Weekly Farm News - 27 July 2021

  • Aug 16, 2021
  • By Daniel Goldman
  • 0 Comments
Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all well.

This week we cleaned many of the beds and pulled up some crops that were no longer in good shape. All the waste either goes to the chickens or to the compost and it will all find its way back on the beds as compost in a few months’ time.  

The new chickens seem completely at home now and I think they will start laying soon. We extended the coop for them and built new nesting boxes. I think we are compensating for not receiving planning permission to renovate our house by renovating the chicken pen instead.

The asparagus no dig beds should be finished today, ready to have the irrigation installed, and then left to rest for a few months before we plant the crowns.

We also went to Aljezur last week and picked up some delicious vegan alternative to cheese, which are on the list. I am really impressed by the quality and variety of these products. (See the photo below). These are nothing like the cardboard vegan cheese you find in the supermarkets. These are made with organic cashews and local herbs etc, and fermented using the lactic acid from buckwheat. They are then aged for between 40 and 70 days. There are three types of these non-diary cheeses; a hardest round type, a chevre or soft goat’s cheese alternative, and a soft spreading option.  And each type comes in several flavors. They all last for up to 3 months unopened and 10 days opened (in the fridge).
*(The cashews which are the main ingredient are organic  - but they do not have a certificate).

In our garden we have loads of great peppers, tomatoes cherry and black cherry tomatoes, aubergines, basil, chives and courgettes. I also have some locally grown (organic) Royal Gala Apples.

Finally, this piece of news is for those of you who met Federico on the market or farm. He was recently knocked from his bicycle and suffered a very serious break to his arm. He spent over a week in hospital and needed an operation to insert a plate and 18 screws into is forarm. I am very happy to say he is back at the farm he worked for now and they are taking really good care of him. I am staying in touch with him too. He is just very grateful to the people who looked after him and feeling very lucky to be on the mend after such a serious crash. Sadly the driver of the car did not stop or offer him any assistance.

OK, that’s if from me. Have a great week.

Lots of love
Peter