Field Notes: 29th April - 5th May 2024
May 10, 2024
Hawthorn is also known as the 'May-tree' and represents fertility
Welcome back to Field Notes. Each week we will be bringing you news from FarmED: from what’s happening in the fields and hedgerows, to updates from the farm to fork Cafe and the conference barn: a space where people from all walks of life meet to find out more about regenerative agriculture. Come with us on a one-of-a-kind journey as we ride the natural highs and lows of farming life.
Field Record: What's been happening on the 107 acres of Honeydale Farm?
This week we celebrated May Day and the Celtic festival of ‘Beltane’, marking the peak of spring and the beginning of summer. With the arrival of May comes many blessings. The air is filled with birdsong, and at this time of year we are reminded how lucky we are to be home to so many farmland birds. Many of the species we have here on the farm are now on the UK’s ‘red list’, meaning their numbers are in decline. These include thrushes, wrens, blackbirds and skylarks.
Garden Treasures: What’s been happening down in the kitchen garden?
The sun was shining for the cauliflower harvest
This week, we welcomed the month of May with yoga poses and the planting of summer crops. Rain during the first half of the week was made up for by glorious sunshine come Friday and the bank holiday weekend. Our onion plants have shot up in the sun as if by magic and the spring crops are all looking promising. We spent Thursday strawberry planting with volunteers, always an exciting day in a growers’ calendar.
The Harmony Project
On Thursday, we welcomed The Harmony Project to the farm for an away day and a guided walk around the farm. The Harmony Project is a brilliant organisation who aim to put nature and sustainability at the heart of education. They’re dedicated to transforming the education system in a way that means young people are not just equipped to pass exams, but to deal with environmental and social challenges too. The project’s goal is to deepen students' connection to the natural world and encourage people to live sustainably. It was an honour to host their team here at the farm and we encourage you to find out more about the brilliant work they do.
This week, the Cafe has been filled with sunshine: our doors have been flung open and customers have been enjoying their lunch on the picnic benches outside. We’ve celebrated the month of May by adoring the tables with lilac flowers and hawthorn blossom, and freshening up our menu to feature a whole host of delicious spring dishes.
On Wednesday, we catered for a group of 60 as part of the CHCx3 project (Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping). This exciting project will test the effect of different crop production systems on the environment, ultimately helping to enhance carbon capture and develop new carbon offsetting platforms. The team held a two day conference at FarmED and on Wednesday were served a delicious buffet of seasonal salads, homemade tarts and quiches, local cheeses and meat from Paddock Farm.
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