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.