August: Our busiest month yet!
In spite of struggling with cabbage white butterfly, turnip sawfly caterpillars, aphids and slugs we have been able to harvest potatoes, carrots, beetroots, onions, two varieties of cabbage, three varieties of kale, two varieties of turnips, radishes, lettuce, chard, courgettes, four varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, French beans and runner beans for our weekly organic veg boxes.
It’s been an incredibly busy month, and in addition to the usual tasks revolving around growing the vegetables (sowing, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, watering, trimming) preparations for the annual Harvest Party, a key fundraiser for COCA and Caerhys Farm, were in full swing.
Luckily, our German EVS volunteer received reinforcement from WWOOFers and five international helpers who joined us for almost three weeks as part of the UNA Workcamp scheme. The volunteers from Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, and Japan helped with the preparations for the Harvest Party including transforming the farm into a festival-worthy space, ensuring a smooth running of the event, and helping to clean up after the festival. Katya, one of our Workcamp volunteers, sums up her experience: “To tell the truth, I spent an amazing time with wonderful people, not only at the farm, but in St Davids, too. I met a lot of guys from different countries, explored farm life and beautiful sights of Wales. Some things like harvesting beans or weeding seemed daily routine for me, but I had a great time, especially during the Harvest Party”.
Despite the fact that especially Saturday saw less visitors than last year, it was a weekend filled with fun, food, music, dance, games, talks, and theatre. Highlight of the weekend? For Silvia from Spain it was her new found love for Cider, for others it was dancing to Fiddelbox’s Ceildhi on Friday night.
An enormous thank you to everyone who helped out before, during and after the Harvest Party. Without your dedication and hard work this fantastic event would not have been possible!
