As ever, it’s been a busy month on the farm. It’s all hands on deck at this time of year, as massive amounts of transplanting takes place, getting the bulk of the summer crops established in the field. Fortunately Caz has had plenty of hands to help this month. Our existing EVS volunteer Agnès was joined by new EVS volunteer Emma, also from France, who will be here for three months. Not to mention our wwoofers, Dave and Mathilde, and two new volunteers from Friends of the Earth who have joined us. Plus, we were aided by another UNA work camp this month, which saw the farm welcoming volunteers for two weeks from France and even far flung Swansea.
In amongst a proper mix of cold rain and hot sunny days, the team set about the rather large task of transplanting all the brassicas into the field. Now all the cabbages, kale and broccoli are in and growing for the summer harvest. They also sowed a new crop of salad and planted tomatoes, plus the usual weeding and watering, and of course the weekly harvest. This month saw the first new potatoes and runner beans in the veg box, as well as the usual delicious salad.
It wasn’t all hard work though, as June saw Gerald and the volunteers visiting a couple of local festivals at neighbouring farms, Blue Lagoon at Pwll Caerog, and Unearthed in a Field at Cerbid, to give talks about various aspects of food sovereignty and sustainable farming. Finally, a few brave volunteers decided to give one of Pembrokeshire’s best cultural experiences a try while they were here – coasteering! Five of the team spent two and a half hours exploring the coastline just below the farm at Abereiddi beach, scrambling along the rocks, playing in the waves and finishing up with some epic cliff jumps. Well done guys!
