*Spring Update*

After ten solid days of blue skies and hot temperatures, Spring is truly here and we are all trying to keep up with it in the garden...

The first Asparagus head is up and looking rather delicious. During April we offer freshly cut asparagus with our own scrambled eggs and or smoked trout from the fish farm three fields away. A great way to start the day! We have just planted another row of asparagus and although we can't harvest it for 3 years we know it's worth the wait!

Our new potatoes are looking fab, with the first picking expected soon after Easter, we serve our freshly dug new potaotes right through the Spring and Summer for evening meals.

It's all looking rather peachy up under the stone fruit cover - our apricots, peaches and nectarines are in full bloom and it promises to be a good crop. These stone fruits can suffer from a disease called Peach Leaf Curl and instead of spraying them we put covers up during the Spring. This year we have underplanted the fruits with a Bumblebee mix of Phacelia and Borage so when the covers come off in May it should look a picture!

This week one of our old beech trees had to come down as the top branches were dying back. This beautiful wood will be used for making long timber planks, a couple of traditional beehives and the chippings will be used in the garden as mulch. The 5ft stump has been left to provide a bold support for a small deck overlooking the house and garden. We have a Strawberry Tree and a Crab Apple to plant in it's place.

Talking of apples, we have been busy restoring a local orchard and have taken some scions from there and our own orchard to graft 35 of these heritage varieties on to a mixture of rootstocks. Most of these will go into our forest garden next Winter.
The pigs have been taking the warm weather in their stride, by mostly, sleeping. And occasionally trotting over for a scratch and a turnip or two.

Gertrude, our pedigree Oxford & Sandy Black, is almost full size and will be off to the boar next month - fingers crossed for midsummer piglets!