April's News

I hope you can take the chance to watch a seedling push its way up through the crust of earth into the spring sunshine this April. Throughout the ages, so much poetic beauty and philosophical meaning has been teased out of the simple image of a seed germinating in soil. It is miraculous. It is monotonous. It is the basis of life, and it never fails to fill me with wonder.

This month the sun’s warmth heralds the beginning of planting season! Provided we don’t have too many harsh frosts left(!) we’ll have lots of healthy happy lettuces, courgettes, peas, beans and more, growing in the soil. Keep your eye out for seedlings sitting by the shopfront here at the farm, since, if we have any spare, we’ll have them on sale.

We’re pleased to welcome to the farm and to the village our seasonal worker Kerstin, who will be with us for six months, and Marine, who is an agricultural student from France who will be here for four weeks and will return again in the summer. The decades of experience and expertise cultivated here at Gold Hill is something worth sharing, and it is a delight for young eager students to learn here (I say from experience!). Perhaps you will meet them in the shop or in the pub.

To my delight, many of you have expressed interest in my pigs! Well, to answer a few FAQs of yours, I have a dozen pigs, six of which are Oxford Sandy and Black, and six of which are mixed breed. They have an vibrant diet of vegetable off-cuts (kale is their favourite!), pigmeal, and all sorts of creepy-crawlies they dig up in the dirt. They are full of character and charm, and always welcome a wave hello from the footpaths either side of their field. The first pork will be available by the end of May I hope, but you’re bound to hear more about that nearer the time...