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Hot Summer, Fruit Picker Volunteers, and Mrs Duckling and her Brood

On this hot and sultry evening, as much as we like the sunshine, the extreme heat causes us much angst and work at Tuppenny. It also means that we need to start work a lot earlier to avoid having to crop when the temperatures are really high. The soft fruit will also go over much quicker in these temperatures so we need to get picking. On this subject, we are looking for anyone that might want to volunteer to pick in return for having some of the fruit picked. Just drop me an email if you would like to do so or spread the word to families and friends. The raspberry crop is fabulous this year but is the quickest to go over so this is the next fruit we will be picking. We try to not waste any so what is not sold will go straight into one of our freezers and then used for jams, chutney and fruit vinegars. I think we might also try to dehydrate some to see what they taste like. If anyone wants to do a PYO, similarly, please do get in touch.

Hopefully you will have received the new events programme in your veg bag last week and have had the opportunity to peruse the programme. For those with children or grandchildren, Abi has got some exciting holiday workshops planned for every Tuesday in the summer holidays, some for the very young, and others for the slightly older. My next workshop is on July 22nd and will be about growing winter vegetables. It is for both beginners and those with a little gardening experience. I will be going through what needs to be sown now up until Autumn with a whole variety of tasty produce that can be harvested in the colder months, some into next spring. There will be some seeds and relevant handouts given as part of the workshop. Booking can be made via the website and the following link: https://bit.ly/2tM2MP9

Yesterday, whilst preparing for the English wine tasting evening that was put on by Bush Vines, I went to check on Mrs Duckling on her nest in the polytunnel. I was delighted to see that her ducklings had hatched and were busy burrowing themselves under her rather spread out wings. I had to admit that we were all getting quite worried about both her and the eggs as, you can imagine, the heat was unbearably hot within the tunnel last week. I tried not to disturb her and just got a few pictures and video footage to show all those staff and volunteers that had been awaiting this time for over a month now. I’m sure that by tomorrow she will have gone to our pond or further afield with her new brood. I am just grateful to have been able to witness yesterday’s delightful happenings.

This week, we have a student on work experience coming to join us, in addition to Year 9 students from Seaford College coming for a day to participate in their annual community volunteering. You will get the opportunity to meet Nic Pritchard this week as she starts in her new role today, which we are all looking forward to.

Today, I went to visit an NGS garden in South Mundham (Bewley Farm) that had been recommended to me. It didn’t disappoint in addition to having a lovely tea tent which is always a bonus. You might be interested to know that we have been asked to participate in the yellow book NGS scheme so am arranging to meet with the local co-ordinators very soon.