Our first year’s harvest
This year on The Orchard has been all about research and experimenting for what grows well on our wet clay plot. Our ultimate vision is to work with the land, to grown food and to live a sustainable life. We want to counterbalance our carbon footprint and conserve, even restore where we can and stop the clock on our little patch at least. We seek to reintroduce native flora in the hope of attracting wildlife. We try to reuse and repurpose everything we can so as not to add to landfill. We are rediscovering old ways of doing things and fostering new ways without using harmful pesticides and chemicals. Our first crop of potatoes was epic and had friends and family cooking the trialled varieties up in all different ways and giving feedback on how well they cooked and tasted. We received lots of pics of some amazing dinners and feedback on how the spuds performed...thanks guys 😘 We now know which varieties we will planting next year.
Disappointingly our brassicas were dismal between the cabbage fly and the slugs, although the slugs gave us good ratings 😆 Next year we will be companion planting, the seeds are already sown. Our broccoli bolted to high heaven in the early hot summer and our carrots were plump for about three inches then dwindled to spindly little spikes so we clearly didn’t rotovate our soil deeply enough and they couldn’t burrow through the clay. They still made some tasty soups, just not a great quantity. However the sweet corn was delicious and we are looking forward to the parsnips which are looking great and waiting for a bit of frost to sweeten the up a bit.
The last couple of weekends has seen me in the barn, turning our fruit harvest into jams, jelly and chutney and processing and bottling our small honey harvest. I was totally in my happy place prepping and cooking, with my woofers close by, paws over their ears as I sang along to loud music (great acoustics in the barn 😊) I even broke into the odd dance as I stirred the pot, as the saying goes ‘as if nobody was watching’ (well, nobody was).
I’m totally happy with my Bramley Apple and wild blackberry jam. My hedgerow jelly full of haws and rose hips and elderberries smells and tastes divine, even though I say so myself ☺️ The spiced apple chutney seems to be a winner, but everyone’s favourite has to be my rhubarb and ginger jam 😋 I’m looking in to gin for next year 😍
It has been so rewarding to plant, grow and harvest food then turn it into produce to feed us and possibly in the future to sell any surplus at a farmers’ market. The foraging of wild food was like winning the jackpot as we didn’t plant or tend any of it. I am even in the process of making acorn flour!!! Who knew there was such a thing? With so many old oak trees I had to try it out. After loads of reading, I know now and what an epic food source the old oak is, being made up of complex carbs, packed full of protein, amino acids and many vitamins and they are gluten free. It is an easy but long process, so thank you Coal Clough Academy boys for your epic help in shelling all those acorns 😊 I’m now in the process of leaching out the tannins so that hopefully we’ll have baking trials soon.
The jewel in our Wood End crown though has to be our honey. So much time and investment in our first year for two modest yields. That’s ok, we will have more colonies next year and experience under our belts. I wouldn’t have believed the difference in taste and texture from a spring yield after being fed on fondant over winter to late summer honey made from the nectar from our fruit trees and honeysuckle and wild roses and the masses of bee friendly flowers in our bee garden.
Even as I write this and reflect on our progress, my mind is planning for the next cycle. I have on order more rhubarb crowns, black and green gooseberries, medlar trees, and crab apples blue berries and raspberries. I’m hoping for fruit from our four quince trees next year and a greater yield from those apples and pears which had their first fruit this year. Oh and did I mention that I have my mind on planting a medicine garden?
Update: 28 October 2023
We’ve heard from Roberto Ramos of DrugWatch (drugwatch.com) who would like us to share information about the dangers of Glysophate pesticade and suggestions for alternatives…
drugwatch.com/roundup/glyphosate