2019 – July news: Friends at Five Acre
Canalside featured in the podcast ‘Tales from Five Acre Community Farm’, when Becca and Esther from our sister farm came to Canalside to chat to staff and members. You can listen to it here.
Then later in the same week, a small group of Canalside members paid a visit to Five Acre for a tour with Becca, the grower there.
2019 – June news: Old King Kohl(rabi)
It’s that time of the year when the words “I’m just not sure what to do with it” reverberate around the collection space: the first kohlrabi share of the year. The first piece of advice is to ask a German, as our central European friends adore this bizarre vegetable; otherwise enjoy it raw, grated in a ‘slaw or cut as batons like carrot sticks, perhaps with a dip. Alternatively you can thinly slice it for a stir fry or steam together with perhaps squash or carrot. It also works well in a stew. Lexicographically, the name means ‘cabbage turnip’, and botanically, it is the swollen stem of the plant, analagous to the stem part of a head of broccoli.
2019 – May news: Three firsts in one day
On Tuesday of this week we were delighted to pick 3 new crops on the same day: the first courgette, sugar snap pea and cucumber all made their appearance. As production increases it may be a short while until you see all of these crops in your share but they are certainly on their way!
First cucumber 
First sugar snap pea 
2019 – April news: A Time To Freeze
We are deep in the spring glut, that abundant period when leafy greens in particular grow faster that we can cut them. Leaves are most prolific in spring and autumn, with demand outstripping supply at other times of year! It’s an ideal time for blanching and freezing some ready for use later in the year – we’re heading towards the leaner spell in May and June when some veg in hand will be a bonus. Spinach, chard, spring greens, kale and purple sprouting broccoli are all good contenders for this.
2019 – March news: Potatoes Planted
On Thursday the growers took advantage of the sublime spring sunshine and got our 3/4 acre of potatoes planted! This is nearly a month earlier than last year, which highlights the contrast between super-sodden March 2018 and the super-sunny one this time around. We have a large surplus of a red variety called Robinta which will be available for members to take for free, though the tubers are on the small side.
In other news our onion sets have beaten Brexit: they arrived from Holland despite warnings from the suppliers of Brexit-related delays! So we are all ready for the Onion Planting Day/Members’ Social on April 6th. It’s a great activity to kick-start the growing season for kids and adults alike, with a bring and share lunch to boot!
2019 – February’s news: We Own Our Land!
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Canalside Community Food Limited now owns our land!
After a lengthy period of dotting i’s and crossing t’s, the solicitors have finally exchanged contracts, bringing an end to the process that began with our share offer launch and successful fundraising drive last year. This is really a beginning rather that an end, as the purchase safeguards our land in perpetuity and means it will be owned and stewarded by this community from hereon!
2019 – January news: The Worm Forgives the Plough
Take a walk around Canalside fields and you will notice something unusual for the time of year: freshly ploughed earth. Normally we plough in early spring, but this can be tricky where there is a lot of rainfall – in fact 2 out of the last 3 years we have had to postpone onion planting as it has been too wet to prepare the ground. So the exceptionally dry start to 2019 provided the perfect opportunity to try doing things a little differently, and thus the area earmarked for the earliest plantings – potatoes, onions and early brassicas – were ploughed on Wednesday morning just in time before the rain came.
Early ploughing in Big Gorse ready for 2019’s maincrop onions
Share collections going ahead despite snow
If you are a share member expecting to collect today or tomorrow (12th & 13th December) please read on.
Collecting shares
If you do get stuck, or feel some assistance is needed to help people turn, get out of the drive etc, please call the site phone (07758340491).
Sadly we may not be able to put any leaves in today’s share as everything is frozen solid, but we will try. If not, you will get extra squash and root veg to see you through until next week.
If you are unable to collect your Tuesday share as planned, please come any time up until 2pm Wednesday if you can. After that the normal arrangements will apply and you will be welcome to try to make up a share from the ‘extras’ during the Saturday collection (10am-1pm) or from the leftover produce between 1 and 2pm after Saturday’s collection has finished.
Wednesday 13th: If it is safe to do so, we will reopen the drive for the collection. If this isn’t possible, your share will be bagged for collection at the top of the drive. Information above will then apply!
Workshares and the work morning
We hope collections will be back to normal for Saturday 16th.
We hope you’re keeping warm. Go well, Ali
Diverse benefits from farms like Canalside!
(We knew that but now here’s academic proof!)
See the recently published report, ‘A Matter of Scale’, on research into the benefits of small-scale, agroecological* farms here:
https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/…/small-scale-agroecol…/…
The research was conducted by the Land Workers’ Alliance (LWA) in conjunction with the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University, and Canalside was one of the 69 farms that participated.
* agroecological = an ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices
Christmas present idea – 4 week trial veg share!
Do you know someone who has everything, and hard to find a Christmas present for? Or perhaps someone who loves food and cooking? Or someone who loves the idea of seasonal produce, grown locally to organic standards?
If they live or work in/near Leamington Spa, why not get them a 4-week trial veg share, to be taken from any start date in January, from Tuesday 7th January onwards. Our vegetable shares are available in 3 sizes, to suit different households, and can be collected from our farm site during one of 3 collection slots each week, or from our collection point in Leamington Spa. More details can be seen on the page for buying a trial share.
Order before Monday 16th December and we can post a gift certificate and information sheet to your address for the intended recipient, for you to give to them on Christmas day.