Forever Blowing Baubles

We are forever blowing baubles, well that's the aim here on December 20th when Emsie Sharp, our newest resident at Goldhill Organic Farm will be holding an all day workshop.  Men, women and children are all welcome to come along and have a go at blowing their very own glass bauble for the tree.  Emsie has moved her workshop here recently, and we are all lining up to have a go at this ancient craft which we are told is a great skill to learn, and Emsie will be on hand all day to make sure you leave with the very best piece of decoration for your tree.

We are excited to also be open later on December 20th in farm shop and cafe, and will be plying our lovely customers with lots of tastings and treats to eat as they wander around for last minute gifts and some veggie purchases while here.  We promise you a mince pie and some mulled wine to warm you up. 

 

 

You will be able to relax in the cafe over cake and tea or a steaming bowl of Sara's homemade soup using our freshest picked vegetables, and we might even have a little music too.  Looking forward to seeing you on December 20th from 10am-8pm.....







Celebrate Apple Day 14th October



CELEBRATE  APPLE  DAY



 

 

AT GOLDHILL ORGANIC FARM SUNDAY 14^TH OCTOBER

10.30am-4.30pm

 

Following on from the success last year of our Apple Day, we have decided to repeat the event this year.  We are delighted that we will be hosting the day in partnership with the Dorset Wildlife Trust which adds another dimension to the day as we haven't worked with them before.  We are anticipating a great sticky messy day along with some activities too, Sara will be taking two Farm Walks one at 11am and the other at 2pm giving a guided tour of the farm and all its workings.  It is also an opportunity for you to browse around the Art Stable Gallery, see the work of Minna Hepburn our resident fashion designer and look at some of the home wares we have in the shop and meet some of the people who make these remarkable objects.  We have also arranged for some delicious tastings with some of the lines we stock and look forward to welcoming them all here.  There will be refreshments available too, so you can really make a day, morning or afternoon of it.

 

Bring your apples and together we will press them, so you will see the whole process from beginning to end.  If you bring your own bottles there will be a small charge of 50p per bottle or we have ready sterilised bottles here for £1.  We hope to see you on October 14th to join in the fun and make the most of your apples.

 

 

Bring your own HANDPICKED apples

Don’t leave them to rot under the tree

 

 

Juicing Demonstration                                                      

Apple Identification

Farm Walks  11am & 2pm                                             

Dorset Wildlife Trust          

                              

                                                   Parking and entry free.

Our New Easter Arrival

If you have ever visited us here at Goldhill Organic Farm, you will know that we have a gang of chickens with serious attitude.  They freely strut about the farm clearly in charge of all that they survey.  They argue with each other, they turn up in the shop and cafe crowing loudly and then run off laughing (in the way that chickens do), they are regularly found taking their pick to the very best of Andrew's vegetables on the plot without regard for his carefully laid out rows of perfection.  They lay eggs in random places which we rarely find, and have been seen charging at the farm cat who is clearly petrified of this unruly lot.

Yesterday, totally unexpected, while looking for a rake in one of the hay barns Richard found this gorgeous little chick (in fact there are two of them), wandering about with their mum.  We salute her nurturing skills and the marvel of nature and welcome our new organic arrivals to Goldhill Organic Farm.  A perfect Easter gift.

Little Weed

This week due to the recent dry weather conditions, we were able to start on the weeding, something we enjoy doing as we know it's doing so much good to our soil and allowing our vegetables to reach their full potential.

This usually doesn’t begin until the end of March. However the ground was dry enough to clear the weeds from the rows of onions and we achieved satisfying results.

The woods that were planted eighteen years ago are now ready to be thinned out to enable the stronger specimens to mature.

We began this task of clearing and left smaller branches in rows on the forest floor; this encourages insects and wildlife to thrive.

The larger branches and tree trunks that we cleared have been brought back to the farm yard. They can be used for fuel and hopefully some of the Oak branches will be carved by our son Philip. We use everything and waste nothing. Job Done!

Try this lovely little recipe its quick and easy - let us know the results......

LEEKS WITH VEGETABLE VINAIGRETTE.

For 6- Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Leeks…………………6

Bouquet garni ….1

Tomatoes………….2

Chives…...................6 sprigs.

Olive Oil..............3 tbl.spoon.

Balsamic vinegar.1 tbl.spoon.

Dijon mustard…..1 teaspoon.

Salt, Pepper.

1 Slice the leeks into 1cm width pieces. Cook them with the bouquet garni with enough water to cover until tender. Remove the leeks with a slotted spoon.

2 Plunge the tomatoes for 30 seconds in the leek stock and remove their skin.

3 Reduce the look stock by a quarter.

4 Chop the tomato flesh into small dice and finally snip the chives and bulb spring onion.

5 Make a  vinaigrette by mixing the mustard with oil, vinegar and 3 tablespoons of leek stock. Season and add the diced tomato, chives and spring onion.

6 Dress the reserved leeks with this vinaigrette.

A Special Place To Work

In our tranquil courtyard setting we not only sell beautiful organic vegetables at Goldhill Organic Farm, we also have other units to entertain you.  The Art Stable which now has a large following of loyal art collectors, Meg Morton which offers shabby chic style gifts and furnishings, The Cake Tin cafe that sells patisseries for all tastes and a very popular Tack shop selling nearly new bits and bobs for all equestrian needs, and our newest resident here James's Cheese which sort of speaks for itself.

Currently above the Farm shop we have a vacant 44sqm unit comprising of two sky lighted rooms (shared loo and kitchenette) which was being used by a portrait artists, Christabel Blackburn who has been whisked off to the sparkling lights of London where she is much in demand.  If you are interested or know someone who needs such a space in our family setting overlooking Hambledon Hill, give Sara a call on 01258 861413 for more details.

Whatever The Weather

First it was the mild winter weather, then rain, then the vicious winds which ripped two of our poly tunnels (they've been patched up so salad leaves saved), and now the big freeze that we've all been waiting for.  It's now wonder us Brits are so weather obsessed. 

Our vegetables are pretty weather intrigued and have been doing strange things, but we seem to have it all under control.  It can make planning what we plant and when challenging, but Andrew, who has been growing our gorgeous vegetables now for over 25 years, has learnt to be flexible after all this is nature and we cannot dictate what happens, we have no influence over our weather system.

Luckily our vegetables are pretty robust and we have plenty of green leafed varieties to satisfy every hungry soul. Our cabbages have done particularly well along with the very popular and perfect purple sprouting broccoli.  Our enormous lush leeks have been admired by all and we still have plenty of hardy and sensational squashes and those, either love or hate them nuggets of greenness -yes the humble sprout. This all comes with a warning as we are about to enter our hungry season when things become leaner, and creative cooking comes into its own - so if you have any great recipes that show how to stretch your vegetables do let us know.  On display in the shop soon will be a wonderful recipe for stuffed onions which only really needs 2 onions to feed about 8 people, it's a real winter winner..