News from Norwich FarmShare

We've had a busy winter on the farm, preparing the site for the next growing season. We've taken on a extra 2 acres of land, which we hope to be able to begin by resting under a blanket of green manure, so that when we come to grow on it next season it'll be in tip-top condition.

Tierney, Christophe and our volunteers- helped out by Michael Knights from Daganya Farm and William Nick and Josiah from EAFL- have erected a new polytunnel, moved the container, sorted out a shed to keep our pump dry and are in the process of renovating the composting toilet- and I'm sure there are things I've missed.

Heading indoors, Tierney has finalised the crop plan (with more help from Michael) and ordered all our seeds and plug plants for the year. We've been pleased to get local and national coverage in the media, from our lovely Norwich magazine to Rob Hopkins talking about us on Radio Four- you can listen to the podcast on his website.

Now the job is to work out how we can best build on this foundation for a new year on the farm. We need to double our membership, keep our profile high in the media, look after our land properly and keep growing our delicious veg. If getting involved in any of this work appeals to you, we'd be really happy to hear from you. There's a lot to do and we really need more people to do it.

The rewards you can reap from getting involved in this kind of project are not always the ones you might expect. I spent a rainy Wednesday just last week helping get the polytunnel ready for sowing seeds. That meant crawling on hands and knees picking out couch grass roots, forking over the soil and finally raking it smooth. Chatting with other volunteers made the time flash past, until it all stood still as I heard a crystalline song pouring down among the rain. I ran out of the polytunnel and turned my face upwards to enjoy the first skylark I'd heard this year, and with it every promise of spring.