“Oh, hello there, do you come here often?”
 
We had a great time at the first CropShare farm day this year! Farmer Paul grows a range of strawberries on the farm, mostly heritage vareties. They too have their place in his crop rotation and this Saturday it was the job of us CropSharers to move plants to another field, so brassicas can be grown on the previous site of the strawbs.

 

Wrapped up warm!

The cooler weather didn’t stop even the younger CropSharers.

Lifting strawberry plants

We lifted hundreds of plants, of different varities. We moved Red Gauntlet, which is prolific as it crops twice a year, the very appropriate Cambridge Favourite and the Queen’s favourite Royal Sovereign.

Strawberry plants

There were plenty of smaller runner plants around the larger mother plants, connected by stolons (stems that grow across the soil surface) that we separated out. The runner plants, when planted out with more space will have runners of their own this year! Ah the circle of life.

Unfotunately as we started out planting the strawberries, it all got a bit too much for a few trowels… but they made some good modern art.



Trowel shrine in the strawberry fields

Aaaaand… LUNCHTIME! Oh how I’ve missed CropShare lunch! Feast your eyes on these babys… 
AXEL’S VEGAN MARBLE CAKE
 
CropSharers tucking in!

JULIE- ANN’S APPLE PIE
 
The apple pie was especially tasty as it was made with apples harvested by CropSharers last year. Thanks everyone for all the tasty treats!
After lunch CropSharers went out to visit the sheep and new born lambs. See what we got up to with the farm’s wool last year.

There are a few sets of twins this year!

All very sweet. And for the rest of the afternoon the sun came out! We planted the strawberries out in their new field, where they’ll have plenty of room to spread out and give us a tasty crop this summer.

Newly planted out strawberry plants

I took home some Royal Sovereign strawb plants which were in Queen Liz’s coronation banquet and featured in Fortnum and Mason jubilee jam, la di dah. Erm hope they feel at home in my garden!
 
 There’s only one soundtrack to this CropShare day…
 
Thanks Axel for photos!