A farmer’s daybook is where they note everything going on with their herd; milk yields, health, behaviours, emotional states. Our online daybook is where you can keep up to date with the latest goings-on on the farm.
Maya, Miriam and Louisa kicked the year off by attending the Oxford Real Farming Conference.
The farm and garden team have just planted almost a thousand plants on the farm to create a new hedge.
It has long been a policy of Biodynamic husbandry to keep cattle with horns. As well as the aesthetic value, the horns have an important function in the life of the cow.
Your choice to shop directly with your local farms is more important than you may realise.
Approaching the halfway mark in my 2-year placement here at Old Plaw Hatch Farm, the coming of the shorter days has allowed me to reflect on what has been one hell of a ride this past year.
Growing vegetables in a political climate that has very little understanding of how food actually gets from the producer to anyone’s kitchen table (let alone the unpredictability of that same climate) means we are very grateful to the crops that have been successes, and we move on quickly from those that were or are, to put it bluntly, failures. Let me briefly talk you through our growing year so far…
Recently we’ve seen a real surge in new customers and have also noticed that existing customers are coming much more frequently and seem to be doing the majority of their food shopping with us. These changes are rarely down to one thing, and I believe at the moment there are several reasons.
Firstly, because we would really love you to. Of course, at an AGM there is the dry procedural stuff, it’s a legal requirement, but there is so much more. It’s an opportunity to hear directly from the people who grow your food.
The summer is flying by and we have already started to get the first harvests off the fields like onions, potatoes and squash. The Spring was very late this year, however, Summer is not over yet.
We have seen a noticeable increase in insect and bird life since the hedgerow down the main track behind the shop was planted. It runs along Home Field and then Holly Field. It has been a joy to watch it grow as it has become home, food and safety to many small birds, bees, butterflies, moths, and other insects.
Read MoreThe bittersweet end to summer. The big harvests are done, the hay is made, the nights grow longer and the days cool. Familiar faces who for a time have become so engrained in the life and rhythms of the farm leave on the next step of their journeys. At the end of September we say goodbye to our Garden Apprentice Mandie, and our two work placement students from Warmonderhof, Ditte and Marigold. We wish all the best on your new and exciting adventures!
Read MoreOver the summer I have started to take Pip the sheepdog out with me and we’re starting to work together well.
Read MoreAs many of you may know, I love food. I still get very excited by the produce coming from the Plaw Hatch garden and never more so than at this time of year. My summer suppers are variations on a theme but almost always involve courgettes, beans and tomatoes. These are my favourites.
Read MoreThe prolonged dry conditions and intense heat have had a significant effect on everyone at the farm.
Read MoreBiodynamic flower bunches from the Plaw Hatch garden will now be a weekly feature in the shop on Thursdays during summer.
Read MoreMuch like the strength of one’s coffee, choice of cheddar maturity is entirely personal. We’ll now be cutting our mild cheddar much younger to provide a greater range to our customers.
Read MoreAs summer arrives, summer blooms are springing up from cleared areas in the woodland regeneration site.
Read MoreAt the beginning of June, Rebecca and Gala welcomed local farmers and smallholders to Plaw Hatch to discuss ‘enterprise stacking’.
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What we’re doing for our cows and customers.