Being a member of COCA carries no obligation to help out with veg growing, but if you have an odd half-hour, then there has never been a better time to put it to use at the farm.

The next three Saturdays 18th May, 25th May and 1st June are all opportunities to help plant those seedlings. Turn up anytime from 10:00 until 12:00 and do bring the children. Either Caz or Gerald will be on hand to show you what needs doing.

Hope to see you there.

Saturday 20th April
Caerhys Organic Farm, Berea
10.30am – 12.30pm
Refreshments

Following the success of last year’s family outing, we’re holding another Scarecrow making morning this coming Saturday. We will supply organic stuffing and the frame for your scarecrow. Just bring your chosen outfit and suitable material to make a head.

Bring your parents, friends and family to make this a great start to the Spring sowing and growing season

We need to act quickly on the one single action we need to take to ensure COCA survives – recruit more members. I’ve created a simple poster advertising COCA – click here. Please print one or two out and put them up wherever you think we might attract some members. If you don’t have any printing facilities, then let me know and I will send you a good colour copy printed on thin card. I’ll also put a few in the share shed this afternoon at the harvest, so you can pick one up when collecting your veg

Main points and decisions from the meeting:

• Your new Core Group meets for the first time on 23rd April – please let us know if you have ideas on recruiting more members
• Harvesting has switched back to Fridays – from 3pm onwards
• Sue Whitmore offered to have a veg share pick up point at her house in Trefin
• Fiona Michael offered to have a veg share pick up point in St Davids
• The annual membership fee will be folded into the monthly subscription as of January 2014
• Remote hubs are being progressed with Transition Bro Gwaun Cafe in Fishguard and The Ark healthfood shop in Haverfordwest.

If you have any questions about the AGM and the topics we discussed please email secretary@coca-csa.org.

As is often said, if everyone could bring in just one new member we’d be in fantastic shape, but it is unbelievably hard for that to happen.

The largest obstacle to COCA membership is the trip to Caerhys to pick up the veg. We want to make that easier by having remote hubs in major areas of population. We’ve moved one step closer by boxing the shares, but there are still challenges. Having an accessible location to store veg shares is something we’re working on now, but transporting the shares after harvest is a thorny problem. If you know anyone who would want a small, but regular job doing this in return for a free veg share and fuel costs, then let us know.

The easier route is if members can pick up veg shares for people living near them – a sort of “home hub” if you like. Could there be anyone living near you that would become a member with such an offer? Of course it can also ease the burden of travel and associated fuel costs if we help each other out. I will distribute a map showing members locations, so that you can see who else, near you, is already a COCA member.

Man thanks,

COCA Core Group

There wasn’t much in the field but the Kale is still coming along (did you try the Kale Crisp recipe?) and some lovely cabbage.  Sadly the cabbage is bolting, possibly because we planted them too close but the leaves we stripped off will be just like spring cabbage.  I am going to make a stuffed cabbage bake with mine. And this year we will try and plant them further apart!  In the polytunnel I was interested to see what an advantage the fleece has been to the salad crop.

Not many turned up for the harvest.  Personally I am glad it is on a Saturday – and I remember that as being the requested day at our recent meeting.  But if we want to be involved we need to turn up.  Otherwise it is all falling back on our Grower who would rather not work every weekend and surely we would rather he was growing not harvesting?!

It was lovely to stand and look at that glorious view, just a touch of sunshine too.

The extension to the Poly Tunnel is almost complete. The heating cables are ready to go and just need the sand bed to be in place. Then we’ll be able to start sowing seeds that will be transplanted out into the field later in the year. This is one way we can get a head start on the season and hopefully avoid the problems with any repeat of last Spring’s weather. Some seeds have already been started in trays – see photo at the end of this post.

Harvesting this week of 2nd March 2013 included a return to Kale picking. Whilst not completely free of the recent damage from bitterly cold winds, it had recovered enough to get a couple of boxes picked and enough for everyone. If the milder weather continues, then hopefully there will still be more to come, unless the plants decide it is time to flower and run to seed. This is unfortunately what the cabbages are deciding. Many have already bolted. This week we managed to pick just a small number with hearts. Even so, some of the large variety we are now using have hardly hearted up at all, yet they are showing signs of bolting. So, next week we’ll probably be picking these just for their leaves. Still great food, and some are enormous, but don’t expect a cabbage with a solid heart.

Bought in this week were local and organic potatoes, parsnips, carrots and beetroot. With our own kale and cabbage, plus winter salad from the poly tunnel, the COCA veg share still provides plenty of healthy food for us, despite approaching the leanest period of the year.

Robert Jones, master beekeeper is giving a short workshop for beginners at Caerhys on Saturday 2nd March from 10.30am until 1pm. Robert believes in producing honey from native black bees. He breeds black welsh queen bees, designs his own beehives and produces his own honey from the local area – from wild flower to potted gold!

The presentation with questions and answers for novices and beginners will take place in the parlour at Caerhys farmhouse. Hot drinks will be provided. Please bring some cake to share. Book your place with Gerald on 07879 664703 or  Gerald@coca-csa.org as there is only room for fifteen beesy people.

Visit Robert’s website a here

Anyway, many thanks to Stuart Johnson who has turned up most Saturdays since joining COCA in January, although he could only stay an hour or so this week. After that there was just Gill Lewis and me to finish the harvest. Unfortunately, we didn’t get everything boxed until around 1.30pm. That meant that a few of you collected boxes whilst we were still in the field, so you only got the basic bought in veg – potatoes, carrots and parsnips plus our stored onions. From the field we took leeks, red cabbage and some bits and pieces of green cabbage, cauliflower and kale. Most of the kale is still wind damaged – these very cold winds of late have just dessicated the ends of the leaves. The upside of the wind is that it has dried out the ground a lot. We just need some warmer weather and we can get some seed out into the field. Thankfully, the propagating add-on to the poly tunnel is up and running thanks to Caz and Gerald.

The workday was equally sparsely attended. Thanks must go to non-veg sharing member Jenny Parkin and her friend who turned up to have a go at the willow dome. Looking at the photo I think you’ll agree that they did a pretty good job.

Harvesting next week, Saturday at 10:00. With a few more hands we can finish on time for 12 noon pick ups.

1kg Potatoes
750g Onions
800g Carrots
350g Parsnips
6 Leeks
1 Swede
1 Cabbage

One or two shares may have worked out slightly different, with some balancing out of items. Everything except onions, cabbages and half of the carrots were bought in. Unfortunately, the Kale still hasn’t recovered from the wind damage of recent times. Hopefully, by next week it may have grown enough to get a picking. Onions are not storing well because of the wet season and so we increased the amount shared out a few weeks ago. We thought it was best to share more out rather than just let them completely rot in store. We try to throw out all the soft ones to the pigs, but sometimes they start to rot from the inside out. Then they feel reasonable from the outside, but aren’t too good when you cut them open. Apologies if you’ve had lots of these, but there’s just no way of knowing.  Our own carrots are now finished. The cabbages that are left are beginning to bolt or are just without a decent heart. Weather problems again. Still the leaves are good and we thought it better to pick them than let them bolt and completely waste.

Next week, after the harvest ,will be a workday – weather permitting!