House with land for sale

Well Bungeons Farm here in Suffolk is still for sale. We have had quite a few viewers but the people who want to make an offer are caught up in housing chains. Apart from the house being very tidy life carries on.We now have 2 calves and soon we will move all the cattle (except one who is staying in Suffolk) to Norfolk for the rest of the winter.We  have had a few very welcome frosts so hopefully  we can get on the land without causing too much damage. We had 59.75mm /2.35 inches of rain in November.  I can begin to harvest my willow and maybe return to other osier beds that I cut last year. If you are interested in willow to weave with, plant or create a living willow structure now is the time to get in touch.

Barn owl, bats and Fieldfares

The weather has changed and the animals are moving in for shelter,
We have had 104.5mm /4 inches of rain in October.
A barn owl has started roosting in the day in the pole barn, when disturbed it swoops round screeching.
I disturbed a bat in the timber barn it was incredible watching it fold itself in backwards back into its small gap in the beams,I watched a Jay behaving like a green woodpecker, very confusing until I learnt that they bury acorns for winter food. The field fares have arrived. I hope the starlings return to Lackford Lakes soon it is an amazing experience watching and listening to them come down to roost.

Suffolk smallholding for sale

This is where we are now and this is where we are going...

We have finally won planning permission after going to appeal to build a new Eco home on our farmland at Clayhill Lavenham. So we need to sell Bungeons Farm to enable us to build.
Until then Bungeons life carries on we have a new heifer calf- Angus x blonde d'aquitaine and another due soon. It is still very wet 49.5mm in September, 491mm  year total at end of Sept.
It is the time to make chutney, empty compost bins, deal with the previous years leaf mulch, and put the garden to bed for the winter.

Bungeons Farm Beeswax hand cream

I have finally got round to making some more hand cream. It is a great barrier cream as well as helping to heal  the inevitable nicks and knocks.
The hand cream is made from an infusion of marigold and lavender in oil, beeswax from our bees , and a small amount of honey.
The beeswax is either the the lovely white light bridge comb collected in the spring or the cappings saved  while extracting and put through my prototype small solar extractor (another use for a washing machine glass door)
The different oils and waxes give each batch of cream a different feel and purpose.

Poor mans capers

September for me is the kindest month of the year, Warm sunshine and so many rewards.
Nasturtiums are great in the garden, the flowers and leaves add colour and surprise to salads,  the seeds can be pickled then used as capers. Nasturtiums also help to control the cabbage white.
We have an abundance of blackberries a payback for a 3 winters spent coppicing. Blackberry wine is my favorite homemade wine and a winter without some would be grim.

We had a family morning sawing, stacking and carting wood , the bays are filling up and there is a stash in the dry we can process on a rainy day.

What has happened to the wasps ?

We have now finished feeding the bees , we just need to top and tail and treat for varroa and wish them luck for the winter.
There are no wasps anywhere, usually when feeding the bees we have to reduce the hive entrances and put out traps. There are also hardly any butterflies and not much fruit on the trees.
I have accepted I have no control over my Bantams , we have built them a large fox proof run, provided 2 cosy houses and still they roost in the trees, play chicken with the fox and lay where they want.

I can not bring myself to clip their wings. These are the latest additions to the colony , I thought the fox had taken her.
I am planning some more willow weaving workshops late September/October  so please contact me if interested.

Potato Harvest

We had 52.5mm of rain 2inches in our part of Suffolk in August including the hail.
I stuck to traditional varieties of potato growing Charlotte,Wilja and Kestrel but I still got blight it happened so suddenly almost overnight . Luckily the weather was kind so we removed all the tops ,burnt them and lifted all the potato's. The Wilja were disappointing and suffered the most slug/worm damage and don't taste nearly as good as Charlotte's. Overall  not many tubers were blighted and thanks to the rain a good size.

Suffolk Summer

It has been a very wet summer 120mm of rain in July including this hail storm which really hammered the fruit and veg.The bees have continued to struggle and I had to resort to emergency feeding.

We did have a very hot day for the willow weaving workshop, everyone took home the cloche they made, 3 people and three willow structures in one car. The willow cloches are very versatile in the garden and the techniques of weaving can be applied to all sorts of structures.
Please contact me if you would like to book a place on a workshop, We are in East Anglia close to Ipswich.

Learning about wood

This is the hurdle I made at Orchard Barn. I also learnt so much about basic carpentry as well as green woodworking.The hurdle is made from sweet chesnut and ash coppiced this year.
As we spend a large amount of time in the winter managing our hedgerows it was also the opportunity for us to learn more about coppicing , handling and storing wood.

The sweet chesnuts and hazels I planted 2 winters ago have begun to get going, It is hard work for them as I discovered when planting them lots of bricks and rubble where a building must once have stood.
The fence around them I made while clearing a nearby hedge although now tatty it has worked at keeping the deer,hares, squirrels away.  The fence has also been my motivation to learn more about natural fencing. Ironically the pressure treated poles we bought to stake the new fruit trees (we could not find a supply of sweet chesnut at the time) are already rotting at ground level.

Green woodwork at Orchard Barn Suffolk

Yesterday was spent at Orchard barn  www.orchardbarn.org.uk   learning about the tools and the skills needed to make a hurdle or gate with Stephen and Becky Westover.
We are using coppiced sweet chestnut and ash.
Chris is helping to make a pair of 5 foot gates for the entrance to Orchard Barn.
It is a treat to be in the company of Stephen and Becky , there is so much to learn about wood.

Willow plant supports workshop August

I am running a willow weaving workshop here at Bungeons farm on Tuesday 14th August , Please contact me if you are interested.


Below is a weaving I have made from hazel and willow prompted by enquiries regarding the Hazel structures 
in the Laurent-Perrier Bicentenary garden at Chelsea. I have evening primroses growing through mine, which always need supporting. In the background are very simple weavings I made about 2 years ago to cover the rain water storage tanks, They are now covered over by evergreen honeysuckle and grape vine.

"Bumpy brood" and newts

We found this newt in the muck heap yesterday,greatly relieved we didn't stab it with the fork.
We visited the bees and no bumpy brood so the new queen is laying well. The hives are full and the bees are hungry and quite cross there is certainly no spare honey.
I am off to the local supplier Richard Martin to buy a new veil today, mine has a hole covered with gaffer tape, but each time I visit Hive 1 a bee wants to join me inside my childsize veil, how they find the hole I don't know but it makes me anxious and they know that !
The Strawberry fair at Alder Carr went well ,the sun shone,children played, the food sold out and everyone seemed happy. I sold a few items ,talked about willow and have requests for more workshops.
It is raining again the wettest June so far. 80.75 mm (just over 3 inches)  here in our part of Mid Suffolk other parts of the country have had far more than us.

Alder Carr Farm -Strawberry Fair

We will be having a stall at Alder Carr farm, Needham Market this Saturday.
I will have my willow plant supports,cloches,trellis and bird feeders for sale.
I am going to run sessions in how to make the bird feeders at a cost of £2.50
We are also hoping to build a child size woven willow structure (a sort of wigwam shape) on site which is a free activity which I hope children and adults will get involved in helping us to create.
A good opportunity  to learn a bit about hazel and willow..
To find out more about the strawberry fair please follow the link.
http://www.aldercarrfarm.co.uk/special-events

The Green Loo.

I have had help recently from Paul and Raphael via wwoof and helpx. The loo structure is finished thanks to Pauls carpentry skills. The garden is finally coming to fruition we have strawberries,beans, potatoes,onions, garlic, salads and herbs, We had a long rainy evening racking off ,sampling and bottling the homemade wine and mead. Last years summer wine (strawberries, redcurrants and rasberries) is a great success. Raphael had spent time on vineyards in France and had a great vocabulary to describe the wines. I have started this years wine off with the elderflowers.
We managed to extract some honey and this is now in jars and for sale at the local butchers.
The bees are still struggling, too many wet days spent indoors one colony potentially has a drone layer I won't know for sure till I revisit on the next sunny day.
Chris is making progress rebuilding this years baler and haymaking is on the horizon.

Unseasonal weather

We are waiting for a warm calm day to extract our first honey of the season. it has been very cold and wet.
95.5mm of rain in April, 65.5mm in May and 36.75mm in June so far. We luckily went to the Suffolk show on Thursday and spent some time selling honey for the association in the beekeepers tent and talking bees. The show was cancelled on Friday due to the high winds. There is a hosepipe ban but I seem to spend a lot of time each day emptying the overflowing water butts.
Lots of fledglings the black spotted woodpeckers are the most amusing to watch.
I have made my first batch of gardeners barrier handcream, the onions are going to flower already,lots of unripe strawberries and the garden seems really slow and behind .
Have been doing a lot of willow weaving and will be at Aldercarr Farms strawberry fair 30th June.

Red Kite at Bungeons

A kite flew out of the hedge yesterday it was incredible to see so close, there has been a lot of bird alarms in theses overgrown ashes.
We have 2 mums with chicks and given another family away. At the moment the mums are staying safe in the runs with their chicks . Nora our wwoofer helper has put straw around the strawberries and cut the heads of the docks, too late to dig them up.

Opico Grass Harrow

From this..

To this

Chris, Ken and Thomas have been converting this 12m machine to two 6m machines
It folds hydraulically for transport and they have added an air seeder to apply grass seed mix as part of grass rejuvenation

Weird and wonderful wood

Small woven willow fence A mixture of our own coppiced willow.
This week end is Weird and wonderful wood at Haughley it is always an inspiring day out loads to look at, food, music and the chance to hunt for tools and books.

The hay bale hen and chicks. She managed to get 6 chicks from the hay bales across deep muddy rutts standing water, tall grass, pouring rain and into the hen run , there were casualties along the way. She is incredibly fierce  We made the right choice to leave her alone.
We managed a quick visit to the bees One hive is very hungry I am feeding them syrup and still getting dead bees, when we looked inside it doesn't seem right a bit muddley and they were not happy at being disturbed There is a laying queen . They need some sun and warmth.
Izzy has created a facebook page for bungeons.

Oak before Ash...

We have had 3.9 inches rain 99.5mm in April a total of 8inches for the year so far.
The nucleus when moved on a rare bee day into Francis' brood box was not flourishing I don,t know why it was fine, so now we need to get some eggs and brood into the box but the weather is not good for bees I haven't been able to visit my bees since the end of March. I have put sugar syrup on top for them.They can't take advantage of all the rape fields which are surrounding us due to the heavy rain.
On Saturday I will be at Hartest farmers market selling my willow plant supports and on Monday at Beccles for the fete to raise funds for the Kenyan exchange  http://www.sjlhskenyaexchange.weebi.co.uk/
I saw my first swallow about a week ago but no sound of a cuckoo. A hen has raised chicks up on the bales behind machinery we don't know how she will get them all down in one piece and into a dry space, meanwhile the cat sits close by watching.. again the dilemma to interfere and possibly make matters worse or let nature take her course.

Woven Plant Supports

Sunday May 20th is the next willow workshop to be held here at Bungeons farm. Please contact me if you would like to book a place.
It has been a true Blackthorn winter -cold,frosts, hail, rain and wind I think there may have been some damage The fruit blossom ,sugar beet seedlings and asparagus have suffered, but the rain has been so welcome we have finally been able to mulch the willows, fruit beds and orchard and also move a few plants about.
I have one hen sitting tight, we have moved the nucleus to its new home but we are still waiting for bee weather to move them into the brood box, I am sure they are outgrowing their small home.
I am really looking forwards to tasting some fresh honey and making up creams and potions with the wax.

Bees

We visited the bees yesterday for the first time this year. All three colonies and the nucleus were busy bringing in pollen and nectar. We topped and tailed and put the queen excluders back on. The bees have done a good job of cleaning out the full supers we left for them. So the season starts again the 3 hives have enough space to store the rape honey ,the rape is already showing flowers in some fields, and I am hoping to sell the nucleus on quite soon ,if not they will need to be rehoused on my next visit as they will be short of space.
The smallholders day was a success and enjoyable despite a vet visit for the cattle.
Clare has her web site up and running  www.connecttolife.co.uk .
I am busy planting in the garden and Ken is preparing the ground and mulching. Chris has been managing the grass at Lavenham. It is already so dry.
With Izzys' help I  managed to sell some of the currant bushes at Needham Market Bootsale today, but still have quite a few left to sell. The weather is incredible it feels like summer.

The Garden mill at Alder Carr Farm

My good friend Clare visited yesterday and we took my willow plant supports across to Andrea at The Garden Mill at Alder Carr Farm It was a pleasure seeing the willow supports among Andreas' many plants and shrubs . Inside the  mill it is a treasure trove, I stocked up on soap but there is also loads of gardening goodies.

I will be doing some willow weaving with children at Alder Carr over the Easter week-end so I hope the weather is as kind to us then as it is now. Sitting in the sun  by the summerhouse with Clare we discussed the Summer camp we hope to run . Our aim is to offer a calm retreat with workshops here at Bungeons more details will follow. Today I am off to The traditional Building course being held by Orchard Barn rural skills at Ringshall, hopefully I might learn the best ways to seal some of the draughts in this old house. 

Beef Price List

All meat is frozen and vacuum packed in different quantities relating to the cut.

Rump Steak          £12.49/kg

Sirloin Steak         £19.89/kg         All steaks are packed into approximately 170g(6oz) cuts

Fillet Steak           £36.45/kg

Top Rib Joint       £7.55/kg

Silverside Joint     £9.50/kg          All joints are packed into approximately 0.9kg-1.8kg(2lbs-4lbs) cuts

Topside Joint       £9.95/kg

Sirloin Joint          £14.89/kg

Mince                 £5.59/kg          

Stewing Steak    £6.45/kg                                           

Both mince and stewing steak are packed into approximately 500g(1lb) packages 

Braising Steak    £7.55/kg

Liver and other offal available

Please contact Sue Whitton:- 07932 141366

Have you lost a cat? Needham Market Suffolk

This small cat now known as No-Name arrived last Saturday. It is causing havoc with our 3 cats and we don't really need another cat. It is in good condition, we have been trying to ignore it in the hope it will return to its rightful home, Please contact us if you think it belongs to you.

Introduction to smallholding life Suffolk

We have 2 places available on the next Introduction to Smallholding Life course.
This is being held on Monday 26th March here at Bungeons Farm.
Please contact me if you are interested.

Today is willow weaving day, I need to light the fire in the summerhouse and sort my willow,
My aim for today is to make a perfectly round sturdy hedging basket, Then I have a few orders for plant supports to complete.

We have had a good 50 mm of rain if not more the last few days, It is so welcome to see and hear the rain ,
2 of our ponds are empty and the horsepond is incredibly low and a bright flourescent green colour.

Plant support workshops

Now the soaking tank has thawed out and the days are longer, I have got the workshops up and running. These are generally held on Saturdays and Wednesday or Thursday. Please get in touch if you are interested in learning more about willow weaving I am happy to work on a one to one basis or with a group. .

I have my plant supports and cloches for sale at The Garden Mill at Alder Carr Farm in Needham Market.  

I also sell my willow weavings from home here at Bungeons Farm along with our produce, plants and at the moment some green willow recently coppiced which is suitable for larger living willow structures.

Willow weaving workshops

Garden Cloches
I am running this workshop on Thursday 9th Feb staring at 10am, The cost is £35 this includes all materials and lunch.
Plant supports
 If you are interested in learning how to make these plant supports or cloches please contact me.
We have been offered some more willow to harvest so getting that cut, sorted and stored  along with still clearing the footpaths are the main tasks at the moment.
I will be running more workshops about organic vegetable growing and willow weaving  in March and April and will post the dates on the blog.

Willow Harvest

Our first homegrown willow harvest. I am always on the hunt for willow and hazel,. Some friends let me coppice one of their very old hazels so I now have quite a few straight uprights to use for plant supports. We also coppiced a willow fence which is crack willow it is not recommended for weaving but I am going to see how it works for hurdles.
In the garden the garlic and onions  have pushed through the soil and seem to be away, the broad beans are showing their first leaves . I still have rocket its seems happier now than it did in the summer. I have started  the process of spreading our compost on the deep beds it has been so dry I wanted the soil to have some moisture in it before before mulching. I still can't decide if I should  mulch the willow beds with wood chip or not ,
I have fed candy to the bees who have been out and about in this mild weather. The hens have stopped laying and the cattle have gone to Norfolk for a while.