Spud shortage?

The second Ferncumbe Farmers Market, created a potato shortage when the potatoes grown by Reception sold out within 10 minutes of the market starting.  Their new potatoes, grown in bags, watered loved and inspected daily were a big hit with parents, and many customers left disappointed when the stall sold out so quickly.  Reception teacher Miss Fitzgerald said

“We’ll have to grow more next year!”

Other class stalls managed to keep gong longer, but the Yr2/3 garlic and onion plaits were very popular and sold quickly.

Year 1/2 were very proud of their chillis

It was a great event and worth all the effort put in by school and parents alike.

 

The producers who joined us for the market had a successful afternoon, all selling well, helped by pupil ‘apprentices’.

The ice creams a particular hit in the hot summer weather!

Over all the market was a great community event, with many visitors to the school and the children working hard to promote their produce.

With school breaking up for the summer any moment, this blog will take its summer break.  More in September when we plan and plant our next season of growing.  Look out for our next market in March 2014

In the mean time, Happy Gardening, hope your plants are thriving in this heat

Ready…Steady……Go!

July already and the final countdown is on for our second Farmers Market.  Plants are growing well, posters are going up and producers are on standby to come next Friday 12 July, 13.30-15.30!  We look forward to welcoming you all and hope we have plenty of plants and products to tempt you.

My advice is to get there early as stock will be limited, particularly the runner beans, courgettes and gourds

The children are getting excited about the market, they so enjoyed selling what they had grown last time, they cannot wait to do it again.  They will be full of tips on how to eat the products and to care for the plants, so please do come along

See you there and Happy Gardening!

..and a month even longer

Where did May go?  Can hardly believe we are at the end of the month already.  The weather is still very changeable, making it difficult to get growing, plant outside and the seeds sulk, leave in pots in the tunnel and they wither during the occasional hot day.  However, these are typical gardening challenges and the pupils and plants rise to them.

So far the tomatoes and chillis are doing well inside, and we hope to have lots of plants to sell at the next Farmers Market on 12 July.  We have 4 different types of tomatoes, so far they all look  the same so they have all been labelled, lets hope the right labels have gone in each pot!

The chillis are growing fast, how soon before they catch the tomatoes?

Most of the producers who came to our first Farmers market in March have agreed to return and we are hoping to attract some new local food businesses too.  Watch this space for more details.

Outside the polytunnel there are carrots, beetroot and salads in the raised beds all growing, the beetroot and carrots took a while to germinate, but are getting going now.  The onions and garlic planted last autumn are looking good, and hopefully this latest spell of rain will help the bulbs to swell.

Whatever the weather where you are when you read this – Happy Gardening!

Pupil Power!

The farmers market was a roaring success on Friday 8 March.  The school was packed from start to finish with many of the producers running out of supplies before the end of the day.

Everyone had a great time and we raised a staggering £600!  There was a real buzz in the playground that has continued since the market, with all the children keen to get growing for the next event and all the producers keen to participate next time.

So many thanks required to the school, to all the staff particularly all those who helped clear up afterwards to the parents and customers for coming and spending money… Then of course there are all the producers

•Bird boxes, sweet peas and biscuits by Northleigh

•Beef by Lynne and David Williams

•Bread by Crustum

•Cakes and crafts by Hatton Park WI

•Cheeses by Fowlers of Earlswood

•Cordials by Carolyn Reilly

•Honey and beeswax products by Retro Bee

•Sausages and pork by Haseley Mill Pigs

•Teas and cakes by The Friends of Ferncumbe

There were the generous raffle prizes donated by

Garden Organic

Barnclose nurseries

Monsoon estates

And it all resulted in good local press coverage in the

Stratford Herald

Warwick Courier

Big thanks to Faye Walters at Soil association for all her help, particularly with the press releases

It was a fabulous day!

Hear about it on Abbey Radio, Kenilworths community radio station

Keep it Cold!

What! A gardener wanting it to stay cold?   There is a reason…

The bulbs planted before Christmas to be in flower for the Farmers Market in 4 weeks’ time, have been too keen, some of the daffodils and crocus are in bud, so we are relying on the weather to slow them down.  They have to hang on another month.

Our customers will not want to buy foliage, they want the buds!  We moved all the bulbs out of the poly-tunnel last week to try to slow them down.  So we are hoping for the cold weather to continue to stop them flowering yet.

The remaining plans for the market are going well.  The other classes have sown salad and herb crops and they are all germinating nicely.  The top class are planning their sunflower competition and there is a team at school designing posters for the local notice boards.

Our friends at Northleigh are building bird boxes and planting sweet peas, and Faye at the Soil Association has been finding local producers to come and sell their products, including

• Beeswax products and honey
• Beef
• Breads
• Cheese and chutneys
• Cordials
• Sausages

The WI is running a stall and the PTA will be selling teas and cupcakes.

Various stalls will have eggs, biscuits and sweets to sell.  All in all plenty of reasons for you to come and see us on 8 March at 2.30 and to buy your Mother’s Day treats.

There will be more about the Farmers Market and the garden next time.  In the meantime, keep warm and Happy Planting!

All set for destruction

Yes we are almost there, the garden makeover starts next week, just after the Jubilee celebrations.  It was a baking hot day on Monday, when I moved what plants I could from the garden, these included Lemon Balm, Hellebores and many bulbs to give to Hatton Park WI for the Jubilee Flower beds, in front of Hatton Park Village Hall.

Last week the school eco group potted on the spinach and marigold seeds they had planted 2 weeks previously, they are growing on fine, as long as they are watered regularly.

The purple basil has not germinated at school, it may have been planted too deeply, luckily I had sown some at home as back up, and I potted them on this week.

After 1/2 term we will establish our tribute to the games of 2012 – our Olympic Tyre Garden, 5 tyres laid out as the Olympic rings with plants and flowers of the right colours in each one:

• Petunias for red and blue
• Marigolds for yellow
• Spinach for green
• Purple basil for black

Here’s hoping the plants all grow at similar rates, and the flowers all come together.  More on this in the next few weeks.

As its half term next week and the garden makeover the blog will skip a week and come back refreshed for the final 1/2 term of the school year.  There should be just time to plant some salad crops and pick them in the final 6 weeks of term, weather permitting!

Happy Jubilee!