[Hazelhurst-Newsletter] Hazelhurst CSA March-April newsletter

Fri Apr 13 22:01:45 GMT 2012

 Here (at last!) is the combined March-April newsletter. Open the 
 attachment for a more reader-friendly version.

 HAZELHURST CSA
                         Newsletter no 7   March/April 2012
 This e-newsletter brings you a regular update on Hazelhurst Community 
 Supported Agriculture Co-operative. To subscribe, email 
 admin at hazelhurst.coop

 Don't forget that our share offer closes on 30th April. It's not too 
 late to make a commitment to support locally grown food!
 See our website: http://www.hazelhurst.coop/
 http://www.facebook.com/HazelhurstCSA     Find us on Twitter 
 @HazelhurstCSA

 Events

 27th – 29th April: Working Weekend (and fun!) at Hazelhurst
 Come and help with seed sowing, planting out and lots more!

 On Friday : 	Arrival from 5pm.  Campfire later
 On Saturday
 There is lots of work to do on the land but you can also. . .
 . . . join the Sheffield Environment Weeks Dawn Chorus Walk at the 
 nearby Moss Valley Woodlands Nature Reserve at 6 on Saturday morning 
 (booking is essential, see 
 http://www.sheffieldenvironment.org/event/1202-dawn-chorus-at-moss-valley-woodlands-nature-reserve-coal-aston)
 At 2pm there will be: Hedgerow Medicine : A  herb walk led by Carol 
 Burnett, medical herbalist (see attached leaflet) followed by a cup of 
 herb tea back at the field.
 In the evening there will be a campfire and maybe a trip to the pub
 On Sunday
 Stella will lead a Pranayama yoga session at 7am followed by breakfast 
 and work on the field.
 Stay as long as you like!
 What to bring:
 •	Tent and camping gear
 •	Drinking water (or be prepared to boil the water that is there)
 •	Food for yourself and to share plus cooking equipment
 •	Waterproof clothes and boots
 •	Musical instruments
 What is available
 •	Toilet
 •	Gas stove (2 rings and grill)
 •	Water for washing
 •	Camp fire
 There will be a charge of £3 per person per night for camping (£5 for 
 both nights)
 To book a place phone Stella on 075412096
 ________________________________________
 We are doing a stall at Norton Farmers’ Market this Saturday, 14th 
 April.  We don’t have any veg to sell yet, it’s mainly to let people 
 know about Hazelhurst. If you’d like to bake a cake for us to sell we’d 
 love that, but anyway just come along 
 (http://www.nortonfarmersmarket.org.uk/)

 Getting the Recipe Right: Improving Sheffield's Food Plan
 This Transition Cafe event will be on Wednesday 18 April 2012, from 
 7:00-9:30pm, at the Harland Cafe   
 (http://www.transitionsheffield.org.uk/)
 ________________________________________
 Latest news
 So far the share offer has raised about £15,000. This is wonderful, and 
 we hope there may still be more to come, to reach our target of £30,000 
 by the end of April.

 Report from the land
 The last few weeks have seen huge progress on the land. More volunteers 
 have been coming to more volunteer days and Matt, the grower, started 
 work on 1st March, so lots has been done.
 The infrastructure has been much improved, with hedges planted around 
 all four plots on the site and a water tank and pipes installed. The 
 tractor with its cultivators and other attachments are being put to good 
 use. The land has been ploughed by John Rose, one of the neighbouring 
 farmers.
 Potatoes are chitting and five rows were already in the ground before 
 Easter as well as 4 rows of broad beans - as I write this they are under 
 fleece and a blanket of snow! A long bed has been prepared for 
 perennials – rhubarb, comfrey and horseradish. There are new fruit trees 
 at the top of the site and the redcurrant cuttings are sprouting.
 In the polytunnel seedlings are being nurtured – leeks, brassicas and 
 salad leaves, while beds are ready for courgettes, tomatoes and French 
 beans.
 All this is a huge step forward in the development of Hazelhurst CSA. 
 Last year’s produce was just a taster for what is to come this season. 
 There is plenty of hard work ahead, though and more volunteers would be 
 eagerly welcomed! (especially on the Wednesday and Thursday sessions). 
 We also urgently need volunteers to help with daily watering.

 ________________________________________
 Report from Stella, Volunteer Co-ordinator, 8th March 2012

 Well the polytunnels are up and finished, looking brand new and 
 fantastic, and they are very warm inside. We have turned the turf on the 
 tunnel beds and added green waste compost, and worked it in well so the 
 beds are nearly ready for planting. In a few months time, they will be 
 full of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and courgettes and lettuces.
 The volunteers continue to spot weed round those nasty patches of 
 twitch, and digging out dandelions, thistles and docks. Ian says “Oh, 
 I`m hopeless at twitch” so he dug out thistles and docks instead. We dug 
 out trenches around the rhubarb bed long straight trenches to tuck the 
 black polythene mulch in to. This is a narrow bed at the lower part of 
 the CSA plot where we will grow deep rooted plants rhubarb, comfrey and 
 horseradish.
 Marion and her team of hedge layers have completed another section of 
 hazel hedge. Providing a fine example of how hedge laying should be 
 done. The volunteers have helped to process the wood left over, sawing 
 fire wood, and snedding bean poles. The season has finished now, but for 
 those interested Marion will be running a course in hedge laying next 
 year.
 Now that we have our grower, Matt, working with us on the field there 
 is so much more to do: all the ground to prepare, all the seeds to sow, 
 it is a new beginning and a very exciting time for all.
 Volunteering days are now every Wednesday, Thursday and the first and 
 third Sunday in the Month. We look forward to seeing you at the field as 
 the days become longer and warmer.
 ________________________________________

 A note from Heather
 (written in early March).
 We took a renovated, small rotavator to the land this morning. Matt 
 tried it in the polytunnel and it works! He thinks it will do just fine 
 for rotavating the beds in the polytunnel. He’ll leave it a few weeks 
 for the turf under the soil to have a chance to rot down. We need a 5 
 litre can for petrol and wondered if anyone had one?
 We started sowing seeds in seed trays with seed compost made from leaf 
 mould, sand and soil. A very precise job sewing celeriac- such tiny 
 seeds, two into 60 tiny indentations per tray. We were working on a 
 paste table and longed for a firm work surface and more paste tables to 
 put seed trays on. The polytunnel was very cosy. The song of a thrush 
 lured us outside.
 The area looks really businesslike with most of the half hectare 
 ploughed; beds marked up, new windbreak plants in place. We dug a trench 
 for the rhubarb. It would be good to have more spades if anyone has any 
 spare, and forks and trowels too.
 Time for lunch! Kettle on and warm drinks all round. Good chat. 
 Wouldn’t it be good to have a big enough tea pot? And for cooking 
 outdoors on special days, a large cooking pot?

 Here’s our wish list:
 •	Tables – any sort to put out seed trays in the polytunnel
 •	Trestles (as a base for long firm working tables for the polytunnel)
 •	Empty 2-litre pop bottles for cloches – we need LOTS
 •	Wooden stakes, 2 to 3 inches thick
 •	A 5 litre petrol can for the rotavator
 •	A jerry can for diesel for the tractor
 •	Spades forks, trowels
 •	A large cooking pot (without plastic handles) for cooking on an open 
 fire
 •	A large tea pot, for 10 or more cups of tea

 ________________________________________

 Ways to get involved

 Hazelhurst needs lots of help and there are lots of different ways you 
 can be involved.
 You can work on the land, digging, sowing, planting, weeding, 
 harvesting, building, clearing, hedge-laying, and lots more.
 Or you can help with administration, committee work, finance, IT, 
 planning, publicity, marketing, distribution, fundraising, organising 
 events, training, giving talks, writing newsletters, just joining in.
 ________________________________________

 Requests
 If you can offer anything on the wish list above, that would be great! 
 Contact us by email or 07541 209661
 ________________________________________

 The next volunteering Sunday is   Sunday 14th April
 From 10 am onwards.  Everybody is welcome! Phone Stella on 07541 209661 
 or email admin at hazelhurst.coop
 ________________________________________

 Volunteers’ quote of the month
 ‘I like digging, it makes me high’__
 ______________________________________

 CSA Management Committee
 The CSA Management Committee will next meet on 2nd May . Please get in 
 touch if you have any comments, queries or things you think we should be 
 discussing.

 ________________________________________
 Who are we?
 The Hazelhurst Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Co-operative 
 project is based on a field on Hazelhurst Lane, in the Moss Valley. Our 
 aim is to grow and distribute organically grown, affordable food for the 
 benefit of the community, using ecologically sustainable methods and to 
 protect and enhance biodiversity.

 What's your inspiration? Tell us about your ideas for Hazelhurst CSA by 
 emailing admin at hazelhurst.coop. Have a look at the website 
 www.hazelhurst.coop

 If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, and no longer receive 
 updates about Hazelhurst CSA, you can do so by sending email to: 
 admin at hazelhurst.coop
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