shines!

This month we have also launched WildFit. WildFit is a not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to make a real difference to the community. Specialist skills are used to design the ultimate fitness and well-being trails, parkour circuits and eco-gyms in the local community. Trails will set off from the farm shop on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for different abilities to get fit and enjoy the countryside. The first session is free so there's no excuse to try it out!

For more information on all our events check our noticeboard at the farm shop or our events page.




Flower workshops will be going ahead on 16th and 17th July. If you have always wanted to learn how to arrange a hand-tie of stunning flowers, now is your chance! Come and enjoy an evening with Young Blooms, pimms will be served and there will be a short demonstration from Grace & Laura. They will be on hand to guide you through as you learn how to create a hand-tie. Workshop cost will be £50 and will run from 7pm till 9pm, to book please phone 01225 580271, or 07980199452.




The BBC Good Food and Farming Awards have launched for 2012. This is what the awards are for...

"This award celebrates the local shops that enrich our lives, selling delicious, carefully sourced and affordable food. High street butchers, bakers and delis, farm and community shops - tell us what's great about their food, and the difference they make to your community and local food producers"

If you think we fit the bill please nominate us through the following link. Thanks!

BBC Food & Farming Awards Nominations 2012

We look forward to seeing you soon.

All the best,
Tom

Wednesday 6 June 2012

June on the Farm


A few days of sun and everything seems a bit brighter! Since the rain and cold have packed their bags life has started to appear once again - better late than never I suppose. This month we have our regular updates from the farm shop and cafe along with news from our resident florists, Young Blooms and our resident market gardener, Kate Collyns.





Throughout May we have been savouring some incredible asparagus from the Wye Valley. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and with the asparagus season the end is always much sooner than we want. We only have a week or two left so if you haven't made the most of these delicious spears yet make sure you do soon! However as we say good bye to one much-loved British treasure we say hello to another. English strawberries are finding their way to our shelves now and as the sun continues to shine they will only get better. There's plenty to celebrate this summer so we have also got stocks of some rather fantastic local sparkling wine. While stocks last we will be offering our Avonleigh Sparkling Wine for just £14.99 per bottle, perfect to wash down those strawberries and cream (Ivy House Cream of course). On the subject of our beloved Ivy House Farm we have also managed to get our hands on some beautiful handmade chocolate from Lick The Spoon. Diana makes all her chocolate in her chocolate factory in Corsham, Wiltshire. She has also paired up with my Uncle Geoff Bowles from Ivy House to use some of his organic Jersey cream in some of her creations. We have a great selection now in the farm shop that make perfect treats and gifts for all. Why not add some to one of our handmade and bespoke hampers for Father's Day this 17th June?





This week we will have our spring lamb in the counter. Through the summer months we will be sourcing our spring lamb from Steve Bowles (another uncle!) at Church Farm and also Jamie Fielden from Hill House farm in Box. Our spring lamb has had much more time to graze the spring pastures than much of the mass produced spring lamb which focuses on churning out young lambs in bulk to hit the early spring market. Our spring lamb is still beautifully tender but has more flavour than earlier lamb. Whether it be a butterflied leg marinaded for the BBQ or chops for the grill it can't be beaten at this time of year!

Although not really the time of year for game we are very pleased to have found a great game dealer very locally to us to keep us stocked up with wild game through the year. On the counter recently has been some locally shot venison steaks and haunches as well as burgers and sausages. As the game season approaches towards autumn we will have plenty more on offer too.

Much attention and effort has very quickly been drawn to our barbecue range as the summer is sprung upon us. Our butchers have been working hard devising new products for the counter as well as giving the counter a bit of an uplift too! Throughout the week you will find all our delicious homemade burgers and sausages both on the counter and in handy grab and go packs too. The order book is filling quickly for this weekend too so if you want to take advantage of some of our homemade and home reared meat from the counter phone the butchers on 01225 864948 and celebrate the Jubilee weekend in style!




Kate has been sulking over the last month as she's not been able to get onto the land because of the terrible weather; plus the slugs have been wreaking havoc on her early crops such as carrots, spinach and beetroot – even in the polytunnels. Now she has had her revenge after collecting a punnet-load and giving them to the ducks as a treat; plus this lovely warm weather means they should stay away now too. She's finally managed to plant her tomatoes out in one tunnel: a mixture of heritage varieties and new tasty breeds, from orange cherry toms and golden yellow vine tomatoes, to delicious pink Berner Rose beafsteak, and even a 'black' variety! Fingers crossed we can enjoy them in a couple of months, as long as the sun plays the game! (Don't forget to keep up to date with Kate's blog too)




Some beautiful summer flowers are now available to include peonies, hydrangea, stocks and delphiniums. They have a larger selection in the workshop too with ready made bunches and plants by the fruit and veg in the farm shop.

Summer workshops are now available! Book to make a gorgeous hand-tie and contemporary arrangement.Come and have some pimms see a demonstration and have a go. Courses are £50 per person to include all materials flowers and liquid refreshment and will be running on 16th and 17th July 7-9pm.  To book call Laura and Grace on 01225 580271 or pop in or email us on info@youngblooms.co.uk

Weddings are in full flow , you can always pop in have a look and say Hi, as of 1st June come see our floral queen being created in celebration of  her 60 years on the throne too!




This weekend is the Winsley Community Barn Dance to celebrate the Queens Jubilee. The Winsley Jubilee Committee will be holding the event at Hartley Farm. Tickets are in very short supply and will almost certainly sell out before Friday so if you were planning to buy tickets don't leave it to the last minute! Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children under 12. We will have a hog roast and a bar stocked with local ciders and Ale from our resident microbrewers, Willy Good Ale. On the pumps will be High Five as well as bottles of their limited edition Betty's Brew which is also available now from the farm shop!

On the 14th July we will be hosting our Boules and Moules day too. The day will include a family beach boules tournament along with tastings of some French fayre to mark the Bastille day celebrations. Details on how to enter Boules teams and events for the day will be release soon!


I also wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words by way of a tribute to my grandfather, Bert Bowles, who sadly passed away last week as I'm sure many of you in the community will have heard. Known to me and all us grandchildren as Pappy, he was and will continue to be a huge influence to me and all the Bowles family particularly with our proud farming heritage that he was central to and we strive to continue. He will be remembered well by all of us and all his friends. Pictures of him farming the local land will continue to stand proud in our farm shop.

All the best
Tom