In the beginning

Last year I went to see my friend John to ask him if he would talk to Phil about being a smallholder and what it entailed. When Phil and I returned in late July, John told Phil that he could use his site to work as he no longer wanted to do so...not enough time, not enough energy or enthusiasm! We couldn't believe it. We felt we were being given a really amazing opportunity and after relatively little discussion decided that we would take John up on his offer.

The site consisted of an L shaped uncultivated field with a neighbours horses grazing on it and what is known as the 'pumpkin patch', where John had been growing each and every pumpkin known to man for over 15 years. There is also a 105 meter Greenhouse, built by John out of recycled materials. Half of which is given over to tables and half of which has beds. There are a couple of massive vines in the greenhouse, both red and white grapes that give the greenhouse an air of extreme bacchan oppoulence in the summer months as they produce literally several hundered kilos of grapes!

In early September Phil was able to start getting the site ready. I will do the best I can to document this process. We have very few pictures of these early months, but I will do the best I can so people can see what we are up to.

Our aim is to grow lots of vegetables organically in an ecologically balanced system. Ultimatley we would like this to become a small but profitable business. We knew right from the start that this would be a pretty exciting journey, full of twists and turns and highs and lows and it certainly has been. Phil's joy at the first comfrey leaves that appeared and the fun that we have had planting garlic can be easily offsett against the physical agony of planting over a thousand willow trees!

I will 'dig' out some pictures and continue the story .........