HCFA has a track record of growing and selling high quality organic produce in 2010. This year, in addition to selling fresh produce at markets HCFA is offering a vegetable box scheme service – consisting of fruit and vegetables that are 100% locally grown.

Details of the scheme are below;

Duration: The vegetable box scheme will be available from last week in May to the first week in November (24 weeks of the year). There are 26 weeks in this period but we assume that individuals are away for two weeks in the summer and monthly prices have been adjusted accordingly.

Frequency: Weekly collection

Collection: Vegetable boxes will be ready for collection from the HCFA site, in Feltham, on Saturdays and Sundays.

Cost: Subscription to the vegetable box scheme will cost £150 for the season. This is roughly £6.25 a week. Payments are to be made in monthly £30 instalments (for the 5 months the scheme is in operation). HCFA would prefer payment by standing order (which can be changed at your discretion), however, a cheque is ok. HCFA is happy to receive payment in cash for the first “trial” month if requested.

Contents: Vegetable boxes will contain a variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables with a particular emphasis on “variety”. The exact contents will depend on the time of year. However, a comprehensive list of the types of crops and the varieties you can expect are listed at the bottom of this leaflet.

Next steps: If you are interested you will need to complete the HCFA Box Scheme Order Form available from this link or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , a HCFA Trustee.
 

We need your vote! The HCFA has been nominated for a Natwest Community Fund award and there's only 3 days left!

If you vote for us we could win between £1000 & £3000 in essential funding so please click on this link to submit your vote:

https://communityfund.natwest.com/Vote

Please enter your postcode as TW3 3JJ and select the "Hounslow High Street" branch to bring up our list.

Thank you!

About the Natwest Community Fund (from natwest.com):

"The NatWest Community Fund forms part of our commitment to support the communities we work in. We've received over 18,000 nominations for the fund and regional panels have selected shortlists of three charities/projects for each local area.

Simply use the form on screen find the shortlist for your area and then vote for the charity or project which you think deserves to benefit most from our support.

The charity or project with the most votes will receive £3,000 with the two runners up receiving £1,000 each. Vote now."

This is the last in the 2010 series of HCFA weekend workshops.

Subject: As the evenings draw in, the cold weather encroaches and the green fingers start to fade - fret not the glow can be rekindled - now is the time to plant an orchard. For our last workshop Ru, from Organic Lea (www.organiclea.org.uk), a market garden co-operative in North London, will be delivering the workshop. This workshop will cover:

• design and layout
• planting
• maintenance (especially in the early years)
• pruning
• cropping (how to ensure a decent crop/when to pick etc)
• pest and diseases

Guest speaker: Ru Litherland, market gardener and orchardist, Organic Lea

Date: 27^th November, 2010

Time: 10:30 to 12:30

Venue: Faggs Road allotments, Feltham - www.hcfa.org.uk/faggs-road-site

Cost:£3 entrance fee

We look forward to seeing you there!

For further information contact Alex Morrell – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Just a quick reminder that Andy Eddy, the head gardener from Osterley Park will be on site this Sunday, between 10.30am and 12.30pm, to deliver the Shrub Workshop.

This is a good opportunity to pick the brains of an experienced horticulturalist and learn all you can about shrubs and their uses – all for the bargain price of £3. Hopefully we'll see you there!

Compost making – an environmental service?; a profitable business?; or food for the plants? Richard Wallis, the composting guest speaker, has convinced us that HCFA can manage its composting facilities with all three objectives in mind.

The bank holiday weekend meant that numbers were thinner on the ground than normal. Those who did attend were treated to an amusing and informative demonstration on the art of composting.

Richard explained the essential components of good compost – aeration, layering green (grass cuttings, hedge trimmings etc) and brown (wood chippings, bark etc) materials, heat retention and moisture. These factors all improve the structure of the compost and the microbial activity necessary for breaking down the organic matter into essential elements (nitrates, phosphorous, potassium, calcium etc) for plants.

We then set about turning…….. the theory into practice (and the compost pile). Richard showed us how to layer, turn/rotate and insulate a composting heap.

HCFA would like to thank Richard for his expert guidance. We were all left wondering why such beneficial materials are called a waste at all – as they say one mans waste is another mans compost.
 

We'd like to remind everyone that it's not too late to enrol on our new City & Guilds Level 1 in Horticultural Skills course which starts on October 1st. The course is being run in co-operation with Capel Manor Horticultural college at Gunnersbury Park and Hounslow Homes.

Enrolment takes place on 13th September so don't delay if you just want to improve your gardening skills and knowledge or maybe start a new career in horticulture find out more by clicking the link below:

City & Guilds course in Horticulture

Hounslow Community Farming Association is a regular stallholder at the Twickenham farmers market. All produce has to be grown within 100 miles of the market, the HCFA site is four miles from the market so it doesn't get much more local than that.

HCFA has also cornered another niche. We're the only organic (well chemical free since we haven't got the Soil Association seal of approval yet) vegetable stallholder at the market. Judging from the sales receipts and the interest we have had from passers by suggests that local and organic tick all the right boxes for markets goers.

So if you want unusual varieties of cucumbers, beans, chard, seasonal beetroot, carrots, turnips, potatoes, leeks and parsnips or our own homegrown honey come and visit us at the Twickenham Farmer's market!

www.lfm.org.uk/markets/twickenham/

So far our guest speakers have treated us to some excellent practical and theoretical horticultural training opportunities – and Jessica was no exception.

An allotment holder and (soon to be) graduate in the Kew Diploma, Jessica delivered a very professional series of planting and seed bed preparation demonstrations - supplemented with a detailed knowledge of the Brassica family.

Consequently, we managed to plant out a whole bed of cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, borecole and chard (not strictly – well not at all - a Brassica) fully enlightened as to why the Brassicaceae family is also called the Cruciferae family. More useful Brassica facts will be revealed in the workshop “factsheets” soon to be posted on the website.
 

Just a quick reminder about the Brassicas workshop coming up on 6th June

Jessica from Kew Gardens will be delivering the next HCFA workshop on brassicas. We will be taken through the preparation, planting and pests of a number of brassica varieties including – Kale, Borecole, Purple Sprouting Brocolli, Red and Curly Headed Cabbage and Chard. We will also be looking at techniques for protecting brassica crops from pigeon.

Subject: Brassicas

Guest speaker: Jessica Evans

Date: 6th June

Time: 10:30 to 12:30

Venue: Faggs Road allotments - www.hcfa.org.uk/faggs-road-site

Cost: £3 entrance fee

We look forward to seeing you there.

For further information contact Alex Morrell – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Peter Clarke delivered his second, and HCFA’s fourth, weekend workshop. The HCFA workshops are quickly developing their own unique teaching style; explanation, demonstration, participation. And, with this template in hand, Peter furnished us with some pearls (well beans) of wisdom from his treasure trove of horticultural knowledge.

We started with broad beans (since we are a bit late in the planting season from broad beans), moved onto peas, then runner beans and finally dwarf french beans.

Once again Peter was very thorough and it was difficult to remember all he said. Consequently, inspired by Peter’s crib sheets, HCFA will be publishing some post workshop “factsheets”. But, if you can’t wait, here it is in brief;

Broad beans; sow in October or March, no supports, watch out for black fly and bean weevil. Peas; plant in succession March to May, space twigs in rows for them to climb, harvest regularly, watch out for pigeon. Runner beans; very tender – plant after the last frost, need 8ftish supports, pick from August onwards. Dwarf french beans; no support required, plant after last frost (Borlotto particularly tender), sow in flat bottom trench 1-2inches deep.