Group effort

Thanks to the efforts of different groups including a volunteer day from Burges and Salmon and HSBC we have now got the third poly tunnel dug over and prepared for the new season. Lots more tomatoes to come.  Lots of hard work went into these as the soil has be covered in plastic for many years and very compacted.

Apple pressing

After much debate about the lack of fruit on trees this year because of the bad weather we decided it was time to harvest the apples. We are fortunate to have a lot of very big mature apple trees, with lots of different varieties. Lots of the tree did have a good crop as they were so big. We discovered some very good little red apples which make excellent eater and a range of cooking apples. The combination of different apples on site means that you get the right ratio for making...cider. On the glorious sunny day we set to it harvesting and crushing. In the end we counted 24 gallons of apple juice. Half of this has been shared with Simms Hill and the other half is bubbling away gentle getting ready for our Wossail event on the 26th Jan. Wossail is used to welcome in the new year and to bless the land in the hope of another excellent growing season. January is a perfect time to have a big event as we can shake off winter and launch ourselves into the new season.

Winter bed preperation

After the glorious tomatoes harvest we are now preparing for winter. We have built up the edges of the beds so we can add more compost and now planting winter salads. This incudes Rocket, Mezuna, Endives, winter lettuce, Pak Choi, and mustard leaves. Outside we will continue to harvest kale, chard, cabbage, fennel, beetroot, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli and brussel sprouts. The harvesting rolls on.

Thanks to Ian for hosting a day of investigating herbal medicinal remedies that can be found on the site. It was amazing to see what a range of things we have at our disposal on site. Everything from remedies for viral infections to a broken heart. This was followed by an afternoon of tea making and sampling tinctures. Incredible wisdom that we can use to improve our own health and its all around us for free.

A glorious golden evening with the Jamaican elders. We had a huge feast laid on by their chef using a lot of seasonal veg, Jerk Chicken and Fish. This was followed by a very chilled reggae band. Just to mix things up this was sponsored by the Community Sustainable Energy Programme which was there to give advice about energy saving for the elderly. A magic night had by all.
 

Harvest Festival

We had great fun at the Harvest Festival celebrating a very productive first year. Other than involving lots of different community groups, putting down the infrastructure, setting up effective teams of volunteers, making a splash and networking with the buzzing local food scene in Bristol, we have also been growing some immensely tasty vegetables.

Saturday was all about showing people how we did it and then feasting on all the lovely organic veg. Thanks to all chefs and creative people we made an assortment of dishes. We danced several jigs and ate many a slices of tremendously tasty cake from the 'Grow Your Own' herbal cafe. We have been growing a range of herbs to fill our tea pots and keep us healthy through the seasons.

Community achievement award

On the 29th Sept we won a Community Achievement award as part of Bristol in Bloom. Many many thanks to all the hard work of everyone for getting involved and supporting all of the different community groups we work with.

Every group that has taken part so far has fed back that the support from the volunteers and the accommodating nature of the project has been exceptional. As project manager I take my hat off to all those that have made everyone feel so welcome on the site. Because of that we have achieved so much this year.

A huge thanks from Matt and Susan.