Finally it would appear we are enjoying our first serious taste of the summer sun.
All of this years new born calves are all now out in the fields with their Mothers enjoying the plentiful lush grass that the rain has given us. Indeed we have already harvested some hay for winter fodder. Our saddleback Pig adults though don’t appreciate the sun, are thoroughly enjoying wallowing in the mud, whilst their young wander around the paddocks enjoying free range sun, mud and play. Our baby Lambs are no longer little babies but are very friendly and enjoying life in the paddocks along side the pigs.
We are now well into the arable harvesting calendar. All of our oil seed rape has now been harvested and weather permitting, we should start our Barley here at Foxholes & College Farm around the 1st of August. This will allow a further week or so for our Wheat (Durum & Feed) to finish ripening then finally the Field Beans which are similar to broad beans, excellent as animal fodder but even better when ploughed back into the soil following harvest. This adds much needed nitrogen into the soil. Thus needing less artificial intervention.
Inside the Farm Shop things have been no less interesting. Mick has settled into the Butchery like he has been there forever, bringing some new customers with him from Willows.
Harry our Butchery Manager seems to have come into his own now that the B.B.Q season is truly upon us. His artistic flair is apparent with fantastic displays of chops, steaks, kebabs, burgers, sausages and ribs. Along with traditional fayre for your summer of celebrations. Glen is making some fantastic savoury & sweet delights in our deli , including Palma & Feta Galetles, Pork Pies & Scotch Eggs.
A multi gold award winning artisan food supplier The Weald Smokery now supply us with their wonderful smoked foods, including Duck, Chicken, Venison, Ox tongue & Sausages. As interest has been sparked with our smoked meats, we are considering including fresh and smoked Fish into our range in the deli please let us know if this would be of interest to you. With our English Summer fruit season fully upon us, alongside local fruits we have some lovely dairy ice creams & sorbets as well as double and clotted creams. We added to our basic bakery selection to compliment our ever popular Wessex Mill flours & fresh bakers yeast.
Also, our supplier of Rape– seed Oil from just down the road near Tring, have hugely extended their Chiltern range to include many flavoured oils as well as summer dressings & marinades. To compliment further, we have included more dry rubs and marinades for meats, B.B.Q’s, Stews, Vegetables & Potatoes. The farmers award winning ‘Garlic Farm’ from the I.O.W also now supply us with their superlative products.
Along with some fine new breakfast, oaty & museli treats, we have many new products for you to see and enjoy. Last but not least August brings with it another one of our Open Days. This year we shall be hosting the event on a Sunday 19th August 10-4pm. Much of the planning is now done and the theme shall be “Beach & Summer Fun” Undercover if the weather mis – behaves, otherwise under Sunny sky’s. We shall be holding our best open day ever.
We plan to provide Saddleback Hog Roast, home made sausage & burger B.B.Q, Pimms and local Beers and Ciders.Sandpit & Beach area, water games and pool play, stocks, face painting, plant a seed, animals and pens and educational info plus much much more. This should prove to be the best ever open day we have had so far.
