vegetables at orchard organic farm
Our hens do a pretty good job of clearing their ranges so, when we change flocks over and move the house onto fresh field, we plough up the old range space and grow a crop of corn or vegetables.
The hens are pretty good at ‘fertilising’ the outside space and they provide us with a lot of rich manure which is a really valuable resource to an organic farm.
After we have grown a crop we reseed the space with a mixed and diverse organic grass seed mix to provide a high quality, clean and fresh range for hens when the house returns in a couple of years time.
So we are lucky to have good quality soil and all the resources to grow good crops.
We grow organic vegetables directly for Riverford as part of their South Devon Organic Producers cooperative which means that the crops grown are part of a rolling two year plan to keep their vegetables boxes full.
This means that before we even plant a seed, we know what price we will be paid and that all of the crop will be taken, which is a very unusual and beneficial relationship.
Plus the coop allows us to share labour, specialist machinery and knowledge and support. This year we are growing:
- Courgettes
- Runner Beans
- Squash
- Cauliflowers
- Leeks
All grown without a trace of chemical fertilisers or sprays, so great for us and great for nature too.
We pop a few misshaped or sized vegetables into our little farm shop for others to try.
Hopefully you will agree that they taste great and are good for you.