By Jenny Lawrence
Life at Kirkstall Valley Farm may be busy, but there is always time for a chat and a cup of tea!
As autumn days take over from the long hot summer days, the big harvests of the store crops have come rolling in.
First onions, then potatoes followed by the pumpkins and winter squash the other week. These are all stored carefully, in insulated containers, so that over the next few months, they can come out for the weekly veg boxes, right through to early spring.
We all the love the quality of the veg, grown right here in Kirkstall at the farm, and as a new volunteer Dan said: “When I started getting a veg box, I could not believe how good the tomatoes tasted, so different from the normal supermarket ones.”
But you may be surprised to learn that the farm is not all about the fantastic healthy veg.
This summer has also seen a bumper crop of new people coming down to get involved with the farm and to help out at the volunteer sessions. All are welcome to come down for just one session or as and when you can make it, or to join a regular session every week.
Volunteer sessions are run on Monday afternoons, Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon, plus Saturday mornings. You can pop in at those times to find out more or e-mail Jen, the farm administrator, on kvf.admin@kvdt.org.uk.
It may be a bit muddy but it is always fun, and you can either get stuck into something really physical for a work out, or help with tasks like seed sowing or bagging up of salads for the veg boxes.
With three large poly tunnels you can even stay out of the rain on super wet days! The poly tunnels are now filling up with a range of salads to be harvested in late autumn and winter.
Keeping the tunnel soils in good health is super important, and at KVF no artificial fertilisers or chemicals are used, just top notch home made compost, as well as some green waste compost and well-rotted manure.
KVF had a stall at the recent Horsforth Green Festival, which was a great way to chat to people about what we do.
If you would like to come and have a walk round the farm look out for the next open day on Saturday, 25 October, there will be refreshments, tours, pumpkin carving and a warm welcome!
The open day promises something for all ages. Children (and grown-ups too) can join in with pumpkin carving from 11am–2pm, while a guided farm tour at 11am will showcase the fields and crops that supply local households with fresh produce.
A variety of refreshments will also be on offer, including hot drinks, hot dogs, soup and samosas.
For those keen to get involved in the day-to-day life of the farm, the regular volunteering session will run from 10am–11am.
While farm tours, food and drinks can be enjoyed without booking, places for pumpkin carving should be reserved in advance via Bookwhen here.
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