November 2002

Nothing has happened to this website for many months. But a great deal has happened at Llangybi Organics. The main news is that we have finally launched a weekly vegetable box scheme with our friends from Ty'n Lon Uchaf farm (also in Llangybi). We now jointly supply and pack around 10 boxes each week. This looks like the way forward for our two farms and our future production will be geared to producing more veg for more boxes. Working out how to do this requires a good deal of forward planning which is why we're starting out very small. We hope to keep the boxes going throughout the winter and spring but, as ever, this will depend to some extent on the weather.

The weather has been a serious problem for much of this last spring and summer. Because of the cold damp spring and early summer, many veg succumbed to diseases which would not normally have bothered them. The potatoes were wiped out by blight a full month earlier than they normally are. Our onion crop was ruined by downy mildew. Many other things did badly too. But a principle of organic growing is to grow a diversity of crops because the chances are that there are always some that will thrive when others fail. So beans and peas did well. So did carrots. The brussels sprouts are looking good despite serious attacks by cabbage white butterfly larvae in summer.

In the polytunnel, the peppers did very well despite attacks by wireworms. The tomatoes yielded quite well although they caught blight from the potatoes which damaged quite a few plants. The courgettes we planted in the tunnel yielded heavily until mid October. Just as well as the ones outside were seriously damaged by gales in late May.

We intend to produce a short printed newsletter for our box customers which we'll also place on this page. The idea is to have our customers feel linked to what we do and how we produce the veg they get each week. If there are problems or special successes, mentioning them briefly in such a newsletter makes good sense. Maybe we'll add recipe suggestions for what to do with this or that vegetable.

As the dark miserable days of winter are now upon us, we're already planning for the spring. Shall we sow a really early potato crop in the tunnel? What about the Autumn Bliss Raspberries? They need planting out in new rows. What varieties of this or that veg shall we sow? Where shall we sow it? Ty'n Lon or here at Mur Crusto? How much do we sow to satisfy our box customers? And the really big unknown is, as ever, the weather. The big gale in October nearly blew the brussels sprouts out of the ground. I staked them and they seem to have recovered. But what's in store for us next week, next month, next spring? We don't know, of course, but be have to try and allow for everything.

Mike and Jill are spending 5 weeks in Australia shortly so we at Mur Crusto will be keeping the box scheme on its feet. We are looking after Mike and Jill's hens and ducks during their holiday and so should be able to add eggs to individual boxes if asked.

Best wishes from Bry and Val at Mur Crusto; 27 November 2002.