Open Farm Sunday 2018 was our most successful yet, we had more visitors than ever before. The weather was amazing, plant sales went well, cakes sold out and we had a reporter from the Sheffield Telegraph visit us and write a double page spread about us in the paper.


We had a lot going on at the farm on that hot sunday in June, it's an event that we love doing: showing people what we do.

The event in many ways is the highlight of our year, it gives us a specific date to aim for, and we make the farm the best we can make it for that day.


We served tea, coffee, cakes and buns, Elaine managed to keep the tea flowing.


As you can see the weather was just superb, and it was lovely to be able to share our fantastic plot of land with our local community.


The younger farm members did a brilliant job (as they have done in previous years) and really took the time to both prepare and deliver tours of the farm.


Kids activities were well received and everyone seemed to have a good time.


Plant sales were very effective this year.


Harry as head bee keeper gave a number of talks on our magnificent bees and how we produce our honey.


Zoe sold some of her wonderfully creative craft.


After the public had left we all kicked back and relaxed with some pizza's baked in our pizza oven.

Beers were had and the consensus was that the day had been a great success.

Open Farm Sunday

Helen organised for bug expert Alan to come to the farm and lead us all on a hunt for creepy crawlies.

Jack in particular embraced this activity with maximum effort and ran rings around us chasing moths and butterflies. We saw a number of [Orange Tip butterflies](https://www.google.com/search?q=orange+tip+butterfly) but failed to capture any however they're quite distinct so didn't need close up inspection for identification.

A couple of times we spotted interesting things that disappeared when we tried to investigate, but here are some of the things we found...


Bug hunt

A random smattering of stuff we've done so far this spring, working hard (when are we not), a social, more pigs, more greenhouse work, more grass and more...

## Hard labour

Well it certainly felt like hard labour having to weed, rake and spread grass seed over a whole field by hand.


In addition to a few tweaks to the little greenhouse a large part of the last few weeks has been spent dismantling and reassembling a [huge new greenhouse we've been given](/2022/04/23/new-greenhouse/).

## Livestock


## A social

We even managed a social event one evening, fired up the pizza oven, had a few beers and an electric Land Rover was a big hit.


Wendy communes with mutts and an electric Land Rover

We've been extremely fortunate to have been offered a fantastic greenhouse for free if we dismantle it transport it to our site and assemble it again.

## Preparation


## Is it a greenhouse though?

When you say greenhouse I think glass, well it doesn't have glass it has **poly**carbonate panels, and it's shape is more **tunnel** like than a traditional greenhouse, so is it a polytunnel or a greenhouse. I think we'll just call it the **big greenhouse**.


A new green/glass/poly house/tunnel

Over lockdown we had a lot of people ask to join the farm and we weren’t able to run a proper induction process so we started a waiting list for the first time. When we were able to get people involved again mid 2021 we found this was a slow process so for our workday in March we invited everyone on the waiting list to join us for the day to see if membership is for them.

The workday started as usual with a cuppa and a chat through the jobs list.


After a tour of the farm and a chat about the project the new volunteers joined the rest of the farm team to either clean out the chickens or do a mega weed of the outdoor veg area that had become a little neglected over the winter and cover it with a layer of compost.


After lunch Harry then demo-ed how to clip chickens wings and dust them for mites and we introduced our new chickens to the rest of the flock.


New volunteers and a great winter salad harvest

Some hedging and fedging has taken place, completing the actions from one grant and achieving a milestone in another. Plus the beast was let loose in the new orchard area.

## Fixing some storm damage ##
We had set up an outdoor covered enclosure for the chickens, but with the recent storms this was left in a rather sorry state so reinforcement was required.


## Progress on our Transpennine Express grant ##
Part of our successful grant application to Transpennine Express included planting some hedges along the boundaries of our livestock pens. This is the first stretch of approx 20m and we got the whole thing done in a day. We will do another run of hedging (possibly next spring) on the opposite edge of the same field.


Kelly's dad Dave was able to bring a digger on site to scrape the top off this pen and level it out to give us a better base for planting grasses suitable for geese, hopefully next year. Big shout out to Dave for spending his time in the digger on the farm in appalling weather to do this for us. 

## So what is a fedge? ##
A fedge is a hedge planted woven and shaped into a fence - obvious really! Ours is being planted as a screen around our composting loo.


## A beast in the orchard! ## 
For some time now we've been clearing a previously overgrown area to extend our orchard of fruit trees. It's been hard but now it looks great.


## Offerings ##
The farm is offered many things from people wanting to help, which is great, and we've been very lucky with sheds, polytunnels and greenhouses in the past. Recently we've been offered a very large greenhouse and so have decided to replace two of our small greenhouses. 


A beast in the orchard and some fedging

It's been over a year since the last blog post, we could blame covid for a slow down in activity during 2020 and the blog posts sort of dried up too but actually we still managed to get quite a lot done.

The more we achieved in 2021 the more daunting it became to write it all up - so New Year's Resolution: write a new blog post on 2021 *and* continue with more frequent updates thereafter...

## Chainsaw

For Harry and Stu 2021 started rather well, they went on a chainsaw course to learn how to use one properly (the more sensible members deemed the training necessary before use on the farm) they enjoyed every minute of the week long tree felling in the freezing, raining, snowing outdoors at Holmfirth in January. They both passed the test and now hold qualifications in tree felling using a chainsaw.


## Veg baskets

The baskets/crates/trays that we used to divide up the produce on workdays desperately needed somewhere to go following the disintegration of their previous shelf - later it got a roof over it too as tree sap was making them a bit icky.


## Roundhouse gets some walls

After many many conversations over what type of walls/infill the roundhouse should have; a Lego wall, walls made from bottles, hay bales, woven willow, logs, etc, it was decided that a quick and simple approach was needed.

The lower part of the walls have been completed using shiplap cladding, and the upper part using poly-tunnel plastic to create windows of a sort - some of them even open (we're optimistic that it might be hot in the summer).


## Illuminated business

In the autumn we forked out some cash for some solar powered lights for the loo and roundhouse. Initial results appeared good so more were ordered for the kitchen and container - but by the end of the year they don't seem to be working too well so may have to go back. 


## As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University

For sometime we've been wanting a landscape master plan, something to put some structure around the long term management of the site.

It needs to take into account wildlife, flora, tree stock, planting, water, hedgerows and provide a survey of what we have now and balance all of this with the farming needs of the group. A large part of our site will revert to woodland if we don't manage it which although wonderful for the wildlife does make it harder to use for farming if our membership numbers continue to grow.

Having disappointingly being refused a grant application from one organisation at short notice we applied to the TransPennine Express Transform Grant programme and were absolutely delighted to be awarded just over £4,000 to put towards commissioning the plan and then getting it started.


## Please don't poo there
Having got somewhat fed up with the stupid chickens constantly pooping in the big box they also lay their eggs in, a nesting box frame was constructed around the inserts from an old nesting box structure. Hopefully it's the right size for them to realise that these compartments are more for nesting than perching, having a nap (and therefore also having a poo - who doesn't before/after sleeping?).


## New members
We've welcomed many new members to the farm over the year, we've staggered their arrival dates so a small group of families at a time can integrate with the existing team for a couple of months and then we ask the next group to join us.

As the website didn't get updated neither did the message for new volunteers although the message is still much the same, we still have a waiting list and are actively bringing people in from that list in the order they were added.


New year's resolution

First workday following November lockdown, most work focused on getting a new veg area ready. We also picked mushrooms and stood around admiring the magnificent alpha turkey.

## Traitorous apiary ##

The hive has become silent, with the mysterious exit of all the bees. There are many theories of why this has happened, and it's not an unknown phonomenon, but there is no consensus. Perhaps 'colony bogoff disorder' could be an appropriate term.


## New area for for the more delicate veg ##

Construction began on a new vegetable area which was previously occupied by an old shed. Once this had been removed (and burnt!), cardboard was laid down and soil on top of that. Then a fence was constructed out of some old decking.


Traitorous apiary, pfffing turkey and a posh fence

Lots of bits'n'pieces going on at the farm during lockdown 2.0!


## Lockdown 2.0 ##

It's been hard to try to work out which lockdown rules apply to the farm, we're a community farm but not a farm, we're a company but a not for profit one etc and so there is no definite category into which we fit. Therefore we've decided that regular work days cannot happen and we'll only allow up to 3 households on site at any one time and they should all work in different areas of the farm.


## Woodworm ##

While Covid prevents us from using the roundhouse for it's intended purpose as a shelter for social gathering, lunches etc it seemed like a good time to clear everything out and spray some rather nasty woodworm treatment on the structural timbers.


## As if 2020 could not get any worse - Avian flu ##

So Avian flu has hit the UK again, and so we need to move all food and water supplies into the respective poultry sheds to help reduce contamiation by wild birds which might bring avian flu with them.


Fox holes, woodworm and turkey jam

A photographically irrestistible protruberance, vegetable rejectamenta and preparations for winter.

## Pigs

We gave the pigs some fresh straw bedding in their hut. Surprisingly it has stayed dry inside despite all the recent rain. They have been happily munching away at our vegetable rejectamenta, including partially rotten apples, along with their usual dry feed.


## Tomatoes

The tomato season has finished. They will no longer ripen. So the plants have been removed, and the remaining fruits harvested. We have hundreds of green ones which can be made in to chutney; Lee-Anne has kindly offered to do this for the members if they donate a small amount of money for the other ingredients. The remainining ripe tomatoes are all of the black variety, which turn partially red when ripening. They are quite a beautiful-looking fruit.


## Turkeys

We unfortunately lost one of our turkeys during the week, to a mysterious death. Apparently this is a common occurance and we buy more turkeys that we expect to be able to harvest. One does wonder why it happens though when there's no obvious cause.


## Winter preparations

Work goes on to put fresh manure on the soil and prepare sticks for tying vegetables to.


Funny shaped vegetables

Both trailers misbehaved, but managed to do their duty and deliver 15 lovely turkeys and 6 piglets to the farm.


## Trailers behaving badly ##

The little trailer previously re-varnished needed a cover and so we made a fine cover that can roll up when not in use and leave little excuse not to use it because it's so handy - no problems there.


### Problem 1: Wheels that don't turn ###

When moved we observed that one of the wheels was reluctant to turn, so found problems with the long defunct brakes (not a problem as long as light loads are towed) and so H removed those.


### Problem 2: Tyres that rub against metal ###

Noticed one of the tyres was damaged as a result of the trailer bouncing and the suspension being rather soft would allow the tyre to come into contact with a peice of the steel trailer body.


### Problem 3: Wood filler disaster ###

We thought it would be a good idea to fill some of the gaps around the new woodwork to keep moisture out, so we had a tub of two part resin based woodfiller - making the assumption that the packet of hardener supplied with the tub would do the job and give us 30min working time with the resin we used all the hardener with all the tub of filler, well after 5min it went rock solid and we'd barely filled one edge inside the trailer.


### Problem 4: The big trailer door ###

**It fell off!**

The loading ramp, after loading the piglets in the back, whilst closing the door for the return journey, its seemingly poorly designed hinges sheared off!


## Livestock behaving well ##

### Turkeys ###

Despite trailer issues the turkeys survived their journey intact and seem to really enjoy being in their paddock with their recently erected luxury shed.


### Pigs ###

The pigs arrived on site albeit a little later than planned due to the requirement to jerry-rig the ramp back on.


## Another shed move ##

**Q. Why do we keep moving sheds?**

**A.** When LVCF took possession of this piece of land it was seriously overgrown and the entire plot had to be cleared of brambles etc. This means that various elements of the farm were placed according to how much land had been reclaimed. As we cleared more and more of the site what once was a convenient location now ended up being in the way.

This time it was the veg shed that got moved, and in its place will be a new veg area. The shed itself was moved over so that it backs onto Trippett's Tunnel a central spine of trees and privet hedge that runs up the middle of the farm. This fits with a *master plan* of having all sheds along Trippett's Tunnel with the assumption that this feature will never move.


Trailer tantrums, another shed move, turkeys and Zorro the pig arrive on site

New shed, new people, new trailer, new lots of stuff = awesome workday with so much done. What a great day with almost all members on site, recent members and a few first timers (who hopefully enjoyed it enough to come back) but we almost ran out of chairs at lunch time, I don't think that's ever happened before.

## New wheat area ##

The farm has been asked to join the [Sheffield Wheat Experiment](https://www.thesheffieldwheatexperiment.co.uk/) which requires us to clear a small area and plant some wheat watch it grow and then make flour and bake bread from it.


## New shed ##

We were fortunate to be given a very large shed in superb condition which we used to replace our most decayed shed - the turkey shed. Lucky turkeys whilst on the farm will enjoy our most luxurious accommodation. As keepers of the birds we will all enjoy being able to enter and leave the shed without fear of banging our heads or having to stoops whilst doing anything in there.


## New trailer ##

OK - it's not new, it's very old, but this is the most attention it's received in a very long time. The old base was rotten and causing concern that its load could drop through the floor part way through a journey.


## Elsewhere on the farm ##

We had a bumper harvest, planted out cabbage & chard seedlings. Did a lot of weeding and tidying up of plants.


New people, new shed, new trailer, new wheat area - so much new stuff going on

We had so many new volunteers/members on site today, and it was brilliant, they all seemed to enjoy their time with us and just got on with it and mucked in.

The more people we have at a work day, the more motivating it is as we can get so much more done.


## Counting down to piglets ##

Pigs are arriving on site soon, they arrive quite small and cute but grow so fast into something not quite so cute and much bigger.

First job for the more construction orientated was to make sure the gates could be secured and did not have piglet sized gaps in them.


One of our volonteers very kindly went on a hunt for a particularly problematic weed - ragwort, which would be poisonous to the livestock.


Our youngest vistor Luke became Stuart's shadow for the afternoon and together they gave a rather disgusting water trough a really - really thorough clean. I don't think our pigs have ever had such spotless drinkers as this. Luke ensured that Stuart didn't miss any spots. Then they started a really good detox of the water tank that will supply the pig drinker. Luke made sure that Stuart rotated it and flipped the tank around so all sides (inside and out) were given a good clean.


Shame that Stuart went and lost the bolt which should hold the cover onto the back part of the trough.

## Veg didn't even make it home ##


Lots of new faces and the cleanest pig water trough ever!

After due consideration of covid and government guidelines, we opened for the first time since lockdown.

We've been up during lockdown usually less then 4 people at a time, to keep the bare essentials going and look after the chickens. As it was the first day in a while, we decided that we'd only have existing members on site to give us a chance to get back in the swing of things and also to ensure we knew what we were doing when new people arrived.

## Lots of jobs to do ##


## A couple of old swings ##

In true make-do fashion, on an almost zero budget project, we re-used a couple of frames from children's swings to as frames for netting to protect our precious veg from birds. The kids would much rather climb and swing from all the trees on the farm anyway.


The usefulness of the swings didn't end there. Other parts of it were used to extend the legs on an old tub thingy to make it a more ergonomic height to use as a potting table.


## Vegtastic ##

As always there was a bit of weeding to do but we try to share that as much as possible. It was a beautiful day and we really got the veg area looking really good.


## A sporting contest ##

James and Rowan decided to have a planking contest. Asha who was in the fruit cage near them joined in and won.


## Piggies ##

It was decided that we'd get pigs again soon and so we had to complete the pig loading area we started last year.

There was a large gate in the middle pig pen which has never really been used, so we decided we'd move it to the new pig loading area.


First official workday after lockdown

We have a composting loo, the birdhouses finally get put up, we made a new stove and the roundhouse got a top hat.

It's been a while since the last farm blog post, however today's work day was inspiring. In spite of coronavirus fears we had a splendid turnout and got a lot done. We welcomed new members, had visitors and some volunteers working towards their Duke of Edinburgh awards. Time to update you on some of our projects, some have taken rather longer than one would expect.

## Birdhouses ##

So we made some birdhouses back in Jan 2019, but they got forgotten and didn't get put up until a few weeks ago.


## Loo for number 2s ##

In the summer we were very fortunate to have won a grant from [The Sheffield Town Trust](http://www.sheffieldtowntrust.org.uk/) to allow us to buy a very nice proper composting toilet. Wanting to post about it when it was complete time has ticked by. By complete I mean, delivered, moved to it's location, hand wash sink plumbed in, and baby changing table installed. Well we've got most of that done, here it is...


The only thing left to do is the baby changing table!

@[The Sheffield Town Trust](http://www.sheffieldtowntrust.org.uk/) **thank you** so much, this is huge improvement to the farm's facilities.

## Very hot gas bottle ##


## Round house gets a hat ##

For a while now we've discussed the need for the roundhouse to have a sort of top hat to protect the structural roof timbers sticking up through the middle of the roof which had started to suffer from exposure to the elements. We finally got around to making an ambitious polythene wrapped skylight complete with hole for the stove flue.


Loo for number 2s, pink birdhouse and a very hot gas cylinder

For the last few years we've been on a farm weekend away, this year we were based in Hathersage and had fab time.

We walked along the top of Stanage Edge which was particularly spectacular with fog in the valley below us and even the cement works pouring steam up looked amazing.

While Sunday lunch was roasting in the oven (our own farm pork) we all had a walk down Padley Gorge.

<div class="slider">

Weekend away

Our 2nd October workday felt very autumnal although after the recent rainfall we were happy with a mostly dry day!

The first job of the day was to clean the chickens out.  We are trialling using coffee chaff as a bedding material which is a waste product from the coffee roasting industry.  We are grateful to [Forge Coffee Roasters](https://forgecoffeeroasters.co.uk/) for donating us some to try.  Our first impressions are good.  It is very light compared to our
usual bedding but has a slight coffee aroma which was still noticeable after several days.

We also cleaned out the chicken run and hosed down the concrete base which we rebuilt this year to create a cleaner, drier area so the chickens are ready for the winter months.

The pigs had been suffering with the wet weather and although they love mud, they don't like it in their house so the pig arc was moved to a drier patch and refilled with straw which they seemed to appreciate.

We still managed to harvest a decent box with the last of the tomatoes and sweetcorn and some chard, leeks and peppers but the main work for the day was improving the animal areas.

The day was completed with a members meeting in the roundhouse followed by a meal at the Wisewood Inn.


Do chickens like coffee?

What a tremendous work day we had, weather was much better than expected, we got loads done, lots of people made it to the day. More children on the farm than adults which is great (as long as there are enough adults!) it's nice to see them playing outdoors, learning where their food comes from and having fun at the same time.

## Digging a water main ##

Rich K worked tirelessly throughout the day on the trench for the water pipe to the new toilet area. He had help throughout the day from Rich A, Ben and a few others.


## Tiding up for winter ##

Lots of work was done by many to harvest and then remove the spent veg and tidy the areas left behind.


## View up the farm ##

David has made a very valid point that no-one can really see how great the farm is from the entrance, we should really make more of the potential views of the *hub of activity* from the less impressive entrance.


## Shelter the feed ##

With so much rain recently it's highlighted a problem with our feed storage. We've been keeping our turkey and chicken feed in bins near the gates to the respective enclosures, but rats/mice/squirrels keep trying to chew their way through the bin lids. When there is so much rain even a small hole in the lids lets water in and turns the dry feed bad (I'm sure Asha can supply scientific names for the nastiness that develops in the wet food). So a shelter was proposed to provide a roof over the feed store, the logical location appeared to be between two existing sheds: the egg shed and the bee shed.


In typical farm fashion practicality and expediency won out over beauty and craftsmanship.


Upon completion we discovered we'd distorted the egg shed slightly and so some corner bracing was called for and a slight adjustment to the egg shed door was needed (ripped a bit off).


Very large signage was hastily painted on to ensure no confusion as to what was turkey feed and what was for chickens.


## A harvest to be proud of ##

Squashes, marrows, cucumbers, beans, eating apples, cooking apples, tomatoes, celery, leeks, sweetcorn even grapes!


## Mini shelter for turkey feed ##

The turkeys are messy animals, and despite their feed dispenser having a build in rain hood, they nonetheless manage to spread it all over the place resulting in a disgusting much of wet food. Tracey not to be outdone the the big shelter that had just been constructed decided that a simple solution could be applied here using just a plastic table.


There is a small hole in the table for a parasol which was blocked by a plastic bag - but the turkeys showed unusual interest in the bag!


## Caring for and learning about our animals ##

Amelia cuddled a turkey and some of the younger ones very gently stroked it, I have to say the turkey showed no signs at all of being stressed by this extra attention, indeed the turkeys are always extremely friendly and always come rushing towards you when you approach. It's great that these kids have the opportunity that many don't in our modern packaged lives to get out on the farm and learn about the animals we have and food we grow.


## Hopefully there won't be much grass cutting left this year ##

It does look nice though when the grass is cut, next year we'll aim to keep the top part of the farm as a wild flower meadow so need to research when to stop cutting up there.


## Old friends and new friends ##

Especially nice was seeing some old friends (they're not actually that old) Rich, Steph with Lucas and baby Zoe, it was lovely to see them and welcome them back onto the farm. Also great to see Ben and his children James, David and Cara again, hopefully we'll see more of them as they all seemed to enjoy getting stuck in.


Poultry feed shelter and turkeys like plastic bags

At our most recent work day on the farm we tried to harvest as much of the veg as possible to allow what’s left on the stalks, stems and vines to ripen and continue producing amazing fruit and veg for a bit longer.

It’s been a great harvest this summer, with multicoloured tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes as far as the eye can see along with some beautiful purple and green varieties of French beans, lettuces, spring onions, peppers, celery, rhubarb, cucumbers, chard, basil, potatoes, sweet corn, carrots, peas, raspberries and even grapes! The kids enjoy joining in and we have a small army of helpful(?) people helping us choose which of the produce to take home and which have entered the local ecosystem (ie the slugs have found them) and can be thrown to the chickens and turkeys. It’s my son’s favourite thing to throw a cherry tomato and watch all the chickens chase it across the farm.


But that’s the fun colourful bit, as well as veg picking there is always loads of other work to be done, and last weekend members started laying pipes for water to the new toilet which we can’t wait to have up and running. We also built our next compost heap (which will have immediately received a pile of giant rhubarb leaves from the harvest!) and chopped down branches to make access easier for the feed delivery truck. It goes without saying, there is always weeding to be done, and the grass keeps growing!


So we’re heading into autumn and the farm is still looking amazing despite some summer veg starting to slow down. The squashes are coming along nicely in the greenhouse and outside, and we’re starting to plant out seedlings from the poly tunnel into the veg patch outside for overwintering such as some red cabbages that are now fending for themselves against the rapidly cooling weather. The sweet peas are still gorgeous and providing temptation for pollinators as are the dahlias and sunflowers.


There’s always so much to do and the family friendly ethos where the kids join in and learn about what we’re doing means we never get quite as much done as we want to! But I’m always blown away by how much we and the kids love a day at the farm and how much everyone puts in to keeping it running.


Cherry tomato chasing chickens and other farm news

Newts are flourishing in our wildlife pond!

## The pond ##

We created the farm wildlife pond 2 years ago in order to give frogs, newts and other creatures a home as well as a valuable source of water.  This was, and still is important as more and more wildlife habitat is destroyed and therefore the population is on the decline.  We researched how to create a pond that will be attractive to wildlife, for example not including fish, making sure there is easy access, rocks and logs to enable them to live out of the water. We also looked at plants to ensure the still water would remain clear (ish).


## Newts ##

We originally put in snails and 2 newts rescued from the drains at the allotment next door.  Word must have spread about the nice new home, as a year later we noticed at least 6 adult newts and this year we have loads of newtlets.


## Caught on camera ##

The wildlife camera has picked up badgers drinking from the pond as well as birds washing.

<div class="videowrapper"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v3T4ttR8Mjw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

## Is that a newt too? ##


It is a really important resource for our local wildlife and is now a thriving community as well as a lovely place to just sit and relax with a wine or two ☺
A recent addition is a hedgehog house, which we are hoping will soon be populated by our spiky  friends.


Wildlife pond success

A really great workday where we got a lot done, no-one got hurt and we had fun with fire. Plus we had double James!

## Veg area ##

We've got much better this year at ensuring that we blitz some of the dull jobs together at the start of the workday. This approach is working really really well and getting as many people as possible (without getting in each other's way) means we can acheive a lot in a fairly short amount of time.

Today we weeded the lower corner of the veg area and planted brassicas. We then used netting to cover over the area to stop birds getting at them. Spare bits of plastic water pipe work quite well for making additional arches to support our net.


## Bathtime ##

We have an area in the lower corner of the farm where we had placed old baths to use as raised beds. That area is currently a fairly long way from the water supply and it was felt that watering down there would be a chore during the summer. However we've been using baths at the top end of the veg area to grow herbs and that looks quite neat, so we moved another couple of baths up to the side of the veg area and planted them with squashes. At some point in the future we'll lay a water pipe over to the other side of the veg area making the lower area a more viable planting spot in future. Who knows maybe all the baths will end up back there again, few other things on the farm end up in the right place the first time (or even the second time)!


## Mites ##

Mites are a recurring problem, they are very resilient and multiply extremely fast. One way to control the mite numbers is to burn them. They hide in cracks and crevices and are extremely small, blow torching is a good way to get into those gaps, cracks and corners. You can hear the eggs popping as they heat up.


## Kamara ##

Our scarecrow, named Kamara by an [Open Farm Sunday 2019]({{ site.baseurl }}{% post_url 2019-06-09-open-farm-sunday %}) visitor Max B, has been installed at the top of the veg area. Hope she scares away the birds because she certainly gives us the heebie jeebies!


## Fun with fire ##

We did a tidy up of all the beehive equipment, scraped off all the bits of old honeycomb and decided which frames to keep and which to dispose of. I forget the exact reason but it's not good to keep old bee frames lying around so we burnt them. A **LOT** of wax started coming out the bottom of the brasier as we burnt them, so we used an old frying pan to catch the wax. Someone had a bright idea to make torches with the wax. So we found some bits of old rag tied them around the ends of some sticks and the boys soaked them in the molten wax before setting them on fire. They burnt for ages!


## Woodchip ##

There has been a plan to get the kids area woodchipped for ages, unfortunately to buy play grade woodchip is not cheap, but we were fortunate to receive a donation of a huge mound of woodchip so that has been spread out and it looks great.


Kids area, flaming chicken mites and burning torches

A post anniversary party work day, surprisingly with fresh and alert farmies. Who seemed invigorated by the previous evenings celebration and enthusiastic to work.

## A cunning plan ##

The right hand side of the farm is composed of four livestock pens which are normally used for pigs. The first pen is separated from the rest by a thin strip where we had our asparagus raised beds. Those of you following these posts will know that we've recently moved the asparagus to another part of the farm - in readiness for this.

When this site was aquired for the farm it was totally overgrown from the entrance gate upwards, and the team have been developing the site over the years and making their way further up the plot.  So like the penthouse, greenhouses, sheds and asparagus these things were placed in the space that was available at the time.

The issue that we're trying to address with our cunning plan is pig loading! The top three pens are all joined and pigs can be loaded onto the trailer by using a thin corridor in the second pen, but the gate here faces downhill making it awkward to align the trailer. The lower pen has a gate on a peculiar corner, which points diagonally uphill, also making trailer alignment tricky. Nor does the lower pen benefit from the thin corridor of the other pens which is very useful when trying to herd pigs.


The plan therefore is to use the strip between the pens, which is level (ish) and easy to align the trailer, join it to the first and second pens, and in addition create a thin strip to direct them towards their waiting transport.


We removed the lower edge of the fence around the second pen (it was falling down anyway) and moved it closer to the top of the first pen, creating that corridor which makes directing the piggies easier.

Usually when we have a plan we discuss (argue ;-) about it for ages, agree something, and then when it comes to doing it we don't often follow the plan. This time we managed to stick more-or-less to the agreed plan and although only partially complete the new arrangement was already been used to load a batch of pigs. The report was that loading was easy (it usually involves chasing pigs around a field for an hour) and the animals remained calm and were no trouble - exactly what we wanted.

## Running for cover ##

OK, running for cover has nothing to do with the cunning plan, simply the weather that day swung from bright, hot sunshine to a deluges and back again, requiring a couple of dashes for shelter which fortunately didn't last long.


## Pigs ##

James and Amelia worked quite enthusiastically to dig a short drainage channel and lay some slabs in front of the pigglets feed trough, as that area was in a slight dip which would fill with rainwater and turn quite revolting.


## Bees ##

James joined the B-Team to do a beehive inspection and came away with a beautiful section of honeycomb. It's a shame to remove it, but in order for us to harvest the honey it's better if the bees build the combs on the frames that we provide them. This one had very little honey in it so it was a good time to get rid of it.


## Roundhouse has many uses ##

We've strung some onions and garlic up in the roundhouse to dry which is important if they're to last. It's great that the roundhouse has so many uses!


Garlic, a cunning plan then run for cover - or is it the other way around?

Tonight was a celebration of ten years of LVCF (Loxley Valley Community Farm)! We had a magic evening, a really special get together of farmies current and those who've been part of the project through the years.


Elaine a founder farmie at LVCF is also singer with [Folk band Eldaisal](https://www.facebook.com/eldaisalmusic/) who came up to the farm to provide musical entertainment which was very much enjoyed by everyone.


It rained - hard - a lot - but it didn't really matter and in many ways allowed the roundhouse to really fulfill its purpose of being a warm, sheltered social space. Dedicated to former member Dave (Mushroom) Buckle, sadly deceased, the roundhouse has been a long time in the making (walls still to finish properly) but full of music, food and great friends made the evening very special.


Ten year anniversary celebration

Dreadful weather was forecast but we had a really great day - didn't get rained on! Despite a general lack of organisation this year the event went really rather well.


Wendy and Amos did a stint on gate duty as welcoming committee, we believe we had around 150 visitors this year - so a huge thank you to those that made it to our event - we love doing it and is without doubt the highlight of our farm year.


## The stars of the show ##

These little Gloucester Old Spot x Duroc arrived on site the day before OFS (Open Farm Sunday). They were due to arrive the previous weekend but due to car trouble they didn't get long to settle in before visitors came to see them. We had prepared them a pig-arc in advance of them arriving, but the badgers had been in there and stolen their straw bedding. A trail of straw made it's way out of the pig-sty and around the corner towards the badger sett.


They didn't stay hidden long and soon seemed to enjoy the attention.


A little like penguins they seemed to take turns being on the outside of the group, with one of the outermost pigs deciding it was their turn in the middle and sort of flopped on top of the others for them to make room.


Not so sure the big smelly Berkshires were impressed with all the attention the piglets were receiving.


## Tours of the farm ##

We all tend to fall into specific activities that we do on OFS and stick to that role each year. The younger members of the farm have been giving tours of the farm for several years in a row now. It has been something they've been quite enthusiastic about doing, taking time to plan who will say what. Including Amelia's intro "Don't worry if I trip and fall over, I'm a little accident prone" or words roughly to that effect.


## Raffle prizes ##

We have been most fortunate this year that some local businesses have been extremely generous in donating prizes for us to raffle off.


Thank you to all our sponsors:

- Gardening tools from [Burgon and Ball](https://www.burgonandball.com/)
- Meal vouchers from [The Wisewood Inn](http://www.wisewoodinn.co.uk/)
- Meal vouchers for [The Admiral Rodney](https://www.vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/yorkshire/theadmiralrodneyloxley)
- Gift voucher from [Langlands Garden Centre](https://www.langlandsgardencentre.co.uk/)
- Gift card from Wisewood Post Office
- Sparkling wine & Rhubard and Ginger Liqueur donated by [Loxley Electricals](http://loxleyelectrical.co.uk/)
- Beer from [Bradfield Brewery](http://bradfieldbrewery.com/)


## Name that scarecrow ##

Lee-Anne had been working very hard to make an absolutely smashing scarecrow. We decided that we'd get visitors to suggest a name for him/her, and then the name from the pot at the end of the event.

Her name is Scare-Kamara which was suggested by visitor Max B - thanks Max for visiting us on OFS.


## We are ten years old ##

Loxley Valley Community Farm first started in 2009 therefore this summer marks 10 years of our wonderful project.

We tried to gather together a photo history of the farm for display inside our marvellous roundhouse.


We have many visitors on OFS and quite a few regulars, we are very proud to show off what we've acheived since we started. However the project needs more members and we welcome anyone intested in taking part in what we do.

Workdays are **1st Saturday** and **3rd Sundays** of every month! Please join us.






Lots of little jobs to tidy the farm up and make it the best it's been all year for Open Farm Sunday - hoping for good weather and lots of people to join us for the day and hopefully maybe a some will want to join the farm.


We've been rather unlucky with our bees last year and this year, we're down to one colony which seems to have lost it's queen and is therefore dying out. When a new queen is born she leaves the established hive and takes a significant quantity of workers with them this is called swarming. By placing the swarm boxes in our back gardens we're hoping to create nice welcoming places for those young queens to settle. If we're lucky enough to attract new swarms we can eventually move them back to the farm and into proper full size hives.


## Thank you Sheffield Town Trust ##

We're very fortunate to have won a grant from [The Sheffield Town Trust](http://www.sheffieldtowntrust.org.uk/) to allow us to buy a very nice proper composting toilet block. So that should be installed on site in the near future.


Fairy lights, swarm box, beer on swings

More weeding, strimming and trying to make the farm look presentable for Open Farm Sunday - 9th June 2019.


Forest garden, kid strimmer and a teepee

Impressed with Dave's battery powered implement, roundhouse roof plants are not dead - yay and a nice tidy fence around the veg area.


New fence, battery strimmer plus little'n'large

More tidying, a huge bonfire and an attempt at stopping rats from stealing our eggs.


Fire, rats and tents - do any of those mix?

Lots of tidying jobs were completed today.


Hotbeds, grass and mounds

At last an end to the asparagus moving - with the help of Spiderman. A very productive work day but the end to the day leaves a sour taste.


## Chicken area gets a makeover ##

The chickens have received a lot of attention over the winter with the addition of a new covered area and the demolition of the old shanty style shack they had before. Today we divided their area in two, rotovated the lower section and then put down grass seed. When the grass is established we'll do the same on the upper section. It won't last long as the chickens have a habit of pulling it all up given enough time.


## Spiderman ends the ongoing asparagus moving ##

The asparagus has taken 3 work days to get moved from one area to another, they require a lot of very careful digging so as not to damage their fine and extremely numerous roots. So it's a good thing that spiderman showed up to show us how to dig the trench in the new area that would receive the troublesome veg.


## Child labour ##

New pigs have arrived on site and are settling in, they are [Berkshire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_pig) pigs a rare breed. We try to get rare breeds as it supports the breeders of rare pigs which themselves are becoming rare.


## A gate ##

We intend on putting a proper fence around the veg area to try to keep badgers and any other animals out of our veg, currently there is some rather naff string fencing in place. However a nice new (recycled) gate has popped up and looks rather fine in the end of the day sun.


## Arson ##

So on the evening of the workday maybe an hour or two after we left, someone decided it would be fun to burn our toilet facilities to the ground.

It's one of the first things constructed when the farm moved to this site 7 years ago, and although basic in the extreme it has served it's purpose well.


Spiderman ends the battle with the asparagus, child labour and a devestating end to the day

Our first March workday saw work continue on moving the Asparagus to the new beds. This is a slow and arduous job to prevent too much damage to the crowns.

We realised they had probably been planted a little low in the old beds and the soil was too clayey so we have rectified this in the new area and hope we can soon be enjoying bumper harvests although this might not be until next year when they have fully re-established themselves.


## Pigs ##

We are hoping to get new pigs in the next week so a team checked out the top pig pen, connected the water back to the trough and repaired the shelter ready for their arrival.


More asparagus moving...

Lots of hard work was done, moving plants to use the land more efficiently, moving compost and some urgent maintenance on one of the polytunnel doors.

## Spidiferous roots and rhubarb ##

We've decided that the area where the rhubarb and aspargus is currently located would be better as another pig pen and hopefully loading area for the pigs.


## Rob takes a break ##

Rob spent a large part of the day doing the back-breaking task of shifting manure from one compost heap to another further up the site, so a little levity was well deserved.


## Repaired the door to the polytunnel.

Unfortunately our polytunnel door had blown shut in the wind so violently that the glass in the lower part of the door smashed and damaged the frame too. So we removed the upper glass section, re-inforced the frame and wrapped it in plastic sheet.


## Too many tables ##

Something of a running joke/irritation is the number of tables that have accumulated in the roundhouse, I think there were 7 or 8 at one point. Time to reduce the number a bit!


## Toxic waste ##

Clearly not toxic waste in the sense of waste from any manufacturing process, but the inside of this IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) looks like it could be (I'm Asha will tell me in great detail if I'm wrong). This is *supposed* to be the water supply (euw yuk) for our next batch of pigs which will arrive shortly!


Lee-Anne's spidiferous roots and toxic waste

Another great workday, lots of attendees and lots of work done. Chicken run finished!

On the farm we refer to the little door the hens use to get from the the hen house to the their run as a *poop hole*.

## Hot Bed ##

Asha, Harry and Robert constructed a *hot bed* in the No Dig polytunnel – there will be no sleeping in it though – it will be filled with fresh manure (of horse production) and left to rot before turning to form a nice warm bed where we can provide a heated environment for our early seedlings or grow squash/melons early in the season.


Asha spent a lot of time riddling compost from one of our many compost bays so that we can use it to plant seedlings. Anything that is still too big or not rotted will be returned to a re-structured heap in layers with fresh weeds/greens or manure to start again for next year.


## Hen-house addition finished at last ##


## Tidy veg shed ##

Lee-Anne cleared out the veg shed so that you can actually walk into it and see what’s in there!

She dismantled a whole large heavy chest of drawers by herself (with a large hammer about twice her body weight) – it was not at all obvious that she has some personal frustrations that were much improved by said demolition.


Hot bed and poop hole

The first work day of 2019 was a great success, not necessarily because of the amount of work done (we did loads), but because almost every farm member was there, which makes it so much more enjoyable to be a part of and motivates everyone. Which led to a very full round house for lunch.

We even had a visitor and hopefully new member!


## Wood burner ##

It makes a huge difference to the temperature in the roundhouse when we have a fire going in there, which is much appreciated during the winter months when we have either a coffee or lunch break. However at the end of last year the leg fell off our chiminea which had served us well given that it had been salvaged from a skip.

Harry, James and I (Stuart) constructed a new burner from an old gas bottle and a few bits of metal square tube.


Most people commented on the fact that our new burner actually seemed warmer than the old chiminea! Success!

## Chicken run ##

We continued our chicken run, today concentrating on the floor.


## Fruit cage ##

We had a lot do in the fruit cage to prep for spring.


New year, new chicken run, new woodburner and a full (round) house

In December we focused on building our hens a new chicken run, had farm turkey and I received a farm survival kit for Christmas.

## New Chicken run ##

Our chickens have a large pen in which to roam during the day and we shut them into the hen house and what we refer to as the chicken run during the night.

The chicken run in our case refers to a covered area wih mesh walls so that our hens can have access to fresh air and sunlight until the morning feeder arrives to let them roam the wider pen.

This helps to keep them safe from foxes and any other predators who have a tendancy to try and dig their way under the main enclosure fences.

Our current chicken run is low and one frequently bangs ones head on the roof.


## Christmas ##

When we started the farm one of the initial aims was to have a home grown Christmas dinner. This is now the 10th Christmas dinner we've had and next year (2019) marks our 10th anniversary!


### A thoughtful gift ###

This year my brother and his family gave me a 'Farm suvival kit' for Christmas, this contains all sorts of goodies: gloves, trowel, hat, cuppa-soup, hot-chocolate, Pot-Noodles (not sure about those), powdered milk, tea, coffee, hand sanitiser and much more.


## New Year ##

It is a sort of farm tradition that on New Year's Day the farmies go for a walk (if not raining) then have a fry up for lunch and then play some board games.


Christmas - A farm survival kit

This year instead of having a huge bonfire we made it more of a social in the roundhouse with the chiminea fired up.

Amazing the difference in temperature just having the little chiminea in the roundhouse makes, so we could all gather round have a few beers or glasses of wine and chat.

There was some discussion as to wether or not it was worth lighting the pizza oven - but we lit it anyway and some of us enjoyed some magnificent pizza from it.


The pre-teens had previously decided that they wanted to sleep overnight on the farm - so they did (in November - crazy). The put their sleeping bags and stuff down in the penthouse (our kitchen - clean shed). Elaine thought it best to stay on the farm with them not sure if that makes her crazy too or just more responsible than the rest of us adults.

## Pondering poop ##

The following day was a work day, not as productive as some of our other work days!

We had intended to stop the pigs getting into the lowest portion of their enclosure to let it dry out so we wouldn't have to load them into the trailer from ankle deep in pig poop. However the shoddy temporary barrier that we'd put up had been knocked down and they were back to churning the area into slurry once more.

As they were due for departure to the butcher the following monday one of the tasks to do was to *prep the pigs*, this consisted of clearing the remains of the temporary barrier, then standing around contemplating what to do about the mud/poop/slurry we'd be loading in.

We decided it was too late to do anything and we'd just have to wear wellies and get stuck in.

## Telling our community more about what we do ##

A highlight of the workday was our new banner on the gate. It had been mentioned that for a community project our gate didn't look as welcoming as it could be and didn't really say what we're all about. Previously the only sign on the gate was "Private Property", so we've had a new banner printed and attached to the gate which hopefully communicates the essentials of what we actually do and that we will welcome people from the local community to join us!


Sparklers, pizzas and banners

The farm has applied to the Aviva Community Fund to purchase a fully accessible composting toilet and baby change facilities with associated landscaping and equipment to maintain the area and give safe access.

To secure funding **we need you** to cast your votes for our project.

<a class="button" href="https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/4-2658">Vote for us now!</a>

To vote you will need to create an Aviva account - but this is easy, they doesn't ask too many questions and from past experience they do not send you any marketing at all (unless of course you tick the box to say that you want it).


Over the past few years more young families have got involved however the site has no proper toilet facilities (there is only a homemade composting urinal) which people have cited as a reason for not joining. It also makes social events on the farm more difficult.

Toilets have had to be hired for events when there are large numbers of visitors on site however this is very ad hoc and the group cannot afford to hire toilets for their twice monthly workdays. Having toilet facilities on site would help to increase interaction with the community and attract more people to join in.

The group has also had interest from Woodcraft Folk and local primary schools who want to organise a visit and having a toilet on site would allow visits such as this to be facilitated more easily. The group would also be able to run small courses on site (for example to introduce people to chicken and pig keeping thus passing on their knowledge gained) and a toilet would also allow the farm to be used for more social events.

<a class="button" href="https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/4-2658">Please support us!</a>

Help us with our number twos!

The focus of today was to start on a long standing project to improve the chicken run.

The chickens have a large area within which to roam during the day but at night they get shut into a smaller covered area (the chicken run) with access to the hen house. This covered area is quite old, very low so you bump your head on the roof and will be falling apart shortly. The plan is to build something a little nicer for them and easier to clean out for us.

We needed to fetch some breeze blocks from the builders merchants but got a little distracted along the way by taking the livestock trailer through the car wash.


Chicken run

What we really need is a really bit trailer and a really big tractor to bring a really large quantity of manure - yes really!


Gone are the days of the raised beds, the edging rots, space is wasted walking inbetween beds etc. time for something simpler.


So now we have more space for veg without taking up more space (does that make sense?).


Elsewhere on the farm - as if from nowhere Warren conjured up a rather snazzy area to keep our pot plants.


A trailer full of it

It didn't take long before we'd found a use for the area that we'd cleared with **the beast** (see previous post). Our illustrious new *head of veg* decreed that this area should henceforth be known as...

## Rob's experimental garden ##

Rob has enthusiastically and with great success acquired a number of old baths which he's used as planters. We've had a great crop of potatoes from the them and there are currently some squashes growing rather well too.


Rob takes a bath!

We've had a task to do for some time now: take care of the sheep field, tackle brambles etc which were getting out of control.

A promise had been made to the landowners that we'd get it sorted out, unfortunately due to one thing and another the date for doing this kept slipping.

It was all arranged for a weekend that we'd hire some heavy machinery to help achieve this, however the hire company let us down at the 11th hour.

Every cloud has a silver lining - because they let us down so badly (and had an earful from an irate farm member who wasted their entire day waiting for it to be delivered), we got a massive reduction in the fee.

## Finally the beast arrives on site ##

Even with a hand tractor with power scythe attachment it was very hard work, mainly because the brambles had got so high that although we could slice away at the base of them the tops would fall over onto you.


## The beast strikes back ##

As we'd got this thing on site for the whole weekend we might as well use it!

An area that had long been neglected was the area at the bottom of farm where the raspberries were. At some point in the past the farm had perhaps been optimistic about the number of raspberry canes that it could maintain and harvest.

So we wrangled the beast into this area too.


The beast!

Today's main focus was doing as much as we could to reduce/eliminate red mites from the hen house.

## Red mites in the hen house ##

Recently we (and more importantly the chickens) have had a problem with mites in the hen house. Leading to lower egg production, discomfort for the chickens and the extremely unpleasant sensation for us entering the hen house and being swarmed by them.

First we released each chicken individually and 'dusted' them on their way out. Dusting them involves lifting the feathers on the back of the neck and sprinkling a little powder on them.

Then we cleared out the hen house thoroughly; brushed the walls and underside of the roof.


Join us for Open Farm Sunday

12th June - 12noon to 3pm

Follow us

Support us

Open Farm Sunday

March 2017

Sheffield Telegraph - front page and double spread!

Recent Posts

Bug hunt

Wendy communes with mutts and an electric Land Rover

A new green/glass/poly house/tunnel

New volunteers and a great winter salad harvest

A beast in the orchard and some fedging