The sunniest calendar month on record
A suggestion from our annual members survey was to update members with growing activities on the field. Consequently, we started a ‘This week on the Field’ section in our member weekly newsletter, The Peelings. This has been a fantastic addition and highlights all the work that goes on behind the scenes to keep our members supplied with tasty, local vegetables!
The Metoffice announced May 2020 was the sunniest calendar month on record, so there’s no surprise ‘watering’ featured on each week’s list along with weeding as the weeds enjoyed the warmth!
Throughout May our growers, workshares and volunteers were busy with a spring clean, beds were prepared outside and in our polytunnels. Over the course of the month beds were soon filled with Brussel sprouts, perpetual spinach, potatoes, cauliflowers, cabbages, aubergines and chilli peppers. Tomato beds was prepared in the polytunnel and the tomato plants were planted with spinach around the base.
To keep the crops flowing, a huge variety of vegetables have been sown – carrots, turnips, courgettes, 3 varieties of squash, basil, pumpkins, broadbeans and rainbow chard. A separate note must go to the lettuces, which are always so delicious and have had plenty of TLC this month. In early May there was a lot of sowing, pricking out, planting in the polytunnel and also outside towards the end of the month. Discussions on what to do with the lettuce have been circulating around our members, check out the recipe section on the website for some inspiration!
