Happy New Year. In the depths of winter we experience the worst of the weather, and grubbing up veg for 30+ bags is no fun, particularly if it rains solidly whilst we’re doing it as happened last week. Sorry about the mud on the root vegetables but what can we do? It rains, it hails, it snows and it rains again. Rain+soil+digging veg=muddy mess. That’s the previously unknown Third Law of Thermodynamics. Remember, you read it here first. The upshot of this muddy toil is that Jill and Mike are off for the best part of a month to California and Mexico leaving us, Val and Bry, to run the show and look after their birds and pigs. Sigh!
Veg news: There’s never a year when something doesn’t go wrong. Back in August, we were unable to sow many of the oriental greens that would have been ready now, because high temperatures tend to make young plants bolt. The result was that we have fewer plants than we should have had and they haven’t had enough chance to grow big. Then came the attack of the downy mildew. This nasty fungus - Bremia is its proper name – affects many plants, in particular lettuces. The mildew attacks the plants in cool damp weather and we’ve had a lot of that. As a result, we’ve lost many hundreds of lettuces, many planted out in the tunnel and many more just succumbed in the seed trays. So we’re short on winter greens, both orientals like komatsuna, mizuna and pak choi as well as lettuces. Other things like potatoes and garlic are also running short. These shortages will start to bite seriously by the end of February.
Smaller, cheaper veg bags: So what we propose to do is to produce smaller bags filled with such veg as we still have in abundance. These will be available to those of you who opt to have them. The sort of veg you can expect from early March will be fresh green salad/stirfry veg like lettuce, oriental brassicas (pak choi etc.), winter purslane, chard, squash and so on. Potatoes are running low because lots had to be thrown away owing to wireworm damage but fresh carrots and parsnips will be abundant for many weeks yet. Sprouting broccoli should be available in a couple of weeks. Of course we are very much at the mercy of what the weather decides to throw at us when trying to predict what we’ll have available. If it’s mild, we’ll have more. If cold, less.
You choose: We will definitely be closing down during the lean period of late spring (the so-called ‘hungry gap’) until July. Some of you will probably choose to opt out of the small bag scheme until our full re-start on Friday 2nd July when the normal £8 and £12 bags, bursting with value, will be back on stream. You will not lose your place as our active customers by doing this (there is a waiting list of people wishing to join). Others might choose to come each week as usual for a smaller veg bag priced at around £5, and to collect Jill’s fully organic free range hen eggs. It’s entirely up to you but you must please let us know your choice. Phone Val on the number below or send her an email or tell her when you come by. Watch out for any update notes about the change in your bags please. We hope to be able to continue to supply the smaller bags until April or even May but this depends, as does their price, on how many of you choose to continue. If half of you opt out until July, then there will be a lot more veg to go round for those who stay.
By the way, both the other box schemes in the area close down for 6 months at the end of December. We now know why.
Eggs: Ty’n Lon egg production has shot up as the new young birds have now started to come into lay. There are now more than enough eggs for everyone who wants them, as long as there are no further attacks by foxes or polecats. The three Mur Crusto ducks are also laying daily now and their eggs will be there for those who, like me, appreciate their extra flavour.
Bag collection: Please please please remember to tick the list in the Swallow House for whatever you collect so we know who’s got what. Some still forget to do this. Please write the total number of eggs in the appropriate boxes, as most of you have taken to doing. All cheques payable to ‘Val Lynas’ please.
Your support: Thanks very much for returning boxes.We’d welcome more similar sized strong fruit boxes if you come across them. Thanks too for your regular compliments about our veg.
Val & Bry, Mur Crusto, 01766 819109 Jill & Mike, Ty’n Lon 01766 810915
Website: www.llangybi-organics.co.uk